A review by octobertune
Hold Back the Tide by Melinda Salisbury

4.0

I had no idea what this book was going to be like because honestly, the synopsis is rather vague. But boy Hold Back the Tide was a rollercoaster ride! It takes place in a small town somewhere in the north (? I presume) of Scotland and the setting is what made the story for me. It was such an eerie setting, I sometimes just felt chills going down my spine as I read it. Definitely my favourite setting for these types of stories. 

I also really liked Alva as the main character, and her friendship with Ren was great too.

There was one character that I absolutely hated, and that was Giles Stewart. Oh god, I wanted to punch that man. Sure, he was written to be hated, but the things he did just made me cringe so hard. I think I may have hated him more than I hated the actual monsters.

It took me a bit to get into the story, honestly, but at about the 25% mark, I just could not put it down. I actually made myself put it down, at 4:30 am because I needed sleep and my eyes were tired. As soon as I could, I picked it back up and kept on reading until I finished it just now, it just drew me in.

And that ending? OH MY GOD. I may or may not have raged for a bit when I read the final sentence, and the next page was the acknowledgements. I love standalone Fantasy books, but ahhhhhh!

If you love Stranger Things, love books set in a small town, I highly recommend you pick up this book!