Saltswept

The Earthsalt Duology #1

by Katalina Watt

'Deep, sumptuous, and astonishingly beautiful' Hannah Kaner

A ragtag crew. A perilous quest. First, they need a boat. Next, they need to learn how to sail it.

A pirate faces the gallows drop. A farmer is given a terrible ultimatum to save her daughter. An acolyte ascends to priestesshood . . . only to find that a blessing really can be a curse. These unlikely bedfellows band together with an inscrutable pickpocket and a talking ottercat in pursuit of the most hopeless of to sail into the Maelstrom - a raging whirlpool from which no one has ever escaped - and the mysterious treasure hidden within it.

The quest will test their fragile allegiance to its limits, but there is more at stake here than getting the magic of the world is in peril, and the barrier between life and death has never been so thin. And in the Bastion, the seat of power in Paranish, the queen has an unquenchable thirst that threatens the world and everyone in it.

Can there be honour amongst thieves? Without it, they might never see another sunrise.

Lush and lyrical, Saltswept is a vibrant debut - the first book in an epic fantasy duology based on Southeast Asian mythology. Perfect for fans of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, The Bone Ships, and Godkiller.

Genres: Fantasy, Pirates, Adult, Queer, LGBT, Fiction, Adventure

382 pages, Hardcover

First published February 26, 2026

Reviews

[chloecanread · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a DNF at 28%.

I’m so disappointed because I really wanted an epic queer fantasy to fall in love with. I love books set on ships in the ocean. I really loved the summary and how these characters were going to go on a quest. I think the marketing is very different to the actual content of the book. From the summary I was expecting this to be fun and exciting, as it’s described in a very fun way. The whole talking ottercat, unlikely bedfellows etc.

However, this is completely different to the actual book itself. I got myself to 28% and I do wish I’d DNFed earlier.

This is told from first person multi-POV. I think you can do multi POV in first person if each POV is very distinct, but each POV all feels the same. I actually struggled to work out the gender of the characters at first because of this. I couldn’t differentiate between the characters other than the setting. All of them had the same voice.

I also think the ARC should’ve come with appropriate trigger warnings. There is an instance of sexual violence from a POV character against their partner in bed, to the point where their partner believes they are going to die. It comes out of nowhere. From reading the summary to suddenly getting an instance where a POV character is assaulting their partner in bed is like night and day.

Maybe if the summary wasn’t quite so cute, it wouldn’t have felt like it came out of nowhere. But it did, and it really took me by surprise. I’ve read triggering content before with no issues, but this didn’t fit the tone of the book.

I DNFed this book and I am sad about that because I really wanted to love this one.

[Athena Freya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. - Freya, arc & monthly book box pick reviewer (athenafreyag on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/athenafreyag/ )

Initial thoughts: Southeast Asian mythology x queer characters x found family on a quest sounded intriguing.

What I liked 🤩: I liked how the author handled gender and LGBTQIA representation. So many main characters are queer, and it was so lovely!!

I also liked the Southeast Asian mythology woven in this story.

What I didn’t like 🙃: The pov-chapter structure didn't work well here. The first 30% was challenging. There are many POVs and especially in the beginning when everything and everyone are new, it was hard to keep up. The chapters are fast-paced and it felt like we met everyone in these chapters, and yet, I couldn't retain much about them. It would have been better if we stayed with each character more. We didn't need to start hopping from one mc to the next. It would have helped with the pacing, too. The quest became a quest around 40%...

Also, if the pov wasn't clearly listed in the chapter heading, I would have no idea whose head we were in because the writing was the same. I just couldn't discern each character's voice. I think it would have been better if it was written in third person.

In the beginning, there was sexual violence with no content warning, which shouldn't have happened...

Overall: I love the idea of this but the editorial choices hindered me from enjoying this book, which is killing me because this has queer Asian characters and Southeast mythology 😭

SE info: This is the Illumicrate February pick, and I will skip it.

[Suz]

I would rather read Prince Without Sorrows twice.

After 120 pages I still could not care for any of the characters, lore or prose. As I was reading I was thinking about doing my tax returns, so that told me enough about my feelings about Saltswept.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come! ⛵️

(FINAL REVIEW:)

This story had a very promising start and ended in a bit of a discombobulation. I loved the characters in their own way (though one does something completely unforgivable that really hampered my enjoyment of her character arc), and the world itself was whimsy and fantastic, but the progression of the plot felt both slow and fast at the same time? It’s rather hard to explain, and the ending didn’t help with it feeling like it was nicely wrapped up and yet wasn’t? I dunno, this book has made me do some somersaulting and not way that I usually like to do with strange fantasies, so let me ramble here and maybe I can come to a conclusion on what this review is going to end as. 😮‍💨

The story follows three POVs: Finlyr, an outlawed pirate who is desperate to outrun a past mistake; Ris, the single mother of a young girl that has strange magic; and Hanan, a young priestess who finds her dream of being head priestess to the queen is nothing like she imagined. I like Finlyr’s swashbuckling appearance and laid-back attitude, but I weirdly found his overall character to be more of a side character than a say a leading man. I don’t know why but he kind of blended into the background for me in a weird way. 🤔

Ris is an interesting character as she is someone who has been given an ultimatum between living on the run or giving up her magically gifted child. It was never really explained well where the magic in this world comes from nor why only women have this power. I was hoping that Hanan, as a priestess, would clear things up, and it remained ever elusive to me. I liked Ris’s no nonsense approach to life, but I still found her to be incredibly strict with her daughter. 😕

