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Of Salt and Gold
He's a cursed, bitter merman prince. She's his captive… and savior.
Exiled mermaid Chrysanthe has long survived among humans, hiding her identity – until a betrayal forces her to flee to a forbidden underwater palace… and the hunting ground of a deadly sea monster called the Beast.
Ambrosios, the Cursed Prince, has resigned himself to his solitary exile within the Forgotten Palace – until one moonless night, when he rescues a mysterious mermaid from the Beast’s deadly tentacles and offers her his protection.
Stranded at the bottom of the sea, the mermaid and the prince soon struggle to navigate the tidal pull of their inexplicable, torrential attraction.
Except he’s trapped in a dark spell.
To free him, she must pay the highest price…
Exiled mermaid Chrysanthe has long survived among humans, hiding her identity – until a betrayal forces her to flee to a forbidden underwater palace… and the hunting ground of a deadly sea monster called the Beast.
Ambrosios, the Cursed Prince, has resigned himself to his solitary exile within the Forgotten Palace – until one moonless night, when he rescues a mysterious mermaid from the Beast’s deadly tentacles and offers her his protection.
Stranded at the bottom of the sea, the mermaid and the prince soon struggle to navigate the tidal pull of their inexplicable, torrential attraction.
Except he’s trapped in a dark spell.
To free him, she must pay the highest price…
ebook
Published January 30, 2023
1 person is currently reading
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About the author
Avie Adams
7 books51 followersCozied up in her windswept corner of southeast England and lost in the depths of Greek mythology, Avie writes adult fantasy romances, featuring scarred but fearless heroines and brooding, tormented heroes ready to set the world on fire for them.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 6, 2023
3.5★
First of all, I'm so glad I got to read a new book by Avie Adams. I've read a couple of her books a few years ago and really enjoyed them so yay! But back to this book now, I don't think I've ever heard of a Beauty and the Beast retelling with merpeople before so that alone made Of Salt and Gold an uniquely enjoyable read. It was also connected to Greek mythology and if you know me even a little bit then you know how much I enjoy that.
The story features Chrysanthe, a mermaid exiled to live among humans along with her father. It also features Ambrosios who is a cursed prince also exiled but to the Forgotten Palace under the sea. One night Chrysanthe gets trapped by a sea monster (a.k.a. the Beast) and gets rescued by Ambrosios. Now she is trapped inside the palace with him. Their attraction to each other is growing stronger by the day, but Ambrosios is keeping secrets from her. Secrets Chrysanthe is determined to unravel.
My favorite part of the story was where Chrysanthe and Ambrosios where forced to spend time together since Chrysanthe was unable to leave the palace just yet. Forced proximity is a favorite trope of mine and it was pretty good in this book. Chrysanthe and Ambrosios had a lot of chemistry together as well and the steamy scenes were the chef's kiss.
Now the story went a little downhill for me after the stuck together part. Don't get me wrong, I still liked reading it but the story just didn't hook me as much as it had done for the first half of the book. But that's why it wasn't quite a four star read for me.
Of Salt and Gold by was a steamy Beauty and the Beast reimagining set under the sea with a touch of Greek mythology. Avie Adams completely captivated me with her vivid and otherworldly descriptions. It was a really unique retelling of the classic story we all know and definitely worth a read!
First of all, I'm so glad I got to read a new book by Avie Adams. I've read a couple of her books a few years ago and really enjoyed them so yay! But back to this book now, I don't think I've ever heard of a Beauty and the Beast retelling with merpeople before so that alone made Of Salt and Gold an uniquely enjoyable read. It was also connected to Greek mythology and if you know me even a little bit then you know how much I enjoy that.
The story features Chrysanthe, a mermaid exiled to live among humans along with her father. It also features Ambrosios who is a cursed prince also exiled but to the Forgotten Palace under the sea. One night Chrysanthe gets trapped by a sea monster (a.k.a. the Beast) and gets rescued by Ambrosios. Now she is trapped inside the palace with him. Their attraction to each other is growing stronger by the day, but Ambrosios is keeping secrets from her. Secrets Chrysanthe is determined to unravel.
