Title: Salt Magic, Skin Magic
Author: Lee Welch
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 217 Pages
Category: Fantasy
At a Glance: Salt Magic, Skin Magic is a fun, down-the-rabbit hole, wonderland of a fantasy romance.
Reviewed By: Lisa
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: Salt Magic, Skin Magic has been on my ultra-long list of ‘I’m going to get to this book someday’, since the day it was published, and I’ve now given myself a sound mental butt-kicking for taking so long to get to it. From the characters to the otherness to the familiarity of the legends upon which that otherness is based, this novel was such a fun and frenetic treat to experience. The only thing that could possibly make me giddier is to discover it’s book one of a series (though just wishful thinking, that, as this is a complete story).
Lord Soren Thornby being kidnapped by his own father and held prisoner until Soren agrees to marry isn’t even the worst of Lord Dalton’s crimes, believe it or not. No, what is far more sinister is the reason Dalton has imprisoned his son until Thornby agrees to marry. Meanwhile, the current Lady Dalton, the lord’s second wife, is beside herself with worry that Thornby is a danger to her and her husband, while Thornby himself toes a harried line between remaining sane and giving in to the curse that casts a pall over his father’s estate. He is not only his father’s captive but is the victim of an enthrallment that allows him to wander Raskelf until he gets to the estate’s borderlands, sipping freedom every day for the past eighteen months but never drinking fully of it—because if he attempts to cross the invisible boundary that binds him to the estate, and by association, his father, physical horrors befall him. The initial scene that allows readers to witness Soren’s predicament and flirtation with his fragile grip on his sanity, firsthand, is meaningful and allowed me to develop an immediate emotional connection to him and to how he was suffering.
John Blake’s appearance at Raskelf is significant for a number of reasons, not the least of which is he is a magician. He is there by Lady Dalton’s leave and has used his considerable talents to convince Lord Dalton he will benefit from John’s presence. John is there to investigate the spell Thornby has presumably cast upon his father, though his suspicions are soon proved misplaced when John himself witnesses the consequence of Thornby’s attempts to leave Raskelf, another vivid and affecting scene amongst many in this down-the-rabbit-hole fantasy. There is an air of mystery surrounding Thornby; he, it soon becomes clear, may not be altogether human, and watching John come to the realization that although his talents and resources are considerable, they are useless against Soren and no match for what’s playing out at Raskelf, offers up some tense and turbulent scenes throughout the book.
Soren is indeed a man, an inhumanly beautiful man, and yet he is other, and John’s discovery of the truth along with his efforts to free Soren leaves them both in danger. John finds himself in dire straits, alone and imprisoned and facing the hangman’s noose when Soren disappears and is presumed murdered. There were some fabulous moments of suspense as this story unfolds, playing alongside a building romance that was by turns playful and passionate and then poignant as well, before Welch was finished spinning her yarn. The moments of wonder and self-discovery for both John and Soren were meted out at the perfect pace to keep me turning pages.
Scottish mythology and the Fair Folk, too, amp up the fanciful nature of this delightful and heartfelt story, providing for a nice blend of danger and suspense while John becomes Soren’s staunchest ally, lover and, eventually, the man who helps Soren discover the truth about his mother and what, precisely, Soren is. The mythology to which the first Lady Dalton and Soren belong will be familiar, so to those who love the Celctic folklore, this book is a wonderland. As far as fans of Fantasy Romance go, Salt Magic, Skin Magic should be a welcome addition to your TBR list.
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