Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Review: Salt & Storm

SALT & STORM
Kendall Kulper
Young Adult/Historical Fantasy
416 pages
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Available September 23rd
Source: BEA

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Sixteen-year-old Avery Roe wants only to take her rightful place as the witch of Prince Island, making the charms that keep the island's whalers safe at sea, but her mother has forced her into a magic-free world of proper manners and respectability. When Avery dreams she's to be murdered, she knows time is running out to unlock her magic and save herself.

Avery finds an unexpected ally in a tattooed harpoon boy named Tane--a sailor with magic of his own, who moves Avery in ways she never expected. Becoming a witch might stop her murder and save her island from ruin, but Avery discovers her magic requires a sacrifice she never prepared for.


MY THOUGHTS
Salt & Storm is a heavier read, death and darkness weighing us down with each chapter as we slowly uncover the price Avery must pay to access the birthright of her magic. The beauty of love exists solely in the shadow of Death’s hooded figure, and no matter how Avery tries to escape it, that shadow dogs her heels from page one to four hundred. While the heaviness of this story can be attributed in large part to the subject matter itself, the writing is another contributing factor, this story favoring both descriptive details and tangential anecdotes, sending us on brief jaunts to the past as Avery recalls specific moments in order to introduce us to particular people or places in the present. This style, though helpful in creating a vivid picture of Avery’s small whaling town, does slow the overall pace of her story down quite a bit, combining with the pain and sacrifice required to become the Roe witch to leave us in need of light and happy reads for the weeks following our closing of the back cover.

From the beginning, Avery erects a number of roadblocks that keep us from settling in beside her as she fights to prevent her death dream from becoming a reality, her behavior that of someone exceedingly selfish whose sole focus is the harm done unto her without once looking outward to see what harm her words or actions causes others. With Tane in particular she is at times extraordinarily argumentative, screaming at him for his inability to help her (despite his best efforts) while refusing to acknowledge that she too has failed in her own promise to help him interpret his dreams. She does at least recognize when her anger gets the better of her, but is almost never able to stop it from spilling past her lips and finding its target in either Tane or her mother, and while we’ve all been there many a time when stress levels get to be more than we can handle, the repetitive nature of her actions keeps our capacity for forgiveness frighteningly low.

Avery is in no way all bad however, once she resigns herself to the fact that she won’t be able to escape her dream’s prediction, she puts all her considerable focus into finally aiding Tane. His needs suddenly outweigh her own desires, and she oh-so slowly in the latter half of this book becomes a young woman we actually want to see find her happiness even though we know the chances of her reaching the last chapter without a body or heart riddled with scars is highly unlikely. Tane, for his part, is infinitely patient with Avery, enduring her impressive mood swings with lopsided smiles and calming assurances, and never once stooping to her level to fire back at her with insults of his own.

Overall, Salt & Storm is not an easy read for a number of reasons, a tricky heroine and a story steeped in tragedy and heartbreak making this a book more easily digested in smaller pieces rather than consumed all at once. Despite those issues however, Ms. Kulper is undeniably a talented writer and storyteller, and most certainly someone I would read again.

Rating: 3.5/5



Find Kendall:



This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

26 comments:

  1. Hmmm, I'm not sure what to think of this one, Jenny. On one hand, it sounded quite difficult to read but on the other, I'm particularly intrigued by the tragedy this book is poising its readers to uncover. Tane sounds like a fantastic character but I admit I don't have that much patience with over-the-top descriptions and angsty heroines. I think I need to think real hard before I picked this one up. Lovely review though! :)

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    1. I really enjoyed Tane, the romance just wasn't quite as believable for me since Avery was so frustrating at times, but I thought the setting was amazing and I loved the history of the Roe witches:)

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  2. I've been reading some mixed reviews for this one and your review definitely still has me intrigued though. I think I'll pick it up next, but I am sure that I won't be blown away. You say the story is filled with tragedy and heartbreak, which really has me sort of bummed b/c sometimes I have a hard time with this. I had high hopes for this book; nonetheless, I will hopefully check it out soon. Thanks for the honest review!

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    1. I'll definitely be interested to see what you think Christina! There was a lot to like about this one, I just wanted more from Avery and I would have loved a certain something not to happen toward the end ;-)

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  3. I'm actually really glad I found out about the ending before I read the book and decided not to pick it up. I think I would be insanely bothered by the main character. She doesn't sound like someone who is easy to connect with with all her anger issues. I'm also not sure how I would feel about the vivid writing that slowed down the plot. This is not the book for me right now, unfortunately. I'm sad because I've been waiting for this for such a long time! :(
    Lovely review, Jenny.

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    1. It definitely has one of our deal breakers Nick! *shakes fist at book* That event was hard for me to deal with, but it at least fit the story and didn't feel like it was put in just for shock value.

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  4. Hmm. A main character with mood swings? I go through enough of those on my own to want to read them in a book. o.O

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    1. Haha me too. I always wonder if there's some reader out there rolling her eyes at me as she reads my story ;-)

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  5. I think I would need to be in the right mind frame to read this but I still think I would want to eventually. Gorgeous review Jenny!

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    1. DEFINITELY a mood read Ali! If you're feeling like something light and happy with an HEA, this is not the book to pick up. It's better suited to a cold, wintery day when you're in the mood to shed a few tears ;-)

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  6. Oh I really like the sound of this one and even though darker reads aren't usually my thing I really want to read this one. But I think I'll leave it for some winter days as I'm still trying to enjoy a bit lighter reads while there is still sun :D Anyhow I'm glad you enjoyed this one and great review, Jenny :)

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    1. A good idea Tanja! This book is a bit of a downer, but there were definitely a number of things I liked about it:)

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  7. I definitely wanted more from Avery, Felicia. Her anger was so misplaced, and while I get that she needed an outlet for her anger, I wanted to shake her a time or two:)

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  8. Pick it up when your in the right mood for a couple new emotional scars Heidi! I didn't mind the overall heaviness of the story, but it's definitely not the type of feeling I would rush to experience again.

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  9. I think you definitely need to be a in a certain mood or mindset to pick this one up. I'll consider it but it's not at the top of my list especially with a frustrating character and meh romance.

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  10. The heroine sounds quite complicated in her acts and choices. I didn't know this one I confess but I don't know... I'll maybe wait a little more for reviews to know what to do.

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  11. Surprisngly I remember really connecting with this story and enjoying it a few months back. I admired our herione if only for the strength she decided to show every once in a while and in helping Tane with everything. She was definetly a difficult character to contend with but I still ended up warming up to her. I also really enjoyed the ending. I wasn't expecting it and it did hit me. Great review :)

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  12. Oh right, this one. I heard about it..somewhere, kind of intriguing

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  13. I am quite curious about this one and have been for a while, but after reading your review I'm not sure if it's a book for me to read right now. Heavy books full of heartbreak and anger might not be ideal for a while!
    Still, I'm gonna keep this one on the wish list for a later date!
    Thanks for a fantastic review as always, Jenny!

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  14. With such a huge work load in college I know I can't do smaller doses of tragic and depressing reading. I need smaller doses of romance or action or just an uplifting genre. I'm glad you found many qualities to enjoy, though, Jenny, and I'll be looking out for early reviews on the sequel to this. It seems to be a series with promise and if that is, in fact, the case then I'll be looking further into this one for sure. :)

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  15. I love witches. What I love more than witches is DARK witches. Or some having a dark, heavy story hehe ...so I'm very curious about this one :D And yeah the ratings aren't high on GR but I still really need to give it a try. Thanks for the review, Jenny xx

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  16. I like when books like this are darker. I may have to give this one a try.

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  17. I started this one and couldn't get into it, but I was hoping to give it another try. I think I might wait and put it on the back burner for now. Knowing Avery remains a rather difficult character and that the story is full of tragedy and heartbreak, I'm not sure I'm in a rush to get back into it. I'm a chicken, I need happier reads right now! :-) Lovely review!

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  18. To be honest, I didn't accept to review this because I had a feeling I wouldn't like it. Now that I know more about Avery, I know I've made the right decision. Although I really enjoy darker books, especially when they're done just right, unsympathetic heroines rarely work for me. I think i'd like Tane, though. :)

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  19. Hhmm, I have not heard much about this book but a trickey heroine might not do well with me. I don't like a girl who can not make up her mind or isn't set on what she wants. Thanks for sharing your review.

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  20. We definitely agree on this one! I'm still a little sad that I didn't connect better to Avery and the story. Set up wise, it is pretty much a perfect book for me, but it just didn't deliver how I wanted. :(

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