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Black Depths #1
Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch
An alternate cover edition can be found here.
Death, power, transformation.... When Nessa's dad dies, the last thing she's expecting is to lose everything else too. But when her hair suddenly turns electric red, and her estranged grandma turns up on her doorstep ready to haul her off to an isolated island, that's exactly what happens. In one day, Nessa losses her mother and her friends, and learns that she's a redheaded sea-witch with magical powers. She's one of many Neptunians - magical beings blessed by the sea - which includes selkies, mermaids, and sea nymphs. Nessa doesn't want to live on an island, she doesn't want to be a sea-witch, and she certainly doesn't want to be hunted by humans who harvest Neptunians for their magical powers. But if Nessa wants to live, she'll have to accept her new life and everything that comes with it, including a witty pirate named Caesar, who just might break her heart.
Death, power, transformation.... When Nessa's dad dies, the last thing she's expecting is to lose everything else too. But when her hair suddenly turns electric red, and her estranged grandma turns up on her doorstep ready to haul her off to an isolated island, that's exactly what happens. In one day, Nessa losses her mother and her friends, and learns that she's a redheaded sea-witch with magical powers. She's one of many Neptunians - magical beings blessed by the sea - which includes selkies, mermaids, and sea nymphs. Nessa doesn't want to live on an island, she doesn't want to be a sea-witch, and she certainly doesn't want to be hunted by humans who harvest Neptunians for their magical powers. But if Nessa wants to live, she'll have to accept her new life and everything that comes with it, including a witty pirate named Caesar, who just might break her heart.
292 pages, Paperback
First published April 21, 2014
107 people are currently reading
789 people want to read
About the author
J.E. Hunter
16 books40 followersJ. E. Hunter lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and began writing at a young age as an excuse to stay indoors during the cold winters. Several trips to the Pacific coast brought the inspiration for the Black Depths Series. J. E. Hunter has spent many years working in the field of environmental engineering and protection, a common theme in her works. When not reading, writing, or working, J. E. Hunter is often planning future adventures or busy living them.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 8, 2016
Anyone that knows me, knows I love anything to do with our oceans, seas, lakes…water of any kind…and mermaids, so when I saw Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch, I had to have it. The cover had me hooked and the more I read, the more I became involved with Nessa’s life.
The fantasy elements were woven into the human elements so well, I was able to get lost in the pages and become a part of Nessa’s world. The surrounding characters all played an important part and she will learn what it’s like to work as a unit, a team, where sacrifice will be done in the name of love. She matures and develops at a believable pace.
Supernatural and paranormal creatures are high on my reading list and Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch by J E Hunter did not let me down. I have read numerous mermaid stories, but not many about a sea witch and some of the other magical creatures J E brought to life. I am eager to keep on reading about their world and I think you will be too.
I received a copy of Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch from J E Hunter in return for an honest review.
To see my full review visit fundinmental
The fantasy elements were woven into the human elements so well, I was able to get lost in the pages and become a part of Nessa’s world. The surrounding characters all played an important part and she will learn what it’s like to work as a unit, a team, where sacrifice will be done in the name of love. She matures and develops at a believable pace.
Supernatural and paranormal creatures are high on my reading list and Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch by J E Hunter did not let me down. I have read numerous mermaid stories, but not many about a sea witch and some of the other magical creatures J E brought to life. I am eager to keep on reading about their world and I think you will be too.
I received a copy of Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch from J E Hunter in return for an honest review.
To see my full review visit fundinmental
October 9, 2015
Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch
First I would like to state that I received this book through the Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank the author for giving me this opportunity and honor in being able to read this book. When I received this book I began reading it at once. I really enjoy the authors writing style. This book was a very interesting read. The authors writing style kept you interested from the first chapter to the very last. There were loads of action and edge of your seat moments to keep both teen boys and girls reading It is a new and Magical world. I can’t wait to read a sequel. It was a truly excellent read.
First I would like to state that I received this book through the Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank the author for giving me this opportunity and honor in being able to read this book. When I received this book I began reading it at once. I really enjoy the authors writing style. This book was a very interesting read. The authors writing style kept you interested from the first chapter to the very last. There were loads of action and edge of your seat moments to keep both teen boys and girls reading It is a new and Magical world. I can’t wait to read a sequel. It was a truly excellent read.
October 5, 2015
Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch is an excellent read. The granddaughter and grandmother are strong female characters but they don't over shadow the male leads. Plenty of action and edge of your seat moments to keep both teen boys and girls reading. There is teenage angst that young adults will relate to and just the right amount of romance. After all who doesn't love a pirate. (or want to be one)
November 9, 2015
I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
If my hair suddenly turn red and I found out I was a Sea-Witch, I'm not so sure that I'd be as disappointed as Nessa. An entertaining read, if not quite what I expected. The only criticism I would offer would be the large gaps in the folklore to prepare for the subsequent volumes to follow.