Hanan . . . Oh girl, you are such a weird case. I liked this priestess in how she goes about experimenting with her magic (again, never once goes past the basics of what she can and shouldn’t do in the world), but her very early-in-the-book assault just left me baffled. I mean, we have to admit that there is sexual violence even within the LGBTQ+ community that should be addressed, but man I wish I had a more of a warning on this being addressed in the book (and this is coming from someone who has a splendid time with grim dark fantasies). 😳

All in all, the plot was fine but I would’ve liked a little bit more action here and there (and again, this is coming from someone who enjoys SLOW plots), the villain was not particularly well defined in their powers, and yea. I feel like this was just one big drag fest of the book which is sad because I did want to enjoy this Southeast Asian inspired pirate fantasy. The question now is will I continue with the second book since this is a duology? . . . Maybe since I do want to know what the heck happens with these characters after what happened in the ending. 🧐

Thank you to Hodderscape and NetGalley for accepting my request to read this in exchange for an honest (and late ) review. I did want to love this, but it just didn’t itch that spot I was hoping it would. 😞

Publication day: February 26

Overall: . . . . I’m going to round it up to 3/5 ⭐️ because that talking ottercat was everything! ❤️

[Jefferz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Following an unlikely group of islanders finding their way under an authoritarian and oppressive magical monarchy, Katalina Watt's Saltswept is a maritime focused fantasy novel featuring interesting narrative elements with folklore and flavor inspired by Southeast Asian culture. Fast-paced, straightforward, and as queer and colorful as the fruit section at a port of call market vendor stall, this book has all the right ingredients and promises a high seas heist and exciting adventure. While there is a heist and an adventure out at sea, the end result may not quite live up to that lofty pitch for most readers with the book feeling more like a collection of loosely connected ideas, lacking the development and details to solidify the tale it wants to tell.

Highlights:
☕︎ Wonderful love letter to Southeast Asian culture and folklore. Oceanic feel and visuals are fitting and effective initially.
☕︎ Queernormative society is full of happy representation that simply exists, not a notable factor or part of the plot. Found family and metaphorical sense of home are warm and appealing themes.

Considerations:
-Very short chapters and abrupt POV shifts interrupt the story’s momentum. Presentation and storytelling feel very fast-paced while the overall narrative appears to progress slowly.
-Characters can be one dimensional, redundant, and lacking sufficient characterizations to justify their existence. Side characters blend together and sometimes feel like added bloat to the story.
-Narrative elements feel like a collection of interesting ideas with insufficient setup to connect them. Fantasy elements are poorly explained, and the book overall feels consistently underdeveloped and surface level.

Described in the author's acknowledgement, Watt set out to write a book that honors their Southeast Asian, Pacific Islander culture meshed with queer representation, and those ambitions clearly show as easily the book's best features. While the chain of islands that make up Paranish are fictional, their real-world inspirations have clear SEA influences. While each island is varied in terms of climate, they all have wonderful visuals and atmosphere. The title of the book serves dual meaning, both as namesake of smuggler Finlyn's beloved ship as well as a reference to the story’s oceanic connection. My favorite aspect of the book is the quiet depictions of the sea, wind, a mystical Tree of Life, and other natural entities. For anyone that has stood at a quiet harbor, deserted beach, or cliffside view, Saltswept captures that feeling beautifully. Likewise, the island ports have a lively and rogue ambiance to them that nicely contrasts the cold and desolate nature of Temple of Aistra, the home of Paranish's temple maidens in training or the formal Bastian, home of the royalty.

In addition to its nautical feel, the other major selling point is its queernormative presentation. Just about every single character across both major and minor in Saltswept is queer apart from the Queen (at least what is portrayed in this book), on top of its SEA representation. Of its three main characters, Finlyr is a flirty and free-spirited bi/pan smuggler, Ris is a single mother and struggling wool farmer, Hanan is a priestess in-training with night trysts with her fellow temple maiden roommate, and Isagani is a non-binary orphan that rescues Finlyr public execution. In addition to its characterizations and relationships, the story has a prominent themes of found family and home, many of its characters having previously lost beloved family members and finding solace in each other or having little material value. Though described as a ragtag crew, the characters of Saltswept are more like an unorthodox chosen family by happenstance. The story also has a relatively cozy feel to it where all its characters pleasantly get along and warmly trust each other which balances out Hanan's more serious chapters and their dark undertones relating to the royal family and heir (check your triggers for sensitive readers).

While Saltswept is a well-intentioned novel that has great diversity and queer representation, unfortunately its story and presentation is not quite as successful. The book features multiple POV's that alternate between Finlyr, Ris, and Hanan who are both geographically separated as well as having very different character narratives. This setup isn't an issue in and of itself, but the problem is the book’s very short chapters and rapid POV shifts. Each chapter often consists of only 5-6 pages with one key scene before quickly jumping to another character. These brief chapters are so short that the book has a hard time building its momentum and interest as the POV’s don’t often align in terms of intensity or context. Additionally, the short chapters break the immersion both visually as well as with the reader’s connection with each character, the book never quite able to find its footing and constantly feeling a little off kilter.

