A review by cgreens
Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett
3.0
This was indeed . . . different. I read some of the other reviews while mid-way through and almost put the book away. The characters aren't very well-rounded or believable, and it's super annoying that everyone is super gorgeous (despite being horribly inbred?).
I'm glad that I stuck with it as the book ended up being very entertaining for me, and I enjoyed the plot development a lot more than I thought I would. I'm not a fan of horror so am not super immersed in the genre, but I did think the book was creepy and frightening throughout, not just at the start. The only similar work I've read is In the Shadow of the Blackbirds, and while that one was written much better and overall enjoyed a lot more, I'd say this one is actually a lot scarier.
I wish Dane had been fleshed out a whole lot more, and I did find the insta-love extremely off-putting. I also thought the whole idea of being "all in--blood and salt!!!" as a relationship norm was troublesome, especially in a YA work and am not sure if the end redeemed this.
Honestly this book was fine. The characters were a bit annoying and caricatures, especially Coronado, but I liked the spooky bits and how Katia's history unfolded. Questions:
Soooo . . . Ash is not a conduit? She is just being haunted by Marie, who wants to help her?
What happened to Alonso's soul? Why wasn't he able to take over Dane's body like the Dark Spirit promised?
Are there gay people in Quivira? Is everyone unquestioningly heterosexual in the Blood and Salt universe? Is this just a part of being an old timey cult?
I'm glad that I stuck with it as the book ended up being very entertaining for me, and I enjoyed the plot development a lot more than I thought I would. I'm not a fan of horror so am not super immersed in the genre, but I did think the book was creepy and frightening throughout, not just at the start. The only similar work I've read is In the Shadow of the Blackbirds, and while that one was written much better and overall enjoyed a lot more, I'd say this one is actually a lot scarier.
I wish Dane had been fleshed out a whole lot more, and I did find the insta-love extremely off-putting. I also thought the whole idea of being "all in--blood and salt!!!" as a relationship norm was troublesome, especially in a YA work and am not sure if the end redeemed this.
Honestly this book was fine. The characters were a bit annoying and caricatures, especially Coronado, but I liked the spooky bits and how Katia's history unfolded. Questions:
Spoiler
Was Katia killing some of the Larkins? I thought the book said this at one point. In order to feed the corn or something? For example, she fed Thomas to the corn. Is that correct? Or was it just Coronado killing the Larkins Dane sent to him?Soooo . . . Ash is not a conduit? She is just being haunted by Marie, who wants to help her?
What happened to Alonso's soul? Why wasn't he able to take over Dane's body like the Dark Spirit promised?
Are there gay people in Quivira? Is everyone unquestioningly heterosexual in the Blood and Salt universe? Is this just a part of being an old timey cult?