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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The author lives on a sail boat and so she uses a lot of specific vocabulary to sailing. I assume it's quite accurate and might really appeal to someone with sailing experience.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I started off with 4 stars, but the more I sat on my thoughts after finishing this book, I had to lower to a 3. The ending was, unfortunately, where this book fell flat and disappointed me.
The first approximately 85% of this book is AMAZING. I love Bird and what an absolute shitty disaster she is. She sucks so bad, but it is in a way that is full of good intentions and self-preservation in a way that cannot make you do anything but love her.
Sargo is also pretty lovable, although his characterization gets increasingly sparse as the book goes on. By the end, I feel like more of the text is Bird fantasizing about Sargo than us getting to experience what he is actually like, something I found myself increasingly unhappy with as time went on.
The twist regarding the "blips" and Bird's brother were very good! I was so intrigued. I also love how much life and love were put into the crew they encounter - Fetch especially stands out to me as a deeply interesting character. I feel like she got more characterization and page time than Sargo, though!
Now, the ending. Ugh. When Sargo came to rescue Bird from her brother, I was SO into it. I was cheering, excited at how this ending was gonna ramp up and Sargo and Bird were going to have an honest conversation for once and maybe finally kiss and they were going to ride away into the sunset, the future ahead still a bit unsure but everything in the initial book pretty well wrapped up...
Instead, Sargo falls overboard immediately after saving Bird and she crashes onto an island. The last like ten pages are her droning ON and ON about how everything sucks and she is barely surviving until the kidnapper pirates find her again somehow. Then it ends.
...Okay. Well. I kind of don't even want to read the second book, now, if out of nothing but spite.
I am a strong believer that any one book, whether it is part of a series or not, should tell a complete story and be able to stand on its own. I understand leaving some things open to continue the series. This book just feels unfinished. Basically no part of the story was resolved, and not a whole lot was answered. I feel cheated. I read this whole book for... no resolution, nothing.
I feel that Shipton would have been better off resolving the main story created in Salt, and then opening the next book with the situation of Bird and Sargo separated and Bird stranded. As a reader, I would have found that infinitely more enthralling and high stakes than Bird being separated from some dude she's barely talked to the last 50 pages besides masturbating to the idea of him. I'm just not interested in continuing the series, now, lest the second book also resolves nothing, somehow. It spoils my trust in the author to complete the story in any meaningful or satisfying way (I know it sounds dramatic, but it's real).
The first approximately 85% of this book is AMAZING. I love Bird and what an absolute shitty disaster she is. She sucks so bad, but it is in a way that is full of good intentions and self-preservation in a way that cannot make you do anything but love her.
Sargo is also pretty lovable, although his characterization gets increasingly sparse as the book goes on. By the end, I feel like more of the text is Bird fantasizing about Sargo than us getting to experience what he is actually like, something I found myself increasingly unhappy with as time went on.
The twist regarding the "blips" and Bird's brother were very good! I was so intrigued. I also love how much life and love were put into the crew they encounter - Fetch especially stands out to me as a deeply interesting character. I feel like she got more characterization and page time than Sargo, though!
Now, the ending. Ugh. When Sargo came to rescue Bird from her brother, I was SO into it. I was cheering, excited at how this ending was gonna ramp up and Sargo and Bird were going to have an honest conversation for once and maybe finally kiss and they were going to ride away into the sunset, the future ahead still a bit unsure but everything in the initial book pretty well wrapped up...
Instead, Sargo falls overboard immediately after saving Bird and she crashes onto an island. The last like ten pages are her droning ON and ON about how everything sucks and she is barely surviving until the kidnapper pirates find her again somehow. Then it ends.
...Okay. Well. I kind of don't even want to read the second book, now, if out of nothing but spite.
I am a strong believer that any one book, whether it is part of a series or not, should tell a complete story and be able to stand on its own. I understand leaving some things open to continue the series. This book just feels unfinished. Basically no part of the story was resolved, and not a whole lot was answered. I feel cheated. I read this whole book for... no resolution, nothing.
I feel that Shipton would have been better off resolving the main story created in Salt, and then opening the next book with the situation of Bird and Sargo separated and Bird stranded. As a reader, I would have found that infinitely more enthralling and high stakes than Bird being separated from some dude she's barely talked to the last 50 pages besides masturbating to the idea of him. I'm just not interested in continuing the series, now, lest the second book also resolves nothing, somehow. It spoils my trust in the author to complete the story in any meaningful or satisfying way (I know it sounds dramatic, but it's real).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Murder
adventurous
Found out about the book from a Reddit thread looking for FMC is a mess and MMC isn’t and tries to keep her in line. It kinda fit that, though there were only a few lines of him trying to keep her in line. The book was a bit random but fast paced and I finished it in a night.
A futuristic dystopian society where the world is 95% water means we are dealing with scary ass pirates, (possibly evil) corporations that control the land and most of society, and (possibly but probably definitely evil) rebel factions fighting against the corporations. There were definitely moments where Bird, the FMC, does something so incredibly stupid it drove me crazy but then I remembered Bird is 18 years old and I was equally as ridiculous at that age. However, (and I can't believe I am saying this as an avid romance reader) I wish there was less "romance" in this one, if you can even call it romance. I am not entirely sure this book can even qualify as a romance book to begin with. It's more of a dystopian science fiction YA book with a side subplot of romance which I don't mind. But Bird does have moments where she starts fantasizing about Sargo and anything that "happens" is really just in Bird's head. I could have done without those scenes but I can see that Liz Shipton is probably building something for the whole series. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am excited to read the 2nd in the series. Okay, now I'm off to sing sea shanties while doing chores.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An adventurous and dystopian book with the undercurrent of a slow burn romance which is key for the characters but not for the story. The story progressed quickly, unveiling details and characters to link together plot points and move it along. Bird and Sargo had different approaches to life and their actions but made a good team. Bird was quick thinking, impulsive and instinct based while Sargo was logical and practical and thought about the potential consequences for his actions. The dreams and recovered memories were used well to show important parts of the story and to understand how Bird knew certain things and felt a certain way.
Some parts of the book felt a touch frustrating, it felt like Sargo and Bird never really stood a chance to just be safe for a second and develop their relationship before they encountered a new issue or threat or person. This happened so often and so quickly that sometimes it felt like you were being pushed from one thing to another without getting to fully explore it. Also there is a lot of characters names and chacteristics to keep track of.
It ended on a successful cliffhanger, I want to know what happens next for them and how it will resolve itself.
Some parts of the book felt a touch frustrating, it felt like Sargo and Bird never really stood a chance to just be safe for a second and develop their relationship before they encountered a new issue or threat or person. This happened so often and so quickly that sometimes it felt like you were being pushed from one thing to another without getting to fully explore it. Also there is a lot of characters names and chacteristics to keep track of.
It ended on a successful cliffhanger, I want to know what happens next for them and how it will resolve itself.