While the constant shifts help keep the book from feeling wordy, it also causes the story to feel very fragmented and slow moving. For a book selling itself as a nautical adventure on the high seas, the ship doesn't actually set sail until nearly halfway into the book and it feels like it takes forever to get there. To Saltswept's credit, it devotes much of its first half to important world-building and familiarizes the reader with its large cast of characters, but it's unfortunately quite underwhelming and lacks strong narrative hooks. Finlyr's early chapters start off promising with the expected swashbuckling, rogue and free vibe, but their surrounded by the other two POV's, both his character and the book's fun factor quickly getting smothered. Contrasting that, Hanan’s is the most mysterious and fantasy-heavy of the three POV's, but the much darker tone and isolation from the other two POV's makes it almost feel like excerpts from a different book. As the story progresses, the initially distinctive personalities and narrations start to blend together to the point where the temple maiden Hanan is the only one distinguishable given her very different character arc while Ris and Finlyr start to feel redundant once they meet up. As the story nears its end, even Ris and Hanan’s character motivations are almost the same, both being maternal and protective in the face of adversity.

To make matters worse, once the ship's crew is assembled and the journey to the infamous and dangerous Maelstrom finally starts, the story somehow drags even more. Despite having short chapters, very quick descriptions and limited details, it feels like nothing notable is really happening. Though described as a ragtag crew, the “crew” only consists of three main characters plus a talking ottercat with accessory sailors whose being and fantasy mechanics are never really explained fully. The adventure arc and subsequent Maelstrom sequence feels derived from other adventure stories, slow, and somehow loses the wonderful sea-swept feeling present earlier on the islands, which is ironic and off-brand. Once the crew encounters the hallmark Maelstrom, the last quarter of the book’s pacing goes wild. The once strong visuals are tossed out the window, the plot gets increasingly messy, and the ending is utterly chaotic and confusing. It almost felt like the book hit a page count limit or drafting deadline and abruptly had to wrap up the story with a quarter of the time it likely required. This is even more baffling considering this book is only part 1 of a planned duology, the book still ending on an awkward to-be-continued note despite the rushing.

The book's short chapters and overall fast-pacing also extends to the story's presentation and writing. Outside of some wonderfully visualized scenes and moments of ambiance, Saltswept has a very quick and casual style of storytelling. Watt's prose is simplistic and to the point, which is very accessible and easy to read, but there's a consistent surface-level and underdeveloped feel to the book. I found the main characters to be quite shallow, each only having one notable trait: Finlyr free-spirited, Ris protective, Isagani scrappy, and Hanan driven/caring. The large cast of side characters also tend to blend together due to the book's fast approach of simply not giving them enough time and development to be memorable as well as having only the most basic characterizations included. A cynic could even critique that they were purposely placed in the story specifically to hit a set queer checklist for representation rather than having real narrative purpose.

Likewise, the narrative ideas included in the story are interesting in theory but feel fragmented due to a lack of transitions or details. There's temple maidens training around a tree of life, a powerful queen seeking power, persecution of those blessed with magical powers, mythical folklore beings, and of course the adventure on the high seas. There's a lot going on and while they are revealed to be connected near the end of the book, in the moment, they feel more like a rough collection of concepts rather than a cohesive story. At every new turn of development, I found the execution and level of storytelling to be lackluster and too simplistic to fully capitalize on its good ideas. Especially when it comes to the high fantasy elements, there’s essentially no magic system to explain what’s going on and the mythology details feel like they’re being explained and made up on the fly. For me personally, the book feels like it's handled akin to a YA book due to the lack of depth and short chapters, but its adult material and graphics scenes are out of place. The pacing is very fast and casual, yet the overall story feels like it progresses slowly. There's a constant promise of an exciting adventure, but it feels more like a novel side outing rather than the grand event of the story. I felt like I kept waiting for the story to take off or come full circle, but instead it kept growing progressively messier and rushed.

As a fond homage to SEA culture and a fantasy adventure with queer representation, Saltswept is a success! But as a story about thieves, a grand quest, and swashbuckling adventure, this book feels like it severely missed the mark or lost its original goal along the way. There’s a lot of different fantasy and adventure elements but they’re not very well integrated or foreshadowed. Most damning though is that despite all these interesting ideas, this book is still lackluster and dry to read. Almost across the board there's a sense of underdevelopment and the rapid shifts in POV creates a unique issue of having fast pacing while simultaneously slow overall progression. I had a lot of hopes for this book but unfortunately when it comes to seafaring adventures, there's much better options than Saltswept out there.

*For more reviews, book lists and reading updates, check out my blog TheBookGrind!

[sophie ☁️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the eARC!

This was such a beautiful story. Saltswept is the first instalment in a duology, and also the authors debut which is…insane, because it reads like it should be on the NYT Bestsellers.

If you’re looking for one or more of the following: Beautifully layered world-building with rich and vibrant imagery, a story rooted in mythology, a ragtag crew that you can really cheer for, found family or lyrical prose, I think you will adore this one.

[Hari Conner]

A mythic, compelling, sometimes-dark adult fantasy (I believe it's a debut novel by an Edinburgh author, shoutout) that I found very readable and enjoyed a lot overall!


I loved the refreshing combo of comforting ‘found family’ elements with SE Asian myth and grittier classic fantasy quest. I suspect readers expecting a cute, ‘voicey’ or YA-tone book may not get on with it, but that's what I liked!! The story’s led by characters with histories, problems, and both victims and perpetrators of serious harm, which I found really thorny and juicy to read, honestly my favourite part.

