A Curse of Salt by Sarah Street

Pages: 340 

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books 

Released: 25th of May 2023 

A heartless king trapped by a curse

A brave sister searching for answers

And a love so strong it will drown the raging sea ...

THIS FAIRYTALE IS CURSED

Prepare for stormy seas and swoony romance in this addictive retelling of Beauty and the Beast set on board a cursed ship where love blooms in the darkest of hearts ...

A heartless beast

A sister's sacrifice

And a love so strong it will drown the raging sea ...

THIS FAIRYTALE IS CURSED

In a kingdom that fears the sea, Ria Lucroy longs to be brave.

Bodies are washing ashore and everyone knows who's to blame. Legends of the Heartless King shroud the continent in fear; they call him a pirate, a monster, a god. When his mercenaries raid her father's merchant ship, Ria's family is faced with a horrifying demand. They will spare his life, in exchange for one of his daughters.

Determined to save her sisters, Ria launches herself into the world of pirates. Face-to-face with the Heartless King, she finds he is far more than the stories told. He is a man, with a human name and blood-stained hands, bound to the seas by a centuries-old curse. As their chemistry blooms into something more, Ria finds herself caught in an ancient web of secrets.

Battling creatures of the deep alongside those that reign its surface, Ria discovers how to love a heartless man and that some curses aren't so easy to break.

What I Have to Say 

What could be better than a version of beauty and the beast set on a pirate ship, I really loved this book. I have read so many retellings of beauty and the beast, but they always manage to surprise me. And this one is completely unlike any I've ever read.  The addition of pirates to this fairy tale just made it perfect for me. 

Ria is a wonderful character. I really liked her loyalty, her daring and her pluck. She was everything I love in a YA main character. Pairing her with the Heartless King and fitting her into the rest of the crew, made for just the perfect cast of characters. I loved every single one of them and it really felt like they fit together as a good crew. 

The prose in this book was beautiful, making it a joy to read as well as being just a damned good story. 

I want more adventures from this crew and this ship!! 

5 stars 

My thanks goes to Hodder and Netgalley for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

Where the Wild Cherries Go by Laura Madeleine

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 368

Publisher:  Transworld 

Released: 23nd of March 2017 

I closed my eyes as I tried to pick apart every flavour, because nothing had ever tasted so good before.It was love and it could not be hidden.

It is 1919 and the end of the war has not brought peace for Emeline Vane. Lost in grief, she is suddenly alone at the heart of a depleted family. She can no longer cope. And just as everything seems to be slipping beyond her control, in a moment of desperation, she boards a train and runs away.

Fifty years later, a young solicitor on his first case finds Emeline’s diary. Bill Perch is eager to prove himself but what he finds in the tattered pages of neat script goes against everything he has been told. He begins to trace a story of love and betrayal that will send him on a journey to discover the truth. What really happened to Emeline all those years ago?

What I Have to Say 

This book is many things. At it's heart is a mystery. It's about what happened to Emeline and how Bill will go about tracking her down. It's about whether Bill will choose to do what is right and search for a long missing woman, or file the correct paperwork and move on with his life. But at it's heart, it's about identity. It's about Bill and Emeline finding who they are meant to be. 

Emeline's life has been completely shattered by the war and by the influenza that came after it. She has nothing left to hold on to. This story more than anything is about whether she'll ever be able to get away from the past and that was the mystery that kept me reading until the very last page. It wasn't about anything other than will Emeline ever find peace. 

The description is the best part of the book. The passages of wreckage and abandonment of the house where Emeline once lived and the ones of beauty and culture that form her new life. The food and people that she finds at the edge of France are so vividly described. 

This book is not for the hungry as there are many very detailed descriptions of food and cooking. I found it amazing that I was able to identify spices such as paprika from just a description of the tastes. 

A beautiful book that evokes every sense and falling deep into the narrative. 

My thanks go to Penguin Random House for providing me with this copy for review.