I wasn’t able to make it all the way through this book, although I truly wish I had. From the chapters I did read, I was instantly pulled into a world that felt rich, warm, and thoughtfully created. The story included tender, heartwarming moments and some unexpected twists.

I can tell this is the kind of story that would reward readers who revisit it multiple times. It took some effort to keep track of the wide cast of characters, which slowed me down in the process of reading it. Still, I plan to return to this world and story in the future.

2.5 stars
So I liked some of this book
Again no one is really likeable which is ok
It’s about a magic family who are rulers and a drug called prescioso which enhances powers which are crystals that you smoke ….🤨
Try tell me that’s not ref to more human made drugs
Which all fine and it mentions its addictive
But it’s also a cure to the queens shakes and isn’t condemned at all in the book
Also the plot is slow and some of the dialogue did not feel authentic
Overall I mostly liked the plot but it wasn’t good enough to make me want to read more and add that to the negatives and it’s not a series I would continue or recommend

Black Salt Queen by Samantha Bansil
Looking for something more island-focused than underwater (and ready to get hooked on a brand new series)? This brand-new tale of court intrigue in an island nation ruled by women is inspired by precolonial Philippine culture.

Queen Hara Duja Gatdula knows that she will soon have to give up the throne; she can control the power of earth, but her magic and strength are fading. Her line of succession is, however, unclear. Her heir, Laya, is fickle, and her rival, Imeria Kulaw, wants to claim the crown for her own family. Among the machinations for who will rule are seeded two love stories—one sapphic and mature, and one young and heterosexual—that will have readers rooting for love to triumph at the end of the day. This one is for readers who want a little more political intrigue to chew on in their fantasy beach reads.

Oh my gosh, so many feelings.

This story was so good! It’s about a queen struggling to hold onto power, her powerful daughter that isn’t quite ready to take over her royal duties, and a rival family with a complicated link to the royal family.

This fantasy novel focuses mostly on the politics for the majority of the story but the magic and action picks up at the end. The multiple POVs had me rooting for all sides in this struggle for power. I couldn’t decide if I was happy or sad at the end, all I know is that I was shocked.

Thank you to Samantha Bansil, Bindery Books, Violetear, and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book!

This is Sam Bansil’s debut novel, and the fact that she’s a Fil-Am author makes me even more excited to support her work. I especially loved how she wove in pre-colonial themes—it gave the story a sense of depth and cultural grounding that felt fresh in the fantasy landscape.

At times, the sweeping cast of characters and political intrigue gave me strong Game of Thrones vibes, while the presence of dragons and powerful women leaders reminded me of The Priory of the Orange Tree. That said, this is by no means a copycat story. For me, the comparisons are a compliment—Sam Bansil takes inspiration from the greats of the genre but still manages to make the story uniquely her own.

Now that I’ve finished, I can say this book gave me a lot to think about. Honestly, I hated Laya as a character—she came across as entitled and stubborn, never listening when she should have. I even agreed with Duja’s point that she should have reigned a few more years, because Laya clearly needed more time to grow. Still, despite my frustration with her, I loved how the other characters were given space to shine, each with their own distinct personalities.

And that ending? Whew. Who thought it was a good idea to make that obsessive child a god?! The fallout of that decision is bound to unleash absolute chaos in book two, and I’m already bracing myself.

As the first book in a duology, Black Salt Queen sets the stage for something big. Cliffhanger and all, I’m already desperate for the sequel.

Three sisters-one who can control the wind, one who can control a sword, and one who can control metal. Two mothers who once loved each other. One plot to overthrow the government. This fantasy is inspired by pre-Colonial Philippine culture.

I loved the different forms that magic took in this world. The last third of the book flew by. While this is the first in a trilogy, I think it ends in a satisfying way. I personally hope we get more of the two younger sisters’ stories in the next books.

I was invited by Bindery Books to read this novel and I am so glad I accepted! Thanks to NetGalley and Bindery Books for the free Advanced Reader’s Copy. I gave this book almost 5 stars.

I was looking forward to this one but unfortunately it was a DNF. The writing style was distracting and I couldn’t get into the story because of it. There were some interesting characters and the world seemed cool, but the writing just took me away from all of it. People who think this sounds good and generally aren’t bothered by writing that feels more straightforward and simple should still give it a try!

Black Salt Queen had so much in this story. It was such an interesting story with power dynamics, love, and family. I loved this story and the way the characters developed. the plot was great.

