A beautifully written dark gothic fantasy I almost wish I had saved for October, I read this so quickly though, I would be happy to re-read during spooky season. 

An old dark house, a family with dark secrets, dark creatures and witches, all the ingredients for a dark gothic fantasy book, the writing is very atmospheric and haunting. I found the world-building to be very dark and well-written. Set in 19th-century Ireland, we are introduced to the last members of the O'Malley family who, after making an old dark pact with the sea and the creatures, have always prospered in their small town. However, things have changed as there are very few "true" O'Malleys left, and over the years they have been unable to uphold their end of the mysterious bargain. 

Mirin, our main character, lives at her ancestral home Hobs Hallow, a sea side estate falling into disrepair, with her grandparents, Aoife and Óisín, after her parents died when she was a child. But when her grandfather dies, Mirin discovers a secret revealed in a collection of old letters, leading her to believe her parents are alive and in fact abandoned her as a child to flee the responsibility of the mysterious O'Malley pact with the sea creatures around Hobs Hallow, and are now living in a place called Blackwater, a place no one seems to have heard of before.

After this revelation, it is also made clear that Mirin's grandmother plans to restore the O'Malley legacy through Mirin's arranged marriage, to her rich and abusive cousin Aidan, who has ambitions to take over Hobs Hallow, renovate it and become master of the few ships the O'Malleys have left. Before this can occur however, Mirin decides it's time to leave and seek out her estranged parents, and after the unexpected and suspicious death of her grandmother, she has no reason to stay anymore. 

Throughout the book, we are told about the mysteries of the sea and its ties to the O’Malley family history, since she was a child, Miren has been told stories from an old family book of fairy tales. I liked the way these stories are then told to the reader, of merpeople and other creatures and hints at the dark deal the O'Malleys made all those years go, as it is through these stories that some family secrets are revealed to the reader, you are almost left wondering what was true and what may have been embellished. 

Mirin's journey to find her parents involves run-ins with a variety of dark creatures, such as kelpies, ghosts, merpeople and more, which really added to the gothic element of the story. We are also told of witches and small magical acts can be performed by ordinary people, including Mirin.

As the story progresses, it gets darker and darker and even more mysterious. Everything that happens when Mirin reaches Blackwater was very unexpected but it tied everything together quite nicely. 
I did also like that this was a stand alone and we get the whole story by the end of the book, answering questions, and finding out about the dark pact made all those years ago. 

A very entertaining read, and I am looking forward to reading more by A.G. Slatter in October.