Sarah Street, A curse of salt, Hachette Children’s Books, May 2023, 340 pp., RRP $25.50 (pbk), ISBN 9781444967661
Written by Sarah Street, A curse of salt is a fairy tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The main character, Ria Lucroy, longs to learn about the sea and help her sister, Felecie, get better. When mercenaries raid her father’s ship, Ria decides to sacrifice herself instead of her sisters. This launches her into the world of pirates and lost cities, where she meets the crew of the Blood Rose, the infamous ship captained by the Heartless King. There she discovers her true heritage, the traitor Bane who wants her to overthrow King Oren and the mystery surrounding the Heartless King.
Ria Lucroy is a bookworm who longs for adventure on the sea, and younger sister to Felecie and the younger half-sister of Aberdeen. For me, the book was a bit slow in the beginning without much world building, and with it being a fictional world, I would have liked to know a bit more of the magic, history, lore, etc. in the world. The mystery and adventure of the book did keep me reading ‘til the end and the pace did speed up, so overall the book is good.
Additionally, a major let down is that is reminds me of the book A court of thorns and roses by Sarah J. Maas. With the sisters’ dynamics, the romance, and other minor things, they were very similar in plot and characterisation, but since they both use the same fairy tale as their foundation, I guess it’s not too surprising.
However, I did give it 4/5 stars and I would recommend A curse of salt, to people ages 13 and up.
Reviewed by Grace Gaffney