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A review by thesapphicnarratives
Black Salt Queen by Samantha Bansil
5.0
as a filipino, reading a fantasy set in a world inspired by precolonial philippines felt so personal and moving. i’ve read a lot of fantasy before, but this one really resonated with me on a core level because it felt like it was written with people like me in mind. the island nation of maynara is rich with details that reflect centuries-old filipino culture. the politics, the rituals, the ways people speak and move and love. even just the way the setting was described reminded me of stories i’ve heard. one of the main characters is even named laya, which means freedom, and as soon as i saw her name on the page i felt a little pang in my chest because of how meaningful that word is to us.
what also stood out to me is how much care the author put into crafting her characters. they’re powerful, literally blessed by gods, but they’re also painfully human. the two rival families are both led by matriarchs, each full of secrets, heartbreak, vengeance. they’re not just enemies fighting over a throne, they’re women shaped by love and grief and impossible choices. i really loved how the book explored different kinds of relationships within a family. hara duja’s fierce protectiveness over her daughters sometimes looked like distrust in their ability to lead. and the sisterhood between the three gatdula sisters was so raw and real. i thought it was so interesting that the middle child, not the eldest, was chosen to bear the mulayri’s power and become the heir. it made sense, but it also created this painful rift between the sisters at first. watching them grow into each other’s strongest support system after everything they endured… that part really healed something in me.
and then there’s the matriarchs. i was already excited knowing there was a sapphic subplot, but what i didn’t expect was that it would be them. their love story really cut me open. lovers to enemies. everything kind of started with them and their forbidden love. they couldn’t be together, but they also couldn’t let go of what they once had. the flashbacks to their youth were so soft and tender. even when they were at each other’s throats in the present, you could still feel all that love and hurt between them. and the ending… it destroyed me in such a beautiful way. it felt like something out of the old filipino folklores i grew up hearing, or as we call them, "alamat." bittersweet, haunting, but also so fitting. it made their story even more powerful and memorable to me.
this book is so special to me because it showed a world that felt both magical and familiar. it showed that our history, our women, our words, our stories are worth centering in epic fantasies.
thank you to @netgalley and @bindery_books for the e-arc!
what also stood out to me is how much care the author put into crafting her characters. they’re powerful, literally blessed by gods, but they’re also painfully human. the two rival families are both led by matriarchs, each full of secrets, heartbreak, vengeance. they’re not just enemies fighting over a throne, they’re women shaped by love and grief and impossible choices. i really loved how the book explored different kinds of relationships within a family. hara duja’s fierce protectiveness over her daughters sometimes looked like distrust in their ability to lead. and the sisterhood between the three gatdula sisters was so raw and real. i thought it was so interesting that the middle child, not the eldest, was chosen to bear the mulayri’s power and become the heir. it made sense, but it also created this painful rift between the sisters at first. watching them grow into each other’s strongest support system after everything they endured… that part really healed something in me.
and then there’s the matriarchs. i was already excited knowing there was a sapphic subplot, but what i didn’t expect was that it would be them. their love story really cut me open. lovers to enemies. everything kind of started with them and their forbidden love. they couldn’t be together, but they also couldn’t let go of what they once had. the flashbacks to their youth were so soft and tender. even when they were at each other’s throats in the present, you could still feel all that love and hurt between them. and the ending… it destroyed me in such a beautiful way. it felt like something out of the old filipino folklores i grew up hearing, or as we call them, "alamat." bittersweet, haunting, but also so fitting. it made their story even more powerful and memorable to me.
this book is so special to me because it showed a world that felt both magical and familiar. it showed that our history, our women, our words, our stories are worth centering in epic fantasies.
thank you to @netgalley and @bindery_books for the e-arc!