The Deep

"The Deep" by Nick Cutter

Out of the blue, Luke Ronnick gets a phone call telling him that he has to travel to Guam to help his brother.  Luke hasn't talked to his brother in about 6 years, and the memories he has of his brother, Clayton, are anything but fond.  Luke's brother happens to be at the bottom of the Mariana Trench studying the only possible cure for the 'Gets.  The 'Gets is a disease that affects a person's memory.  First, it's the little things like how to tie your shoe or where you left your keys.  Next, you begin to forget bigger things such as the necessity of shoes or that there is such a thing as a car.  Finally, you forget that you need food to live, or maybe how to breathe.  And all of this forgetting is accompanied by, of course, nasty oozy sores. 

The real problems lie at the bottom of the ocean, where a substance called Ambrosia is found to be terrifyingly amazing.  Luke quickly finds out that not everything is what it seems at 8 miles below the surface.

WOAH.  Woah woah woah woah.

This book.  There was a lot going on.  

I found that this book had the ability to make me cringe.  It had me cringing even when I wasn't reading it.  I was constantly thinking about what was going on when I last read it.  

There was a lot of jumping around between Luke being in the Trieste (the under water station) at the bottom of the ocean and then his vivid memory flashbacks of when he was a child or when he was with his son.  There were some points where I was so engrossed in the action of Luke being in the Trieste that I was annoyed when Luke would have a random flashback in the middle of an intense situation.  COME ON!!

To be honest, I really didn't want to finish this book.  That is not because it wasn't interesting or well written.  This book had my brain playing out the events like I was watching a movie.  Cutter's writing and imagery were so intense.  Just fricken good!  But I found the overall story just too disturbing for me.  I don't mind a cringe-worthy story but "The Deep" was a continuous loop of "Ick!" "AAHH!!" "Ewww" "WTF?!", and my most common phrase right after finishing a few chapters was, "Ugh this book.. I don't know about this."  Overall, it seriously had me freaked out and scared.  Which is amazing!  Amazing that a book can have such an affect.  I'd say this book had more of an affect on me than any scary movie ever could.

Goodreads Link: The Deep

The Daring Ladies of Lowell

"The Daring Ladies of Lowell" by Kate Alcott

Alice Barrow, a farmer's daughter, leaves her life behind to become a Mill Girl.  This life offers independence and better money, but it also involves a questionable work environment and living with multiple other Mill Girls.  Alice quickly becomes friends with the rebellious, but kind, Lovey Cornell. Lovey is a girl who is built of more questions than answers, and Alice begins to question everything when Lovey is strangled to death in a field.

Along with the mystery of Lovey's death, Alice is also facing the harsh reality of illness associated with mill work.  The mill workers, including Alice, begin to fight for better work conditions and wages, putting Alice in a complicated position since she and the son of the mill owner begin to embrace romantic feelings.

I knew this book might very well be a winner.  Kate Alcott is also the author of another popular book, "The Dressmaker".  I'm not proud to say this, but I watched the movie and never read the book.  But during the movie, I kept saying, "hmm I bet this is a great book."  Afterward, instead of getting the book "The Dressmaker", I got a different book by Alcott resulting in this review of "The Daring Ladies of Lowell".  This shows you my everyday decision making.

"The Daring Ladies of Lowell" could just as easily be another fantastic movie.  The story line was great and I was hooked from the beginning.  I dove into this book without reading the whole summary, but I knew something tragic was going to happen. Preparing myself, I suppose.  I'm a crier.

I could connect and understand every single character presented.  I especially loved the growing relationship between Alice and Dr. Stanhope, though I wish there was a little more on why they grew so close.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a read that has a little bit of love, sadness, adventure, and mystery.

Goodreads link: The Daring Ladies of Lowell