Haunting the Deep by Adriana Mather

Haunting the Deep

by Adriana Mather

The delicious horror of Ransom Riggs and the sass of Mean Girls meets Titanic in this follow-up to the #1 New York Times bestseller How to Hang a Witch, in which a contemporary teen finds herself a passenger on the famous “ship of dreams”—a story made all the more fascinating because the author’s own relatives survived the doomed voyage.
 
Samantha Mather knew her family’s connection to the infamous Salem Witch Trials might pose obstacles to an active social life. But having survived one curse, she never thought she’d find herself at the center of a new one.
 
This time, Sam is having recurring dreams about the Titanic . . . where she’s been walking the deck with first-class passengers, like her aunt and uncle. Meanwhile, in Sam’s waking life, strange missives from the Titanic have been finding their way to her, along with haunting visions of people who went down with the ship.
 
Ultimately, Sam and the Descendants, along with some help from heartthrob Elijah, must unravel who is behind the spell that is drawing her ever further into the dream ship . . . and closer to sharing the same grim fate as its ghostly passengers.
 
Praise for How to Hang a Witch:
 
“It’s like Mean Girls meets history class in the best possible way.” —Seventeen
 
“Mather shines a light on the lessons the Salem Witch Trials can teach us about modern-day bullying—and what we can do about it.” —Bustle.com
 
“Strikes a careful balance of creepy, fun, and thoughtful.” —NPR
 
“I am utterly addicted to Adriana Mather’s electric debut. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, twisting and turning with ghosts, witches, an ancient curse, and—sigh—romance. It’s beautiful. Haunting. The characters are vivid and real. I. Could. Not. Put. It. Down.” —Jennifer Niven, bestselling author of All the Bright Places

Reviewed by jesstheaudiobookworm on

4 of 5 stars

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4.5 ★ Audiobook⎮ I know I’ve said this already this month, but I’m so glad I decided to continue on with this series. After hearing the first installment, How to Hang a Witch, I wasn’t exactly rushing to buy its sequel. But two things about Haunting the Deep intrigued me: 1) Narrator switch and 2) Titanic!

I’ve been fascinated by the tragic sinking of the Titanic since first learning about it in the third grade. My fascination grew when James Cameron’s film hit theaters in 1997. Of course, I was far too young to see it in the theater, but (after lots of begging) my parents allowed me to watch a censored version on VHS.

I’ve rarely thought about it since then, but that changed when I discovered that Adriana Mather was tackling the subject in the second installment of her series. Switching subject matters in the middle of a series was a bold move, but I like how Mather did it. Each installment is treated like a serial. They aren’t exactly standalones, because there are larger arcs spanning the series. The encapsulating events in each installment are approached in an episodic manner, somewhat like a television sitcom (but without the humor).

Haunting the Deep solidified my interest in this series and in Adriana Mather’s work as a whole. With How to Hang a Witch, I really wanted to like it, but I had several valid concerns that prevented me from being completely on board. Haunting the Deep managed to ameliorate (or negate) enough of my previous issues that I was able to enjoy it without reservation. No one was more surprised by this than me. I couldn’t believe how much I was enjoying listening to Haunting the Deep. I honestly did not want it to end.

Adriana Mather can now count me among her biggest fans. I love the fact that she again drew inspiration from her family history to create such a historically rich tale. I especially appreciate that she approached the well-known legend of the Titanic from a lesser seen viewpoint by emphasizing the injustice that was shown to lower class passengers.

This was an incredibly haunting story that made my skin prickle. In other words, it was the perfect listen for October! I hope to be able to hear more from Mather this time next year. Listening to her books is becoming my new Halloween tradition.

Narration Review: What a difference a narrator makes! I can’t help but wonder how much of my disappointment with the previous installment and my enjoyment of this installment can be attributed to the choice of narrator. Adriana Mather narrated How to Hang a Witch herself, but decided to hire a professional voice actor for Haunting the Deep. I’m not normally a fan of mid series narrator switches, but in this case, I’m all for it. Mather has shown confidence in her series by investing in its professional telling. In my opinion, she got more than her money’s worth.

Tara Sands saved this series for me. She’s new to me, but I was deeply impressed with her abilities. The characterizations she provided were well done and she delivered and all-around excellent performance. ♣︎

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 27 October, 2017: Finished reading
  • 27 October, 2017: Reviewed