Valeriya Salt (Author of Dive Beyond Eternity)

Valeriya Salt and 2 other people liked KDS's review of Green Laughing: "Well, that wasn’t quite what I expected, but it was certainly enjoyable. The blurb gives the feel of a disaster SF story and whilst it does initially play out that way, anyone expecting The Martian or similar problem solving sci-fi will need to check" Read more of this review »
May 27, 2026 07:47AM · see review
Valeriya Salt started reading Green Laughing by Andrew Hall	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Valeriya Salt rated a book liked it Blood On The Tongue (Ben Cooper & Diane Fry, #3) by Stephen Booth (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3,5* stars Blood on the Tongue is the third book in the series, set in Edendale, a tiny town in rural Derbyshire. Although I didn’t read the first two books, the novel reads well as a standalone. I was excited to read it as I live on the border with D ...more
May 10, 2026 06:33AM · like · see review
Valeriya Salt and 16 other people liked Brenda's review of Blood On The Tongue (Ben Cooper & Diane Fry, #3): "A major player in this book is the setting. The moors, a mountain, narrow roads, cobblestones, cottages, quaint shops give a cozy feel, but the cold, snowy landscape, slushy sidewalks, hills too steep and icy to drive up, homes too drafty and cold to" Read more of this review »
May 06, 2026 08:07AM · see review
Valeriya Salt is currently reading Blood On The Tongue (Ben Cooper & Diane Fry, #3) by Stephen Booth (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 17, 2026 06:36AM · like
Valeriya Salt rated a book really liked it Paper Sisters by Rachel Canwell	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I was lucky to get a review copy of the novel long before it was published, thanks to Northodox Press. This debut novel is a great example of poignant, beautiful prose that stayed with me long after I’d turned the last page. There’s not much of a plo ...more
Mar 15, 2026 11:08AM · like · see review
Valeriya Salt is now following Book Bloggers' Novel of the Year Award's reviews
Mar 12, 2026 02:23AM · like
Valeriya Salt is currently reading Paper Sisters by Rachel Canwell	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Valeriya Salt liked Adam Judy's review of Dive Beyond Eternity: "A thrilling blend of historical fiction, sci-fi, and suspense, Dive Beyond Eternity takes readers on a high-stakes journey through time. Zara Rose’s quest to stop a Nazi superweapon is packed with twists, tension, and engaging characters. Perfect for" Read more of this review »
Mar 04, 2026 06:13AM · see review
Valeriya Salt rated a book liked it The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon, #6) by Dan Brown (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I rarely review books that score lower than four stars for me, especially traditionally published titles by “big names”. However, Dan Brown’s thrillers have always been my guilty pleasure, and I’ve always enjoyed their fast pace, the author’s meticul ...more
Jan 26, 2026 05:46AM · like · see review

Valeriya Salt and 2 other people liked KDS's review of Green Laughing:

"Well, that wasn’t quite what I expected, but it was certainly enjoyable. The blurb gives the feel of a disaster SF story and whilst it does initially play out that way, anyone expecting The Martian or similar problem solving sci-fi will need to check" Read more of this review »

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Green Laughing
by Andrew Hall

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Blood On The Tongue (Ben Cooper & Diane Fry, #3)
by Stephen Booth (Goodreads Author)

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3,5* stars

Blood on the Tongue is the third book in the series, set in Edendale, a tiny town in rural Derbyshire. Although I didn’t read the first two books, the novel reads well as a standalone.

I was excited to read it as I live on the border with D 3,5* stars

Blood on the Tongue is the third book in the series, set in Edendale, a tiny town in rural Derbyshire. Although I didn’t read the first two books, the novel reads well as a standalone.

I was excited to read it as I live on the border with Derbyshire and hike often in the Peak District – the main setting in the book. The author’s description of moors, snowy peaks, and endless hills is sublime and creates the dark, dramatic atmosphere of rural noir. In fact, the solemn landscape of the Peak District is one of the main characters of the story, and it plays a major role in the book.

Ben Cooper and his boss, Diane Fry, investigate the murder of an unknown man whose body is dumped off the frozen road, but there’s also a suicide (or is it also a murder?), and a missing baby. Being terribly overworked and understaffed, the last thing Cooper and Fry need is the case of a fifty-seven-year-old Lancaster bomber which crashed on Irontongue Hill near Edendale with all the crew perishing, apart from the navigator who’d mysteriously vanished. Now, the navigator’s granddaughter Alison Morrissey arrives from Canada to find his tracks and clear his name. Despite having his hands full with the murder investigation, Cooper is too curious about the history of the crash and about Morrissey herself to miss an opportunity to start his own pursuit of the truth.

