Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper

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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.

If you’re looking to be transported to a different time, Salt & Storm should be your top pick. It was amazing to be taken to a place that is so far removed from the world as I know it. A world that is on the cusp of modernization but still clings to the superstitions of its ancestors.

Avery is a very interesting girl who has spent her young life preparing to take over her family’s legacy. They’re witches whose magic is highly sought after. It's their magic that keeps Prince Island prosperous. The people of the island know who to turn to create fortune in their lives or to ensure safe passage through the waters surrounding the island. She has watched her beloved grandmother weave all kinds of spells to help them. Then her mother shows up one day to remove her from this environment and threatens the grandmother that should she come for Avery, they will leave the island for good.

The next few years for Avery are like a prison that she’s determined to escape. She wants to return to her grandmother and become the next witch. Her mother is adamantly against it. Matters get worse when Avery has a series of dreams that foreshadow her own death.  She desperately needs guidance and to find a way to change her fate, if that’s even possible.

The world of Prince Island, a whaling town, is quite fascinating.  It’s a mix of old world mystery and a burgeoning hunger for new world money. Gossip and fear of the unknown run rampant. Despite the inevitable change that is slowly making its way toward them, the island people cling tightly to their traditions. 

Salt & Storm is very gripping, getting more so as Avery’s plight becomes more treacherous. Her friendship with Tane brings her the companionship that she’s never had before and he introduces her to a world outside of Prince Island.  Even so, Prince Island is her home. Her fate and the island’s future are so heavily entwined that nothing can tear her away from what she has known and wanted all her life, not even the threat of imminent danger. 

~ Bel

The Dark Light by Sara Walsh

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Mysterious lights have flickered above Crownsville for as long as Mia can remember. And as far as she’s concerned, that’s about the only interesting thing to happen in her small town.

That is, until Sol arrives. Mia’s not one to fall for just any guy, but she can’t get Sol—or the brilliant tattoo on his back—out of her mind.

Then Mia’s brother goes missing, and Mia’s convinced that Sol knows more than he’s sharing. But getting closer to Sol means reevaluating everything Mia once believed to be true. Because Sol’s not who Mia thought he was—and neither is she.

 

 

I fully admit to choosing this book because of its provocative cover. There’s something so compelling about it that I couldn’t resist escaping into this fantastical world that Sara Walsh has created in her dazzling debut.

I knew that the story would progress itself into the supernatural realm but I had no clue how that was going to happen. I remained in complete ignorant bliss just following Mia through her days, understanding her background and her struggles. Being seventeen and responsible for her little half-brother and keeping her grades up while working part time are Mia’s top priorities in life. Her uncle is not exactly reliable but he’s still family. She lives in a typical small town living the typical small town life, though not everything is normal. There are always those lights around town – mysterious and mesmerizing – that most of the townspeople have gotten used to but have had her curious for as long as she can remember.  Ripping a giant hole in the perfect small town picture is the fact that young boys have been going missing for the last few months. Mia’s gut instinct is that those disappearances are linked to those lights. But who can she tell without sounding like a nutter?

Enter Sol, who arrives at her high school raising many eyebrows looking every bit the detached loner. Naturally Mia is drawn to him yet also weary of him. She takes it upon herself to discover who he is. As she does she also uncovers a disturbing connection to her family.  Getting closer to him embroils her in trouble and well, her reality is forever changed. When her brother disappears, it’s goodbye normal teen problems and hello crazy new world.

The Dark Light is such an appealing story and I was very impressed that Walsh didn’t divulge all its secrets at once. Just when I’d gotten over one new detail, there’d be another startling revelation to make me go wide-eyed with awe.

I’ll just go ahead and repeat myself: The Dark Light is a dazzler! Slightly spine-chilling in the beginning but develops in to an exhilarating adventure.  I want more!

 

~ Bel