Let me start by saying that I was really looking forward to reading this book. A feminist-twist on the Mask of Zorro and a unique magic system? Love it. A Latinx author with Latinx characters at the forefront of the story? Sold.
Unfortunately, this did not live up to my expectations. The story itself was great, but the writing felt choppy and the atmosphere/setting felt nonexistent due to a lack of descriptive imagery. For that reason, it felt difficult to fully immerse myself into the story and stay engaged.

3.5-ish stars.
A gender-bent Zorro-inspired tale of a young woman, Lola, and her love of her family, her people and the magic the land provides, this was a decent debut from author Sandra Proudman.

The premise was interesting, the world and its magic unique and enjoyable, and the pacing and plot provided for a generally enjoyable read.

That being said, the writing felt lacking in areas. The best way I can describe it to you is that I often felt that I was listening to someone recall a vivid dream they had rather than feeling that I was experiencing the story firsthand as the reader. More “telling” than “showing” that was sometimes lacking in the finesse required to transport the reader into the story. Which ultimately prevented me from feeling particularly connected to the story. Entertaining? Yes. Immersive? Not quite. And while the dynamics between Lola and each of her family members was relatively fleshed out, her relationship with Alejandro was not. Which could be fine, the romance was intentionally subplot, but did make it hard to swoon for them as I felt as though neither I nor Lola seemed to know him well at all and found myself confused that there was love there.

I would recommend this for readers who are looking for a well paced, adventure and family driven story, though I would not necessarily expect it to be your next great read!

I needed Proudman to dig a little deeper, go past the surface, and - if you will - mine some depth in her characters. The blueprint was there, the execution less so. But I have hope that she may develop with more experience & would give her next book a shot!

Fat-friendly rating? 🩶, neutral, minimal body talk and without assigning morality to body shape/size or using fatness as a way to demonstrate the unlikeability of a character. Unlikely to be triggering!

3.5 stars. I enjoyed it, but not enough to give it 4 stars (rounded up, so it gets four stars :p).

I was really excited about this book, and it did live up to the excitement in a couple of ways. Maybe it’s just me, but I haven’t read a lot of historical fiction/fantasy Latinx books, and I love that Salvacion is a little more mainstream. It adds a flavor that books are missing, and I loved that.

On that note, I will highly recommend the audiobook to any non-Spanish speakers who want to read this book. I don’t speak Spanish. I didn’t even study it in high school, so my accent is atrocious. I loved the audiobook narrator because she helped me correct the pronunciation, at least in my head.

I really loved that although Lola wore the mask, both Victor and Lola were Salvacion together. I love the idea of Salvacion being bigger than one person, and being an idea and an ideal more than a physical being.

That said, there were a couple of things that rubbed me the wrong way.

The book is SLOW to start. I almost DNFed it, but I was lucky enough to get the audiobook, and the narrator pulled me through the slow spots. 10/10 for the narration.

After that… I don’t think Lola was a very compelling main character. She makes choices and plans that didn’t seem particularly well thought out. The bad guy wasn’t compelling, the love interest wasn’t interesting… I’m glad I read it, I’m glad I finished it, but I won’t be reading it again.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC and audioARC. All opinions are my own.

I’ve been struggling with this book for weeks and I’m disappointed because I was really looking forward to it. The premise is fantastic. But the opening chapters are a brutal boring slog of clunky exposition with very little descriptive language or sense of place and atmosphere. DNF @ 10%.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books/SMP for a copy of the eARC.

I really enjoyed the YA historical setting of this book. The exploration of the family dynamics were engaging, and I also feel like we rarely see books set in this era and location, so that definitely added something to the story! However, I did find some of the other aspects underdeveloped. I didn't leave the book with a clear answer as to why the magical salt existed, or a number of other questions about how it worked, how distribution worked, why it was a secret (I understand the motivation but not how realistically it would have stayed a secret). There was also some real suspension of disbelief needed to enjoy the book, since we are told that there are very limited female characters in this town and yet no one seemed to know the identity of Salvacion.

I think this would probably be enjoyable for a YA reader on the lower end of the age spectrum, particularly with the action involved. It might be particularly well suited in conjunction with non-fiction historical works, such as a book on the gold rush or the Mexican-American war.

This book delivers EXACTLY what it promises and I was so happy I got the chance to read it. I loved that the main character was strong and independent and the romance was just the icing on the cake rather than the whole focus. The magic-infused Zorro inspired elements of Salvacion make it so easy to fall into this story and care about these characters. The pacing was perfect because it changed along with the plot of the book and picked up speed as more of the conflicts were unfolding which made it feel just like an adventure movie. I can't wait to read more from Sandra Proudman! :)

I have mixed feelings about this read. I was initially drawn in by the stunning cover and the premise, which sounded so intriguing. I was all in for a gender-bent Zorro reimagining! I liked the characters and a lot of the messages about equality, empowerment, corruption, justice, and the importance of family. However, the pacing was uneven, and the internal monologue became tiring at times.

Lola has a great arc, and her character proves to be a bold and determined vigilante, and I liked her arc. She changes and matures so much, especially when it comes to standing up to her parents and facing obstacles that are far more deadly than she expected. Her inner dialogue was a bit much for me, but it definitely showed her growth over the course of the story.

I also liked the love story, though I wish it were a little more prominent in the story. It was definitely more of a sub-plot than the main focus. I actually enjoyed reading about the relationship between Lola and her brother more. They worked together well and had a strong connection built on love, trust, and respect.

The author does a good job of meshing history with fiction, and the imagery and magic system were great. But I wanted a bit more world-building. There were parts of the world and magic that I thought could have been detailed more, and I constantly wondered why no one could figure out who Salvación was. There are only like three people in the entire town. It seemed pretty easy to narrow down. lol That being said, the messages about women's strength and savvy are strong.

Overall, this was an ok read for me. There were parts I really liked and a few things that fell flat, but it was still enjoyable and unique. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

I loved this story so much! I have never seen “El Zorro” but after reading this, I might just go watch it later. I was hooked from the beginning and I’m glad that I never stopped reading. There was a lot of topic I could relate to, the biggest one would be how moms are always closer to their sons and dads are closer to their daughters. The concept of Sal negra and Sal roja is spectacular and so unique! I love that even the concept of “everything needs to be balanced” was brought in. This book would have gotten 5 stars if it would have had a bit more action and romance instead of the repetitive self doubt with herself and parents. I wanted more of Salvacion in action, instead of hearing about it. Alejandro and Lola needed more banter and connection. The dad caught me off guard but his stubbornness was completely accurate. I just found it hard to understand the shift from the beginning of the parent’s relationship to the end. The ending was satisfying in the fact that I can see it play out like a movie type ending. I was left with a lot of questions at the end, I hope that there is another book planned!

I definitely recommend this book! It sounds like there might be a second book and I cannot wait !


Thank you to Sandra Proudman, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

I loved this story so much! I have never seen “El Zorro” but after reading this, I might just go watch it later. I was hooked from the beginning and I’m glad that I never stopped reading.. There was a lot of topic I could relate to, the biggest one would be how moms are always closer to their sons and dads are closer to their daughters. The concept of Sal negra and Sal roja is spectacular and so unique! I love that even the concept of “everything needs to be balanced” was brought in. This book would have gotten 5 stars if it would have had a bit more action and romance instead of the repetitive self doubt with herself and parents. I wanted more of Salvacion in action, instead of hearing about it. Alejandro and Lola needed more banter and connection. The dad caught me off guard but his stubbornness was completely accurate. I just found it hard to understand the shift from the beginning of the parent’s relationship to the end. The ending was satisfying in the fact that I can see it play out like a movie type ending. I was left with a lot of questions at the end, I hope that there is another book planned!

I definitely recommend this book! It sounds like there might be a second book and I cannot wait !


Thank you to Sandra Proudman, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

An inspiringly courageous YA tale! What I loved most about this one is how different it was culturally. I think I've read a lot of YA adventures featuring American or Anglo-Saxon children from bygone European generations, but never one with Proudman's Mexican setting and heritage-focused tale.

Highly enjoyable and looking forward to snagging a physical copy!

**Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

Salvación by Sandra Proudman is a first person-POV YA historical fantasy set in California in the mid-nineteenth century inspired by El Zorro. Lola has taken up the mantle of Salvación to be free of the expectations put on her as a young Mexican woman and help protect the newfound peace in her town. But people with nefarious purposes want the healing sal negra and there’s a new salt, sal roja, that is creating new kinds of harm.

The second I saw this was inspired by Zorro, you best believe that I requested a copy. I’ve been a fan of Zorro for most of my life and I want all the adaptations exploring all the nuances of the time period. In this version, there is a light magic element with sal negra and sal roja that adds a touch of fantasy/speculative but doesn’t rewrite history. The two salts were discovered by miners and Lola remarks that as helpful as sal negra has been, it still belongs to the Earth and they were removing something that doesn’t belong to them. This creates tension between Lola and her parents as well as the people looking to take Salvación down and take the salts for themselves. An unnamed Indigenous Man does come into the plot and says that the salt needs to stop being mined, which Lola agrees with and she is determined to do the right thing by the people who lived on that land.

Lola finds a love interest in Alejandro, a young man who is very gifted with horses but is working for Hernandez, a man who is determined to destroy Salvación. When he meets her as Lola, he doesn't have the most positive impression as she uses her real identity to pretend that she’s self-centered and uninterested in what is happening outside of high society. As Salvación, Alejandro is drawn to her and she is certainly drawn to him as well. The romance is on the sweeter side and more of a slow build, which gives the story room to explore the more realistic aspects of enemies-to-lovers in this scenario without going full enemies-to-lovers.

There is some gender exploration but nothing that veered into Lola referring to herself as Enby or trans. While I’m sure some readers might be disappointed by that, I did appreciate that Lola was finding she had no desire to wear dresses anymore and she liked wearing pants and performing more traditionally masculine activities. She never says that ‘she/her’ doesn’t feel right, but as someone who is also Enby, there is a wide variety in which we present and I feel that there is a strong possibility she is in the middle of figuring out her identity within the context that she exists in. ‘Latinx’ as a marker in the marketing feels very apt and I’m excited that we got a Latinx Zorro YA historical fantasy.

I would recommend this to fans of YA historicals who like a lighter touch of fantasy and readers of Zorro adaptations looking for a YA fantasy

“Lots of beautiful things look beautiful..”

This read was entertaining and I really liked how the story highlight the Mexican family dynamics. It’s really refreshing to read a book that highlights your culture and I think is part of the reason I enjoyed reading this book. It’s definitely hard to find reads that I can relate to and I love that young adults reading this that grew up in Mexican households will be able to find characters to relate to.
While the story was at times predictable it was still interesting. Unfortunately before starting this I read a review where the person mentioned how Salvacion reminded her of Hannah Montana / Miley and I just could not unsee this!

Overall, I thought it was a decent read.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC!

Salvación is a female Zorro-inspired fantasy set in a part of Mexico turned Alta California during colonization. The magic in this story was found in the healing sal negra and the destructive sal roja. Without humans these salts are simply part of nature’s balance. Add humans and you have a battle.

At first I struggled to get into it, but the story eventually became pretty intense and I was swept up rooting for good over evil. The writing style was definitely YA (as is as the FMC). if you’re like me and cannot move past a word you don’t know, unless you fluent in Spanish, you’ll appreciate reading the ebook version for quick translations. I do think you would be fine without doing that though. Overall I’m glad I read this book and would recommend it. 3.5 stars rounded up.

I loved this book! It’s a beautiful and fun take on Zorro, and I really want a sequel. It’s about family (particularly siblings) and standing up for what is right, even when it’s against those we love.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

I won't sugarcoat it: I did not finish this one, and it's not because it was terrible, but it wasn't great either. The early world building left me with questions and a lot to be desired. The FMC is apparently a badass, but I wouldn't know because were only told, not shown, her personality and background. The plot wasn't overly unique or engaging.

