Review: love Penelope and Carter! battle of the snark!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 7, 2014
****I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.****SALT is a book that I think is either going to be loved or not so much. I could see things about it that will work for some readers but not others. For me, the story worked for what I wanted from it, and I didn't want to put it down. There were a couple of reasons why I couldn't give SALT a five star rating, so first I'll explain what didn't work for me before moving on to what did.Only two things bugged me about SALT - firstly, Penelope's likeness to Harry Potter (Penelope even mentions the series). Both Penelope and Harry both somehow survived when their parents were killed because they're different from everyone else. The second part is Penelope constantly saying she has to become an Enforcer so she can research the demon who killed her parents and took her powers. I felt like I wasn't trusted to remember her mission, but I remembered all of it, I promise! These issues are just mine personally and weren't to the point where I lost my fondness for this book.What did work for me were Penelope and Carter's interactions - they were my favorite scenes in the book. The level of snark was so much fun to read! There was something about the two of them together that made me want to know more. When they were around each other, things could happen that only did when they were together. This was interesting to me and made me think they were like two halves that not only fit together but needed to be together.Penelope's grandmother is a tough love kind of character. At times I wondered why she doesn't show Penelope the kind of love and affection Penelope must be craving after losing both of her parents. Plus, she seemed to favor Penelope's sister. Luckily, Penelope's grandfather and sister both seem warm, caring, and supportive. Maybe I'm being too harsh. She has most likely built up walls to protect herself from further pain after losing her daughter (Penelope's mother).I felt like I was on the edge of my seat hoping the secret of Penelope's lack of magic wouldn't come out. Have you ever been so nervous while reading a book that something awful is going to happen to a character you like? That's how I felt while reading SALT. There are more secrets being kept by the people in her life besides her own secret, which also kept me glued to my Kindle.Overall, SALT proved to be a fun read with the awesome interactions between Penelope and Carter. I could have read an entire book of just conversations between them!