Title: Blood and Salt (Blood and Salt #1)
Author: Kim Liggett
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication date: September 22nd 2015
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble
Romeo and Juliet meets Children of the Corn in this one-of-a-kind romantic horror.
"When you fall in love, you will carve out your heart and throw it into the deepest ocean. You will be all in-- blood and salt."
These are the last words Ash Larkin hears before her mother returns to the spiritual commune she escaped long ago. But when Ash follows her to Quivira, Kansas, something sinister and ancient waits among the rustling cornstalks of this village lost to time.
Ash is plagued by memories of her ancestor, Katia, which harken back to the town's history of unrequited love and murder, alchemy and immortality. Charming traditions soon give way to gruesome deaths, and Ash feels drawn to Dane, a forbidden boy with secrets of his own.
As the community prepares for a ceremony five hundred years in the making, Ash must fight not only to save her mother, but herself-- and discover the truth about Quivira before it's too late. Before she's all in-- blood and salt.
(Image and summary courtesy of Goodreads)
My thoughts:
My thoughts:
Growing up a horror junkie has got me constantly looking for my next fix and to say that my standard for horror-themed movies and books is high would be an understatement. But oh. My. God. Kim Liggett blew those standards to bits and exceeded my expectations amazingly. Blood and Salt is easily one of my most favourite reads of 2015. I read this book last June and I have reread it about eight times since then and I have loved it every single reread I did.
Blood and Salt is a beautifully nuanced novel that tackles different forms of unconditional love that will leave your heart aching and bursting with feelings. But even more than the evocative emotions this book will make you feel, Kim Liggett will literally put the fear of cornstalks in you. While the whole cornstalk bit may seem very Children of the Corn-y, Kim Liggett intricately weaves her own style and magic into every stalk, grain and drop of blood that appears in the book. My soul was so conflicted-- it did not know whether to cower in fear or keep flipping the pages because I just needed more Ash and Dane and Quivira.
I absolutely adored Ash, mostly because there were moments when she reminded me of myself. She was not perfect, she made mistakes but those small imperfections were what made her so relatable to me. I was able to really connect with her, especially when it came to times when Ash had to make choices and even more when she interacted with her family (I am really close with my mom and seeing how Ash was with her's reminded me so much of my relationship with my mom). But if there is one thing that I admire most about Ash is that she is so brave. There were times when I thought that she would bow out because of how creepy and unknown the situation was but noooo, she held her head high and moved on. It was just so amazing to see that and she inspired me so much. Getting to know Ash and connecting with her was such a great experience for me.
Ash + Dane = Louisse's #1 ship (#Dash4lyf, heehee, get it?) But seriously, seriously, what I feel for the two of them goes beyond just shipping, reading about how their relationship progressed and all the terrifying shit they had to go through made me want to pull them out of the book and protect them. It wasn't even just all the things happening in Quivira that was terrifying, their love and how intense and consuming it was honestly scared even me. Their love was a big presence in the novel, it sucks you in and finds its way into your bloodstream until your heart starts to beat to the rhythm of Ash and Dane's (figurative) dance. It was sexy, beautiful and terrifying. I got shivers every scene they had together. Legit.
And the horror? Holy crap, I don't even think I can talk about it. But let me just say, you will not be able to look at corn the same way ever again (*cough*humaneating*cough*).
Blood and Salt was fucking amazing, I hardly ever curse online but this is one of those super rare and special moments because I am 10000000% serious. I am so in love with this book and I think everyone needs to read it. Kim Liggett's words feel as if they've been infused with magic and everything darkly beautiful in this world.
Blood and Salt is a beautifully nuanced novel that tackles different forms of unconditional love that will leave your heart aching and bursting with feelings. But even more than the evocative emotions this book will make you feel, Kim Liggett will literally put the fear of cornstalks in you. While the whole cornstalk bit may seem very Children of the Corn-y, Kim Liggett intricately weaves her own style and magic into every stalk, grain and drop of blood that appears in the book. My soul was so conflicted-- it did not know whether to cower in fear or keep flipping the pages because I just needed more Ash and Dane and Quivira.
I absolutely adored Ash, mostly because there were moments when she reminded me of myself. She was not perfect, she made mistakes but those small imperfections were what made her so relatable to me. I was able to really connect with her, especially when it came to times when Ash had to make choices and even more when she interacted with her family (I am really close with my mom and seeing how Ash was with her's reminded me so much of my relationship with my mom). But if there is one thing that I admire most about Ash is that she is so brave. There were times when I thought that she would bow out because of how creepy and unknown the situation was but noooo, she held her head high and moved on. It was just so amazing to see that and she inspired me so much. Getting to know Ash and connecting with her was such a great experience for me.
Ash + Dane = Louisse's #1 ship (#Dash4lyf, heehee, get it?) But seriously, seriously, what I feel for the two of them goes beyond just shipping, reading about how their relationship progressed and all the terrifying shit they had to go through made me want to pull them out of the book and protect them. It wasn't even just all the things happening in Quivira that was terrifying, their love and how intense and consuming it was honestly scared even me. Their love was a big presence in the novel, it sucks you in and finds its way into your bloodstream until your heart starts to beat to the rhythm of Ash and Dane's (figurative) dance. It was sexy, beautiful and terrifying. I got shivers every scene they had together. Legit.
And the horror? Holy crap, I don't even think I can talk about it. But let me just say, you will not be able to look at corn the same way ever again (*cough*humaneating*cough*).
Blood and Salt was fucking amazing, I hardly ever curse online but this is one of those super rare and special moments because I am 10000000% serious. I am so in love with this book and I think everyone needs to read it. Kim Liggett's words feel as if they've been infused with magic and everything darkly beautiful in this world.
"When you fall in love, you will carve out your heart and throw it into the deepest ocean. You will be all in-- blood and salt."
Is a line Ash's mom said to her in the early parts of the book but I chose it because it pretty much sums up what I feel for Blood and Salt. I am so emotionally attached to this book, I can't even. Seriously. And the ending? Let's just say that Kim Liggett had me crying in public (specifically Walmart and Dunkin' Donuts). Ugh. This book. This booooook. Read it. ASAP. Plus, it's the perfect Halloween read...
You're welcome.
Rating:
OOoh nice! Hearing so many awesome things about this one! Glad I bought it! LOL! Glad you enjoyed it so much! Great review!
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