Sadly this book was not for me. This is no bearing on the author, it’s just that I personally could not get into the book and I didn’t like the writing style.

I have no idea how to feel about this book, to be honest. I went in expecting a really chilling ghost story, but that’s not what this is.

Yeah, it was an interesting approach to the Titanic and the sister ship Britannic, and the storylines with Annie, Mark etc were interesting and kept me listening to the audiobook. But it all got a bit muddled with the “ghostly” element and when you find out the “truth” I felt it was a bit meh. But the reasoning behind the truth, I got on board with that.

I am so disappointed as I have heard so much about this book and I wanted to devour and love it! I did devour it and I did love it, but not as a ghost story, it wasn’t chilling, it was a story of loss and heartbreak when you look into detail about the book.

I loved being on board the Titanic, and when you get to that fateful night, it is still a shock, because you kind of hope that it won’t happen. The same with the Britannic, but as much as I felt meh, I kind of liked that there were forces at play here that could have caused the sinking. The reasoning behind it all, now that was heartbreaking in itself.

The narrator, Jane Collingwood, well I would listen to anything she narrates! She was a dream to listen to and she made me care about these characters. She brought them to life and their fears and plight became my own.

If you go into this book without the preconceptions of a haunting tale, you will love this historical retelling of these great events, and using some of the real passengers too. I thought it was done delicately and with love. Although one character near the end who was bartering to get her and her husband on the lifeboats riled me. The thing is, you know it would have happened!

I feel the more I write this review, the more I know I did enjoy it. It was a haunting tale, but it wasn’t a haunting.

An atmospheric supernatural mystery set aboard the Titanic and its sister ship the Britannic. We meet Annie who is working as a nurse on the HMHS Britannic, we follow her story and find that she was aboard the Titanic on the fateful night and her life has never been the same since.

I could not finish this book. It wasn't what I was expecting. It was really slow and didn't seem to go anywhere. I think I will try to pick it back up again in the future, but for now, this was a DNF... with the hope that I will finish it soon!

I am a huge sucker for anything Titanic and I was incredibly intrigued about this fictional take on the real-life event. It's obvious there has been a lot of research on the author's part and it makes for an incredibly authentic read. It enjoyed the sense that something was lurking on board the ship, although I had expected more of a horror element. It was actually more supernatural. An interesting premise and quite risky to use the Titanic as the backdrop but I think it worked.

I found the social history of The Deep intoxicating. I loved reading about the characters and their backstories along with their fates on board the Titanic. I was a little less intrigued by things that happened aboard the Brittanic but I was impressed with the way the author linked the tragic end of both ships and their passengers. I felt the paranormal element of the protagonist's story was sometimes a little muddled and difficult to follow, hence 4.5 stars instead of 5, but I was highly satisfied with the ending and once again, I savoured every word of this enchanting book. Alma Katsu remains one of my favourite authors by the beauty of her prose and her ability to bring the past so vividly to life.

4.5* rounded up.

I enjoyed Alma Katsu’s previous book and was looking forward to this one. Sounds like a very unusual premise; a blend of fact and fiction with a touch of the mysterious and supernatural. I enjoyed the first part and I felt there excitement around a maiden voyage on a huge liner was well portrayed. But the story became confusing with mixed narrative and switches in time. It seemed to break the flow and instead of it building to an exciting thriller, I found it became an effort to keep concentration and almost lost interest in reading further.

I guess a lot of research has gone into the story and it’s well written but bordering on dull. I’m disappointed and it’s not a book I’d recommend with enthusiasm.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

I don't seem to have the best track record when it comes to Alma Katsu's novels. No matter how much the summaries of Katsu's work entices me, the execution always seems to fall through which is a shame.

I think my expectations and the reality of this book were wildly different and left me with a lot of indifference. I didn't particularly care for any of these characters and the paranormal overtones weren't always clear to follow (or particularly spooky). Horror aboard the Titanic it was not.

The Deep was largely slow-paced with the air of nothing-of-interest-really-happens. I think this may be the last Katsu novel I attempt.

Extremely unsettling and atmospheric. In the best way! I’ve always been intrigued and morbidly-fascinated by the Titanic disaster and setting a horror/ghost story around the tragedy was nothing short of genius. Having read Alma Katsu’s precious novel The Hunger I knew I’d be in for a good read, but this one surpassed my expectations. She expertly captured the feel and tone of the excitement surrounding the maiden voyage, mixed with the trepidation and slowly creeping dread that built and built as the story unfolded. Extremely well-written. Highly recommended.

