gmberbaum 's review for:

Black Salt Queen by Samantha Bansil

3.5

adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Black Salt Queen is an ambitious and richly layered fantasy that weaves together multiple points of view and intergenerational storylines. The plot is original and compelling, with a deep sense of history and legacy that gives the world real weight. I especially appreciated how the overlapping narratives revealed different facets of the story, keeping me invested in both past and present threads.

That said, the pacing was slow at the beginning, which made it a bit of a challenge to get into. Additionally, the book felt overly packed—there was so much going on that some elements didn’t get the space they deserved. I often found myself wanting the story to breathe more, to let key moments unfold more naturally rather than being rushed or buried in exposition.