If my hair suddenly turn red and I found out I was a Sea-Witch, I'm not so sure that I'd be as disappointed as Nessa. An entertaining read, if not quite what I expected. The only criticism I would offer would be the large gaps in the folklore to prepare for the subsequent volumes to follow.
January 25, 2016
A new magical world at it's finest! I cannot wait for the sequel so I can discover how Nessa and her friends continue on. This book has also inspired me to plan a vacation to Vancouver Island :-)
November 12, 2017
Wow
I couldn't put this book down! Vanessa's thinks her life has changed when her dad died but she doesn't know her life is really going to truly change starting with her hair and eyes. Then her life gets more crazy and she learns a unbelievable secret about herself and her grandmother. When she starts to settle into her new life it gets scary for her and her friends could be in danger.
I couldn't put this book down! Vanessa's thinks her life has changed when her dad died but she doesn't know her life is really going to truly change starting with her hair and eyes. Then her life gets more crazy and she learns a unbelievable secret about herself and her grandmother. When she starts to settle into her new life it gets scary for her and her friends could be in danger.
April 14, 2018
Interesting young adult read about a sea witch
This is an interesting young adult read about a sea witch learning about herself and her heritage.
I still really don’t like the grandmother that is supposed to be caring for her granddaughter. She is too harsh and uncaring, (yes-even with what happened at the end)
but do like the other characters in the book.
This is an interesting young adult read about a sea witch learning about herself and her heritage.
I still really don’t like the grandmother that is supposed to be caring for her granddaughter. She is too harsh and uncaring, (yes-even with what happened at the end)
but do like the other characters in the book.
May 14, 2021
Great fantasy/sci-fi read! I can't wait to read the rest of the series...
Nessa has typical teen issues after her dad is killed in an accident. When her mom can't deal with life after her dad's death, she's sent to live with her maternal grandmother. That's when the story gears up into overdrive. Read the book to find out about pirates, mermaids, sirens, & more!
Nessa has typical teen issues after her dad is killed in an accident. When her mom can't deal with life after her dad's death, she's sent to live with her maternal grandmother. That's when the story gears up into overdrive. Read the book to find out about pirates, mermaids, sirens, & more!
October 29, 2017
Great Book
Great Book I was just wondering what happened?
I love the book and I think that you might like it too
Thank You For Letting Me Read this book I love 💘💘
The book will keep you wanting more
Great Book I was just wondering what happened?
I love the book and I think that you might like it too
Thank You For Letting Me Read this book I love 💘💘
The book will keep you wanting more
August 2, 2021
Lots of interesting folklore!
I enjoyed the book and reading about characters that included all types of folklore. I hope that Nessa’s angst period is over, it was almost off-putting.
I enjoyed the book and reading about characters that included all types of folklore. I hope that Nessa’s angst period is over, it was almost off-putting.
January 19, 2022
Tales of a red headed sea witch - J.E Hunter
This could well be a modern day little mermaid tale. I really enjoyed this from start to end but not sure I want to follow up with any others in the series.
This could well be a modern day little mermaid tale. I really enjoyed this from start to end but not sure I want to follow up with any others in the series.
September 15, 2022
When a normal girl loses her father and her mother has a breakdown, her hair spontaneously turns red and her eyes turn blue and she has to go live with her grandmother on an island she just can't wait to go home. What could possibly go wrong next?
September 16, 2018
Thrilling
Once you start it was hard to pit it down. Wonderful job by the writer. I felt like I was apart of the book I was reading
Once you start it was hard to pit it down. Wonderful job by the writer. I felt like I was apart of the book I was reading
February 19, 2022
A good, solid read!
September 7, 2016
“TALES OF A REDHEADED SEA WITCH”
J.E Hunter
I received a copy of this book via YA Bound Book Tour, and was allowed the opportunity to review it!
For my review, I broke this story down into three separate categories: the good, the bad, and the ‘meh’ as a whole. This does not pertain to any sequels, prequels or midquels (if applicable).
Let the games begin!
THE GOOD:
• “All magic comes with a price.” Rumpelstiltskin has definitely said it best, and that is something that I feel most media that involves some form of magic should partake in. “Tales of a Redheaded Sea Witch” is one that falls into this guideline well for me. When Nessa finds out of her Sea Witch origins, she is whisked away from her once mundane and simple life, set to train and improve her powers, which shape from controlling water temperatures to walking along the crisp ocean. Despite the magical element, the way that Nessa trains seems wholesome and believable.