My favorite part of the story was where Chrysanthe and Ambrosios where forced to spend time together since Chrysanthe was unable to leave the palace just yet. Forced proximity is a favorite trope of mine and it was pretty good in this book. Chrysanthe and Ambrosios had a lot of chemistry together as well and the steamy scenes were the chef's kiss.
Now the story went a little downhill for me after the stuck together part. Don't get me wrong, I still liked reading it but the story just didn't hook me as much as it had done for the first half of the book. But that's why it wasn't quite a four star read for me.
Of Salt and Gold by was a steamy Beauty and the Beast reimagining set under the sea with a touch of Greek mythology. Avie Adams completely captivated me with her vivid and otherworldly descriptions. It was a really unique retelling of the classic story we all know and definitely worth a read!
February 20, 2023
This novel was a beautiful tale of a cursed prince and outcast. Beauty and the beast & little mermaid vibes with a twist.
Spicy, though I did wish for a longer HEA scene at the end as this book has you on the edge of the seat the entire time and you want to see more of the characters.
My favourite quote from the book is the last paragraph - the perfect ending with all the feels.
Definitely worth the read!
Disclaimer: I received a free ARC copy of the book, however this is an honest feedback on my true feelings of the story.
Spicy, though I did wish for a longer HEA scene at the end as this book has you on the edge of the seat the entire time and you want to see more of the characters.
My favourite quote from the book is the last paragraph - the perfect ending with all the feels.
Definitely worth the read!
Disclaimer: I received a free ARC copy of the book, however this is an honest feedback on my true feelings of the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 8, 2023
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I would give Of Salt and Gold a 3.5 rating for my personal enjoyment of it. Since I can’t do half stars, I’m giving it a 4, with no regrets, since I think it will be an amazing read for a certain kind of reader.
I’m a huge fan of Beauty and the Beast retellings, and try to read as many as I can. But I have to say, I’d never read one with a mermaid spin before.
Like many mermaid books worth their salt (har har), Of Salt and Gold is full of beautiful descriptions and beautiful, sexy sea people. You will feel transported to another world when you read it.
It’s also an interesting take on the Beauty and the Beast story. Instead of having our hero be an actual Beast (Can merfolk be ugly?), merman Ambrosios is tied to the beast -- a chilling sort of sea monster/mer creature hybrid who’s mostly sea monster -- in some surprising ways. As the book continues, we learn more about this mysterious bond, and how the curse might be broken.
This was an intriguing twist and I wanted to know how it would end up being resolved.
There were a few things I didn’t like, though. One was the author’s choice to not really show much emotional bonding between our Beauty and Beast characters. This is a choice some Beauty and the Beast retellers make, and it’s really a question of taste, not a lack of writerly skill. Some readers will enjoy reading about the gorgeous Ambrosios and his “Beauty”, Chrysanthe, stuck in an enchanted undersea castle together, dealing with mostly physical interactions…or eating together.
This latter thing brings up my biggest criticism about the book. There was lots of potential for Chrysanthe to be her own person, but we only get glimmers of her personality, and sometimes they seem to cancel each other out, making her feel hard to connect with. All that we come away with is that she will willingly cook for Ambrosios despite his not asking and it not being established that she enjoys cooking. She also declines the opportunity to learn to read (in a move that seems totally irrelevant to the rest of the book); and despite having lived on her own and supporting an ailing parent for many years, she seems to have no other skills besides being pretty and saying she’s a virgin during sexy encounters.
I know that we all have our likes when it comes to romance and sexy stuff, but for me, Chrysanthe’s character felt like reading something from the 1950’s. She didn’t need to be a warrior or anything, nor did she need to be a bookworm, as many Beauty characters (including Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve’s original one) are -- after all, knowing how to read isn’t what makes someone intelligent or interesting or worthy…but why make a big deal that she refuses to learn to read? Why make her unquestioningly, automatically cook for a man (again, this is not because Chrysanthe likes to cook; I’ve read retellings where this is the case, or where there’s another reason the Beauty character might (have to) do chores)?
I would have been more impressed to see the couple’s love grow by learning from each other, as well as from their physical attraction. Maybe Chrysanthe could have taught Ambrosios to cook, since he seemed so impressed by her meals and bemoaned the fact that he had no idea how to cook for himself and only ate basic, raw food during his 17-year exile in the castle. And why not have Ambrosios give Chrysanthe a few music lessons on the instrument he’s mastered and admired for playing? These could have provided more insights into the deep bond they supposedly have together, as we’d get to see them interacting with each other in a different and insightful way.