The author brilliantly catches the gloomy atmosphere of the Peak District in January. His description of the plane crash and the back story of the crew are fascinating. Booth has done a great job, researching the history of the place in general and the plane in particular.

I wish he had spent more time on developing the characters and the storyline, though. Cooper is a classic “all-around-nice cop”, a bit of a dreamer and romantic with a tragic past. His father, also a police officer, was killed on duty. Cooper is Edendale born and bred, he knows everyone in the town and has a reputation as a good guy whom people can trust. Serious and meticulous in one chapter, he falls far too easily for Alison Morrissey in the next one, disclosing to her vital details of his investigation which, as he believes, are connected to the plane crash. Although not a villain, Morrissey comes out as irritating, pushy, and manipulative which makes me wonder how on earth Cooper can fancy her?

Diane Fry does everything by the book and often stands in Copper’s way of finding out the truth about the crash to divert his attention to the murder case and the missing baby. She comes out as a more relatable and down-to-earth character.

There’re too many side characters (police officers, locals, etc) which the author introduces straight away in the story which confused me.

Overall, it’s an atmospheric murder mystery with a great premise, many plot twists and historical references which I always love in fiction. However, the pace is far too slow for the genre. The book is 400+ pages long and about one third of it are descriptions of the Peak District, the everyday life of Edendale, and the plane crash. I wish the author had cut down on the page count and focused more on the characters and the pace, which in some chapters slows down to a halt. The romantic subplot finishes abruptly, leading readers nowhere, and the finale seems a bit too rushed in the last 50-60 pages.

Taking into consideration all the above, I give this book 3,5 stars.

I recommend Blood on the Tongue to everyone who likes a slow burn mystery, unusual settings, and military history. ...more

Valeriya Salt and 16 other people liked Brenda's review of Blood On The Tongue (Ben Cooper & Diane Fry, #3):

"A major player in this book is the setting. The moors, a mountain, narrow roads, cobblestones, cottages, quaint shops give a cozy feel, but the cold, snowy landscape, slushy sidewalks, hills too steep and icy to drive up, homes too drafty and cold to" Read more of this review »

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Blood On The Tongue (Ben Cooper & Diane Fry, #3)
by Stephen Booth (Goodreads Author)

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Paper Sisters
by Rachel Canwell

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I was lucky to get a review copy of the novel long before it was published, thanks to Northodox Press.

This debut novel is a great example of poignant, beautiful prose that stayed with me long after I’d turned the last page.

There’s not much of a plo I was lucky to get a review copy of the novel long before it was published, thanks to Northodox Press.

This debut novel is a great example of poignant, beautiful prose that stayed with me long after I’d turned the last page.

There’s not much of a plot in it. Loosely based on a real-life family story, the novel is set in rural Lincolnshire before and during the First World War. The main characters, the three young women – Eleanor, her younger sister Lily, and their sister-in-law Clara – are trapped in a tiny village on the edge of the Wash by circumstances and their family’s dramatic past. Their actions (or lack of them) and feelings form and drive the story.

The chapters are narrated from the perspectives of three women; each one is a reflection of their hopes and fears, gains and losses.

Eleanor, who is still haunted by her brother’s death, stubbornly continues to look after the abandoned hospital – the only legacy their father left her. The hospital belongs to the old, derelict port and has never seen a single patient. Eleanor is torn between her desire to move on with John, the man she loves, and her responsibility to look after Lily.

Lily, on the other hand, does everything she can to stop Eleanor from leaving the painful past behind. Trapped by her grief and the loss of their brother, amplified by the desolate and harsh landscape, Lily spends her days longing and plotting the next step to keep Eleanor at home at any cost. Selfish and manipulative, Lily is far worse than their violent brother, Frank.

The unloved child of his brutal father, a badly injured soldier, Frank still deserves some pity. Lily, on the other hand, behaves like a nasty, spoiled child, spying on, manipulating, and framing Clara and Eleanor.

Clara, although a strong woman, lives in constant fear of Frank’s bad temper. When Frank is called to the front, she doesn’t want him to return. Abused both physically and mentally, afraid for the safety of their three children, Clara still helps Eleanor and does everything to destroy Lily’s plans. To me, she’s the most likable and realistic character.

Lincolnshire’s landscape is a character in its own right. Canwell’s poetic description of the Wash, the river, the never-ending fields creates the atmosphere of desolation and hopelessness, which is reflected in the characters’ emotions.

The tension builds slowly, accelerating in the last hundred pages or so. Don’t expect a fast pace with numerous twists and turns. The story unfolds slowly, sometimes even grinding to a halt, leaving space to enjoy beautiful, emotional prose.

