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A review by adriannasophiabookss
A Curse of Salt by Sarah Street
4.0
Thank you to Hachette Children’s Group and NetGalley for this ARC! I apologise it’s taken me so long to read it. I’m always up for a beauty and the beast retelling and this one had an interesting twist to it so I was really excited read it!
This is a YA fantasy novel that is basically Beauty and the Beast x Pirates of the Caribbean. Ria Lucroy lives with her two sisters in a crumbling cottage on the seaside. The whole town of Bray is poor and hungry because the townspeople fear the “Heartless King” who is said to roam the seas and take lives at will. One night Ria’s father comes home after a run in with the Heartless King and tells her and her sisters that he has to send their sickly sister Felicie or hand himself over to the Heartless King and his crew at sunrise. Ria can’t handle either of those options so she hands herself over instead. At first she is determined to hate the King and his crew but over time the King starts to thaw and the crew become companions. However, Ria has questions and many secrets to uncover before it’s too late.
This was a fantastic retelling of the classic story. It stayed true to the main plot points of the original but there is also an element of originality as well and many twists that are unexpected. This in my opinion is a retelling done well. The characters are well developed and although very morally grey, are incredibly loveable in their own ways. I could feel the chemistry between Ria and the Heartless King developing over time rather than it being insta love and overall the book was well paced.
The writing in this is really beautiful and Sarah Street is a very talented author. This is her debut and you wouldn’t be able to tell, she has a way with words and you can tell a lot of passion and creativity has gone into this story. I really appreciated the development of Ria’s friendships with Aron and Una alongside the love story because it added more depth and made you root for a happy ending all the more. There were also some really cool (and slightly creepy) creatures included which upped the stakes.
Overall if you’re looking for a really good YA fantasy retelling you should definitely check out this underrated gem! It was released on 25th May so it’s available now and I can’t wait to see what Sarah Street releases in the future!
This is a YA fantasy novel that is basically Beauty and the Beast x Pirates of the Caribbean. Ria Lucroy lives with her two sisters in a crumbling cottage on the seaside. The whole town of Bray is poor and hungry because the townspeople fear the “Heartless King” who is said to roam the seas and take lives at will. One night Ria’s father comes home after a run in with the Heartless King and tells her and her sisters that he has to send their sickly sister Felicie or hand himself over to the Heartless King and his crew at sunrise. Ria can’t handle either of those options so she hands herself over instead. At first she is determined to hate the King and his crew but over time the King starts to thaw and the crew become companions. However, Ria has questions and many secrets to uncover before it’s too late.
This was a fantastic retelling of the classic story. It stayed true to the main plot points of the original but there is also an element of originality as well and many twists that are unexpected. This in my opinion is a retelling done well. The characters are well developed and although very morally grey, are incredibly loveable in their own ways. I could feel the chemistry between Ria and the Heartless King developing over time rather than it being insta love and overall the book was well paced.
The writing in this is really beautiful and Sarah Street is a very talented author. This is her debut and you wouldn’t be able to tell, she has a way with words and you can tell a lot of passion and creativity has gone into this story. I really appreciated the development of Ria’s friendships with Aron and Una alongside the love story because it added more depth and made you root for a happy ending all the more. There were also some really cool (and slightly creepy) creatures included which upped the stakes.
Overall if you’re looking for a really good YA fantasy retelling you should definitely check out this underrated gem! It was released on 25th May so it’s available now and I can’t wait to see what Sarah Street releases in the future!