More warnings on the author’s website, but there’s strikingly-written violence, both on a state and very intimate level, and deeply-felt past bereavement - but in a way I found thought-provoking and added layers of depth to the world.

There's a lot of queer characters in a way that felt very natural. And not to be a romance nerd, but for a fantasy that touches on chemistry, romance, sex and dark obsession without them being a main focus, it does them INCREDIBLY well, would 1000% read a book centring more of that from the author. I also thought the kids (and ottercat) were really well written, with their own personalities and complexities while still acting their age - or species.


YMMV: While the stakes feel huge, it's shorter than most epic fantasy and the pacing didn't always hit for me. It moves fast, with even big situations, magic and scene-setting moved over fairly quickly, without much time for pivotal moments. One example was I just couldn’t imagine the ship, which is a big part of the plot - small enough to be crewed by just a couple of people, but with big unexplored areas? Is it a junk rig like the covers, or a big European-style tallship like the features actually mentioned in the text? That example's probably on me for missing something or being too much of a ship enjoyer, but after reading I saw the special edition's beautiful evocative endpaper illustrations, and just wished I’d FELT that level of detail in the prose! I wanted more about the world - that’s a personal preference for detailed descriptions in SFF, but I miss when they’re absent… tell me what things look like…


Overall Less depth of grounding in the world than my own preference, but ambitious and very interesting. I had a great time listening to the audio version and darker character moments, and do need to know what happens in the next book.

[Alex M · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Perhaps I can turn the salt to sweet.”

We’ve been lacking this kind of swashbuckling, multi-POV, fantasy adventure for a while now, so this book was like a breath of fresh air. Refreshingly inclusive and immersive in its worldbuilding, the story follows a disgraced pirate, a mother on a quest to save her daughter, and a priestess who gets more than she bargains for serving a bloodthirsty queen. The plot took a while to get going, but when it did, it took an unexpectedly dark turn that had me racing through the last half. A good old found-family romp through the waves, Saltswept was a strong start to a planned duology, but make sure you check the reviews for trigger warnings before you begin.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!

[Alyssa Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was so confusing and everything felt so rushed. The characters aren't fleshed out. There was hardly any world-building. I really didn't understand the point of this book. The magic in this world felt like it can be anything. It felt like those who had magic could do pretty much anything without much explanation. I thought there were limits. Another reason I felt like this book was confusing is that transitioning between things was just all over the place. Time transitions were bad. All the metaphors being used made no sense. In regards to the characters not being fleshed out, I found Ris to be super annoying. She was constantly crying for no reason. Some parts I understand, but some, just happens out of nowhere. I could care less about any of the characters and their relationship. Overall, the writing was just bad and therefore, nothing made sense.

[SadZuz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into Saltswept by Katarina Watt expecting a fun mix of quest, heist, and fantasy. Unfortunately, what I got was more of a chaotic mess than a compelling story.

The book opens with three different POVs—Fynlir, Ris, and Hannah—and instead of building intrigue, it’s just confusing. We’re thrown into different settings with completely unfamiliar characters and no real grounding, so it feels like jumping between strangers without a reason to care about any of them. Since it’s written in first person, this becomes even more of a problem. If you don’t immediately clock the name under the chapter heading, it’s hard to tell whose POV you’re even reading. All three voices sound nearly identical, with little to no distinction or nuance, which made the characters blur together.

The actual “quest” doesn’t even properly begin until around 35–40% into the book and then it ends surprisingly quickly. It’s also just not that interesting. The pacing overall feels rushed and chaotic, and a lot of the time I genuinely didn’t understand what was happening.

There are also moments that feel like either major plot holes or serious lack of clarity. For example (minor spoiler), Fynlir seems to get stabbed in the stomach by the queen, but then… nothing comes of it? It’s never really addressed, and I spent several chapters wondering if I misread something or if the book just moved on. That kind of confusion completely pulled me out of the story.

The characters themselves didn’t help. Fynlir, Ris, and Hannah all felt bland, unlikable, or outright annoying, and I struggled to connect with any of them. The magic system is also incredibly vague—people seem to be able to do almost anything, especially the young girl who pulls off miracle after miracle without any explanation of limits, rules, or consequences. It makes the stakes feel nonexistent.

The queen’s storyline was particularly confusing. She comes across as a generic villain without meaningful motivation or backstory, which made her arc feel flat.

Overall, this reads like a debut that needed much more development and editing. The concept had potential, but the execution just didn’t land for me.

That said, the Illumicrate edition is absolutely stunning and honestly, that’s the main reason I’m keeping my copy.

I don’t think I’ll be picking up another book by this author anytime soon—at least not until there’s clear growth in the writing.

2 stars – I’d say skip it.

[Fallon Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this sea-quest adventure, we follow 3 POVs - Finlyr, Ris and Hanan. Finlyr is a roguish pirate, Ris is a former sailor whose husband was lost at sea and has been left to raise their young, gifted child alone, and Hanan is a gifted priestess who has been raised in the Temple of Aistra (as a result of an edict which requires all gifted children to be given to the Temple). With the land inexplicably struggling and Ris consequently unable to make ends meet, she finds herself agreeing to undertake a perilous mission at the Queen’s behest. And as someone trying to avoid scrutiny from the Queen’s enforcers for past crimes, Finlyr gets roped into joining Ris on her quest. On a different path, and with the Queen shortly due to give birth and requiring a new priestess, Hanan is working hard to stand out from the crowd of acolytes in the hope that she’ll be selected.

