Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Salt Magic, Skin Magic
AUTHOR: Lee Welch
NARRATOR: Joel Leslie
PUBLISHER: Tantor Audio
LENGTH: 9hr 14min
RELEASE DATE: February 12, 2019
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:
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.
RATING: 
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