• I’ve come up with something. Most people take interest in the main characters—I took interest in the side characters. Particularly Shia and Amynta. Shia retains some sort of mental naivety from the moment that she was introduced along with her six young mermaid/merman friends. She withheld a sense of sweet sorrow, and became friends with Caesar, a pirate, someone that in olden tales hunted mermaids. That in itself could have been a dynamic relationship. And then there’s Amynta, a Siren. I’ve always found appeal in the history of Sirens, and feel that her character has more potential than simply being Nessa’s third banana in the friendship category. There HAS to be something more to her personality, her origins, as a Siren.
THE BAD:
• There were many spelling and grammatical errors, usually pertaining to the common “you’re versus your” aspect. I also felt that some sentence structure was a bit strange. One example that really stuck out for me was “his eyes were the color of an old candlestick that needed to be polished.” That sentence could be written a bit differently.
• I feel that Nessa and Caesar’s relationship seemed forced and quite rushed between their first meeting and when they officially became a couple. I don’t know much about Caesar’s past, but I don’t feel that he, as a pirate, would be so quick to succumb to one person. And I feel that after losing her chance with Aaron, the boy from her old life, she fell into lust with Caesar rather than love. The pacing of their relationship felt so unrealistic, even in a magically inclined universe.
• Nessa retains an incredibly childish nature throughout the story pertaining to her heritage, her negligence of her behavior towards authority, her thick-headed and impulsiveness towards others’ actions after considering her own, and her sudden call to action at the end of the story was a bit… I suppose surprising could be the right word. I’m just not certain how developed I felt that Nessa was in more than just her elemental virtuosity—her character itself lacked some depth for book one. Her behavior also leads to a lot of friction between her and other characters such as Colleen, who doesn’t like Caesar due to incidents in the past, or getting jealous of Shia and Caesar’s friendship.
THE MEH:
• I felt some relation to Nessa at the very beginning of the story, having lost my mother suddenly at the age of eighteen. But I sometimes don’t buy into how she allows the rest of the world to unravel and wants it to fall along with him. At the same time, we all have methods of coping after loss.
THINGS I NEED TO KNOW/FINAL THOUGHTS:
• I’d love to try and comprehend more about Caesar’s past.
• Shannon’s past—I feel like she has a deeper reasoning for why she behaves as seriously as she does, and why she doesn’t have a close relationship with her daughter anymore.
OVERALL:
I’d rate the first book a 2.8 out of 5 stars overall, rounding it up to 3! Sadly, the first book felt about average for a read to me, and the concerns that I had seemed to overwhelm any sorts of positives that I had.
Would I read the sequel? Sure, I’d give it a shot just to see if any of my thoughts and concerns are addressed.
J.E Hunter
I received a copy of this book via YA Bound Book Tour, and was allowed the opportunity to review it!
For my review, I broke this story down into three separate categories: the good, the bad, and the ‘meh’ as a whole. This does not pertain to any sequels, prequels or midquels (if applicable).
Let the games begin!
THE GOOD:
• “All magic comes with a price.” Rumpelstiltskin has definitely said it best, and that is something that I feel most media that involves some form of magic should partake in. “Tales of a Redheaded Sea Witch” is one that falls into this guideline well for me. When Nessa finds out of her Sea Witch origins, she is whisked away from her once mundane and simple life, set to train and improve her powers, which shape from controlling water temperatures to walking along the crisp ocean. Despite the magical element, the way that Nessa trains seems wholesome and believable.
• I’ve come up with something. Most people take interest in the main characters—I took interest in the side characters. Particularly Shia and Amynta. Shia retains some sort of mental naivety from the moment that she was introduced along with her six young mermaid/merman friends. She withheld a sense of sweet sorrow, and became friends with Caesar, a pirate, someone that in olden tales hunted mermaids. That in itself could have been a dynamic relationship. And then there’s Amynta, a Siren. I’ve always found appeal in the history of Sirens, and feel that her character has more potential than simply being Nessa’s third banana in the friendship category. There HAS to be something more to her personality, her origins, as a Siren.
THE BAD:
• There were many spelling and grammatical errors, usually pertaining to the common “you’re versus your” aspect. I also felt that some sentence structure was a bit strange. One example that really stuck out for me was “his eyes were the color of an old candlestick that needed to be polished.” That sentence could be written a bit differently.
• I feel that Nessa and Caesar’s relationship seemed forced and quite rushed between their first meeting and when they officially became a couple. I don’t know much about Caesar’s past, but I don’t feel that he, as a pirate, would be so quick to succumb to one person. And I feel that after losing her chance with Aaron, the boy from her old life, she fell into lust with Caesar rather than love. The pacing of their relationship felt so unrealistic, even in a magically inclined universe.
