Hello my fellow bookworms. If you’re living in the UK I hope you are surviving the heatwave. For me I find I read more as I can’t seem to sleep because it’s so stuffy. I love the sun, just not the heat. Anyways, I thought it was about time I finally review this book. I read this about a month ago and interviewed the amazing author Sarah Street. I was so surprised by this book and I will tell you why.

In a kingdom that fears the sea, Ria Lucroy longs to be brave.
Bodies are washing ashore and everyone knows who's to blame. Legends of the Heartless King shroud the continent in fear; they call him a pirate, a monster, a god. When his mercenaries raid her father's merchant ship, Ria's family is faced with a horrifying demand. They will spare his life, in exchange for one of his daughters.
Determined to save her sisters, Ria launches herself into the world of pirates. Face-to-face with the Heartless King, she finds he is far more than the stories told. He is a man, with a human name and blood-stained hands, bound to the seas by a centuries-old curse. As their chemistry blooms into something more, Ria finds herself caught in an ancient web of secrets.
Battling creatures of the deep alongside those that reign its surface, Ria discovers that some curses aren't so easy to break.
Prepare for stormy seas and swoony romance in this addictive retelling of Beauty and the Beast ... Perfect for fans of Brigid Kemmerer's Cursebreakers series and Sarah J Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Did you cry is the Disney movie of Beauty and the Beast? I do, every single time. In a good way, not sure what it is. With A Curse of Salt, I was exactly like with this. I love this book so much, that I couldn’t stop hugging it afterwards and it just makes you feel so much and I love that in a book.

A tale as old as time or in this case, a Heartless King as old as time. The Blood Rose Crew, haunt the seas, and when Ria’s father ship is captured at sea and bodies start coming ashore. The sea calls to Ria, it always has, she wants to put herself in danger to save her family, into the eye of the sea and that of the Blood Rose. Unparalleled secrets lie beneath the sea and Ria truly find out how heartless, the king really is.

A Curse of Salt is different from your average retellings, it has pirates, enemies to lovers romance, 300 year old curse, ancient sea monsters, a library on a pirate ship, a darkness rooted to its core and sibling rivalry. It has it all. I love a book set at sea, there is something so escapable but also what I loved what the magic that Sarah was able to capture in her world building and storytelling. This book is dark though, seductive even in more ways than one, the setting, the sea monsters, violent even as the pirate certainly know how to kick some ass. For Sarah’s debut novel, she has a stunning and poetic writing style that you simply can’t put the book down. I read the last half of the book in one go, the pacing, the stakes the connection between the characters completely draws you in. This book is dark though, seductive even

A brilliant cast of characters, I seem to say that a lot, but for me I find that the most endearing quality in fantasy book when you have not one but a few characters you build empathy with them, you care about them, when there’s so much more at stake in the book, builds tension and a lot of emotions. I would love a book surrounding these characters. Ria discovers far more about herself in throughout because of her crew mates, who protect her (maybe not willingly at first) train her, teach her to be one of them. She become a fierce character who loves stories.

The romance – slow burn, not insta-love between enemies to lovers which I thought Sarah did so well. Throughout the story we see the journey of their relationship, stripping away who they are, learning about each other and I love that. It makes for a more special and real connection between Ria and the Heartless King. We see is just a human man under the hood. I think that what really got me in the second half of the book when I really felt, and got emotionally captivated by the story.

Be captivated by this debut YA Retelling, A Curse of Salt. One of my favourite books of 2023. If you loved To Kill a Kingdom, A Curse So Dark and Lonely or Viper then you will love this book! Also get some tissues if your like me too.

Thank you to Team Bkmrk for sending my a copy in exchange for a review.