Hi everyone! Welcome to Nox the Reader, I'm "Nox", and today I'm talking about Shea Ernshaw's books The Wicked Deep and Winterwood.
Winterwood is about Nora Walker, who comes from a long line of witches died to the local Winter Woods of Fir Haven. Nora finds Oliver Huntsman, a lost boy from a local camp for troubled boys, and is caught up in a mystery.
Winterwood: Drowning, Hazing, Kidnapping, Loss of a Loved One, Death, Wildfire, Poor Relationship with Parents
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So this isn't necessarily meant to be a book ramble, but I'm formatting it in a similar way.
I read Ernshaw's debut novel The Wicked Deep in October of 2019 and absolutely fell in love with the magical writing. It was atmospheric and beautiful, and the backstory worked perfectly for the story. I loved the premise, the descriptions, and the world surrounding Sparrow. Unfortunately, for a paranormal romance (which I didn't know it was when I picked it up), the romance fell flat, as well as the characters. The main "twist" of the novel, while necessary for the ending to play out the way that it did, kind of made the majority of what the reader read up to that point incredibly unreliable, and I absolutely hate when books set up an entire premise and then make everything before that useless and unnecessary (*cough* The Tenth Girl by Sara Faring *cough*).
Because of this, I hated the ending of The Wicked Deep. The twist ruined everything for me, and the last half just fell completely apart for me. And this is coming from someone who liked the book. If you'd like the opinion of someone who didn't, my friend Alyssa from Pages and Ink made a video titled Book Toast or Book Roast//The Wicked Deep Spoilery Review. She brought up numerous points that I hadn't noticed when I first read the book, and it was interesting hearing her thoughts on the book.
With this in mind, I still wanted to read Ernshaw's second book Winterwood. I hadn't intended on reading this so soon after it's release, but I received a copy in the November 2019 OwlCrate, and then it was our December pick for Spook Squad Book Club, a book club that I cohost that focuses on YA Paranormal books.
Y'all have no idea how happy I am that Winterwood ended up being our pick for the month. I was the first of the hosts to finish it and that's because I absolutely flew through the book! Winterwood was everything that The Wicked Deep was and more.
The premise may come off as less interesting: The Wicked Deep is about three paranormal sisters hellbent on revenge, while the synopsis for Winterwood seems that it's just about a girl who meets a lost boy with secrets in the woods. It's hard to explain the premise and draw people into reading it, but there's so much to Winterwood.
The writing was absolutely gorgeous, and readers could connect with Nora's desire to be like the Walker women before her, especially after reading the small excerpts about the different Walker women, their lives, and their nightshades. Those entries were the best part of the book, and I have no shame in admitting that I went into my journal afterwards and wrote my own entry as if I was one of the Walker women, spell and all!
I'd say that Winterwood's plot was less intense than The Wicked Deep's, and outside of Nora, I didn't really build a connection with any other characters. But the story was beautiful and magical, and the ending was perfect! I can't think of a more perfect way for the story to end, and this book's twist didn't ruin it the way that The Wicked Deep's did.
If you're a fan of flowery, magical, lyrical writing, and vivid atmospheric descriptions, then I highly recommend Ernshaw's works! I recommend The Wicked Deep for those who prefer plot-driven stories, and Winterwood for fans of more character-driven, slice-of-life stories
Thank you very much for reading this! If you've read any of Ernshaw's books, let me know! I'd love to talk to you about them!
~ Nox
"We wait for death. We hold our breath. We know it's coming, and still we flinch when it claws at our throats and pulls us under." ~ The Wicked Deep
"Because I am more darkness than girl. More winter shadow than August sunlight." ~ Winterwood
Two-Sentence Synopsis:
The Wicked Deep is about the town of Sparrow, which is cursed by three sisters that were accused of witchcraft and drowned centuries ago. Every summer, the three sisters possess the bodies of three of the town's girls and drown three boys in revenge.Winterwood is about Nora Walker, who comes from a long line of witches died to the local Winter Woods of Fir Haven. Nora finds Oliver Huntsman, a lost boy from a local camp for troubled boys, and is caught up in a mystery.
Content Warnings
The Wicked Deep: Drowning, Murder, Loss of a Loved One, Death, Poor Relationship with ParentsWinterwood: Drowning, Hazing, Kidnapping, Loss of a Loved One, Death, Wildfire, Poor Relationship with Parents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So this isn't necessarily meant to be a book ramble, but I'm formatting it in a similar way.
I read Ernshaw's debut novel The Wicked Deep in October of 2019 and absolutely fell in love with the magical writing. It was atmospheric and beautiful, and the backstory worked perfectly for the story. I loved the premise, the descriptions, and the world surrounding Sparrow. Unfortunately, for a paranormal romance (which I didn't know it was when I picked it up), the romance fell flat, as well as the characters. The main "twist" of the novel, while necessary for the ending to play out the way that it did, kind of made the majority of what the reader read up to that point incredibly unreliable, and I absolutely hate when books set up an entire premise and then make everything before that useless and unnecessary (*cough* The Tenth Girl by Sara Faring *cough*).
Because of this, I hated the ending of The Wicked Deep. The twist ruined everything for me, and the last half just fell completely apart for me. And this is coming from someone who liked the book. If you'd like the opinion of someone who didn't, my friend Alyssa from Pages and Ink made a video titled Book Toast or Book Roast//The Wicked Deep Spoilery Review. She brought up numerous points that I hadn't noticed when I first read the book, and it was interesting hearing her thoughts on the book.
With this in mind, I still wanted to read Ernshaw's second book Winterwood. I hadn't intended on reading this so soon after it's release, but I received a copy in the November 2019 OwlCrate, and then it was our December pick for Spook Squad Book Club, a book club that I cohost that focuses on YA Paranormal books.
Y'all have no idea how happy I am that Winterwood ended up being our pick for the month. I was the first of the hosts to finish it and that's because I absolutely flew through the book! Winterwood was everything that The Wicked Deep was and more.
The premise may come off as less interesting: The Wicked Deep is about three paranormal sisters hellbent on revenge, while the synopsis for Winterwood seems that it's just about a girl who meets a lost boy with secrets in the woods. It's hard to explain the premise and draw people into reading it, but there's so much to Winterwood.
The writing was absolutely gorgeous, and readers could connect with Nora's desire to be like the Walker women before her, especially after reading the small excerpts about the different Walker women, their lives, and their nightshades. Those entries were the best part of the book, and I have no shame in admitting that I went into my journal afterwards and wrote my own entry as if I was one of the Walker women, spell and all!
I'd say that Winterwood's plot was less intense than The Wicked Deep's, and outside of Nora, I didn't really build a connection with any other characters. But the story was beautiful and magical, and the ending was perfect! I can't think of a more perfect way for the story to end, and this book's twist didn't ruin it the way that The Wicked Deep's did.
If you're a fan of flowery, magical, lyrical writing, and vivid atmospheric descriptions, then I highly recommend Ernshaw's works! I recommend The Wicked Deep for those who prefer plot-driven stories, and Winterwood for fans of more character-driven, slice-of-life stories
Thank you very much for reading this! If you've read any of Ernshaw's books, let me know! I'd love to talk to you about them!
~ Nox
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