Everyone knows the story of the "unsinkable" but doomed Titanic, but have you ever considered what really caused its demise?  Was it truly just an iceberg or something decidedly more ... ominous?  

Atmospheric and eerie, Alma Katsu's newest historical novel, The Deep, explores the idea of something both sinister and supernatural haunting Titanic.  It's told (mostly) from the viewpoint of Annie Hebbley, a 22-year-old Irish woman who takes a job as a stewardess on the great ship.  The voyage is barely underway before strange things start happening all over the vessel; Annie's not the only one who thinks something otherworldly might be afoot.  She tries to concentrate on her job, but she soon becomes obsessed with the wealthy couple to whom she's been assigned.  As Titanic moves toward its inevitable fate, Annie becomes more and more distressed by everything that's going on.

Although Annie survives Titanic's sinking, she's so traumatized by the experience that she's hospitalized for mental health issues.  A few years later, when an old colleague encourages her to apply for a nursing position aboard Titanic's sister ship, Britannic—which has been repurposed as a hospital ship for injured soldiers—she's hesitant to go back to sea.  Her psychiatrist, however, thinks confronting her fears might be the healthiest thing she can do.  Once aboard, however, Annie encounters a figure from her Titanic days.  As past and present collide, she senses once again that something not quite of this world is sailing alongside Britannic.  What does the malevolent presence want?  Will Britannic and her passengers survive whatever happens next?

I'm not a believer in the supernatural, but I still find The Deep's premise fascinating.  Katsu succeeds in creating the perfect setting for a spooky novel by utilizing two doomed ships as backdrops, then infusing them with a creepy, unearthly vibe that makes the whole tale uniquely chilling.  Although the story is peopled with interesting characters, none of them are very likable.  All are flawed and some of them are revealed as unrelentingly self-centered, snobbish, and greedy.  This made it tough to really connect with any of them.  Plotwise, The Deep plods along like, well, a large ship at sea.  The action picks up toward the end, heading toward a finale I found disappointing.  While the novel is definitely interesting with a haunting tone I enjoyed, it's also sad, depressing, and executed in a way I didn't love, which stinks because I really, really wanted to adore this one.  Bummer.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other novels about Titanic, although I haven't encountered any others with a supernatural element.  You?)

Twenty years ago, 6-year-old Arden Maynor made national headlines after being swept away during a flood while sleepwalking outside her home.  Her miraculous survival following three harrowing days in a drainage pipe brought all kinds of attention to Arden and her mother.  While they welcomed donations from well-meaning donors, they also received disturbing communications from people with less honorable intentions, especially after Arden's mom memorialized her young daughter in a bestselling tell-all. 

Tired of being exploited by both the media and her mother, Arden fled Widow Hills.  Now known as Olivia Meyer, she's made a new life for herself in rural North Carolina.  Desperate to move on from her past, she's panicked about the upcoming twentieth anniversary of her rescue.  No one in her new town knows who she really is and she wants to keep it that way.  When the stress causes her to start sleepwalking again, just as she did as a child, Arden becomes understandably distressed.  When she awakes outside her house with a dead body at her feet and blood on her hands, she's terrified.  Did she kill the man, a figure from her childhood?  Why?  What did he want from her?  As Arden's past and present collide, she searches frantically for answers.  Fame almost suffocated her once—she'll do anything to prevent it from happening again ...

If you dig a twisty, propulsive read, you've probably already discovered Megan Miranda's pulse-pounding thrillers.  I'm a fan, so I'm always excited when the author comes out with a new book.  Miranda's latest, The Girl From Widow Hills, isn't my favorite of hers, but it's still a riveting story that had me flying through its pages.  The novel uses intimate first-person narration to draw the reader into Arden's present as well as a series of articles, interview transcripts, and other snippets to fill in Arden's back story, which keeps the tale fresh, engaging, and suspenseful.  Although the ending is abrupt, leaving me with questions, it still caught me off-guard.  I read so many of these kinds of books that I'm rarely surprised by them anymore, so it's nice when that happens.  While The Girl From Widow Hills didn't absolutely knock my socks off, I still enjoyed it overall.  Miranda is a master of her craft and I'll never not be interested to see what she does next.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other books by Megan Miranda as well as those by Lisa Jewell and Gilly Macmillan)

Grade:  

Quinn Langston has always wanted a family of her own.  With no marriage prospects on the horizon, the 36-year-old interior designer is considering using a sperm donor to have a baby on her own—just like her best friend, Brooke Adams, did.  Then, Brooke dies suddenly and unexpectedly from a brain aneurysm.  Although Brooke's 3-year-old daughter, Lily, is technically under the guardianship of her 79-year-old grandmother, Quinn steps up to care for both the little girl and elderly Miss Margaret.  Aiding the two helps Quinn grieve while also fulfilling her desire for a family.  