The author doesn’t show the Great War, but rather its devastating impact on the community. Eleanor can’t get any answers about life on the front line from her brother Frank or from Anton, a German prisoner of war whom she accidentally befriends. But the horrors of the war are reflected in the wounded soldiers, returning home, shattered both physically and emotionally, Frank who’s sliding deeper and deeper into madness, the landscape with a newly built camp. The historical details, vivid and hyper-realistic, paint a picture of the country at war.

I give the book four stars because of the ending. After so much pressure building up and an explosive resolution, the aftermath seems too rushed. I would like to know more about the characters and their feelings after what has happened, but the author settles for just a short epilogue with a sequence of events. I wish the story included another chapter or two to let me dwell on the consequences and characters’ emotions.

I highly recommend this book to fans of historical and beautiful literary fiction where every sentence is captivating and emotionally powerful. ...more

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Paper Sisters
by Rachel Canwell

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Valeriya Salt liked Adam Judy's review of Dive Beyond Eternity:

"A thrilling blend of historical fiction, sci-fi, and suspense, Dive Beyond Eternity takes readers on a high-stakes journey through time. Zara Rose’s quest to stop a Nazi superweapon is packed with twists, tension, and engaging characters. Perfect for" Read more of this review »

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The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon, #6)
by Dan Brown (Goodreads Author)

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I rarely review books that score lower than four stars for me, especially traditionally published titles by “big names”. However, Dan Brown’s thrillers have always been my guilty pleasure, and I’ve always enjoyed their fast pace, the author’s meticul I rarely review books that score lower than four stars for me, especially traditionally published titles by “big names”. However, Dan Brown’s thrillers have always been my guilty pleasure, and I’ve always enjoyed their fast pace, the author’s meticulous research, and the vivid description of popular locations.

This time, Professor Langdon travels to Prague, one of my favourite cities in Europe. So I couldn’t miss an opportunity to read and review the book. He’s not alone, though. He comes to the “City of Thousand Spires” together with a prominent noetic scientist, Katherine Solomon, with whom he has recently begun a relationship. There, he attends her lecture about non-local consciousness as a part of her book’s promotion tour. The book is yet to be published by a major publisher, and the subject matter becomes of interest for many parties – from the CIA to the American Embassy.

Langdon and Solomon must navigate their way through conspiracies and the CIA’s dirty games, saving Katherine’s book while uncovering a shocking truth about a top-secret project called The Threshold, and, ultimately, fighting for their lives.

There’s no lack of twists and turns, and despite occasional info dump in the dialogues, it doesn’t slow down the novel’s fast pace. Despite its length (600+ pages), the book is a quick read thanks to Brown’s clear prose - although some italics could’ve been edited out - and suspense which keeps the reader on edge.

The depiction of Prague in winter is beautiful. The author blends the city’s rich history, describing both famous historical sights and hidden gems, with mythology that sits on the surface and a high-tech underground world of a top-secret research facility, hidden deep underground in an old Cold War-era bunker.

The ideas the author explores are not new and have been discussed for decades by the authors from Carl Jung and Stephen LaBerge to Carlos Castaneda. Brown puts a new twist by weaponizing the concept in the hands of the CIA.

I gave the book only three stars, because there’re a few glowing plot holes as well as unnecessary “filler” scenes that could easily have been edited out to make the book some 100+ pages shorter.

If you enjoy gradual characters’ development, you’ll be disappointed as there’s none of that in the book. The characters, both good and evil, are pretty flat, two-dimensional, and full of stereotypes and clichés. The Czech policemen, arresting Langdon, are mere thugs with guns who act like bulls in a china shop. One of the main character, Sasha Vesna, a “simple Russian girl”, and of course, she’s tall, blonde and blue-eyed with the ultimate dream of moving to America –where else a Russian girl can dream about?

The “bad guys” are similar to those in Brown’s previous novels. We’ve already read about powerful secret societies in The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. Here, we have In-Q-Tel, a shadow high-tech branch of the CIA.

Despite terrible clichés and numerous plot holes, the book is a good entertainment for fans of fast-paced thrillers. I hope this is the last book in the series, though, and Brown introduces new characters and ideas soon. ...more

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	Dive Beyond Eternity 4.60 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2023	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Aurora Island by Valeriya Salt (Goodreads Author), Alien Buddha it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Alien Buddha Zine #51: black and white print by Alien Buddha, Joseph Cassis (Goodreads Author), John M. Withers IV it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mobius Blvd: Stories from the Byway Between Reality and Dream No. 6: April 2024 by Wayne Kyle Spitzer (Goodreads Author), Maggie Bayne, Valeriya Salt (Goodreads Author) 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Alien Buddha Zine #52: black and white print by Alien Buddha, Coleman Bigelow (Goodreads Author), Mehreen Ahmed (Goodreads Author) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Seeds of Sky 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2026	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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