Title: A Thousand Salt Kisses by Josie Demuth

Pages: 443

Genres: YA, Romance, Fantasy

Published by: Wise Ink (April 29th, 2016)

Summary

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.

– Goodreads

What I Thought

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  A huge thank you to Wise Ink Creative Publishing and Netgalley.*

After I first read the description for A Thousand Salt Kisses, I knew I was going to like this book.  It sounded like such a fun, summer-y read, and it definitely was!  There were a few things that I found to be a bit problematic, but overall, this was a fun, easy read.

First off, I just want to talk about what bothered me.  It really made me feel weird that Crystal’s friend, Rosie, was in a relationship with some guy in his mid-twenties.  Crystal and Rosie are only 17…Another high school friend also dated a guy in his mid-twenties.  The fact that them being underage was not even considered an issue to anyone at all was a bit strange to me.  There was also a lot of underage drinking, and nobody seemed concerned about that either…

Aside from that, I didn’t really have any other issues with the book.  It is written in a way that can be read through quickly, while still fully enjoying it.  If I were to describe this book in one word, it would probably be “fun.”  In a lot of ways, it reminded me of Twilight, and I say that as a compliment.  I admit, it’s not the greatest novel to ever be written or anything like that, but I highly doubt that was the author’s intention.  It is, however, mysterious, romantic, and like I already said, fun!

The characters were creative, and they all had their own personalities.  I also absolutely loved the setting.  The descriptions made me long to be near the ocean!  I also liked the incorporation of the importance of protecting marine life, without it taking over the entire story.

I’m not sure whether or not there will be a sequel, but if there is, I will read it!

A Thousand Salt Kisses is one of those books that demand to be read in the summertime, so I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, summer romance. 🙂