Then, Miss Margaret throws Quinn a curveball.  She wants to find Lily's birth father, insisting that only family can raise family.  

When Zach Bradley donated his sperm back in college, he was thinking only about the money it would earn him, not about the children it could produce.  Although he's shocked by the reality of having a child, Zach's prepared to step up.  One problem:  his wife, who has struggled for years to have a baby, can't stand the thought of watching him play daddy to another woman's baby.  They're already in the middle of a move to faraway Seattle.  What does Zach really owe Lily and her family?

As the lives of Quinn, Zach, Margaret, and Zach's wife, Jessica, converge, all of them will learn important lessons about love, duty, sacrifice, and what it really means to be a family.

She Gets That From Me by Robin Wells is an engrossing novel with an intriguing and very contemporary conflict at its core.  It's peopled with a likable cast, each member of which I found sympathetic, even if I didn't agree with their particular choices and viewpoints.  While the plot is mostly predictable, the story still kept me engaged.  It's warm, upbeat, and heartfelt.  Quinn and Zach both struck me as a little too perfect—each needed some annoying flaws to make them more human.  I also chuckled at Quinn's almost seamless transition into single motherhood and her "struggles" with parenting.  True, a little whining and projectile vomit isn't fun, but it's hardly the pinnacle of problems when it comes to dealing with a young child, especially one whose world has been rocked by death and upheaval.  I get that She Gets That From Me strives to present single parenting by choice in a positive, respectful light, but I wish it had been a little more authentic.  I've been through four 3-year-olds and it wasn't easy, even with a loving partner to help me deal with them!  Quinn's experience just felt inauthentic, which made me roll my eyes instead of connect more strongly with her.  These complaints aside, I enjoyed She Gets That From Me.  Its premise is intriguing, its characters are relatable, its vibe is buoyant, and its lessons are valuable.  Despite its flaws, I found it an engaging and thought-provoking read.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything.  You?)

It's Top Ten Tuesday time again and today's topic is a fun one:  Top Ten Quotes for Book Lovers.  I love me a great bookish quote.  I even have a pretty journal where I record them so I won't forget them.  True, I'm not always good about jotting quotes down, so I'm going to be relying heavily on Google today.  Nevertheless, I'm excited to read everyone's favorite quotes and see whether ours overlap at all.

If you're not aware, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted every week by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.  To join in, all you have to do is click on over to her blog, read a few instructions, craft your own list, then hop around the book blogosphere spreading the bookish love.  It's a good time, I promise!

George R.R. Martin:  "A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies.  The man who never reads lives only one."

Emily Dickinson:  "There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away."

Anna Quindlen:  "I would be content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves."

Helen Exley:  "Books can be dangerous.  The best ones should be labeled 'This could change your life.'"

W. Somerset Maugham:  "To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life."

E.M. Forster:  "Some people pride themselves in the books they own ... but one never owns a book by buying it.  One buys merely paper and thread and printer's ink.  The only way to own a book is to read it and let it digest into the blood of one's heart and the marrow of one's bones or even the cells of one's brain."

Kate DiCamillo (from The Tale of Despereaux):  "'Once upon a time,' he said out loud to the darkness.  He said these words because they were the best, the most powerful words that he knew and just the saying of them comforted him."

Maureen Johnson (from Truly Devious):  "Where her books were, she was."

Gordon B. Hinckley:  "There is something wonderful about a book.  We can pick it up.  We can heft it.  We can read it.  We can set it down.  We can think of what we have read.  It does something for us.  We can share minds, great actions, and great undertakings in the pages of a book."

Alan Bennett (from The Uncommon Reader):  "'I would have thought,' said the prime minister, 'that Your Majesty was above literature.'

'Above literature?' said the Queen.  'Who is above literature?  You might as well say one is above humanity.'"

And a bonus:

Gabrielle Zevin (from The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry):  "People tell boring lies about politics, God, and love.  You know everything you need to know about a person from the answer to the question, What is your favorite book?"

What do you think of my selections?  What are your favorite bookish quotes?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave a comment on this post and I will return the favor on your blog.