I tried to read this. I gave it a chance. Got to 16% and decided that I couldn't read anymore which was a shame as the back of the book blurb sounded great. This was not well written at all. The main character was uninteresting and contradictory. She met a merman once and is then basically in love with him - so weird. Everything sounds unreal and the relationships she has with family/friends do not come across well at all.

So, I will be honest and say this book wasn’t my favorite.

I was excited to read it because I love all things mermaid and am a big fan young adult fantasy books, but this one read even younger than young adult.

There were some comments about curves and grown men and what not, but the narrator sounded much younger than 17. The way she described everything seemed more like middle school to me.

I just really wasn’t a fan of Crystal’s character. She felt juvenile and underdeveloped. I would suggest this book for a younger audience perhaps,

The concept was cute and had potential, but I just think the execution fell really short, unfortunately.

Gigantic thanks to Josie Demuth and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story is a mermaid story (yes, you heard right) that follows main character Crystal White as she moves away from everything she knew to the small island of Starfish. While she is there, she is introduced to stories of mermen and creatures that live in the sea but can walk on land. Later, after being rescued from drowning by a handsome and mysterious stranger, she figures out that maybe the stories are true.

My review is simple. You want a merman story with romance, this is the book for you. If you want an easy read that is just simple to enjoy, this is the book for you. I love a good merman/sea story so in that department I am easy to please. I liked this story and will be continuing with this series.

Overall, I gave this story 3 stars. I won't be reading it again. However, I will be continuing with the series, and I would recommend to sea and mermaid lovers.

I'm super sad to say that this book just did not work for me... very long and way too many descriptions of teen drinking. The characters were alright, and the writing was good, but I just couldn't get over how overly long and boring it was.

This one sounded a bit different, I don’t get a chance to read too many mermaid stories. However, something about the writing just didn’t’ work for me. Maybe I’m getting too old for YA books. DNF.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the story. You could tell that the author had polished the book into this form.

This story is really heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. There are multiple points where I could feel Crystal’s emotions. It also really makes me want to go to the beach and enjoy the beautiful sunny weather (despite the fact that it is officially fall and that’s very sad). It also makes me want to dive (ha!) back into my mermaid MG manuscript just so I can keep the salt water on my skin.

Thankfully, I get to visit Crystal again and find out what happens to the relationships in the second book, A THOUSAND SALT KISSES LATER.

The characters here are a bit more on the childish side of teenage years (except for Llyr) but I embraced it as a summer fun, carefree type scenario. And there was little character development but I wish I could have their kind of attitude.

I love the eco-friendly theme throughout and that it makes an impact without being overwhelming.

Be prepared to cry also. Because oh my heart! 💔

This book was amazing. The world the author build was so vivid without going so deep in long pages only to describe the world. The two main characters. I also loved the main characters. How they fall in love... OMG! If you’re someone that love loves romance and with a deep background this is the book for you.

Alright where can I sign a petition for bringing mermaids back into the YA world? I loved pretty much everything about this book. The cute romance, Starfish island, and the morals and lessons learned. This brought back so many memories of when I was younger and obsessed with mermaids. This book met all of my expectations and I was thrilled to receive my review copy. My only critique was that the romance did happen relatively quickly. But I'd highly recommend this book to any wanting a fun and cute story. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for my copy!

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre,  however I wanted to take the opportunity to read something from outside my norm. And I am glad I did!! Thank you for  opening up my mind to something totally different. Characters were so well developed that I felt as though I knew them. I love when a book draws you into the story and it feels like you are living it with them.

I'm currently in the middle of this book, and I am so excited I requested it. Unfortunately, it did take me a while to finally pick it up and now I am kicking myself for waiting to long, As of right now the book is sitting at a four star read for me, but I have faith that by the end of this book it will be a five star read.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

A Thousand Kisses

A thousand Kisses by Josie Demuth

Oh my god Oh My GOD!!!! It’s a mermaid book!!! I absolutely couldn’t put this book down and as soon as I was done I went and found book two and three!!! I love these characters and their story! I want to know more about George and Ri!!! Oh my god my new favorite author!!!

5 stars!

This book is a light and easy beach read. We get a little bit of everything romance, fantasy, and activism. However, this book fell short in a lot of ways.

