Ally Aldridge: Book Review: Deepest Blue by Sarah Beth Durst

I picked this book up at YALC and had no idea what I was getting myself in for. I was attracted by the cover, the blurb and the offer of a free tote bag.

This book is set in a fantasy world where people live on Island and are plagued by dangerous spirits.

There are people with the ability to control the spirits but they hide their power. If you are found out you are given a choice – join the queens guards and lose your identity or go to a deadly island where if you manage to survive you become an heir to the throne.

Beginning

The story starts with the MC getting married but her wedding goes horribly wrong when the celebrations are over run by spirits killing her guests. It’s so bad that the MC can’t run and hide, she stands up to the spirits and fights, revealing her hidden power.

She knows the guards will come and take her but her fiancé convinces her to runaway with him. He doesn’t want her taken like her sister a few years before. If they get caught, he persuades her to choose to be a guard as he can’t bear to think of her being hunted and killed on the island.

Middle

The lovers are tracked and caught and the MC is forced to make her choice. In that moment, hating the guards for attacking her injured fiancé, she chooses the Island. She can’t stand the thought of being one of them.

After a brief training session, where she makes two friends, they are taken to the Island for the test. The last cohort all died casting fear and doubt in the women’s minds. As the first women reach the shore, the spirits instantly start killing them off.

The MC manages to escape and hide by swimming underwater (a special skill she has). Whilst surviving, she runs into one of her friends and they team up against the spirits. This isn’t encouraged as it will make them a greater target to the spirits.

Together they uncover a secret about the island that sheds light on why everyone died during the previous test. They decide they must escape the island to inform the Queen.

The Ending

I’ll try not to spoil it. All I’ll say is there were plot twists I didn’t see coming. I was really impressed with the ending and all the lose ends were tied up brilliantly.