Despite many names being thrown at us from the start, the short chapters and straightforward writing style made this an easy book to read, and one which has good LGBTQ+ representation. My main issue with this book is that a lot of elements (be that world building, plot development or character relationships) happened almost out of nowhere and/or were glossed over fairly quickly, which was a shame, as I thought there were lots of really interesting concepts. I also never fully connected with any of the characters and I often found, particularly with Ris and Finlyr, that the POVs were written so similarly that it sometimes took a moment to work out whose head we were in. For these reasons, I unfortunately don’t see myself picking up the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this book.

[Dee Hancocks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saltswept is an epic fantasy adventure with Southeast Asian mythology. I absolutely adored the talking Otter 🦦, who was absolutely the best character! This book follows multiple points of view so it took me a while to get into the story and to understand who everyone was. But give it time as the story really develops after the half way point. The cast are overall great, they really are a ragtag crew. Some of the points of view were more appealing to me than others and I couldn’t wait to get back to their chapters.
Overall I liked how the author represented a variety of genders and sexualities. I think this is a darker read than suggested from the blurb so do check trigger warnings. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

[vic · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I mostly enjoyed reading this book, it didn't grab me quite as much as I hoped. Interestingly, I found myself most invested in what was more of a secondary storyline, Hanan's arc. I liked Finlyr and Ris as well, but if I continue the series, it will probably be for Hanan. When the romance appeared, it felt more like "well, we're the only adults here" than actual romantic feelings to me, so it both caught me off guard and failed to hold my interest. In fact, the relationships in general felt like they moved faster than I believed. It wasn't that I actively disbelieved them, but I kept going "wait, since when?" when characters would describe the depth of their feelings for someone. However, I did like the world and the writing, so whether or not I continue this specific series, I would read Katalina Watt again.

[Eef]

DNF
I buddy read this, or well at least tried. This was so hard to read. There were so many details but nothing was explained. I had to ready back multiple times because I thought I had missed something. There was so much just happening all of a sudden and no explanation. Like chapter one there is suddenly a sex scene and I was like who the F is Nestor and I read back and came to the conclusion that it must have been the person Finlyr met but they were never introduced.
This feeling of having to figure shit out on my own by context clues just kept on continuing and I was just not feeling it.
Really sad tho because I was really looking forward to this story.

[Reema · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good nautical adventure, though Saltswept had magic woven in.

A misfit crew, an otter-cat (what even is that? sounds adorable) and a whole lot of crazy. It is very fast paced, with short chapters and multi POV.

For ages I rolled my eyes when a certain POV came up but I love that moment when it all clicks into place!

[Sara-Louise Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun adventure with an endearing cast of characters. I do wish we'd seen more of the group's rationship development on the page in part one, but once the found family was established, I really enjoyed the story.

[Alice K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the story. The three seperate first person POVs were sometimes hard to follow and I had to actively check who I was reading a lot. I felt like the side characters had the most personality.

Really interesting plot with a lot of action. A lot a queer representation which was nice to see in a good fantasy story.

[Kasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Helena Mesquita · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5

[Maia McPherson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was marketed as a swashbuckling adventure tale but was more of a dark fantasy. I was really into the world and the different POV’s, although at first I was very confused with who was who and where they were as the chapters were so short. It got better and better the more I read and I loved how everyone came together to fight for the same goal of freedom.

[Leigh Hallett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had such high anticipation for *Salt Swept*. I was really looking forward to a pirate-filled, swashbuckling, high-seas fantasy adventure, and it had been on my “want to read” list for a while. I got it through the Illuminate subscription, and unfortunately, it ended up being a disappointment for me.

The book didn’t really deliver on the sense of adventure or high-seas magic that the plot summary suggested. Instead, it felt surprisingly flat. I didn’t feel captured by the storyline—it was basic, predictable, and didn’t evoke that thrilling, immersive feeling I was hoping for.

The characters were another letdown. They all seemed to share the same voice, with little individuality or distinct personality. There wasn’t anyone I particularly connected with or even liked, which made it harder to stay engaged. The uniformity in the writing and character voices across chapters really dulled the experience.

The ending also fell flat for me. It felt anti-climactic and somewhat odd, failing to provide a satisfying conclusion to the story. I nearly DNF’d the book, but I pushed through—and honestly, it wasn’t worth the effort.

Overall, this was a disappointing read that didn’t live up to its exciting premise or my expectations for a high-seas fantasy adventure.

[Faye Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll admit that I was a bit worried about Saltswept before I read it, because when my Illumicrate SE turned up, I checked the reviews and a lot of the prominent ones early up on the Community Reviews section were like 2 or 3 stars. Reading through them all, they seemed to agree on 3 main critiques:
1) The multiple first-person POVs didn't feel distinct and they had to keep checking the latest chapter page to see whose POV it was.
2) The book took a long time to get into the main plot.
3) Saltswept includes a scene where Hanan, one of the 3 POV characters, physically abuses her sexual partner, doesn't show any remorse, and doesn't face any sort of punishment.

So I was worried going into Saltswept. I was expecting the multiple POVs to be a repeat of the experience I had with Five Broken Blades and The Courting of Bristol Keates. There, the multiple POVs and very short chapters meant that, for me, there wasn't enough time for any depth or complexity before moving to another character in another scene.

