Author: Kim Liggett
Genre: Young adult, horror
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 22, 2015
352 pages, hardcover
Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.
NOTE: I was provided with a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Putnam for letting me read this!
The first line of this book is: “The dead girl hung upside down over our kitchen table.” What an excellent start to a horror novel! The beginning of this book continues to be super creepy and strange, and it hooked me right away. You can really hear that rope creaking as the dead girl swings, first over the kitchen table then later in Ash’s room, school, and everywhere else she sees her. It gave me the creeps. I won’t say I felt that way throughout the entire book though. The middle part dragged a bit and wasn’t nearly as creepy nor satisfying as the beginning and the end were (the last 50 pages or so? WOW).
As for the romance parts of this novel, I really wanted to be all in for Ash and Dane – you’re meant to root for them, but not only was there a bit of instalove (which you guys know I’m not a fan of) explained away by the fact that they are magically attracted to each other (um. By their scent…?), their love felt a bit forced in places. I didn’t get it. However, I won’t lie: they are some swoon-tastic moments here. For real. Also, I honestly felt more about Ash’s brother Rhys and his love interest. Man, were they adorable. Plus, Rhys is probably the character that felt the most…real to me? His emotions were very honest and genuine and it was easy to feel for him. Some of the characters felt a bit flat in comparison to him.
The mythology in Blood and Salt was fascinating, but it was also a bit confusing in parts. There were a few instances when I just didn’t understand what was happening. However, overall, the magic and history about Katia and Ash’s bloodline were really interesting. I think the issue I had was mostly with the middle bits where we were getting some history about Quivira and its people.
The bottom line: Although I did have some issues with this one (mostly with the instalove and the middle part of the novel), I’ll definitely be picking up the second book in this duology. That ending left me wanting more, and I’m looking forward to reading what happens next.
Rating: 7 – pretty good
Caught Read Handed 
That opening line is pretty creepy and I can see why it had you hooked. Shame that the creep-factor wasn’t sustained all the way through, but sounds like it was still a good read so I may give it a go. Happy Halloween!
Still a good one! It definitely had some creepy parts.
Looks pretty good, and I love that cover and premise. The first sentence would definitely sell me on this one.
The premise was the coolest part. I am fascinated by cults like this.
I am not a fan of instalove, but this still sounds like a good read. That fist sentence….soooo creepy! I am a little bit of a scaredy cat so I would have to think about this. lol
Well, it’s not a super scary read overall, so I think you’d be okay! 🙂
I just finished this recently and my feelings echo a lot of yours. I like hearing I’m on the same page as other reviewers. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! – ashley
I’m glad to know you felt the same way too.