Author: Aaron Galvin
Release Date: April 18th 2014
Series: Salt #1
Genre: YA, Romance, Fantasy
Edition: Kindle (mobi)
Pages: 6243
Publisher: Aames & Abernathy
Source: Author
Buy it here: Amazon

Blurb

Life isn’t better under the sea. Lenny Dolan is all too familiar with this reality. A Selkie slave in the realm beneath the waves, he has no choice when charged with leading a crew ashore to capture an elusive runaway. If unsuccessful, the loved ones kept behind will pay for his failure with their lives. But when their target leads Lenny and his crew to deeper, darker secrets, the Selkies are faced with a moral dilemma. Secure their own freedom at the expense of others, or return empty-handed to face the grisly consequences? How Lenny and his crew answer the question will teach them the harshest truth of all. Only through the loss of innocence does one become Salted.

Rating

Review

Plot/Story:

I really loved the overall story and the author’s intriguing ideas of the life undersea, however I was craving for more (of the right) details. I wanted to know and understand better of how this world works other than just a few images here and there.

The first few chapters were hard to read as the author showed us from the start tons of characters and I got a bit lost in all of that. After a while I lost interest fast and some bits were a bit more confusing (I read the first few chapters three times), but soon after that, I dived (lol) deeper into the story and from there on it was a fast pace read.

This book deals with a lot of hard issues (slavery, bullying and more), but in a great way, that is not overpowering (truly is). I loved that even though the world is unique the characters stays real to what you find in a regular high school.

Characters:

The characters were nicely written, but were too stereotyped and somewhere in the middle of the book, it started to get a bit annoying (sorry). There are a few strong characters that are also very well written, but the others just weren’t.

Romance/Kills:

I loved the relationship between Garrett and Chidi. And I loved them as individual characters, but I also loved seeing their relationship grow…

(I really don’t want to give any more details on that, in order to keep this review spoiler free).

Writing:

The story is very creative and I did love the author’s writing style. I loved how Aaron (the author) took a very unique idea and turned It into a wonderful read, full of great characters, plot and world.
There were a few missing details and a few “plot holes” here and there, but not too noticeable.

Beginning:

As I said the start was a bit too much and a bit confusing, I just got lost, lol and lost my interest fast.

Ending:

The story ends well and pretty much with a cliffhanger, but I loved that here. It kept my interest and I really want to know what will happen next 😀

Cover Art:

I didn’t like the cover much. I think with the unique idea the author made, it could use a more suitable cover.

Blurb:

The blurb was actually really nice, with a subtle hint of what the reader will see in the book.

You can also read this review at Goodreads and Amazon.

Other Stuff

Opening Line: “Lenny Dolan never asked for a Salted life. No one smart ever did.”

Highlights: I love the overall writing style of the author and the wonderful and unique Idea. I loved that the author tried to talk about some harsh subject and for my taste he done that pretty well.

Lowlights: Too ‘high school’ for my taste and a bit confusing (at the beginning).

Final Thoughts: Even though I gave this book 3.5 starts, I would still like to read the next one and see how things progress, but I do believe that this series is much more suitable for a much younger audience than me, lol. I think a young audience that is still in school or just finished school will love reading this book 🙂

Review contributor:

Galit Balli

I am an avid reader, coffee addict, a writer and a blogger. I am a bit of agoraphobic (people scare me, lol). Me and my hubby love to spend every moment together, we even game together.

I live mostly in my own imaginary world full of dragons, magic and vampires and from time to time I pull myself away to deal with the real world.

Read more about Galit here.