As it turns out, I didn't have the experience of critique number 1 with Saltswept at all. Although some of the chapters were short, I didn't think they were shallow, and it didn't leave me feeling like I was just reading a YA book with a bit of spice in to justify an Adult categorisation. The 3 MCs (pirate Finlyr, farmer and mother Ris, and priestess Hanan) all felt like unique characters and I didn't feel like I had an issue remembering whose chapter it was at all.

Regarding critique number 2, I'll agree that it did take a while for the characters to come together and get to the content mentioned in the blurb as Ris and Finlyr meet about 100 pages in and they finally start sailing another 60 pages later. Hanan remains separate until much later on in the book. I personally enjoyed the journey of how they got there, and spending time with the two duos (Ris and her daughter Biba, and Finlyr with Isa, a child he was looking out for) and Hanan separately before they became the ragtag team that the blurb promised.

The third issue, the scene with Hanan purposefully hurting her friend and lover, happens really early on, less than 50 pages in. It happens during a scene where we are told that Hanan and the other priestesses do experiments that play with their powers, to hone them. Hanan definitely intends this particular experiment to hurt her partner. It's a brief scene, and the victim immediately tells her "There's something wrong with you, Hanan. I want you to stay away from now on". In her next scene, Hanan says that her friend didn't believe that she was sorry for her actions and that she went too far. Just from this, it's hard to interpret whether she actually was sorry or not at the time, but that behaviour does tell us something early about Hanan's personality. And I would say that her ambition (and how she treats people in the pursuit of that ambition) doesn't exactly end up being rewarded. She is one of the three main POV characters but I don't feel like she's being painted as a hero. It's not like we're meant to be cheering her on for this behaviour. But just because I wasn't personally triggered by that scene, other readers were, so it is something that may impact readers' experiences with this book.

I loved the queer normative world and the representation across the main characters felt natural and organic. I love where the found family aspect is going and am looking forward to seeing how everything progresses in the second book in the duology. It was the author's debut, which did show on occasion, but there are some main characters that I was particularly drawn to and invested in, and I am interested to see how the duology wraps up.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saltswept has a lot of very intriguing concepts and I was excited to read it but unfortunately the execution just wasn't doing it for me.

The pacing isn't great the main point of view characters don't begin interacting until a good 50 pages in and one doesn't join the main group until more than halfway through. The result is that it takes a long time for the main plot to genuinely get going and the second half of the book feels incredibly rushed. A lot of plot points feel remarkably isolated and the story telling disjointed. At the point where they rock up to kill the Queen I honestly couldn't tell you why beyond her being evil and no one has had any thought about what to do once she's dead. The passage of time is also poorly marked, at times it feels that only a few days have passed at other points it seems that it must have been longer which doesn't help.

The tone is also a bit all over the place on one hand you have the smuggler and farmer having a humorous-ish whimsical adventure with 2 children and a talking cat in tow and then you have a driven and arrogant yet sheltered priestess trapped in what appears to be some kind of gothic horror.

I think overall there is an aim for a dark tone, with magical children being taken away and the land dying (an unsubtle metaphor about the parasitic ruling class) and by far the best parts of this book are Hannan's chapters with the queen that are remarkably sinister but it doesn't last and jars against the hijinks happening elsewhere when your party to storming the castle to kill the queen includes 2 children and a baby and none of them die or are even particularly hurt it just doesn't feel that dark.

The three main point of view characters are relatively flat and Finlayr and Ris particularly seem relatively untouched by any plot point or revelation. At one point it's revealed that Ris' husband was on Finalyr's crew, something that was pretty obvious to the reader about 50 pages earlier and so already lacking impact, and his vague failure meant he died. Ris, forgives him almost immediately and they embark on a very forced romance a few chapters later.

Hannan has more of an character arc and the most potential as a very acolyte who wants primarily to gain knowledge and be the best, being with the queen means she can seek out forbidden knowledge and the fact she is at least partially responsible for things getting worse is intriguing but the plot's pacing towards the end means a lot of character development grinds to a halt.

The magic is pretty unclear there's a tree with the souls of the dead but also some people are born with innate magic which is mostly healing (the idea that this can be painful and looks different every time is very cool) and also necromancy and energy exchange. In general it just lacks coherence which is disappointing as it feels the potential is there.

Just in general a very disappointing read.

[Tanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of Saltswept. I'm afraid I'm DNFing it on page 124/at the 33% mark.

Wow, this book is different to what I'd expected from the marketing. I really wanted to love it, because an epic multi-POV fantasy with tons of LGBTQ+ rep and Southeast Asian mythology sounds amazing. It's exactly the kind of thing I enjoy in a book!

To give the book its due, the queer rep really is incredible. At least three major characters (and two POV characters) are LGBTQ+, and there are multiple ways to communicate gender. And, the magic system is fascinating!

However, I had two major issues with it, one to do with how triggering content is handled and one to do with how the multiple POVs are managed/structured. I also had some minor issues, like plot points being solved through unbelievably convenient coincidences.

Issue #1: Poor handling of multiple POVs
I love a good multi-POV book with five or six different characters and storylines. But, if they're not done well, they can throw the pacing off, become confusing, and make it harder to connect with the characters.

My favourite multi-POV books use the POV that's most impactful at each point in time. That's not what Saltswept does.