There were things I liked about this book. When it comes to mythical creatures merpeople are my absolute favorite, so I am always willing to read about them. I loved that this book had a focus on environmental activism. I think the health of the ocean is really important, and that was really nice to see in a young adult romance. I really liked the friendship between Crystal and Rosie. They were really close, and even when life took them different directions they were able to fall right back to normal when they were together. I think showing healthy female friendships is also super important in young adult reads. Overall, I liked all of the characters even though there wasn't much development with them.

Now the things I didn't like. Loathed even. The insta-love was nauseating. I totally understand connecting with someone easily. Some people just click. However, in the book Crystal and Llyr barely spoke before they were head over heels in love. Every single romantic relationship in this book was unhealthy. To keep this review spoiler free I won't give details. However, when a novel is written and the prime audience is teen girls, it is important to show healthy relationships. Also, Crystal referred to someone as "emotionally retarded." This is not okay. At All. Since this is the third edition, I would expect something like this to be fixed. It is just as easy to say "emotionally unavailable." Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book.

A short, sweet romance read.

This book didn’t blow me out of the park or anything, but it was enjoyable to read and left me wanting more, so I probably will have to check out the sequels. I will say however, the romance did seem to come out of nowhere. It was definitely an “insta-love” sort of story, but it was cute nonetheless.

Honestly, I don’t have too much to say about this book that is negative or positive. It is quite simply just a perfect lighthearted read that keeps you engaged without trying to tear your heart to pieces as some YA books do.

Thanks to the Publishers and Netgalley for this E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for providing an ARC of this book. Unfortunately although the world building and setting was great, the pacing was so slow that when elements are introduced to readers you’re supposed to just take it, remember it, and leave it in the back burner for a few chapters. By then, I feel like the pacing loses the reader and it gets frustrating since not much development or hints were given.

Title: A Thousand Salt Kisses
Author: Josie Demuth
Pub. Date: April 11, 2016 (repubbed on July 25, 2020 (GR) or August 10, 2020 (NG))
Rating: 2.75

This will be a spoiler free review. Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review. You’ll note that there are 3 different pub dates. This book has been previously published, but Goodreads and NetGalley have two conflicting publishing dates listed. The book does appear to already be available on Amazon, but I’m not 100% sure if that is the version I read. The cover I share on this review is the cover that was provided to me, with my copy via NetGalley. I do not know if the 2016 version is still available, so I just wanted to be clear about which version of this book I read.

I really thought this was going to be a book that I would inhale, love and instantly want to pick up book 2. Based on the title, synopsis and the pretty cover, this book sounded like it was right up my alley. I requested it on a whim and was really excited to be approved. Almost immediately I started having some issues with it. The pacing was slow, I didn’t care for the writing style, the characters, their relationships and motivations fell flat, and the insta bond between Crystal and Llyr was kind of uncomfortable.

I don’t know. On one hand, I did kind of enjoy this book. The concept is good, it’s enjoyable. It’s exactly something I love to read. On the other, I just didn’t necessarily like the execution. I’m tempted to read the rest of the series – books 2 & 3 just to see how it all ends. I’m curious. If this book is/was a debut, I wonder if the next ones are better, if I’ll have the same complaints. I don’t think this is the worst book I’ve ever read; despite the issues I did have with it. Personally, I think some questionable choices were made, and there were some cringe-y scenes that I think could have been phrased differently. For all the moments that Starfish Island came to life, I wish there had been a little more world building, a little more showing than telling.

Too slow for my tastes! I was really hoping this would be good, as it’s exactly what I look for in a book, however there just wasn’t enough to keep me interested.

I was really drawn in by the description of the book, the magic and environmental activism really appeals to me. I appreciated the way the magic elements of the story were introduced and the history that explained where it came from. The setting was wonderful and explored some really beautiful places, the author also used the setting well to emphasize some of the stories mysterious elements.

Unfortunately I thought the pacing was off throughout the book. As the story is being set up and the various mysteries are starting to unfold it felt like the action was very slow, which was frustrating to read. It was fairly clear what was meant to be going on but it felt like I was waiting a long time for confirmation. As the end of the book approached the pace picked up and the book seemed to hit its stride, but then the actual ending felt really rushed and I didn’t find it particularly satisfying. Overall I enjoyed the setting and the characters and think this can be an enjoyable quick read but the pacing really wasn’t for me.