Review: Curse of the Orkney Sea by Joy Jarrett

 

Curse of the Orkney Sea

by Joy Jarrett

Release Date: October 1st, 2023

2023 Literary Wanderlust

Ebook Edition; 316 Pages

ISBN: 978-1956615265

ASIN: B0C6P595GF

Genre: Fiction / YA / Fantasy

Source: Review copy from author

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Morag’s summer trip with her family and friends to a castle in Orkney, Scotland could fix all her problems. There's no way her parents will keep fighting once they're back in the place they honeymooned. Her best friend's hot brother will have to notice her when they spend months together. That AP art class she has to retake? She'll pass it this time, now that she's thought of the best theme for her Orkney mythology.

Only it doesn't take Morag much time on the island to suspect Orkney mythology might be less myth and more fact. Strange lights in the water, odd footprints in the castle, and shadowy figures are only the beginning. It's obvious the islanders are frightened of something in the sea, and that Morag’s family are unwelcome.

 

My Thoughts

Curse of the Orkney Sea was a pleasant surprise. I was looking for something a little lighter, but still fantasy-related and this one checked off all the boxes I needed at the time.  Creepy castles are my thing so I loved the atmosphere in this book and thought the story line was fun and entertaining. While I am not one for teenage angst, it didn't really detract from the story at all, and the characters were quite interesting. 

 

Morag is the main character in this story and the story is told from her POV. Right from the moment she steps off the boat she is afflicted with a condition that prevents her from doing a lot of activities and can be quite serious, a condition I had only heard about in passing so I found it quite interesting. While her parents seemed to get carried away, as a parent I totally understand wanting to protect your child, especially in a setting such as the one in which they are in, so I actually empathized quite a bit with the  mom. Each character had their own unique voice and I enjoyed their development; there is always one know-it-all in a group and this one had it as well, but when things started falling apart, I did think it would have been interesting to know what he was thinking.  Sometimes the most annoying characters have the most interesting stories to tell. 

 

The plot itself moved along rather quickly and I really enjoyed the mythological tales and others folklore that Morag learned along the way, but then I like that kind of stuff and could read about it forever. I especially like it when it is woven into a story such as this so I was fascinated.  The author was able to describe the Orkney islands so vividly, it almost felt like I was there. Underneath the fantasy elements, there were quite a few themes running through this book however, from friendship, loyalty, infidelity, trust, betrayal, family, and self-confidence. I also loved one of the major underlying themes, that nothing is at it seems, and this theme ran through everything from the mythological conflicts to family conflicts where there was a lot of conflict brewing beneath the surface.  Although most of these themes were touched on lightly, giving the book a more MG book feeling, they were there. This is something I would have like to have seen further development in a YA book.

 

Verdict

Curse of the Orkney Sea was a fun, light-hearted fantasy novel that I enjoyed tremendously. It was action-packed, full of fun surprises, and had some themes that would have been worth developing a bit more. I recommend this to anyone looking for a quick, fun read.