... staring into the void.

i can’t believe i finished this emotional rollercoaster back to back with blood over bright haven’s emotional rollercoaster.

this book started off insanely strong but i had a problem with how certain storylines were tied off and i was left wanting more from the fantasy battle scenes, especially since it promised a lot.

however, as someone who studied pre-colonial philippines from high school to college and is born and bred in the Philippines, this was (and probably still is) the most accurate Filipino representation i have ever read in a fantasy without feeling like the Filipino culture was being tokenized. I can tell that the author loves our culture. If i could rate it for that alone, it would be 5 perfect stars. I never felt like it was forced but instead was truly inspired of the culture and it’s mythology. I’m also not a fan of flowery writing so this matched my taste in writing style for an epic fantasy.

there is no big bad evil being to defeat.
there is no complicated magic system to decipher.
there is no wide and high intensity fight scenes.
it’s a bunch of imperfect people getting hurt and suffering the consequences of their actions while trying to do their best and what they think is right.

…and i wanted to drown in it.

adult epic high fantasy needs more of this level of care in it’s lore and pacing. respectfully, drown me in more of these. furthermore, the men in this story are all whipped for their respective significant others and i was living for it.

while i do think the fantasy battle scenes could have been more immersive, i think it made up for that in terms of political play. the pacing of the politics was on point, plus the added tension between the matriarchs in this story was so entertaining to watch. i loved that we saw queens battling for the throne while the males… were basically chilling. it was so refreshing.

i could make a whole essay on the Filipino rep but this review would be too long. In conclusion, while i do have my irks with how this story wrapped up and some plot points not delivering up to the level it initially promised, i think this story and lore has a very strong foundation that it can easily make up for it in the next book. A lore that is so inspired and written with love from an author who I can tell from their writing, is proud of her culture… and readers will feel that. I felt that when reading. I can’t wait to read more from Samantha Basil because you can learn how to write technically better over time but becoming a writer with heart is not something that can be taught.

In short: I love Filipinos and Filipino writers <3 ah this book makes me so proud *teary eyes*

This book was intriguing. I loved all of the different perspectives. At times this book felt slow but the last 25% of the book brought everything together and it really picked up.

I really wanted to like this one, the author is so lovely and it sounded great. Unfortunately it just wasn’t grabbing me I tried the earc I had first but as it seemed slow I thought it best to try the audio when it was available. The audio just wasn’t gripping me either, I can’t put my finger on exactly why, maybe just too slow paced for me

What a delightful and unique read! Though, at times, I struggled with the manner in which the author doled out information, I found this book easy to read overall. The characters and setting were so vibrant, and the story so memorable, that I could take a long hiatus and
come back without issue. I’d also like to remark that so rarely can an author create an entire cast of characters that are neither good nor bad, just human. I truly cannot wait to enter her world again with the next book. Bansil has cultivated a fan in me.

Amazing Debut! I have loved delving into different cultures and lore, and Black Salt Queen is a prime example of why I'm loving it. Bansil weaves a fabulous story that keeps you hooked to the last page.

I wasn't as into this book as I anticipated it being unfortunately. The combination of it being a romantasy and it being high fantasy was a combination that I wasn't into for this book.
~
I was hoping to enjoy this story more, what with it being a queer novel, but it is what it is.
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Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC copy of this book.

cool premise, representation, great world building, almost everything i look for in a fantasy, i just needed more connection to the main characters

This book was so interesting. The world building felt seamless. I was learning so much, but there wasn’t any info dumping. The characters were complex and different from each other so that the POV‘s were unique enough that you never confused yourself with who you were reading you can tell that this is the first book in a series as it was building towards a smaller conflict before the larger one, it is also hinting at a larger world outside of the one that we saw firsthand. The one weakness I would say is the flashback episodes while interesting and needed to understand the characters. I felt that there were a few of them that could have been edited down so that we didn’t get so many of them about the same situation a big thank you to Bindery books and Netgalley for an advanced E copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books | Violetear, i need more of those bitter sapphic queen exes. i don't care what happened.

The queen was absolutely my favorite part, and I hope we see more of her. Laya too-- I did truly like her, and her love for her siblings that felt so real. The way her older sibling was treated, because of when she was born (and how!), the way she had to fight to be taken seriously, and how her own sister viewed it.
I was not really a fan of Luntok but. his mother. oh god his mother i loved her so. The matriarchs really stole the show for me.

