Series: Stand-Alone
Author: Kendall Kulper
Release date: September 23, 2014
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genres: fantasy, witches, historical fiction
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You don't know what you must give up to become a witch.
Avery Roe wants only to claim her birthright as the witch of Prince Island and to make the charms that have kept the island's sailors safe at sea for generations, but instead she is held prisoner by her mother in a magic-free life of proper manners and respectability.
Avery thinks escape is just a matter of time, but when she has a harrowing nightmare, she can see what it means: She will be killed. She will be murdered. And she's never been wrong before.
Desperate to change her future, Avery finds a surprising ally in Tane—a tattooed harpoon boy with magic of his own, who moves her in ways she never expected. But as time runs out to unlock her magic and save herself, Avery discovers that becoming a witch requires unimaginable sacrifice.
Avery walks the knife's edge between choice and destiny in Kendall Kulper's sweeping debut: the story of one girl's fight to survive the rising storm of first love and family secrets.
I received this copy of Salt & Storm from Netgalley for review. Thank you!
Review:It’s been roughly two months since I finished reading Salt & Storm and my opinion of the book has surprisingly not changed. It’s pretty fantastic! If I were to summarize my feelings in as few words as possible it would be: beautiful history, annoying main character, cute main love interest, tragic ending. But it’s so much more than that!
Avery Roe is our protagonist. She’s the legacy of her family - the youngest heir to be the witch of Prince Island. Her grandmother supports her, her mother does not. Her mother has done everything, and will do anything to keep Avery from becoming the witch. All Avery knows is being the witch. She’s been waiting her entire life, learning about it, growing into this role. When her mother whisks her away against her wishes, cue incredible whining. At the same time where I understand where Avery is coming from - she’s a teenager whose future has been ripped away after all - she does not once try to get direct answers from her mother. If she did, then I apologize for forgetting. I feel as if SO much of this book could’ve been avoided if her mother had simply spoken to her, but then again, teenagers are terrible listeners. Avery doesn’t get any less annoying throughout the book, honestly. By the end, she’s a little more tolerable but only because she has to be. Winning point: she’s not boring. Reading her story wasn’t a chore at all.
Tane is our wonderful main love interest. However, all of Avery’s scenes with Tane grated on my nerves. He is the cookie-cutter love interest (so helpful, so handsome) and she continually treated him badly. She just wanted someone to take her anger out on and he gladly took it (for reasons unbeknownst to me). He didn’t deserve it. They were strangers. Their whole relationship was developed badly in my opinion, but I also like them together because I think he would make her a better person.
The actual best part of this entire book: the Roe witches. Their history is absolutely stunning! I love how there are stories and talents for each witch. I wish there was more about them, more of a focus on them, something, anything! I just became so enticed with the story when Avery would think about the witches before her. *insert sigh*
If you can tolerate annoying protagonists with wonderfully created historical worlds and cute boys sprinkled in, Salt & Storm is for you!
Rating: 4 stars
Glad to see that you liked this one! I received an ARC but... for some reason I just couldn't get into it. It's not the book's fault, though - I for one just am not into long descriptions and I found this book to be full of it. My co-blogger really liked it, though, to the point of giving it 4 stars, I think? She really liked the historical aspect, too ^_^
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