Blog Tour, Review & Giveaway:
Storm (Salt #2) by Danielle Ellison
BookCrushin is really excited to be participating in the blog tour for STORM, the second and final book in the SALT series by Danielle Ellison! In this post you will find all the book information, my spoiler-free review, a link to my review for SALT (book 1), as well as an awesome giveaway! Be sure to follow along with the tour (click banner above) as there are some great & unique stops along the way!
Storm (Salt #2) by Danielle Ellison
Category: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance
Publication: September 29th, 2014; Entangled Teen
Purchase: Amazon, B&N, Kobo
[book rating=4.0/5.0]
Up until recently, Penelope was a witch with no magic. After having it stolen by a demon when she was just a child, Penelope had been forced to rely on sharing others’ powers as she went through the grueling training required to become an elite demon hunter. Now Penelope has more magic than she’s ever known. And when you’re this powerful, who needs salt to keep the demons away?
But power has a dark side.
Carter Prescott just wants to hunt demons and be with Penelope. But suddenly, witches who formerly had no magic are developing terrible, out-of-control powers. Now the world Carter swore to protect isn’t just endangered by malicious demons―it’s threatened by the same witches who once defended it. And Carter is horrified to see his girlfriend starting to change. Stronger. More powerful. Unrecognizable. It’s just a matter of time before Penelope changes into something far beyond his worst fears…
Series:
Salt (Salt #1) by Danielle Ellison
Publication: January 7th, 2014; Entangled Teen
Purchase: Amazon, B&N, Kobo
Review
[book rating=4.0/5.0]
Never leave home without salt.
Penelope is a witch, part of a secret society protecting humans from demon attacks. But when she was a child, a demon killed her parents—and stole her magic. Since then, she’s been pretending to be something she’s not, using her sister’s magic to hide her own loss, to prevent being sent away.
When she’s finally given the chance to join the elite demon-hunting force, Penelope thinks that will finally change. With her sister’s help, she can squeeze through the tests and get access to the information she needs to find “her” demon. To take back what was stolen.
Then she meets Carter. He’s cute, smart, and she can borrow his magic, too. He knows her secret—but he also has one of his own.
Suddenly, Penelope’s impossible quest becomes far more complicated. Because Carter’s not telling her everything, and it’s starting to seem like the demons have their own agenda…and they’re far too interested in her.
Spoiler-Free Review:
[book rating=4.0/5.0]Let me start off by saying I adored SALT (check out my review), and I can say that STORM was a fantastic follow-up! When I read Salt, I wasn’t even sure if a sequel was being published, so when the author, replied to me saying there was going to be a sequel and it was also releasing this year I was so crazy excited! I freaking adore YA paranormal series…hell I adore almost all YA novels and Storm was a perfect sequel and finale! It has some electrifying kissing scenes (swoon) and tons of angst! Oh and of course action! I mean these are ass-kicking witches who hunt demons!
Storm picks right up where Salt left us, Penelope & Carter are paired together as Enforcers – demon hunters & protectors. They also embrace their need to be together for more reasons than just magic and demon hunting…they feel whole when they are together. However, Penelope doesn’t need Carter for magic anymore, their little expedition in book 1 (spoiler-free!) has left her with some really powerful magic. Penelope used to be missing her magic but was able to hide behind her family’s magic that she was able to harness. She wasn’t sure why she was the only witch she knew who could do this, but she knew she it had to do with her essence and the demon who attacked her family. But ultimately she had to keep it quiet because she knew something else had to be a factor.
Pen & Carter both have been keeping secrets their whole life; but they have decided to be honest with each other. Keeping their past hidden can be daunting so it’s great to have someone to trust, mostly because the witchy world are kind of dicks and very discriminating, especially to Statics – any naturally born witch who doesn’t have magic. Well something big and unknown happens and Statics gain some unwieldy power, leaving both Pen & Carter very suspicious to the why’s and how’s this has happened.
Super sleuth Carter does what he does best…finds demons and answers – he uncovers some crazy things from his deductions and knowing where to look for information. Carter is such a dreamboat. Yeah, I said dreamboat! He is smart, witty, and knows what to do with those lips other than flash a smile that can change anyone’s attitude!
Meanwhile, Penelope is starting down a path she thinks is the only answer to fix the mess with her family, friends and ultimately the whole magical world. Even with that weight on her shoulders, Pen continued to be a girl to reckon with! She always had the best intentions when it came to protecting her family, but her secrets, especially the ones not even her family knows about, were about to overwhelm her. Even once she realizes what is happening to her she decides that she must follow through in order to save those she loved even if it meant the worst fate for herself. She definitely grew leaps and bounds in a few chapters. I still found myself begging her to listen to Carter and believing in his love for her. Ahhh love – the most powerful magic of all!
Oh and you will love the amazing secondary characters. Even though some were less prevalent in this half of the duology, and others were more heavily influential. It was great to have the dual POVs to understand these characters as you really got to see both sides of each of them. I loved Ric and Connie in Salt, but in Storm they are definitely overshadowed by the demon duo of Poncho & Vassago. Seriously, those two are a riddle, wrapped in an mystery, inside an enigma, and totally awesomesauce!
Danielle Ellison has a beautiful voice. Her writing is smooth, realistic and very conversational! I loved this world that she built – so visual! Also, I absolutely devoured the dual POV in Storm! Being inside Carter’s head at the same time as Pen’s was such a fun insight! I am also happy that this series wasn’t stretched out into a trilogy because not only does that seems to be the norm these days, but this story was perfectly wrapped up in this 2nd book. Too often the 2nd book in a trilogy feels lacking, Storm is not lacking anything! I will say that I feel the option is open if Danielle wanted to write another in the series, perhaps from a secondary characters POV. I know I wouldn’t complain! Also, I had a few criticisms about Salt that I thought were definitely diminished in Storm. I never once thought “oh man here we go again.” It is great to see a story and plot progress is a very dynamic way. I would say you could even read Storm without reading Salt it was so well done, but damn you! Don’t do that! Read Salt first then careen right into Storm!
This is a wonderful example of paranormal YA! It has swoon worthy characters with lots of kissing, lots of angst, plenty of wit, loads of strength and some serious growth!
[book rating=4.0/5.0]
Author Bio: Danielle Ellison
Danielle Ellison is from a small town in West Virginia. She spent her childhood pretending to fly, talking to imaginary friends, and telling stories. She hasn’t changed much since then. You can still find her pretending to work, talking to imaginary characters, and writing stories.
When she’s not writing, Danielle is probably drinking coffee, fighting her nomadic urges, watching too much TV, or dreaming of the day when she can be British. She is the author of five upcoming novels and you can find her on social media at the links below.
Author Links:
Website │ Goodreads │ Twitter │ Facebook
Giveaway:
