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dryftveil's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
i loved this so much that i marked passages and quotes on like every other page in my e-book. i usually don't go for retellings of beauty and the beast but this version made me curious and i'm so glad i gave it a try. i like almost all the characters because they're interesting and endearing in their own ways. the story is paced well and the plot is established enough that it held my attention. what stood out to me the most, though, is the writing style which is almost lyrical at times and really beautiful throughout the entire book. i also actually really(!) liked the main character, love interest and romance parts despite my early assumptions. i thought it was sweet, tragic and the couple complemented each other well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Alcohol
Moderate: Death
Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent, and War
sarahsbookss's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
dbguide2's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Reading and liking A Curse of Salt didn’t go hand in hand at first. I think it was maybe around the 20% mark that I actually started to enjoy it? And – I know – I should’ve dnfed if I wasn’t really enjoying it – but I decided to carry on for a bit. I was rewarded for that as I enjoyed myself the more I carried on! It’ll definitely stay in my mind as a favourite and a title to recommend if someone’s looking for a sea-faring journey or a retelling.
And a retelling it certainly is! As I said at the start – it’s Beauty and the Beast – which probably is one of my favourite Disney movies and Belle a top Disney Princess. Street definitely knew what made the movie so good and she captured the magic of the movie and the couple very well. A good part of what makes Belle, or in this case, Ria, a good person is that she has a good heart. Ria put herself in danger to save her family – knowing very well she might not coming back because of how, well, heartless, The Heartless King is.
What I really enjoyed seeing was how Ria comes to know the Blood Rose‘s crew – seeing past the fearsome front they all put on. Going “Oh, they’re super scary” at the start of their journey to “they’re family now” at the end was a delight to read as I also got to know them and saw them like Ria did. It’s also a found family story – something I always enjoy seeing and reading about. And it was done well in here! I could tell they cared fiercely about each other and would indeed take up arms if one of their own got hurt. Which is exactly what I like to see (re found family).
The romance in here is my favourite – enemies to lovers! I’m glad Street wrote it well because that allowed me to root for them all the more. There’s nothing that I like more indeed than enemies moving to friends and then eventually lovers. It literally never gets old for me 😅. Unless it’s not well written, of course. Luckily, I quickly realised that wasn’t the case with this book or Street’s writing. She definitely understood how one gets from enemies to lovers – the journey both characters have to take. From The Heartless King opening up and showing whom he truly is and the person he’d like to become to Ria seeing his true self.
In fact – me being able to see how Street handled and wrote enemies to lovers in this book makes me excited to see what else she has coming up – even if it isn’t this trope – because I know she’ll write it well (really hope she does and I’m not just saying this). Or if she writes another retelling – whatever it may be, I’m almost certain it’ll be a good one.
I’m happy that I found it easy to enjoy the book because Street made it easy to feel like I was on the Blood Rose, and maybe even being a pirate as well 😄. The descriptions were vivid, the action believable and the dialogue well-balanced! There were comedic moments, sweet, romantic, tense, and on and on it went.
I definitely appreciated how Street wrote the romantic dialogue – between the King and Ria. He used a nickname, she eventually learnt his name. There was banter involved and moments where we were able to glimpse his real personality under the harsh persona – before he actually showed himself to Ria. Banter that leads to romance is indeed a favourite thing of mine, and she wrote it all extremely well!
And a retelling it certainly is! As I said at the start – it’s Beauty and the Beast – which probably is one of my favourite Disney movies and Belle a top Disney Princess. Street definitely knew what made the movie so good and she captured the magic of the movie and the couple very well. A good part of what makes Belle, or in this case, Ria, a good person is that she has a good heart. Ria put herself in danger to save her family – knowing very well she might not coming back because of how, well, heartless, The Heartless King is.
What I really enjoyed seeing was how Ria comes to know the Blood Rose‘s crew – seeing past the fearsome front they all put on. Going “Oh, they’re super scary” at the start of their journey to “they’re family now” at the end was a delight to read as I also got to know them and saw them like Ria did. It’s also a found family story – something I always enjoy seeing and reading about. And it was done well in here! I could tell they cared fiercely about each other and would indeed take up arms if one of their own got hurt. Which is exactly what I like to see (re found family).
The romance in here is my favourite – enemies to lovers! I’m glad Street wrote it well because that allowed me to root for them all the more. There’s nothing that I like more indeed than enemies moving to friends and then eventually lovers. It literally never gets old for me 😅. Unless it’s not well written, of course. Luckily, I quickly realised that wasn’t the case with this book or Street’s writing. She definitely understood how one gets from enemies to lovers – the journey both characters have to take. From The Heartless King opening up and showing whom he truly is and the person he’d like to become to Ria seeing his true self.
In fact – me being able to see how Street handled and wrote enemies to lovers in this book makes me excited to see what else she has coming up – even if it isn’t this trope – because I know she’ll write it well (really hope she does and I’m not just saying this). Or if she writes another retelling – whatever it may be, I’m almost certain it’ll be a good one.
I’m happy that I found it easy to enjoy the book because Street made it easy to feel like I was on the Blood Rose, and maybe even being a pirate as well 😄. The descriptions were vivid, the action believable and the dialogue well-balanced! There were comedic moments, sweet, romantic, tense, and on and on it went.
I definitely appreciated how Street wrote the romantic dialogue – between the King and Ria. He used a nickname, she eventually learnt his name. There was banter involved and moments where we were able to glimpse his real personality under the harsh persona – before he actually showed himself to Ria. Banter that leads to romance is indeed a favourite thing of mine, and she wrote it all extremely well!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Alcohol
headinthepages's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail