Review Special: Taken With A Grain Of Salt

Review Special: Review Request

Title: Taken With a Grain of Salt
Author: Aaron Galvin

Website/Blog: www.aarongalvin.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aarongalvin5

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saltseries

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8075676.Aaron_Galvin

Author Image:
 
Author Biography: 

Aaron Galvin first cut his chops writing original stand-up comedy routines at age thirteen. His early works paid off years later when he co-wrote and executive produced the 2013 award-winning indie feature film, Wedding Bells & Shotgun Shells.

He is also an accomplished actor. Aaron has worked in Hollywood blockbusters, (Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, and Clint Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers), and starred in dozens of indie films.

Aaron is a proud member of SCBWI. He lives in Southern California with his wife and daughter.

Praise for the Series:

It's always hard to find a unique novel on mermaids. I've seen a spin or two from time to time, but nothing really original, and certainly nothing I'd really describe as 'cool'. That was until I got the chance to read Salted.  

                  - Steampunk Sparrow Book Blog

Aaron Galvin has a vivid and rich imagination (I'm a fan of Tolkien and Martin so I'm really into detail)...The plot is clever, inspiring, and definitely thought provoking. I'll never be able to look at a seal in quite the same way again!

-Zili In The Sky: Book Reviews

We've been in a bit of a rut in the merbook business lately. Waiting for sequels, reading some filler in the time between...And then Salted waltzes in, and it blew my mind...it's a totally fresh take on selkies and merpeople, and definitely one of the best of the newer crop of mer-novels released. Go read it!

-The Merblog: The Blog For All Things Mermaid

I totally bought into the Salted world Galvin created. Not an easy read but a unique one, I would recommend Salted by Aaron Galvin for people who are looking for something beyond the typical mermaid and selkie tales.    

- Cherie Reich, author of The Foxwick Chronicles

We have seen a glut of young adult fiction that has made its way to bookshelves. Vampires, werewolves and post-apocalyptic survivors have become the dominant characters in many books for young readers. It’s a trend that has very much worn out its welcome if you ask me. That’s why it is so refreshing when an author creates something new and genuinely interesting. Enter Aaron Galvin’s Salted, a book that actually presents a mythology that I never knew existed.  

                  - One of Us

Salted was an intriguing read that kept me hooked. It is a different spin on the underwater world and creatures, which I found brought quite a bit of originality to the genre.   

- Lost To Books

One of the best things Salted has going for it is the presentation of a type of world we haven’t seen much, if at all, in popular young adult fiction today...Salted is sure to grab your interest at the onset.

- Let There Be Movies

 

Publisher: Smashwords
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Thriller.
Release Date: November 24th 2014

Pages: Unknown - Kindle edition.

Where Acquired: Copy of the book from the author in return for an honest review.

Buy Here:

Amazon: http://goo.gl/UT6XwX

Smashwords: http://goo.gl/4EXWPZ

Signed print copies: http://goo.gl/OjuhVo

- Kindle Price: $3.21 (as of when posted) 

Cover: 


Goodreads Description: 
Anyone can be taken - a simple truth for Salt folk, a stark reality for innocent teens Garrett Weaver and Kellen Winstel. Kidnapped by Selkie slave catchers and dragged into the realm beneath the waves, both teens must adapt to their new surroundings if they hope to see the shore again. Yet even if they escape their captors, both will need to embrace their fears. For darker things than Selkies lurk in the Salted depths and not all of them have pure intentions for the innocent ones brought down into their watery world.

My Review: 
An exciting well rounded book full of action and drama.Chidi and Weaver are still clearly my favourite characters still, but Lenny did grow on me so much in this novel that I am beginning to love him too! 
Where I struggled with salted slightly only giving it 3 stars due to me finding the world a little hard to understand. This book is 100% better however and explains the whole world in spectacular fashion, therefore I understood the world better and could concentrate on the plot instead. The world in TWAGOS is so well developed it is incredible! there is so much potential in it.
I still love how this book is dark and dangerous and so unique in the way that it centres on the twisted world of the salt more than the shiny, carefree, fun, romance world that most Mer books encompass. 
Marissa is a very intriguing character... I can't wait to find out more about her!
My favourite scenes had to be Weaver's first change, Lenny's Dunking and the scenes set in the The Gasping Hole as they both encompassed the world really well and were very exciting. 
I hated the Crayfish and his son more in this book than ever before, and let me tell you i hated Oscar enough in Salted! I started to dislike Paulo in this book though even though He was great in salted (though this does show us how the characters developed so much more in this book! more than in many YA books i have read.) however I did feel so bad when *SPOILER* Paulo died towards the end of the book. all of the deaths in the book are sudden and shocking - brilliantly written in other words.
I can only find one fault in this book; it ends just when it was getting to the best part... but I am guessing Aaron intended this.... (Evil!!!!)
This novel leaves you hungry for more especially due to the revolution that is beginning to take place. 

Quotes: 

"Don't fight. Kellen recalled the reminder. Swim with him! Kellen flipped and furiously kicked to follow the seal"

"he swam towards the shoreline , watched the surprise and shock sweep the faces of those come to witness his execution. None more surprised than Oscar Collins. "How did he..." Lenny made a point to chuckle as his feet hit the ground"

Rating: 

 

Have You Read This Book? 

How Did You Find It? 

Why Don't You Leave Me A Comment, Or a Link To Your Own Blog? 

I Would Love To Hear Your Views! 

-The Reading Rose