The Witch of Salt and Storm

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Hachette Children’s Books for giving me this book to review.

16 year old Avery Roe wants to take her rightful place as the sea witch of Prince Island. However, before she was old enough to learn how to use her powers, her mother, the only woman to turn her back from being the Roe witch, takes her away from her grandmother. The only power she has is the ability to read dreams, but when one night she dreams of her own murder, she becomes desperate to get back to her grandmother, as becoming a witch may prevent her death. The one person who might be able to help her reach her grandmother and stop her murder is tattooed harpoon boy, Tane. As Avery starts to fall for Tane, she finds out that becoming the sea witch requires a sacrifice she never expected.

The Witch of Salt and Storm is an enjoyable and unique historical fantasy novel. This book has good world building, however, it is slow paced. This book is about Avery’s relationships, both with people and the land.

Avery is a very strong-willed girl, who never gives up her fight for her magic, but she never fitted in on Prince Island. Tane is driven by revenge, but he is still a nice boy who sees Avery as a person rather than the Roe witch. While Avery’s mother is meant to be the bad guy in this book, but I really understood her.

The ending is not what I predicted or would have preferred. If there is a sequel I don’t think it should be focused on Avery, as I feel like her story is finished. I would recommend The Witch of Salt and Storm to fans of historical fantasy novels such as Grave Mercy and A Great and Terrible Beauty.