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Salt Storm eBook Kendall Kulper

Download As PDF : Salt Storm eBook Kendall Kulper

Salt Storm eBook Kendall Kulper

This book was a difficult one for me. It took me awhile to get through it, and I'm still on the fence about it, so that's why I've given it 3 stars.

Salt & Storm didn't really pull me in until about 60% into the book. I trudged along, by pure will power alone, determined to finish it. It is an historical fantasy set on a tiny, fictitious Prince Island off the coast of New England. This island's main income is the whaling business, and whether or not the sailors are successful depends on the charms of the witch of the island.

Avery Roe, the protagonist, is the grand-daughter of the current Roe witch. For the first 12 years of her life, she lived with her grandmother after being abandoned by her mother. Then one day, her mother comes to reclaim her, and her dreams of becoming the witch vanish as her mother refuses to let her learn magic and interact with her grandmother. For four years she's dreamed of getting away from her mother and returning to claim her title.

Although Avery has yet to learn spells, she, like all her ancestors, has a special gift: dream telling. One day she wakes from a dream that predicts her death. Desperate to learn magic and change her fate, she seeks out help from a tattooed harpoon boy names Tane. They strike up a deal. He helps break her mother's curse that binds her from seeing her grandmother, and she interprets his dreams in the hopes of his finding and avenging his family's death.

Of course, they fall in love and all that good stuff. Who knew? It is a bit insta-love, but since they're relationship evolves somewhat before anything happens, I'm not too upset about it.

So, sounds intriguing, right? I thought so, until the first part of the book literally kept running in circles like so:

1) Avery and Tane meet to discuss her curse and his dreams.
2) She grows impatient with him and is kind of a turd about the whole thing.
3) He fails to stop the curse.
4) Resulting in her passing out at the meer thought of visiting her grandmother.
5) She wakes up & gets pissed.
6) Goes home and fights with her mother.

Repeat.

That is the jist of the first part of the book. And just when the monotony has reached it's breaking point, things FINALLY happen. And then it gets pretty good. The story takes some twists and turns, and I'm not going to lie, I may have teared up a few times over certain events that happen in the latter part of the book. The ending is well executed, but the beginning is brutal. I'm glad to have stumbled upon a decent stand alone though, as opposed to having to commit to a series.

It has its flaws, but definitely deserves a shot.


Tags : Amazon.com: Salt & Storm eBook: Kendall Kulper: Kindle Store,ebook,Kendall Kulper,Salt & Storm,Little, Brown Books for Young Readers,Fantasy - General,Historical - United States - 19th Century,Romance - General,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Fantasy & Magic,Fate and fatalism,Fate and fatalism;Fiction.,Fiction,Fiction-Fantasy,Historical Fiction (Young Adult),Islands of the Atlantic - History - 19th century,JUVENILE,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Grades 7-9 Ages 12-14,Magic,Magic;Fiction.,Mothers and daughters,Science fiction (Children's Teenage),TEEN'S FICTION FANTASY,TEEN'S FICTION HISTORICAL,TEEN'S FICTION ROMANCE,United States,Witches,Witches;Fiction.,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Family Parents,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy Historical,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Historical United States 19th Century,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance Historical,Young Adult FictionFamily - Parents,Young Adult FictionFantasy - Historical,Young Adult FictionGirls & Women,Young Adult FictionRomance - Historical,ya historical fantasy; witches; magic users; island; 19th century setting; new england; magic fantasy; ya historical romance; curse; seers; paranormal fantasy; historical fantasy; island life; whaling; sailors; whaling industry; mother daughter relationships; family secrets; first love; destiny; fate; sacrifice; free will; dealing with parents; mothers and daughters; historical romance novels; fantasy romance

Salt Storm eBook Kendall Kulper Reviews

Salt & Storm reminds me of a certain classic novel about a white whale and a man’s obsessive quest for revenge. Yes, I mean Moby Dick. And no, that’s not necessarily a good thing. Let me briefly tell you how I feel about Moby Dick. While it was ultimately memorable, the novel was so thorough in its research and realism that it bogged me down and made me dizzy, sick, and bored with its endless chapters on whaling and blubber in descriptive, non-glorious detail. And let’s not even talk about Ahab. I always wanted to know more about Ishmael and less about Ahab. But that would have been another story. While some scenes in Moby Dick are harrowing and powerful, for me the emotional impact was marred by both my lack of connection to the characters and the slogging pace created by the huge asides in which Melville proved he was worth his salt.

So how is Salt & Storm like Melville’s “Great American Novel”? Well, I’m not saying it’s classic literature. It’s decidedly not. However, the author has done her research on whaling and magic in order to make the world of Prince Island seem real. In that she has succeeded. Tane, the island-boy love interest of heroine Avery Roe, initially focused on avenging the death of his family, is for a time Kulper’s own Ahab in miniature. Avery and Tane even have a discussion about the inadequacy of revenge. Interestingly enough, Avery’s words to Tane about revenge are both more convincing and more meaningful than any on-page romance between the two. And therein lies one of the main rubs. When the plot begins to focus more on romance than mystery and intrigue, there is little satisfaction for the reader. The romance is classic insta-love at its best. Though, just as I found Ishmael more interesting than Ahab, I eventually wanted to know more about secondary character Tane than protagonist Avery Roe.

