From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

Salt Magic, Skin Magic

Lee Welch

Start date: February 1, 2019

Finish date: February 28, 2019

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

Discussion leader: Jordan Lombard

Why we're reading this: This will be our February 2019 read!
[close] This will be our February 2019 read!

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Book of the Month Club

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What Members Thought

Aug 02, 2018 Allison rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2018, audio, favorites, arc, 2019

Read this as soon as you can.

I loved this book, I read it all in one day because I could not put it down. It is everything I could hope for in a historical, paranormal story. The historical details were wonderful, and correct. The paranormal was different than I expected, but all the more enjoyable for it. I loved that the magical aspects were multi-layered and intertwined in ways that are unusual for most paranormal books I read. I enjoyed how prickly both MCs were with each other until they we ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Sep 06, 2018 Alison rated it really liked it

Shelves: sff, my-e-things, queer, nz, historical, lgbtq

I loved this. It's an excellent queer historical fantasy romance featuring two wonderful main characters. It's set at an English country estate and there's some wonderfully Gothic elements. The magic system is delightful and one of my favourite secondary characters is the salt (yes, the salt). The romance is lovely and they genuinely like each other and have an excellent friendship. There are a few fantastic surprises that totally threw me in the best way. It's always exciting to have another au ...more

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Feb 25, 2019 Jordan Lombard rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bom-jl-group, bpl-staff-pick, g-romance-m-m, g-fantasy, a-own, g-historical, a-own-ebook, a-favorites, y-2019read, bpl-qlr-read

I loved this!!! The two main characters are great, and they play off each other really well. And yes, I liked the characterization of the salt too. Lol. I especially liked that this used magic and a fairytale/folklore element that isn’t seen much in MM, and it was done especially well. Still not a fan of the cover though, but I will keep an eye out for this author in the future, which says a lot based on how I tend to read these days!

7 likes · Like · see review

Aug 10, 2018 Janice rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Besides being about magic, this story is magic. I do hope a sequel's in the works! ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Mar 24, 2019 Apolishedreader rated it it was amazing

Well, that was amazing. Definitely lived up to all the hype. I'll try to gather my thoughts for a full review. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Sep 03, 2019 k reads rated it really liked it

Shelves: queer, authors-to-watch, read-2019

Really good. Can't wait to read more by the author. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 04, 2019 Grace rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mm-smut, mm-paranormal-supernatural, mm-historical, mm-romance, supernatural, mm-not-usa-based, kindle-loanable

Fun, engaging read! This is definitely a good one for fans of K.J. Charles work, as this has also got the historical magic stuff that so enthralled me in the Magpie series!

I thought the magic here was really fascinating and the plot was quite interesting. I actually didn't guess the twist until *right* before the reveal, which is always a good sign! I really liked the characters, and the whole thing was generally just really enjoyable.

Knocking off a star for the kind of nebulous reason of not a ...more

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Aug 30, 2018 ΛNNΞ rated it liked it · review of another edition

This was just okay for me. I could not help but compare it to The Magpie Lord as there are many similarities. However, this book did not have the same character depth that K.J. Charles had in her book. The chemistry was a little bland for me -- particularly since it was primarily based on physical attractiveness of the MCs (and a side of magic)? The secondary characters came across as somewhat one-dimensional and seemed to fall into one of two categories. They were either mad or sadly pathetic - ...more

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Apr 22, 2019 Chris, the Dalek King rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: abuse-domestic, owned-ebook-or-audio, abuse-psychological, foreign-uk, magic-and-supernatural, love-bytes, arts-and-letters, nobility, abuse-assault-torture, historical

Lord Thornby was never one to believe in magic. Granted, a couple years ago, he had no reason to care one way or the other about it (and many other things). But after nearly two years of being trapped on his father’s estate, physically unable to step outside the boundary lines, he is beginning to rethink a good many things. It isn’t until John Blake finds his way to the estate for a visit with Thornby’s young stepmother, that Thornby has any proof that it is nothing more than him going insane, t Lord Thornby was never one to believe in magic. Granted, a couple years ago, he had no reason to care one way or the other about it (and many other things). But after nearly two years of being trapped on his father’s estate, physically unable to step outside the boundary lines, he is beginning to rethink a good many things. It isn’t until John Blake finds his way to the estate for a visit with Thornby’s young stepmother, that Thornby has any proof that it is nothing more than him going insane, though. But even with all the magic at their fingertips, it might not be enough to break the enchantment locking Thornby far away from London, life, and most importantly, freedom.

I’ve been promising myself I’d get around to this story for a while now. So when the author kindly offered up a copy of the audio for review, I snatched it up. I wasn’t exactly sure if I was going to like this story, but it sounded interesting enough to risk a shot. And I was more than happy with the results.

This was, if you’ll excuse the pun, enchanting. Historical drama and fantastical creatures blended wonderfully in this story. I love a book that is good at keeping me on my toes. Maybe it is because I wasn’t reading it myself this first time, but I could never quite pin down where the plot would go next. It was a very nice feeling.

I’m not going to go too deep into the plot, other than to say it was very well crafted. The characters were where it really shined for me, though. I usually have a harder time connecting to characters when I’ve only listened to the audio version, but that was not a problem here. The writing, working in concert with the excellent narration, really brought these characters to life. I cared about them from their first appearances on page–be those feeling good or bad–and I never once stopped caring what happened to them.

On the audio side, I think Joel Leslie did a great job with this. There were a few times where the pauses in sentences seemed like an odd choice, but that’s my only real complaint. He was really good at distinguishing between characters. Sometimes I’d even forget that there was only one person narrating, it was so good. And while I’m not one to listen to many audio books, I can easily see myself returning to this one.

This was, on the whole, a thoroughly enjoyable experience. One that I can see both new comers to the story, and returning readers being able to enjoy as well. The writing was superb, the characters instantly sympathetic, and the mystery worth every second of waiting.

4.5 stars

This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.

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Feb 09, 2019 Brian rated it it was amazing

Hidden behind the hideous cover is a compelling and unexpectedly charming historical/fantasy-mystery/romance novel. Nicely crafted story--pacing, setting, character development are all on point: just enough revealed to be satisfying, and plenty left to the imagination.

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