But, again, it depends on what you want in a romance.
Most of the time when I read a Beauty and the Beast story, my favorite part is when the two are stuck together in the enchanted castle. But in this retelling, I actually preferred the part AFTER Ambrosios and Chrysanthe’s time in the castle, when they have to overcome personal difficulties and find one another again. I thought the author did an excellent job making the “after” of that iconic castle time really exciting and interesting.
I also like how the author incorporated the complicated relationship the Beauty character has with her father and sister(s) in many versions of the story.
Overall, Of Salt and Gold is an interesting take on Beauty and the Beast, although not a perfect one if you prefer your B&B retellings with a lot of emotional and intellectual connection between the characters, and as well as a sense of basic equality.
But if you’re looking for an escape to the sea, to beautiful dreamlike vistas and some sexy mermaid (or rather, mermaid in their human form) encounters, with some romance along the way, as well as a monster character thrown in for good measure, you’ll probably fall in love with this book!
I would give Of Salt and Gold a 3.5 rating for my personal enjoyment of it. Since I can’t do half stars, I’m giving it a 4, with no regrets, since I think it will be an amazing read for a certain kind of reader.
I’m a huge fan of Beauty and the Beast retellings, and try to read as many as I can. But I have to say, I’d never read one with a mermaid spin before.
Like many mermaid books worth their salt (har har), Of Salt and Gold is full of beautiful descriptions and beautiful, sexy sea people. You will feel transported to another world when you read it.
It’s also an interesting take on the Beauty and the Beast story. Instead of having our hero be an actual Beast (Can merfolk be ugly?), merman Ambrosios is tied to the beast -- a chilling sort of sea monster/mer creature hybrid who’s mostly sea monster -- in some surprising ways. As the book continues, we learn more about this mysterious bond, and how the curse might be broken.
This was an intriguing twist and I wanted to know how it would end up being resolved.
There were a few things I didn’t like, though. One was the author’s choice to not really show much emotional bonding between our Beauty and Beast characters. This is a choice some Beauty and the Beast retellers make, and it’s really a question of taste, not a lack of writerly skill. Some readers will enjoy reading about the gorgeous Ambrosios and his “Beauty”, Chrysanthe, stuck in an enchanted undersea castle together, dealing with mostly physical interactions…or eating together.
This latter thing brings up my biggest criticism about the book. There was lots of potential for Chrysanthe to be her own person, but we only get glimmers of her personality, and sometimes they seem to cancel each other out, making her feel hard to connect with. All that we come away with is that she will willingly cook for Ambrosios despite his not asking and it not being established that she enjoys cooking. She also declines the opportunity to learn to read (in a move that seems totally irrelevant to the rest of the book); and despite having lived on her own and supporting an ailing parent for many years, she seems to have no other skills besides being pretty and saying she’s a virgin during sexy encounters.
I know that we all have our likes when it comes to romance and sexy stuff, but for me, Chrysanthe’s character felt like reading something from the 1950’s. She didn’t need to be a warrior or anything, nor did she need to be a bookworm, as many Beauty characters (including Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve’s original one) are -- after all, knowing how to read isn’t what makes someone intelligent or interesting or worthy…but why make a big deal that she refuses to learn to read? Why make her unquestioningly, automatically cook for a man (again, this is not because Chrysanthe likes to cook; I’ve read retellings where this is the case, or where there’s another reason the Beauty character might (have to) do chores)?
I would have been more impressed to see the couple’s love grow by learning from each other, as well as from their physical attraction. Maybe Chrysanthe could have taught Ambrosios to cook, since he seemed so impressed by her meals and bemoaned the fact that he had no idea how to cook for himself and only ate basic, raw food during his 17-year exile in the castle. And why not have Ambrosios give Chrysanthe a few music lessons on the instrument he’s mastered and admired for playing? These could have provided more insights into the deep bond they supposedly have together, as we’d get to see them interacting with each other in a different and insightful way.
But, again, it depends on what you want in a romance.