If you're looking for a quick, easy YA read without all the bells and whistles, this is for you, but if you're in the mood for a more intricate YA read, this might not be your speed.

My audiobook ARC was glitching until I redownloaded it 8 times and I see now I should have seen that as a sign.

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I cannot believe it ended up being one of my least favourites. It started out fine, and I was enjoying it, but there were so many little things that stacked up at the end to make me just want it to be over.

There is a strange trend with YA releasing in the last couple of years where the proof of the strong female main character is found in "just trust me, bro." The reader is told repeatedly how badass she is, how people fear her and how important she is ... but it's never shown on page. I do not know why Lola is the masked vigilante named Salvación, why she supposedly has this reputation of being the protector of this tiny town. She threatens one man (almost unsuccessfully, I'll add) who never comes back again, and that's it. The skills she is purported to have never come to life on page and that disappointed me the most, for a book pitched as Zorro-inspired. Something else that bothered me ... you know how Clark Kent just has to take off his glasses and he's unrecognizable? Yeah, the same seems to apply to Lola for some reason, and it baffled me so much. Especially because we meet three women total in the town, one of whom is Lola, the only young woman, but no one figures out who she is when she wears the mask and talks to them.

The world building was also quite weak. There is some kind of magical salt that heals people, but it is never explained. It's introduced in the first chapter and is just ... there. Her mother had some kind of connection to it that led her across the land to it, but again, never explained. Likewise, there is an opposite, evil salt that the villain uses, but it doesn't really make sense. There is an interesting thread of colonialism and who truly has the right to the land of Mexico, but it was casually referenced and thrown aside until convenient to the story.

The villain in general was pretty uninspiring. I still don't know what he was doing or what he wanted? Threatening everyone with evil salt to go fight in a war that was already happening? Everyone just caved to this man without question, but he had no depth to him. He truly felt like a lackluster caricature. Likewise, the love interest was quite dull. He just shows up and has no personality, but Lola is instantly magentized to him like horses apparently are.

It seems to have left itself open to allow for a sequel in future, but I have no interest in that, I'm afraid.

I am a big fan of the legend of Zorro - it's a rarity in American culture. A defender of the indigenous people under the Spanish colonialism, it deals with a time in American history that is virtual ignored and an experience of non British colonialism in the US. Salvacion comes from this worthy tradition.

Taking place right after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed (adding a cool ticking clock element to the plot - the Yankees are coming), our heroine Lola travelled with her family to now-California, so her mother can farm the sal negra which has magical healing properties. But frustrated in her role as a proper señorita, she becomes Salvacion, the marauding angel protecting her village.

I really liked that the villain in this story is also Spanish - at one point, Lola casually mentions that she is used to thinking of the Americans as the problematic ones, and it is great to see a book with all kinds of Hispanic characters. I also loved the relationship between Lola and her brother. Zorro is often a man standing alone, and it was great to see this character realise that working together really gave her more a chance to make a difference. One thing that I did miss was seeing other young women who Lola befriended. We briefly meet some of the townspeople, and we hear about how the upper class girls back home could be mean, but I would have loved to see Lola have a bit more female companionship.

Salvacion is about to enter an interesting time in American history, and I'd love to see the author follow the character through the Civil War or postbellum eras. This book would be great for fans of Cassandra Clare or enjoys Wonder Woman.

This book felt nostalgic since I loved Zorro. This however for me felt more immersed in the culture and time period than what I have seen before. I loved the gender swap and it felt more true to why she would especially want to hide her identity considering the period in time the story was taking place. Not a story I would maybe want to read over and over again but would definitely recommend and was a fun ride from beginning to end

Unfortunately this was not the book for me. The character and I did not mesh. It's definitely well written and I'm sure someone would love it.

If a fantasy is inspired by Zorro, I'm there. Sandra Proudman is an incredible writer, and this novel is an instant classic.