The Deep is the second book I have read by this author and I didn’t enjoy this anywhere near as much as the first one.
Though well written I still found this tedious and overly wordy and I never actually connected with the characters or the situations on any deeper level.
The way this constantly switched POV’s was a huge contributor in my disconnect. There were just too many narrators trying to get there two pence in leaving me a bit lost.
Also, the constant back and forth between past and present also threw me for a loop further alienating and confusing me.
The sinking of the Titanic and the massive loss of life involved is a momentous historical tragedy.
This combines fact with fiction adds in some supernatural elements and suspenseful mystery and The Deep is the end result.
The main character here is Annie Hebbley and we get to experience the past and present through her jumbled memory’s.
We’re also introduced to some colourful individuals all with there own backstories.
These described passengers on this last fatal voyage were flawed, human and diverse.
unfortunately what looked intriguing on paper paled in reality and this for me sank very much like its tragic namesake.
The last few chapters being the only thing that slightly salvaged it.
They were overall the best bits and prior to this I found myself heavily skimming.
This one was a disappointment if I’m honest, Such a shame as I was looking forward to it.
The writing itself here is fine a bit pretentious but not actually bad, I just didn’t really like this one at all and I was mostly disinterested.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of The Deep.

Horror and history are a great combination. I love Alma’s writing style and the vivid world she created. The research that has gone into this makes it authentic and helped me get into the story. I was drawn into the quiet supernatural story and although the book is long, I read it quite quickly. I highly recommend this book and author!

The Deep is the story of The Titanic re-imagined. The idea that something more sinister was at play during the time of The Titanic’s sinking really intrigued me. However, this was something completely different from what I was expecting. The horror aspect of the story wasn’t what I personally was looking for. I wanted more atmosphere, I just wanted it to be so much more. I’m terribly fascinated by the events that took place during the sinking, we all think we know what happened but what if it was completely different – this idea was what drew me into picking this one up.

You can tell that the author was very detailed and dedicated to the research needed to write a story of this magnitude. You’ve got to commend Katsu’s attention to detail. However, the book moved too slowly to keep my attention in the short term. I took over a week to finish this one which was a huge disappointment for me. I wanted to fall head over heels in love with it. The story is a tale of two halves – flashbacks to the protagonist’s time on HMHS Titanic and later HMHS Britannica, the two sister ships who weirdly both became a watery grave.

We meet Annie Hebbley who has spent a great deal of time in a mental institution after the sinking of the Titanic. As you can imagine it would have been a terribly traumatic event and I don’t doubt for one moment that it would have changed her. Annie however, felt unnaturally disjointed and borderline hysterical. Her obsession with a certain individual was strange and too forced it didn’t fit with the type of character she has been portrayed with previously.

I did enjoy the dual timelines. The revealing of incidents gave great insight to the events that led up to the sinking. It gave more tension and felt more real than just a flashback happening. I did get the impression that Annie was more damaged and untrustworthy than the story would have us believe. Could you really trust her thoughts and feelings? Something just didn’t add up. It’s no lie that I love the unreliable narrator trope and although this was one of the better aspects of The Deep it wasn’t captured as flawlessly as I had hoped it could have been.

The Deep had so much potential and although I enjoyed the majority of it the ending felt so incredibly rushed and like a bolt out of the blue it more or less ruined the work that the author had done into producing a mysterious tale of trauma, friendship and pain.

This is the second book by Alma Katsu that I have read and I must admit I enjoyed this one more. The story got a little confused at times as to who is Annie (the main character). The story starts off on the Titanic and Alma certain has done some research, the glamour was there. Plus the first class characters who you either loved or hated. Then the story moves to Britannic during the first world war. Also running through the book is a supernatural theme. I really enjoyed the historical references but at times had to re-read certain parts about Annie and her background. Overall I enjoyed the story.

This book was not what I expected!
I thought i would read about killer mermaids or sea beasts bringing down the Titanic. I thought it would be a fast-paced, every man for himself horror.
It was not, sadly, it was a meandering quiet plot set on a completely different ship. I don't know if it was portrayed this way by the publishers or if I had just expected too much.
Needless to say, I did not finish it. Maybe it would be more of a hit with historical fiction readers for than horror?

I was initially drawn to this book because of its association with the Titanic, as this is something that I've always been interested in.
When it started the story was instantly brought to life by the descriptions and you actually felt like you were there.
For me, the best part of The Deep had to be the story within the journal. It really did bring everything together.
But the book itself felt too long and winded. The book could have been significantly shorter and still accomplished what the author was trying to do.
There were certain characters, such as the boxers, who fell flat for me and the book could have done without.
Towards the end, primarily the last 10% of the novel, the excitement began to pick up again, so much so, too much was then crammed in. The ending itself was disappointing. After the story had been stretched out as it was, I was expecting a better resolution to it. But that's not what I got.
Normally I can read books quite quickly but this felt like it dragged on and on. I'm not sure if this was because I had less inclination to pick it up and resume reading or if there simply too many pages. It could definitely have done with being condensed.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved The Hunger by Alma Katsu, so I was looking forward to reading The Deep. It began really well and it’s beautifully written. It’s a mix of fact and fiction. It moves between 1912 as the Titanic sets sail on its maiden voyage and 1916, as its sister ship the Britannic, converted to a hospital picks up soldiers injured in the battlefields to take them back to England. There is a large cast of characters, some are real people and others are fictional; the stories on the two ships are told from their different perspectives.

