Reviewed by Nikyta
Title: Salt Magic, Skin Magic
Author: Lee Welch
Heroes: Thornby & John
Genre: M/M Historical Paranormal
Length: 217 pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: August 9, 2018
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: Lord Thornby has been trapped on his father’s isolated Yorkshire estate for a year. There are no bars or chains; he simply can’t leave. His sanity is starting to fray. When industrial magician John Blake arrives to investigate a case of witchcraft, he finds the peculiar, arrogant Thornby as alarming as he is attractive. John soon finds himself caught up in a dark fairytale, where all the rules of magic—and love—are changed.
To set Thornby free, both men must face life-changing truths—and John must accept that the brave, witty man who’s winning his heart may also be about to break it. Can they escape a web of magic that’s as perilous as love?
Review:
Wow, this was a phenomenal story! At first, I wasn’t sure what to expect from it because it had been so long since I read the blurb and when I started reading it. What I loved about this book is that you start to understand everything as the characters do. When John finds out what’s happening, you find out what’s happening and I loved that because of the anticipation that grew with each chapter. It made things quite fascinating because so much happens that you don’t understand until John or Thornby do, which made things very intriguing and sucked me right in from the start by keeping me on the edge of my seat.
As for the characters, I wasn’t a fan of John at first. I didn’t like that he came in guns blazing and just accused Thornby of things without even figuring out if they were true. It wasn’t until Thornby was injured that he realized his mistake. As for Thornby, I loved him as a character, I loved how lost he was and how confused he’d get when he tried to leave the estate. As John gets more involved and realizes how messed up Thornby is, I loved how invested he was in making sure Thornby was safe and free from his father and I loved that. As a couple, I adored them and I couldn’t get enough of the connection they had.
I really enjoyed this book but it had way too much sex for me. I felt like anytime John and Thorny would be about to talk, they would have sex instead. Also, I was kind of confused how Thorny never realized that there was a part of himself missing. Add to that, the ending was a little sudden for me. The book had pretty good pacing but when you get almost to the end, everything goes by so quickly and then it ends. I wanted more lead up, more discovery and more idea of where things are going from here.
All in all, I really liked this one. I loved the characters and the world the author created. I loved seeing the story unfold as the characters uncovered what was going on. I wished we had gotten a little more in the end just to tie things up nicely but, as it is, this was an amazing debut novel. I can’t wait to read more from this author and definitely give this a go if you’re looking for a great historical paranormal story!
Overall Impression: I really liked it!
*I received a copy of this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review.*
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