Most of the time when I read a Beauty and the Beast story, my favorite part is when the two are stuck together in the enchanted castle. But in this retelling, I actually preferred the part AFTER Ambrosios and Chrysanthe’s time in the castle, when they have to overcome personal difficulties and find one another again. I thought the author did an excellent job making the “after” of that iconic castle time really exciting and interesting.
I also like how the author incorporated the complicated relationship the Beauty character has with her father and sister(s) in many versions of the story.
Overall, Of Salt and Gold is an interesting take on Beauty and the Beast, although not a perfect one if you prefer your B&B retellings with a lot of emotional and intellectual connection between the characters, and as well as a sense of basic equality.
But if you’re looking for an escape to the sea, to beautiful dreamlike vistas and some sexy mermaid (or rather, mermaid in their human form) encounters, with some romance along the way, as well as a monster character thrown in for good measure, you’ll probably fall in love with this book!
April 22, 2024
Such a good read! I liked the storyline, and the characters were interesting. I’m a mermaid in a past life I swear, so this called to me. Sweet story
March 2, 2023
I was absolutely enthralled by this retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, as Ms. Adams took this to a completely new world, that of the deep sea, and the Mer people. Chrysanthe is a mermaid shifter brought up in the human world by a depressed father who she cared for unconditionally though he did not care for her at all. Kyrillos was her best friend until he forced himself upon her, saying he would marry her no matter what, forcing her to escape from his clutches into the deep sea swimming towards freedom. However she crosses into the gulf and encounters a monstrous beast but is saved by the cursed prince of the Mer and taken into the forgotten palace below the waves. Ambrosios, the prince was under a curse and he could never leave the palace where he had dwelt alone for the past seventeen years as the beast kept outside by magic and wards would follow wherever he went and kill anyone they came across. Chrys fell for the prince and the feelings grew mutual and she vowed she would help him break the curse even if this meant she would have to face the beast. I love this very exciting romance which is for an adult reader who loves a bit of heat, a twist to the tale, and a great fairy tale ending to their stories.
March 9, 2023
I got this free on BookDoggy through Bookfunnel and author newsletter sign up. I read part of a sample before I decided to sign up and was hooked in about 10 pages. This is a twisted fairy tale version of Beauty and the Beast. This is the second retelling of Beauty and the Beast I've read this year and I loved them both. The characters and world building were great and there were some interesting twists that kept me hooked. The author lists it as steamy but I have read more steamy books before, but I felt it was just the right amount.
November 7, 2024
I'm a sucker for a good beauty and the beast retelling, and this was one of the more creative ones I've read, with elements of the little mermaid and sleeping beauty since the mermaid prince is trapped in an underwater castle by the beast intent on destroying him. X stumbles into his tragic story, and slowly falls in love with the doomed prince. I really enjoyed the characters, who were complex and interesting in a compelling underwater world. I highly recommend this steamy fated mates story for romantasy fans who like rich worldbuilding.
November 21, 2024
It was interesting. There’s some spice, but it is not as explicit as other stories. The MCs had some chemistry, and overall the story was entertaining, though I wish the sister and the father had some consequences for their actions. I thought that Ambrosios’ secret would be something more heinous, with all the build-up, or at least something deserving of punishment, not just befriending a jealous, selfish bitch who wanted him and damn his opinion in the matter.
February 28, 2023
An interesting twist on Beauty and the Beast with a dash of The Little Mermaid. I really liked all the hints of classic fairytales, and how Of Salt and Gold stood on its own. Also the title tie in at the end was perfect!
If you like Beauty and the Beast retellings, fantasy romance, fairytales, or just a quick read, this may be the right book to pick up!
If you like Beauty and the Beast retellings, fantasy romance, fairytales, or just a quick read, this may be the right book to pick up!
April 21, 2023
This novella was short and fun. There is insta love which I'm not a fan of but I didn't mind it in this one. Also the plot twist at the end caught me off guard which is a good thing.
September 10, 2023
Ngl did not realize it was a Beauty and the Beast retelling - I thought it was The Little Mermaid the whole time. It's good though. 10/10 4 stars.
July 19, 2024
This was cute!
July 19, 2024
My first mermaid-beauty-and-the-beast. Great.
July 31, 2024
Beauty and the beast + little mermaid vibes
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews