It was easy to read and follow. I didn’t find myself personally gripped and stopped after chapter 1.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC.

Tristan is lost after leaving the military until he is hired by Mark, the owner of Lyonesse – DC’s ultra-secret club as his bodyguard. Tristan is drawn to Mark; in ways he shouldn’t want. When he is tasked to guard Mark’s fiancée as she travels home from Ireland on Mark’s yacht. Tristan is jealous to learn the object of his obsession is engaged, but he is set on obeying orders.

Isolde is nothing like Tristan expected, she’s young, quiet and sharp. Tristan finds himself fascinated by her and he learns its mutual. One night they share a searing kiss, and from there, things take a turn.

I loved this book. The first half was my favorite, and while I didn’t enjoy the second half as much, I still really enjoyed it overall. This is my favorite forbidden romance book that I have read this year. It did give me American Queen vibes, but in the best way possible. I really enjoy how Sierra Simone writes her love scenes and this one was a lot of fun with all the kinks brought in. It was done really well with the inclusion of a high-end club like Mark has. I also found it interesting how the business works. It was also fun to find little references to Sierra Simone’s other books! Love those little references. Sierra Simone continues to showcase just how talented she is, and she truly shines in this one.

If you are looking for a smutty MM romance, then check this one out. You will not be disappointed.

Thank you so much to @read_bloom and netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was REALLY good! Especially the first half. It was a really interesting love story. The second half was definitely rushed, but it’s a great start to the trilogy! Tristan’s jealousy is extremely relatable (at least to me)

Salt Kiss is the first book of the Lyonesse series and can’t be read as a standalone…and I highly recommend reading Salt in the Wound first! Wow, this book…I’m not even sure what to say. It is a beautifully written forbidden romance between Isolde, Tristan and Mark. Tristan is hired as Mark’s bodyguard…who is also his step uncle! He starts falling for Mark but then learns he is arranged to be married to Isolde. He ends up escorting her to America for the marriage and Tristan starts having feelings for her as well. When I say this relationship is complicated, it truly is! And the spicy was so well written! This is a kinky book and I loved the whole d/s dynamic! This one does end on a cliffhanger and I’m not sure how I’m going to make it until next year for more!

“I want two people.
I’m not able to have either of them.”

Omg I am legit obsessed with this book and series! I devoured the prequel novella, Salt in the Wound, a few months ago and was so excited to get an ARC of this first book. I wasn’t even sure how this book would start after how the prequel ended, but I really loved the direction it went in!

We follow Tristan as he becomes Mark’s new bodyguard. We see the complex feelings he starts to feel for Mark and the relationship they start to form. It isn’t until months later that Tristan even learns Mark is engaged to Isolde and to say things get complicated, well this quote sums it up perfectly…

“I’m just a bodyguard, and she’s engaged, and I’m in love with her fiancé.”

I loved seeing Tristan with Mark, I loved seeing Tristan with Isolde. We have Mark, a former CIA agent, Tristan the virgin bodyguard, and Isolde the badass woman who wanted to become a nun but was put into an arranged betrothal with Mark. We get BDSM, play with submission and pain, and everything is just delicious. This MMF Tristan and Isolde retelling is already off to a fantastic start and this series is my fav from Sierra Simone yet!

I received an ARC, all thoughts in this review are my own! Salt Kiss has a pub date of September 12, 2023.

Sierra Simone is an absolute ICON and QUEEN!

“Because you are mine all the time”

“She makes me”

Salt Kiss is a tale so forbidden, and by God if it’s not sweeter than sin.

Reading a retelling of Tristian and Isolde wasn’t on my 2023 bingo card. Yet, Salt Kiss utterly tore through me like a hurtling bullet and left me devastated.

Air? What’s that? Simone has me questioning every decision I’ve ever made in life. Mainly, why am I not a main character in one of her fictional worlds? At the very least, when is it my turn?

Salt Kiss is the book of 2023. It’s the fortieth book I’ve read, and it ranks number one!

If you need any more convincing to read this book, here is a text message between my friend:

I just finished Salt Kiss! I am deceased. I am astral projecting. I cannot possibly be on the mortal plane of existence. HOLY SHIT! 🔥💀♥️

If Salt Kiss isn’t on your TBR, you need to add it NOW! My heart was pulsing and that ending!

I was giggling, kicking my feet, blushing, and screaming! It’s not a want, it’s a NEED.

Ultimately this book was just ok for me. In my opinion, Sierra’s writing in this book flows and reads much better than her “Priest” series. The smut scenes were pretty good, but the story was just not engaging enough and I couldn’t connect with a single character in any way. The plot also didn’t keep me gripped in my seat. All in all, not my cup of tea.

First and foremost, the prequel novella is a requirement to fully appreciate this book. The plot in this is very different for Sierra Simone. It is impossible to predict, even though it is fascinating to wonder where the rest of the series will go. This book is very sexy and spicy and a great start point for this brand new series.

SImone's books are gaining traction at my library. I recently purchased the New Camelot and Priest series on Overdrive and they are popular. By that measure, I will probably buy Salt Kiss as well., however, I didn't love it. Mostly, I wasn't expecting a cliffhanger, but that's my own issue, not the quality of the book.

The prologue left a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t like how it was supposed to be vague yet give us details about characters. It just felt like an info dump of backstory about characters that wasn’t relevant to the story. I could’ve skipped it and still understood what was happening just fine. It did nothing to entice me to the story and left me confused and not the good kind.

I didn’t initially realize this book takes place in the same universe as the New Camelot series. If I had known I might’ve made sure to finish that series before reading this because of character spoilers. I am actually quite sad that I had to figure out this way of character deaths. I assume the talk about a dead priest also alludes to Sierra Simone’s other series that I have not started. These tidbits of information didn’t need to be shared. Or at least it could’ve been more vague as to not spoil conclusions of series. My liking of this book took a big hit because of this.

Tristan admits early on to Mark that he gets too attached. When reading I can see subtle actions Mark does knowing that they will cause Tristan to become too attached. I wanted to warn Tristan what is happening but also I’m eating it up.

Tristan constantly compares himself to Strassburg and it’s exhausting to read. “Strassburg did this so I have to.” “I want to be what Strassburg was to Mark.” Etc. why couldn’t Tristan be himself. This kind of whiny character inner monologue really shows how juvenile Tristan is.

I also didn’t really understand the point of Tristan being a virgin. This story could have easily been told had he not been. And his promiscuous actions once he meets Isolde would also make more sense. You would think a virgin would have more control. You would also think a soldier would have more self perseverance and be rigid with his actions. Having sex with Isolde goes against what I imagine Tristan being. An actual love potion would’ve been more plausible.

When with the many plot points I didn’t care for I really did enjoy this book. There was tension between Tristan and Mark that kept me reading. The spice was on point and never too much. At one point I felt like I sat down to read and read 60% of the book without realizing it. For people who are already familiar with Sierra Simone’s worlds this is a great next read.

Sierra Simone has a talent for writing heartwrenching throuple romances with complex relationships, adventures, and plenty of spice. I can see this series becoming even more popular than her American Queen series (one of the first that I enjoyed of hers).

It was odd but in a good way. The chemistry was okay but most of it was just sex. Not really much plot.

I was personally excited and iffy on this novel. I loved her Priest Series but wasn't thrilled with the New Camelot series.

But whew I'm here for this story. It was engaging, spicy and all around everything I have loved from Sierra.

I can't wait for books 2 & 3. I am not sure where this is going and if Tristan will end up with Mark, Islode or both.

Shout out NetGalley for the ARC!

I have never read a romance from only the male’s perspective so this was a fun twist for me! Tristian is such an interesting “hero” stuck in between the conflicting feelings of love and hatred. This is the definition of uncertainty of unrequited love to a dangerous individual.

Tristan is dealing with a lot of PTSD from his time as a soldier and doesn't really care what he does with his life. He takes a job as a bodyguard for Mark, the infamous owner of a kink club, just for something to do. He doesn't expect to find himself drawn to Mark and his lifestyle, but he is. He really is...

This is just as spicy as I've come to expect from Sierra Simone and though I saw the twist at the end, I'm excited for what comes next. I need book two immediately!

Sierra Simone can do no wrong. I've read most of her series already so I was ecstatic to receive an ARC of Salt Kiss.

Like all of Simone's books, Salt Kiss was smart and beautifully written. Despite being a so-called "spicy book," the characters had depth, interesting storylines, and felt relatable. The one aspect that threw me off was that the summary seems to imply that Mark quickly asks Tristan to fetch Isolde from Ireland, but you don't actually meet her character until around the 70% mark. I was used to Simone's books usually having a female at the center, so it was an interesting change for it to be mostly a MM love story for the majority of the book.

That being said, I enjoyed seeing the dynamic between Mark and Tristan develop throughout the story and how they opened up to each other. Isolde was not what I was expecting and I can’t wait to see her character develop even more in the next book. The ending was a little cruel, but only because I want to read the next book ASAP. I will be impatiently waiting until book two is announced and released. I rated this a 3.5/5⭐ and rounded it up to 4⭐.