Review:
I received a copy from Edelweiss I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with this one, it was a bit of coverlust more than anything about it that caught my attention and I snagged it as soon as I saw it on Edelweiss as a read it now. I'd forgotten what it was about by the time I finally got around to read it. Pleasantly surprised to find how unique this novel was and how much I enjoyed and how unexpected the plot was. It's a turn of the century historical set in the Isle of Man. The main character lives in small island village steeped mythology regarding the sea and the creatures within and the strange fairy folk (think more traditional type fairies, Little Folk, mysterious and hardly ever seen but a somewhat worrying presence). Bridey, the main character, just wants to escape from the island and go experience London and the mainland. She has a close tightknit family of a number of siblings, a couple of best friends, though her male friend Lugh's attention seem to be changing slightly towards her. The town even has a creepy old lady who lives, Morag, alone with a mysterious past known as the local witch. Bridey is haunted by the mysterious death of her grandfather. She was there when it happened, the official cause is drowning, but she knows there's more to it. Problem is no one believes her. Not helped when Bridey is looking for work and her mother sends her to go apprentice to Morag. Then girls start disappearing and turning up dead. Along with the arrival of a strange boy washed up on the beach. The boy has horrible wounds and no memory of who he is. Bridey takes him home to help nurse him back to health, as he has no name, she names him Fynn. Beautifully written, almost lyrical, and completely captivating, the mythology of the sea beasts and magic of the isle is woven in and it's absolutely fascinating. The cast of characters is pretty incredible, from the stubborn townsfolk who can be at once giving and incredibly small minded, and of course there's much more to local witch Morag than anyone thought to look at. And the slow build of trust and friendship between Bridey and Fynn is very well done and believable. It's not insta-love, it takes time and work. Coupled with the mystery of the disappearing girls it all mixes together and works incredibly well. It's not just focused on Bridey and Fynn, I really liked the inclusion of Bridey's family and her friends and how they all cope differently with the events in the novel as they unfold. The plot has a few surprising twists and turns and it's impossible to guess, and the end really threw me and was completely unexpected. Some of the ending was a little hard to follow, I had to go back and read some of the scenes twice to make sure I was following the plot correctly, but the initial twist at the end was still a big surprise. All in all a fantastic read and definitely an author I look forward to reading more of.
Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1511001/review-fear-the-drowning-deep
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