For the first ~85 pages of the book, Saltswept rotates POVs each chapter, going char A - B - C - and repeat. At the beginning of the novel, all characters are also in different places in the world, so in the first few chapters, you get introduced to a lot of names and places, and a lot of things happen, but very little is explained. In fact, 1/4 of the way in, and some very basic things are still unexplained. I know info-dumping is boring, but Saltswept does the opposite.

This rigid A-B-C-repeat structure also messes with the pacing. Some characters have a lot going on in their story arc, so in the space of 4 of their chapters (and they're short chapters!), they (minor spoilers) arrive somewhere new, get drunk, have a fight, have sex, get arrested and have a fight, get sent to the gallows, get rescued from the gallows by a stranger and have a fight, find a disguise, go to an inn, get poisoned and try to start a fight,... It's a lot. It feels rushed. (Also, do they have any other response than trying to throw a punch?)

But then other POV characters don't have as much going on in their arc at this point, so we get a whole chapter of them packing a bag while talking about the same things they talked about in the last chapter. It could have been condensed into a single sentence at the start of a different chapter.

Also, since the book is in first-person POV, it's really hard to actually remember the names of the different POV characters. I didn't feel like there was a strong difference in voice between the POVs, either.

Issue #2: Extremely triggering content that came out of the blue
I often read books with triggering content, but I struggle when it's not appropriately signalled. That was my problem with Saltswept.

For an epic fantasy, this book is described in a really cutesy way: a "ragtag crew" of "unlikely bedfellows" with a "talking ottercat" that needs to learn how to sail a boat and go on a quest. I was expecting something bordering on cosy. I did not expect one of the members of this ragtag crew, and one of three first-person POV characters, to be an abuser.

The intimate partner violence really did come out of the blue. This POV character suddenly, and completely unprovoked, begins physically assaulting their partner in bed to the point that their partner believes they're going to die. This isn't unrealistic: the POV character was in fact imagining them dead. When they stop, the POV character says they got carried away. They apologise but don't know what more they could do to make their partner see that they just lost control for a minute. In the following chapters, they don't show remorse or shock at their actions, but instead are disgusted by their partner and can't hold back a sneer when others refer to them as being lovers. It's triggering, and it's particularly triggering because of how unexpected it was.

I really think this should have been signalled better in the book's description. Had it been, I probably would have continued reading Saltswept because I'd have trusted the book more. There are many ways that this theme could be handled well, and it may turn out that Saltswept does in fact handle this well. But marketing the book as something cutesy means I don't have have enough faith in it to continue reading.

[Josie-Leigh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Saltswept follows several characters - a pirate, a farmer, an acolyte, a pickpocket and a talking ottercat as they go on a quest to find the treasure hidden within the depths of a raging whirlpool.

I'd like to begin by saying that I DNF'd this book around 20% in. I don't have a lot of good things to say about this book other than there is clear LQBTQ+ representation which is very positive. The rest, however, wasn't.

The multiple POV's throughout the 30% I read were confusing. I had no idea what was going on, I feel like some very extreme things happend in each of the characters POV's but because the chapters were so quick, I didn't get to fully grasp what had happened which led to me going back and re-reading areas and pulling me even further out of a story I wasn't fully in. The first characters POV - for example - just suddenly a graphic scene out of nowhere and then in the next it's talking about making sure they don't get a hard on because they're about to be hanged... it was just very random considering the description of this book and the cover both make it look quite atmospheric, beautiful, awe-inspiring and then it's vaguely gritty with no warning. It just didn't sit right with me and instantly put me off the book.

Likewise, the characters - despite being multiple POV - felt like the same character over and over again but in a different body, playing a different part. None of them were unique, more than half the time I wasn't sure where they were going with their narrative and I disliked all of them. I didn't really connect with anyone other than Hanan's story and even that was at a push.

Overall, I am unsure if this would be a book I'd recommend to any reader due to how chaotic it felt for me reading it. I am sure some would love it, but it wasn't one for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review.

[Anna Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paranish has finally reopened its borders and returners and visitors alike are thronging into Umasa for the birth of the princess. But not all is as it seems.

Finlyr Pane has returned to Paranish - and finds himself barely escaping the gallows. Ris' daughter Biba has powerful magic she can no longer hide - and in an attempt to avoid the Temple, Ris sets out on the perilous quest of retrieving the treasure from the Lahon Maelstrom. Hanan achieves her wildest dreams - only to find out that the Bastion holds dark secrets.

Saltswept is a quest adventure on the high seas, but it's also a dark fantasy that dips into necromancy, which leads to... zombie sailors. A content warning here: the book may look and feel rather YA, but it does contain several sex scenes. It is also categorised as Adult, but it's hard to tell from the blurb and/or cover (though don't ask me what would make a distinction).

The narrative switches between Finlyr, Ris, and Hanan's POVs in first person. I personally think that if you have more than two viewpoint characters, you really should be writing in third person. As it is, it flows well enough despite having to keep tracking down whose first person POV I'm in. (But would've been easier, just saying.) Finlyr and Ris' POVs intertwine quite a bit, and they switch off rather seamlessly since they join forces early on in the book. It's Hanan's POV that often feels jarring, like it's not quite connected to the rest of the story. That storyline is important because it gives us insight into what the stakes are, and what's going on with the Temple and the Bastion, but since the two don't actually intersect until near the end, it feels a little like you're also reading a side quest of some sort.

Overall, Saltswept was an highly enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to book 2!

Note: I received a digital ARC from the Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Tom Booker · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars.

Where to start with this...

