A Thousand Salt Kisses by Josie Demuth {Yomna's Review}

Seventeen-year-old Crystal White is the new girl on Starfish Island. Dragged to the remote community by her environmental activist father, she is eager to find fun that doesn’t involve touching fish guts or listening to local folklore.

During a midnight swim with some new friends, Crystal is pulled out to sea by the waves. Convinced she’s going to drown, Crystal is rescued by Llyr, a handsome stranger. As she searches for him in the following weeks, she finds there may be more truth to the Starfish legends than she thought.

Over a sizzling roller-coaster summer, Llyr introduces Crystal to magic she’d only ever dreamed of. But as Crystal comes to love Starfish Island, it begins to drive her family apart. A nearby power plant is devastating local marine life, and her parents are stuck in the middle. As the magic and mundane parts of Crystal’s life converge, she finds herself risking everything to save Llyr, her family, and herself.

Spoiler free!

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My rating: 3.5/5

Thank you to Net Galley and Wise Ink Creative Publishing for giving a free advanced copy of this book!

I didn't LOVE this book, but I definitely really enjoyed it. I really recommend it if you're longing for summer and you want a good solid read. Now let's discuss. 

Crystal Whites: I really liked her. She was such a sweet girl and a really fun main character to read about. She's definitely a bit different from the main characters in other books I read because she kicks a lot less ass but all in all, her voice was unique, maybe a little timid, but still very good. 

Llyr: I really like his name! Kind of in the dark as in how to pronounce it but I'm sure it's pretty cool! Points to Josie Demuth for effort! 

I really enjoyed learning about Llyr because he's so romantic and sweet. Boy goals! He's just so mysterious and that makes him overall really intriguing. 

In the beginning: This book really does get straight to the point and that made it that much more enjoyable because there's no annoying world building. As you may know, fantasies can be a bit annoying sometimes because you have to build up this whole new world and it's very risky because you need to introduce the world while you keep your audience interested. Anyways, this book is not like that. 

Josie Demuth brings a world we all know and are familiar with and combines it with another world, weaving them together with love and environmental concerns. And it made for a really fast, sweet story. 

Romance:  The romance is the main focus of this story and it was done appropriately. I use 'appropriately' because I don't really feel that passionate about this book, even though I did enjoy it. The romance wasn't rushed and you could see the characters connect enough for it to be real. 

"He smiled, and I had the feeling that once again he was not one hundred percent sure what I was talking about. But none of that mattered somehow. He reached out, drawing me closer to him, and I let myself be pulled into his arms. I rested my hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. Then finally our mouths pressed together, and I tasted the sea on his lips." 

Feelings: The #1 feeling for me when reading this book was intrigue. The plot just really interested me and I think the whole thing was really well set up, with several plot lines weaving into each other, instead of it just being about the romance, which was what I expected. 

Reaction to the cover: B+ cover design. Pretty enough that I would probably buy this book in a book store but not gorgeous. It did reflect the story though, which is very important. 

Anyways, really liked this book! Will be checking out the next ones in the series. I do encourage you to read this because it's such a light fluffy read. 

Love,

Yomna