• Nessa retains an incredibly childish nature throughout the story pertaining to her heritage, her negligence of her behavior towards authority, her thick-headed and impulsiveness towards others’ actions after considering her own, and her sudden call to action at the end of the story was a bit… I suppose surprising could be the right word. I’m just not certain how developed I felt that Nessa was in more than just her elemental virtuosity—her character itself lacked some depth for book one. Her behavior also leads to a lot of friction between her and other characters such as Colleen, who doesn’t like Caesar due to incidents in the past, or getting jealous of Shia and Caesar’s friendship.
THE MEH:
• I felt some relation to Nessa at the very beginning of the story, having lost my mother suddenly at the age of eighteen. But I sometimes don’t buy into how she allows the rest of the world to unravel and wants it to fall along with him. At the same time, we all have methods of coping after loss.
THINGS I NEED TO KNOW/FINAL THOUGHTS:
• I’d love to try and comprehend more about Caesar’s past.
• Shannon’s past—I feel like she has a deeper reasoning for why she behaves as seriously as she does, and why she doesn’t have a close relationship with her daughter anymore.
OVERALL:
I’d rate the first book a 2.8 out of 5 stars overall, rounding it up to 3! Sadly, the first book felt about average for a read to me, and the concerns that I had seemed to overwhelm any sorts of positives that I had.
Would I read the sequel? Sure, I’d give it a shot just to see if any of my thoughts and concerns are addressed.
September 14, 2016
This review has been crossposted from my blog at The Cosy Dragon . Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me, which appear on a timely schedule.
What Nessa knows won’t hurt her, right? When her father dies, she finds herself causing strange watery issues and then she is packed off to a deserted island with just her crazy grandmother for company.
Nessa is an interesting character with her own mind, and she truly grows throughout the novel. It’s not just plot driven, there is definitely character development. Not to mention some very nice world-building of the island and its inhabitants.
Don’t you love the cover? It fits in perfectly with the novel, which is that the author has perfectly meshed a ‘normal novel’ into a fantasy world that I could believe exists only minutes away from me. At first I thought the use of a ‘real photograph’ was a bit tacky, then I realised that it was perfect. Have I said perfect enough times?
The title is a little posh for what the novel contained. ‘Tales’ puts in mind multiple stories, when really this is just one. It holds a traditional book plot graph for me, as in several small events keeping the reader’s interest with the novel, finishing with a breathtaking confrontation near the end.
I could have sworn I had made some notes about this novel, but in fact perhaps I only wrote them in my head. I’ve given it 4 strong stars though, because it’s an excellent teenage fiction novel that has the right touches of fantasy to keep a reader’s interest.
What Nessa knows won’t hurt her, right? When her father dies, she finds herself causing strange watery issues and then she is packed off to a deserted island with just her crazy grandmother for company.
Nessa is an interesting character with her own mind, and she truly grows throughout the novel. It’s not just plot driven, there is definitely character development. Not to mention some very nice world-building of the island and its inhabitants.
Don’t you love the cover? It fits in perfectly with the novel, which is that the author has perfectly meshed a ‘normal novel’ into a fantasy world that I could believe exists only minutes away from me. At first I thought the use of a ‘real photograph’ was a bit tacky, then I realised that it was perfect. Have I said perfect enough times?
The title is a little posh for what the novel contained. ‘Tales’ puts in mind multiple stories, when really this is just one. It holds a traditional book plot graph for me, as in several small events keeping the reader’s interest with the novel, finishing with a breathtaking confrontation near the end.
I could have sworn I had made some notes about this novel, but in fact perhaps I only wrote them in my head. I’ve given it 4 strong stars though, because it’s an excellent teenage fiction novel that has the right touches of fantasy to keep a reader’s interest.
June 2, 2016
J.E. Hunter manages to create a magically wonderful world that seems all too real in our current time. Her tale of sea witches, and mermaids, and selkies, and I must mention her unique take on pirates, unfolds gracefully and with a sense of great angst. Her bad guy has a creep factor of ten, before getting even worse. I look forward to reading the next book in the series!
February 24, 2022
still smacked the 3rd time💪
April 4, 2017
I really liked the book. It was frustrating to read how Nessa kicks against being a sea-witch, but in a way it is understandable because of her dad dying and the way her mom was acting. I was happy when she finally decided to accept her new life. Can't wait for the res of the series.
Read
March 4, 2019Young Adult Story with romance, witches and Neptunians! I enjoyed it!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews