[Review] Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper

ABOUT

Title: Salt & Storm

Author: Kendall Kulper

Series: N/A

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Release Date: September 23rd 2014

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Source: e-ARC via NetGalley

Synopsis:
A sweeping historical romance about a witch who foresees her own murder--and the one boy who can help change her future.

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.

I received an e-ARC via Little, Brown Books for Young Readers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This fact in no shape or form affects my review. Except for the existence of the review itself. I received no compensation for this review in any way.This is my honest opinion of the work.

If you don't know, I also did an early release review of SALT & STORM entirely in GIFs, which you can check it out here.

This is a fantastic historical paranormal read. I haven't read a book about witches that I enjoyed this much in some time. The concept of how the Roe women get their power is really well done and I didn't anticipate for it turn out in the way it did.

I enjoyed Avery's character with her stubbornness and her ambition to become the witch of Prince Island. She's a very typical teenager in a sense in which she hates her mother for keeping her away from her grandmother and therefore also preventing her from learning the Roe tradition of witchcraft. It's written in a way that in the beginning I thought that her mother was being senselessly cruel, but later the reasons behind her mother's actions are revealed.

Tane is an interesting character since he also has magic of his own and comes from a different island. Avery's grandmother always warned her about strange magics. Obviously, he's the love interest and as I was reading, their relationship just seemed to start out of nowhere. I was like, "Whoa. Okay." I would have liked to learn a little more about Tane, though it doesn't seem like that's going to happen because this book seems to be a stand alone.

The incorporation of all the whales in this book is interesting and especially since the book takes place in an era where there is so much dependency on whales for their oil and for corset boning. Avery goes into a little rant about whales and all their purposes and how the island and the whalers know that the whale population is declining, but those who use the whale products most often, away from the industry, are unaware.

I have a lot of feels for this book. I pretty much sobbed through the last quarter of the book. It's an incredibly original story and one of the most fantastic reads I've had all year. I'm definitely picking up a copy when it releases, no matter what my wallet says. (Sorry, wallet!)

Happy Reading!