I got this book from TBF Live 2016, where some strange combination of fate and alchemy landed it on the arc table just in time for my winning ticket to snap it up. Erin was jealous. (She can borrow it.)
First, let me just say, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Okay. Now that’s out of the way. There will be spoilers below, though I will try not to say very specific things about the end.
I was NOT prepared to read this book. I was under the impression that it was about love and slightly historical.
Is there love? Yes– it’s integral to the story.
Is it slightly historical? Yes.
However.
There is SO MUCH MORE that I wish I had been warned about. To be fair, I really should have read the inside flap of the cover, but I wanted a little mystery.
I got it.
I love this book so much that it hurts. I identified with the main character, but not so much that she felt like a cardboard cutout. I adored the side characters. The romance was whirlwind, but properly explained and understood as such. There was mystery. There was horror. There was blood. There was fighting. There was friendship. There was magic.
This is truly one of those books that has a little bit of everything.
TRAGICALLY, I didn’t realize until the book was over that it is THE FIRST IN A SERIES. I was under the impression that it was a standalone, so up until the very last page, I waited with bated breath for the denouement. How will they tie the f’ing ends together? I wondered. Any moment now. Alas, it was not to be. I would have screamed in frustration at the end of the book if it hadn’t been about 2:00 am when I finished it.
Side note: don’t stay up reading until 2:00 am if you have to be at work by 7:00 am. You will be sleepy, and the kiddies will give you side-eye. I wasn’t out partying, I promise. Toddlers can smell exhaustion.
Every time I thought that I knew what was going on, this book threw me a curveball. Even to the very last page, I had no idea how things were going to turn out. I STILL don’t know how things are going to turn out! I’m going to have to go back and read it again to see whether I can pick up anything else, but not for a bit. I have an embarrassingly long TBR queue that I’ve been neglecting.
I don’t think I’ll breathe easy until this series is finished. Reading this book is like jumping into a lake and accidentally smushing your toes in the mud on the bottom. Hopefully I surface soon.
Until then,
From my bookshelf to yours,
Laura
I remember hearing about Blood and Salt. Everyone was buzzing about when it first was announced then it was like it disappeared from everyone’s radar. This review reminds how much I wanted to read this book.
Now you say there is romance. Does it takeover the book?
Great review! I love it when a story keeps me up pass my bedtime. Although I do regret it in the morning lol.