Hold Back the Tide – Blog Tour

Hi friends! Welcome to my Hold Back the Tide Blog Tour stop! I knew I had to sign up for this tour immediately because Melinda Salisbury is one of my favourite authors. All of her books are auto-buys for me. I hope you enjoy it!

{You might also like – Legendborn Book Review}

Title: Hold Back the Tide

Author: Melinda Salisbury

Rating: 8.4/4 Stars

Genre: Fantasy/Horror

Content Warnings: Death, Torture, Blood, Death of a Parent

Format: eARC

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Date Published: January 5th 2021

Goodreads Description: Here are the rules of living with a murderer.

One: Do not draw attention to yourself.

Of course, when you live with a murderer, this is impossible. Even the subtlest of spectres is bound to be noticed. Which leads to the next rule.

Two: If you can’t be invisible, be useful.

Everyone in this quiet lakeside community knows that Alva’s father killed her mother, all those years ago. There wasn’t enough proof to arrest him, though, and with no other family, Alva’s been forced to live with her mother’s murderer, doing her best to survive until she can earn enough money to run away.

One of her chores is to monitor water levels in the loch-a task her father takes very seriously. Their family has been the guardian of the loch for generations. It’s a cold, lonely task, and a few times, Alva can swear she feels someone watching her.

But the more Alva investigates, the more she realizes that the truth can be more monstrous than lies and that you can never escape your past …

I received a review copy from Terminal Tours and Edelweiss. All opinions are my own.

Book Links

Buy the book here

Follow the rest of the tour here

Review

Characters – 8/10

I will start this off by saying that this book blew me right out of the water. We follow Alva’s POV throughout the book and through her eyes, we get to know the rest of the characters. Ren was by far my favourite. Salisbury’s characters are always completely fleshed out and each of them had their own unique voice.

I do however wish we had gotten more of Alva’s father and his thoughts. There was a really touching scene between them towards the end of the book, but it would have felt more earned if Alva didn’t completely forget about him as soon as he was out of sight.

Atmosphere – 8/10

This book was creepy, in the best way. It’s set in the Scottish Highlands and makes you feel like cold of the loch is seeping into your bones. Salisbury did a fantastic job with the worldbuilding and setting up the legends. You can really feel how on edge Alva is. Hold Back the Tide turns darker with every chapter and I could not put it down. I had to force myself not to read at night so that I could actually sleep.

Writing – 9/10

Hold Back the Tide has one of the best opening chapters in a YA book I’ve ever read. This is Salisbury’s first standalone novel and she just knocks it out of the park. The writing immediately grabs you and does not let you go for one second. Salisbury’s writing style is very direct (which I love) and she doesn’t beat around the bush or pull her punches. Seriously, this woman can step on me.

Plot – 8/10

The plot was gripping and fast-paced, but I have a few minor issues. I felt like we could have explored the legend and mythology surrounding the monsters more, as well as how they came to be. Other than that I was completely hooked. The plot ties everything together very well and the ending just ruined me. This is for sure one of the best standalones I have ever read.

Intrigue – 9/10

As I said, I could not put this book down. I was most definitely intrigued.

Logic – 8/10

Hold Back the Tide takes a very subtle look at environmental issues and the crisis overconsumption and overuse could lead to. The fantasy element doesn’t detract from the message, and I love that Salisbury tackled some modern issues with a not so modern setting. I would have liked a definitive time stamp on this story (I’m guessing early 1900s?) which could have better orientated me in the world, but I was fine without it too.

Enjoyment – 8/10

Read this book, put it on all of your lists for the year. It is well worth it.

Let me know your thoughts on Hold Back the Tide (Blog Tour).

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Author Information

Melinda Salisbury was born in the 1980s in a landlocked city, before escaping to live by the sea. As a child, she genuinely thought Roald Dahl’s Matilda was her biography. When she’s not trying to unlock the hidden avenues of her mind, she’s reading, writing, or travelling. She lives in the UK and can be found on Twitter as @MESalisbury, though be warned she tweets often.

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