To those familiar with Nina LaCour's writing, it should come as no surprise that loss and grief are prominent themes in Watch Over Me. There is a sense of sadness that pervades the novel, infusing all of its characters with a tragic feeling of melancholia. However, unlike LaCour's other works, her latest dabbles in magical realism as ghosts (both literal and metaphorical) are recurring motifs throughout the story. The remoteness of the setting, the mysterious fog, and the crashing waves of the surrounding sea all evoke the atmosphere of a classic gothic novel. And, true to the gothic tradition, Watch Over Me combines horror (in the form of abuse), death (spirits), and romance (self-love) in its storytelling to create a beautiful allegory about dealing with loss and healing from trauma.