While Kulper serves up plenty of salty sea air and atmosphere, she never comes through with the seemingly promised magic. If you are reading this book hoping for a little bit of Salem-ish witchery, you’ll be sorely disappointed. At novel’s beginning, you are hooked by young Avery’s telling of a story of when her grandmother allowed her to sit in and “help” as she magically tied the winds. And when Avery is forcibly removed from her home and her loving grandmother by her “evil” mother, you want nothing more than for Avery to break her mother’s curse and get back home to her grandmother and the magic that is her birthright.

Avery, who knows no magic but has the gift of interpreting dreams, is thrust together with Tane, who has come to her for answers about his dreams in order that he may avenge his family’s murder. Avery, desperate to awaken her own magic, has had dreams herself foretelling her own fated death. Once the plot moves past Avery and Tane telling dreams and trying to break the curse, it peters out into a story which bears little resemblance to the story I anticipated.

Don’t get me wrong. Salt & Storm shaped into a book with more depth and complexity than I thought it would. It turned out to be a story about choice versus determinism, a tale about love in many shapes, shades, and sizes, a tale about family and gender, a discussion of sacrifice and courage. There are elements of Salem thrown in to be certain, and there are some spine-chillingly memorable scenes. However, the novel’s greatest shortcoming is that it does not establish a meaningful emotional tie between the reader and Avery. Any feelings I began to have at the outset faded when the novel’s romantic portion didn’t take hold, and finally, I felt duped by the author. When the story began pulling the wool from the reader’s eyes by uncovering previously unseen truths, the narrative reveals undercut the reliability of the narrator, severing the already weak ties I had to Avery. To use a nautical analogy, I was left adrift in the story with no emotional mooring or compass.

Two final words on the novel’s flawed execution. One Third person narration might have been more effective than the first person which was used. First person narration can be powerful, but it’s actually much more difficult to pull off than people think. Debut authors often fall short. Two Never underestimate your reader. Kulper’s narration suffers from repetitiveness. She writes something, makes a point, then later reminds you of what she’s written by telling you again, until it begins to feel that you are being told both what to think and what to feel. I believe this is what people speak of when they say that a book tells rather than shows. Perhaps we could have been shown more had the novel been related by an omniscient third person narrator. Alas, we shall never know. That ship has sailed. And sunk.

Verdict 3 of 5 Hearts. A Promising Debut, but Lacking in Magic.Salt & Storm gets the reader’s hopes up for a magical tale of witchcraft and romance. Unfortunately, it falls somewhat short in both areas leaving the reader adrift.

*Disclosure of Material Connection I would like to thank Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this title. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Not enjoyed 1 of the few books I simply could not finish. Do not recommend
Excellent!!!!
Very original story!
I fell in love, laughed and cried. Best read of 2015! I am off to read the companion novel and novella.

I love the family aspect and family conflict. The relationship with grandmother and granddaughter And mother and daughter, so realistic and so involving!

Tane is my favorite male character period! I loved how the magic was so incorporated into this world and I love the historical basis of this time period and the history of whaling incorporated into the novel.

Just bravo!
This book was a difficult one for me. It took me awhile to get through it, and I'm still on the fence about it, so that's why I've given it 3 stars.

Salt & Storm didn't really pull me in until about 60% into the book. I trudged along, by pure will power alone, determined to finish it. It is an historical fantasy set on a tiny, fictitious Prince Island off the coast of New England. This island's main income is the whaling business, and whether or not the sailors are successful depends on the charms of the witch of the island.

Avery Roe, the protagonist, is the grand-daughter of the current Roe witch. For the first 12 years of her life, she lived with her grandmother after being abandoned by her mother. Then one day, her mother comes to reclaim her, and her dreams of becoming the witch vanish as her mother refuses to let her learn magic and interact with her grandmother. For four years she's dreamed of getting away from her mother and returning to claim her title.

Although Avery has yet to learn spells, she, like all her ancestors, has a special gift dream telling. One day she wakes from a dream that predicts her death. Desperate to learn magic and change her fate, she seeks out help from a tattooed harpoon boy names Tane. They strike up a deal. He helps break her mother's curse that binds her from seeing her grandmother, and she interprets his dreams in the hopes of his finding and avenging his family's death.

Of course, they fall in love and all that good stuff. Who knew? It is a bit insta-love, but since they're relationship evolves somewhat before anything happens, I'm not too upset about it.

So, sounds intriguing, right? I thought so, until the first part of the book literally kept running in circles like so

1) Avery and Tane meet to discuss her curse and his dreams.
2) She grows impatient with him and is kind of a turd about the whole thing.
3) He fails to stop the curse.
4) Resulting in her passing out at the meer thought of visiting her grandmother.
5) She wakes up & gets pissed.
6) Goes home and fights with her mother.

Repeat.

That is the jist of the first part of the book. And just when the monotony has reached it's breaking point, things FINALLY happen. And then it gets pretty good. The story takes some twists and turns, and I'm not going to lie, I may have teared up a few times over certain events that happen in the latter part of the book. The ending is well executed, but the beginning is brutal. I'm glad to have stumbled upon a decent stand alone though, as opposed to having to commit to a series.

It has its flaws, but definitely deserves a shot.