I decided to finally read this because I miss K. Ancrum's books desperately and I wanted to experience it for the first time again, but I wasn't expecting to be flung straight back into the heartwrenchingness of the book with this little novella. I think if I'd read this immediately after TWK I might have been disappointed because I would have wanted plot about Jack and August and Rina that was new, which there wasn't really much of in this book. But seeing as it's been almost two years since I've read the book, it was just such a perfect reminder of how stunning the book is.

It made me think about how The Wicker King is genuinely the book that got me back into reading. In January of 2019, I made a new years resolution to start reading again like I had when I was younger. This was the book I read on January 2nd. I ended up reading more that year that I ever had in years past. I'm on track to do even more this year. I don't know if I can genuinely say that it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't chosen The Wicker King that day but sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I'd gone for a book I didn't love, that didn't make me feel, and I'm glad I didn't.

There’s something delightfully symmetrical about starting the year with this book, after starting 2019 with The Wicker King.

Anyway, there’s this weird category of books where everything is a million times more intense than real life. Everything anyone says is deeply analyzed and meaningful, decisions are life-or-death, and every action is incredibly intentional. It’s odd, because of course, writing is this way. Everything is intentional for the author — but people don’t really act this way in my experience. So it’s a weird kind of surrealism to read a book that makes no effort to disguise that intensity, and I kind of love it. I wish the world was more intentional. I wish I were more intentional. The Weight of the Stars absolutely is one of these books (The Foxhole Court is another example that comes to mind).

I love that it’s about girls who love space — like me. I love that it’s about a found family of people healing each other and healing together. I love that some things are mysterious and some things aren’t. I loved the cameos by Jack and August from the previous book.

Not sure why it took me so long to get here since I loved The Wicker King too, but life happens, I guess.

Summer of Salt kind of snuck up on me.

Part I is a tad slow. This book is magical realism, so that part was fun, but it mostly read like your average YA high school contemporary. But I will impress upon you that this book is extremely short and a very fast read, so it didn’t take me long to get past Part I. I didn’t love it, but I certainly didn’t dislike it enough to stop. Probably 2.5 stars to part I.

But oh, boy, this book picked up. Our mystery begins, our mc and her love interest get closer, the drama grows, and the atmosphere darkens. Summer of Salt reminded me a lot of Anna-Marie McLemore’s books, and we all know I’m a McLemore stan. It dealt with some very difficult themes with grace and healing, and parts II and III were a joy.

I know some people won’t make it past the first several chapters, and while that’s perfectly valid I would encourage everyone, if they can, to withhold judgement and finish this quick little book. It’s worth it.

Oh, if only Audrey Rose's inner monologue had been a shade less...irritating? Other people have commented on this and to be honest I feel a little weird complaining about it, but our MC's feminism was bad. She ranted about equality and being considered equal at nearly every turn while talking down about the other women in the story and still clearly considering herself superior to the women whose murders she is investigating. Shaming sex workers and taking pride in your station are not typically hallmarks of a good feminist, and it turned her story from inspiring, as it was intended to be, to disappointing. I liked the story and the romance, and I'll probably pick up book two. But I dearly hope Maniscalco saw some of this criticism and made some changes to the way she writes Audrey Rose in the rest of the books.

I have. A lot of Questions, Kiersten.

also this book has gotten me back on my BBC Merlin bullshit oops