Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow…
–GoodReads
My Review
I read this like a year ago as part of Reader Voracious’s readalong in her discord server.
It stuck with me and I’ve been saving the review for Halloween time (okay I failed at that too but now if you look in October 2021 reviews, I backlogged it int here, so, HAH).
Three sisters sentenced to die for witchcraft….anyone else immediately thought ‘AH YES HOCUS POCUS!’?
Flash forward to ‘today’ and Penny Talbot has accepted that the town is cursed, just as the rest of the town has. Once a year it’s important to know where your daughters are, to make sure they aren’t overtaken by the three sisters. Everyone knows this but Bo, a stranger from out of town whom Penny meets the eve of the Swan sisters returning.
What a great atmosphere in this book, the town, the townspeople and their palpable fear and paranoia over which girls have been possessed; and which boys will drown. I loved that, it was aces.
Now.
I liked Penny in the first few chapters but not so much carrying forward (which is actually pretty funny if you read it). I actually didn’t care too much about her and Bo, I liked their romance but it wasn’t necessary for me to enjoy the story so I was a bit ambivalent.
The sisters had such an intriguing story and I wish it would have been more about them, the flashbacks were amazing.
BUT.
LET ME GET ON MY SOAPBOX HERE.
The real unsung hero of this damn book is Hazel’s (one of the Swan sisters) lover in the past.
THIS BOY LOVED HER COMPLETELY, SHE LOVED HIM (it wasn’t some one sided thing that people try to make romantic but is actually creepy). THEY WERE IN LOVE.
**SPOILER WARNING**
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**LAST WARNING**
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AND THIS BIA JUST SAYS NO. INSTA-LOVE IS MORE IMPORTANT AND WILL BREAK THE CURSE. YOU DROWNED FOR ME AND I LOVED YOU BUT I LOVE THIS NEW BOY MORE AND THAT’S THE REAL LOVE STORY, BECAUSE IT’S BEEN LIKE 2 MINUTES. WE’RE MEANT TO BE. FOREVER.
WHAT?!
WHAT?!
WHAT
So yea. I got some feels on that. It stripped away so much of my enjoyment. He is dead for her, he loved her, he didn’t care what the town said and for all the flashbacks show, she loves him too. BUT. This rando is more important and can break the curse?
Nah.
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**SPOILER OVER**
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SO. Why did I give this 3.5 instead of lower? Because up until this realization it was a super enjoyable read, I liked it, but it wasn’t the dark witchy read I was hoping for. It was dark and eerie in its own way and there is certainly a question of consent and love and all of that when you find out the twist.
3.5/5 cups of coffee from me for atmospheric writing and a decent plot. But rounded down to 3 for the audacity of Hazel.
Fun read for a spooky tbr list!
The Caffeinated Reader 