The story revolves around Annie Hebbley, a stewardess on the Titanic and a nurse on the Britannic. It begins in 1916 when she is in an asylum and receives a letter from a friend, Violet Jessop (a real person) who had been on the Titanic with her, asking her to join her as nurse on the Britannic. Annie, however, has a dark secret in her past, which is slowly revealed – most of the time I was reading I couldn’t decide how much was real and how much imaginary. She grew up in Ireland and her mind is full of the fairy stories and superstitions her grandmother had told her. And things start to go wrong as soon as she boards the Titanic.

It didn’t grip me as much as The Hunger, although it’s a very atmospheric novel and I loved the way Alma Katsu has combined fact and fiction. The scenes on the Titanic convey the splendour of the ship, the wealth of the passengers and the contrasting conditions between the different classes of passengers, and the crew. Similarly, the stark conditions on The Britannic and the suffering of its passengers are vividly portrayed. Some of the passengers are convinced that the ship is haunted and there is a genuine sense of menace, of something sinister and supernatural waiting to strike them all. However, I didn’t think the supernatural elements were as convincing later on in the novel and I found the ending confusing.

It’s not a quick read, beginning slowly and, although at first I thought this was going to be a really engrossing novel, my interest began to flag later on. I was actually relieved when I finished it. That maybe because I knew the fate of the Titanic and I didn’t empathise with Annie, the main character. As historical fiction I think it works quite well, but the main focus of the book is not the sinking of the Titanic or of the Britannic – it’s the story of the passengers and crew of both ships. The supernatural elements just confused me – especially the ending, which is so ambiguous – just who was Annie Hebbley? It’s surreal and I suppose you just have to make your own mind up. It’s been in my mind ever since I finished reading.

My thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy.

The Deep is more accurately described as historical fiction with a tinge of the supernatural. I really enjoyed the detailed recreation of the Titanic. All the lavish decorations, luxurious accommodations of the first-class cabins and the wealthy passengers made the setting come alive. It contrasted with the stark Britannic, where the passengers are wounded soldiers of the First World War. Like many people after the release of the Titanic movie I used to read about the ill-fated liner so I recognised some familiar names of real people on board the ship. The book has taken liberties with regard to their personalities, histories and sexualities so it was interesting.

The main character, Annie, is an unreliable narrator and I couldn’t really relate to her. Her actions are more frustrating than suspenseful. The book tries to make a commentary about gender disparity but it’s hard to take it seriously when the main plot involves three women fighting for one man, Mark. There are more than 10 POVs but not all of these characters get a resolution. The ending is rushed and a little silly in light of the actual real life tragedy. I admit I found this book disappointing after anticipating it so much. I would say give this a go if you’re looking for a historical fiction with a dose of the supernatural but don’t expect to be terrified.

This is a book that starts off in a pretty harmless, if tragic way, and goes on to weave the stories of the Titanic and the Britannic together. Annie Hebley is an ex-stewardess from the Titanic, and when we first meet her she is a patient in an asylum. A fellow stewardess invites her to work on the Britannic some years later (1916), after it has been converted in to a hospital ship. Without any nursing experience, other than what she has watched the nurses do in the asylum, Annie accepts the job.

As soon as she sets foot on the Britannic, the memories of that fateful Titanic journey come flooding back to her. The atmosphere on the voyage in the lead up to the Titanic's destruction, can only be described as menacing. The passengers are fascinating - there's a real mix of people that we learn about. There is something definitely not quite right about the ship, but I was never able to put my finger on it (and I think that was intended). And that feeling follows Annie on to the Britannic.

I always think the unseen menace is far more frightening than what can be seen, and I really enjoyed this approach. I loved learning the backstories of the passengers, and the eventual reveal of Annie's story too. It really is historical fiction with a twist (that twist leaving me with a reluctance to ever get on a ship, if I'm honest). How Annie ever gets up the courage to board the Britannic, I'll never know.

If you know your history surrounding these two boats, you'll have a pretty good idea how this all ends, but it's the journey, isn't it? And it's also the way in which Alma Katsu manipulates that history that I really enjoyed. If you like your historical fiction a bit dark, a bit gothic, then you'll really like this. I did.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

I enjoyed the author's previous novel, The Hunger and was interested to read this take on the story of the Titanic. A ghost story that also tried to be a love story which did not work for me. Told in dual timelines, each set on the sister ships Titanic and Brittanic, the most interesting fact was the true story of the maid who survived both ships sinking. Three stars for atmosphere and research.

Annie, a maid, manages to flee the Titanic before it sinks and later ends up in an asylum. When she receives a letter from a friend, she goes out to sea again. But is the ship she is working on haunted?

Told in dual timelimes, this is a story about the Titanic like none I have ever read and watched before. I did not find it that scary, even though Katsu is great at creating atmosphere and drawing the reader into the story. An interesting read and twist on the Titanic-story.