The good:

Some of the romantasy books I get from my Illumicrate subscription are just romance with a smidge of fantasy tacked on to tick a box, but Saltswept is absolutely not that. This is first and foremost a fantasy novel, which I really appreciate.

I like the general idea of the world Watt has created, even if it isn't fleshed out.

The bad:

This story is told in much the same way a child tells a story in that they present something and then move on to the next thing, and the next thing, without taking the time to properly explain what they're introducing.

There's a magic system that's never explained. There's a maelstrom that's never explained. There's a bad royal family that's never explained, and then a really bad queen who is... magic? supernatural? I don't know because it's never explained. There's an otter-cat; what is an otter-cat? no idea because it's never explained. This otter-cat can talk because "magic", but what magic? No idea, it isn't explained.

The magic disappears and then comes back. It isn't explained.

Next thing and then the next thing and then the next thing.

The author introduces thread after thread of story but never weaves them together into a coherent whole. I was hoping it would all coalesce at the end, but it doesn't. It just ends, not explaining anything that's happened or why.

Also, most of the characters are flat. Ris, who we're introduced to as a wife and single mother mourning the loss of her husband, who apparently isn't mourning him so much that she doesn't just shag a complete stranger in what is the most bizarre sex scene I've read for a long time. She "fucks him until she thinks he has a concusion". Like, what?

This story should've focused purely on Hanan and been from her perspective only.

I cannot bring myself to read the second part of this duology.

[florence · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

This was another book where it never made me feel invested in the plot or the characters, I was so intrigued by the idea of a band of pirates joining together against the rulers but this never quite hit the mark for me.

In terms of the characters they were all introduced in ways that told us a lot about the character as two dimensional figure. Really they said this is the promiscuous risk taker, the mother who would do anything for her child, and the magical priestess who keeps pushing boundaries, and they mostly stayed in those characterisations for the rest of the book. There wasn’t very much character development except they all came together to be a big family, which is how these go.

The pacing I think is something that threw me, because we just got these huge time skips between action. We got a 13 week time skip right after a reveal and then nothing had actually progressed in that time. I know that sea voyages would take time, but skimming through the story just to make the journey feel quicker meant that so many of the decisions felt like they came out of nowhere. When the two characters slept together I had to go back and read the paragraphs before again because nothing (except my knowledge of the genre) said that they were interested in each other or felt that way at all.

The magic system also felt very convenient. Considering the study that the priestesses had to go through in order to do the basics, having Biba as a prodigy just felt like whenever was there when ever there was a problem to solve she would have a way to do it. Her powers didn’t seem to make much sense, and her Mum’s attitude to them never changed either despite the fact she saved their lives multiple times.

I am kind of intrigued to know what happens in the next book, but I don’t think this will be a priority for me.

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC

Saltswept is a nautical adventure featuring pirates, magic, mythical beasts, and politics.

The story follows the POV of three different characters: Finlyr the pirate; Ris, a farmer (and former sailor) raising her daughter, a child gifted with magic, alone; and Hanan, a Priestess at the Temple of Aistra, where all gifted children are taken to be raised, by order of the Queen.

In trying to protect her daughter from being taken to the temple, Ris is given a mission to undertake a quest for the queen: to recover a magical item for her from the centre of the Maelstrom, for which she’ll need a boat and a crew. While Ris and Finlyr’s stories are closely woven together, Hanan sits apart, her narrative focusing on the Temple of Aistra and the Queen. All POVs are written in first person; although I didn’t have trouble following the different stories, at times it was hard to distinguish who was speaking. If you’re not used to reading multi-POV books, this might take a bit of getting used to.

This was an ambitious story for a debut novel, and while the plot itself was interesting and kept me reading, the world-building wasn’t as in-depth as I like, and the character development was stilted. The book would have benefited from being longer, giving us more time to get to know the characters and the world.

This book is also a lot darker than the cover and description would indicate, so do check out the trigger warnings before picking it up.

Saltswept would be good for someone looking for a plot-heavy maritime adventure who likes mixing found-family vibes with dark undertones and who likes multi-POV novels.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pirate, a farmer and a priestess walk into a bar - okay, so the priestess doesn't go to the bar.
Pirate Finlyr gets himself arrest and sentenced to be hanged almost as soon as he sets foot back home, Ris (a farmer) must accept a quest to find a treasure for the queen to avoid her magical daughter being taken from her, and Hanan, the queen's new priestess finds herself in a twisted and dark situation. This mismatched group find themselves caught up in a quest to the deadly Maelstrom but the situation back home maybe even more lethal.

This is multi-pov with short chapters rapidly swapping between the characters. I found that this actually worked best when all the characters were together. The rest of the time, especially at the beginning, it ended up feeling confusing and frenetic. Also, a couple of times it felt like the timelines weren't quite in sync with each other.

The cast of characters are all distinctive, and of course I liked the talking otter. The setting is interesting with good lgbt representation, but the world-builidng could have done with some more development and explanation.
Hanan's storyline with the royal family felt much darker than the rest and was probably the most interesting, but very early on it's marred by - and I'm going to include a spoiler here - having her commit a sexual assault with no remorse or understanding as to why that behaviour was wrong.

Overall, I think this had potential but needed to either thin out the plot points or to be longer (I know it's a duology) just to allow everything a little breathing room. This is a good book if you're looking for a quick swashbuckling romp with a darker edge.

Thanks to Hodderscape for providing a netgalley arc for review