The Witch of Salt and Storm

Avery Roe comes from a long line of female witches on Prince Island. The islanders and sailors come to the roe witch for charms to keep them safe at sea and many other things. Avery was dragged away from her grandmother by her mother, no longer able to become the witch she always wanted to be. Her mother has placed a curse on her so she cannot see her grandmother. But Avery has a dream which makes her desperate enough to try anything to get a message to her grandmother and to find her magic. A tattooed harpoon boys has something which may help Avery get what she wants, in return she has to interpret his dreams to find vengeance.

I was so excited when I could request this on NetGalley. I sat jumping up and down in my chair shouting incoherently with excitement. Therefore I had massively high expectations of this, and I really did not want it to disappoint. I must be honest, the start of The Witches of Salt and Storm didn't grab my attention straight away. I was a little disappointed that we had another YA book set in America with an American protagonist, but it didn't stop my enjoyment of the book. I felt like the start was a little slow, and I didn't really fully compel me to read on. But at about 20% I was fully engrossed and it turned out to be a suspenseful, compelling and heartbreaking read. There were some good plot twists which did leave you guessing and I liked how the story was woven together and I thought it was done exceptionally well. I liked the concept of the witches. There was a lot of originality to The Witches of Salt and Storm which was one of the main reason why I kept reading. I liked the history of the witches and the history of whaling and how the story had a large amount of information which felt well researched and it was integrated into the story really well.

Avery was a favourite of mine. I loved her from the very first page. She was so passionate about magic and so angry that she was being kept from it, but she was also scared of her future. She was such a complex character that it was hard not to admire and love her. She was very strong, brave and loyal when it came to protecting those she loved and it was a very good quality. She was definitely a favourite. I liked Tane, but I felt he wasn't as complex, or have as much depth to him as Avery did. It was still there, but less so. He was also very passionate about getting revenge on those who hurt his family. I was also very interesting in the magic and culture from his country. It was a shame we didn't get to know more about it.

The romance was nice, and even though it was very important to the book, it also didn't seem like it was at the forefront of the story. I felt like Avery's development had more emphasis and that was a positive. I liked the chemistry between the two and I did shed a tear or two at the end as it was very emotional, unexpected and heartbreaking.

This is definitely a book you don't want to miss out on and I do highly recommend you pick this one up.

I will be posting my review on these sites closer to the release date - tumblr (www.yabookers.tumblr.com/tagged/megreviews) goodreads (www.goodreads.com/yabookers) twitter (www.twitter.com/YABookers) my wordpress (www.yabookers.wordpress.com)