A tropical island full of secrets. Two Victorian ghosts, trapped for eternity. And a seventeen-year-old girl determined not to be next.

Eulalie Island should be a paradise, but to Addie Spencer, it’s more like a prison.

Forced to tag along to the remote island on her mother’s honeymoon, Addie isn’t thrilled about being trapped there for two weeks. The island is stunning, with its secluded beaches and forests full of white flowers. But there’s something eerie and unsettling about the place.

After Addie meets an enigmatic boy on the beach, all the flowers start turning pink. The island loves you, he tells her. But she can’t stop sleepwalking at night, the birds keep calling her name, and there’s a strange little girl in the woods who wants to play hide-and-seek. When Addie learns about two sisters who died on the island centuries ago, she wonders if there’s more to this place, things only she can see.

Beneath its gorgeous surface, Eulalie Island is hiding dark, tangled secrets. And if Addie doesn’t unravel them soon, the island might never let her go.

Goodreads Synopsis

Spooky Rating

3/5

Overall Rating

4/5

Quick Take

The Depths by Nicole Lesperance is a horror novel filled to the brim with gorgeous and horrifying imagery, unique Edgar Allan Poe inspired references, and a cast of grim and unreliable characters. Lesperance’s writing enveloped me as a reader, and I was at once terrified and in awe of the world she created. This is one of the most well written horror novels I have read in a long time. If you are into tropical horror, The Depths is an absolute must-read.

Tell Me More

The Depths by Nicole Lesperance follows Addie, a teenage girl who is a competitive freediver. She recently had an accident while freediving and ended up dying before being resuscitated. Since then, she has been unable to freedive as she heals, and she suffers from coughing up blood due to her accident. Addie ends up tagging along on her mother’s honeymoon to an island called Eulalie, but something is off about the island, and Addie soon finds herself involved with undead previous residents, a mysterious boy, and bouts of sleepwalking.

There is so much going on with this novel, but Lesperance weaves classic gothic storylines with modern technology and characters in a way that few authors can. Her story and characters are at once traditional and classic, but her ideas about life after death are unique and original. There was some young adult romance thrown in, which I’m not usually fond of in my horror, but it played a big part in the theme of the story, so I found it to be essential.

But what made this novel an absolute knockout was the writing. Lesperance’s ability to paint a picture was beyond measure. I felt like I was surrounded by the island while reading, and it was both beautiful and grotesque. Lesperance managed to make a beautiful location horrifying and nasty, while also forcing the reader to be drawn to it. This novel is the epitome of tropical horror, and while it is a young adult novel, it can be appreciated by readers of all ages.

I don’t know how Lesperance was able to expertly weave gothic horror with tropical horror so beautifully, but she pulled it off. The Depths is probably one of my new all-time favorite horror novels because of the grotesque imagery, gothic references, and supernatural elements. It is a novel that will stick with me for a very long time, and I can’t recommend it enough. If you choose to pick this one up, make sure you are prepared for one hell of a ride!

Deep down underneath it all, the island’s heart beats.

The Depths by Nicole Lesperance

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Horror Maven | Bookstagram 👻📚 (@the_horror_maven)