I look forward to reading the next books in the series!

This is a good kickoff to a new, full-of-lore series! Black Salt Queen follows Laya, her family, and her secret-ish boyfriend, Luntok, and his family, during days of feasts and fights that the kingdom is putting on in prep for Laya to pick a husband and thus begin her rule. But Laya's mom doesn't want to give up her throne for fear of Laya's power, Luntok is actually the son of an enemy, Laya's sister doesn't respect her, and and lots lots lots more.

Which leads me to my critique of this book-it could have, and maybe should have, been multiple books itself. There were soooo many things to be explored that hardly got touched, like the queen's brother, actually seeing Laya's power more than just in the opening exposition, the sisters' relationship, the background of the animosity between the two families (yes, there was a good bit of explanation there, but I think it needed even more time spent on it), who Ariel the scholar is, what the drug preciosa is and more about it, the magic system in general, etc. And then, at the end, well, obviously we're getting a second book, but I need sooooo much more explanation there too.

The pacing got good in the second half. The first half had me questioning if I wanted to keep going. It was just a lot of repetition with a little bit of plot movement. But then at about 50% I couldn't put it down, and the action and intrigue were well-done.

All that said, it was a good story, and created a world that I definitely would read more of.

In conclusion, I liked it. If I had to give a star rating, probably 3.5 rounded up. I can see this author growing and knocking fantasy books out of the park. Some of this book gave me Black Sun vibes, so if that is your kind of book, you should try this one out!

Thanks to Netgalley and Violetear for the e-ARC!

I enjoyed this at a steady pace for the first 40/50% or so. I hadn’t grown to like the characters yet but the pace was pleasant and there were enough hints at the world and magic to keep me interested. Unfortunately I didn’t keep this mindset for the rest of the book, because there was a lack of action happening in the majority of it. I’m not exactly a person who needs copious amounts of action to enjoy a book, but I do need interesting plot to keep my interest going. I didn’t grow to like any of the characters by the end, and I really disliked most of them. My favourite part were the flashbacks to when the queen was younger and interacting with her closest ‘friend.’ If there had been more focus on them in the present day then I may have enjoyed a bit more but we kept switching to POVs that did not appeal to me with annoying/unimportant characters.
I would’ve liked some more insight into the world as a whole, we know that the story is set on an island kingdom that has kept to itself for hundreds of years but we don’t see much of anywhere else. The magic was very interesting, but I also would’ve liked more of that as well. Delving into the gods and how the powers work would’ve definitely bolstered my enjoyment of the book, as well as some faster pace with the plot.

Black Salt Queen was an absolutely amazing story. Samantha Bansil has such a way with words as to not only draw you into the story but to make you feel as if you are there, standing on the edge of the Black Salt Cliffs, observing the goings on.

This is not just a beautiful story, rich with cultural expression and representation, this is a tale of love and heartbreak, loyalty and betrayal, and many of the protagonists are DEEPLY unlikable.

The story follows multiple characters but mainly focus' on Hara Duja, Dayang Laya, and Datu [Imeria] Kulaw, three strong women all broken in their own ways.

Duja must wrestle with the future as it relates to her past. Her heart, her love, has come back to take everything away from her and Duja is not ready to cede control of her kingdom to her daughter, a daughter she feels is not ready to be Queen.

Laya want more than anything to be Queen, the best Queen Maynana has ever seen. She wishes for nothing more than for her time time shine. Laya, however, is in love with the heir to the Kulaw Datus. And of all the Datus' sons, Luntok Kulaw is the only one off limits. Their loves burns brighter than that of a thousand suns, but can Maynara, and Laya, withstand the heat their love brings?

Imeria has fallen victim to bitterness and rage. For 22 years she has waited, she has stewed, and she has planned. When the love of her life, her heart and her soul, cast her away out of fear for what Imeria could do, Imeria was broken in every way. Now she finally has a chance to seek vengeance, and give her son what he so desperately wants, a crown and Laya, can she manage or will it all slip through her fingers.

This gripping tale takes place in a pre-colonial Filipino setting, is rich with cultural references and representation, and I implore you to take a chance and add this book to your TBR. This is the kind of story that will stick with you long after you close the book. My heart aches for these characters, my soul yearns for more. I will be talking about this book for a very long time.

6 STARS.
Minimal Spice (mostly closed door)
LGBTQIA+ themes (this was personally my favorite storyline) [star crossed lovers]