I fell hard and fast for this one. YA Fantasy can often be so formulaic, and the characters from all the similar plot lines start to blur together. This was a breath of fresh air and I could not get enough. I really look forward to future novels from this author.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This YA fantasy offers a fresh and culturally rich take on the vigilante hero story, with strong Latinx roots and a bold, Zorro-inspired heroine at its center. Lola is a compelling lead—fierce, passionate, and driven to protect her town and family. The world-building, especially the magic system with sal negra and sal roja, was original and intriguing.

Where the story fell a bit short for me was in pacing and character dynamics. There were moments when the plot felt uneven, with high-stakes action sometimes interrupted by slower or repetitive scenes. The romance between Lola and Alejandro had potential, but the emotional connection felt underdeveloped at times, making it hard to fully invest in their relationship.

That said, I really appreciated the historical setting and the exploration of identity, resistance, and legacy. It's a creative and empowering story that will resonate with readers who enjoy heroines in disguise, magical realism, and stories rooted in cultural heritage.

A solid debut with a lot of heart and imagination, even if it didn’t completely hit the mark for me.

So this wasn't the book I was expecting. When I heard that it took some inspiration from the legend of Zoro I thought there would be more physical action, but it ended up being a lot of inner monologue instead. Lola's struggle is more internal and philosophical than physically combative; more focus on what is morally right vs wrong. And I appreciated that even if it made the book's plot feel slower at times.

Instead of a fast, action packed story, Lola's story is more a coming of age story as she finds herself in a war-time scenario that challenges everything she has ever known. She's losing her naivety about the world as she comes face to face with true evil in the world. I also appreciated how she is at that time in her life when you start to see that your parents aren't perfect and you start to understand their reasoning for imposing limitations in your life. It grounded the story for sure.

The romance was sweet, perhaps a little under developed, but it worked for the purpose of the story. And the magical elements are a good metaphor for the exploitation of the land and the power that comes for controlling it. You can draw a lot of parallels to the various conflicts throughout the world right now.

I think if you are looking for a human story set in a world of magic and metaphors, this is a great book for you. But if you want more action and a more developed romance, look elsewhere.

I really loved how the female protagonist in this book was so strong and it really is who led the books story from start to finish. She had obstacles and yet she got through all of them as well as challenging relationships too.

By day, Lola de La Peña is the perfect Mexican señorita. She is graceful, polite, and proper. By night, she is Salvación, the masked vigilante protecting her town with a blade, a secret, and a whole lot of fury. In tandem with her brother Victor, they are able to build the legend.
People from the region line up for hours to be cured by Lola’s mother, a healer who has harnessed the power of a magical black salt called sal negra. But we all know the rules of magic: where there is good, there is also evil, where there is healing, there is also destruction. The bad is Damien Hernández, and with his arrival also comes news that sal roja is obliterating entire towns. Hernandez is charming, deadly, and ready to claim Alta California for himself by using sal rojo, or red salt.
Alejandro is Hernandez’s young employee, and Loli finds him mysterious and attractive, but where does his loyalty lie?
If you like your heroines masked and unafraid, Salvación, by Sandra Proudman is the perfect YA fantasy! Think Zorro, but gender flipped. Add magic, sibling vigilantes, Spanish-English storytelling, and a dash of historical rebellion. I’m currently rereading the audiobook and it is fantastic! Both the book and audio are available now at Bookshop.org and your public library,
Thanks to the author and Wednesday Books for the physical arc and NetGalley for the audiobook arc.

⋆.˚✮ 3.5 stars ✮˚.⋆

⤿ Thank you to Wednesday Books for the arc through netgalley and a physical arc in exchange for an honest review!

while i know the classic story of El Zorro, i have never read a retelling of it, and so i was very intrigued to see what this story would be like. also, as someone who is bilingual in Spanish, i was very excited to see how many words of this story were in that langauge. if you aren't a speaker- don't worry! the story explains what each term means by either giving you a definition or giving context clues, it was just really rewarding as someone who is bilingual to read a book like this. me gusta leer in espanol, especialmente historias españolas, porque es importante en el contexto del presente.

the concept of the Legend of Zorro with a woman lead and magical salt that can cure ailments that comes from the earth sounded really unique. i always love when authors are able to come up with new magic-like systems, and while this one was very rudimentary, i still liked how the salt was used in everyday use, and how the main characters discovered more about it. the protection of familia and the pueblo was really important for the story too, but i thought it also really important the author recognizes how complicated family can be. my heart hurt sometimes for lola and her family, not just with what they were going through in THEIR relationships, but the threat of manifest destiny for the United States on their doorstep. while none of them are perfect people, i think this was actually one of the main drivers of the story, as it showed they were real people.

unfortunately, the actual plot itself felt really slow, and there were multiple plot points that didn't feel fully developed or were plot holes that were just a little too much for me to completely overlook. in the beginning for example, Lola takes away the guns of some man that was threatening her family, and he vows to come back as they were an heirloom. while of course he could have decided not to, it just felt like a strange beginning, as it made the threat that came later feel less intense- if this man was too scared to come back just for someone in a costume. other than that, the plot dragged at points and i wish there had been even more happening at some points, other than just the same thing over and over.

beyond the plot, i did not see the chemistry between Lola and the male lead Alejandro. i understand it's possible, and enemies to lovers does sometimes in situations that may be ridiculous but i end up loving, but i didn't see the chemistry in this case. especially when we find out more about the male lead and his past, i thought that it would have been just too much of a gap between the characters to fully connect. (view spoiler)

i did like the representation in this book, i thought it was well done for the latinx individuals. i will say though - i wish there had been more discussion about the indigenous people that appeared in this story, and more follow up with trying to get their land back. the main character encounters an indigenous man who helps her, and she vows to help him, but it's not followed up on so i was a bit disappointed by that- as an indigenous woman who is very aware of the history of my people on now American land. i did appreciate the mention of the atrociiteis that my ancestors faced though, i just wish there was a little more too it.

while i think this story was interesting still, i think it falls short in quite a few areas. it was a quick read so that was good, and i will definitely keep my eye out for other books this author writes.

↬ trigger warnings: death of parents and parental figures, war themes, injury and violence, murder and torture, mass murder mentioned

This book had the potential to be a fantastic young adult fantasy book. However, I had a few problems, like the pacing or the world-building, which is very important in fantasy books. I felt that I was reading the book in the middle instead of the beginning. I was a bit confused about what the world-building was or why things were explained in the beginning. It brought out some confusion that made the read frustrating to read. I still enjoyed it, just a bit annoyed as well.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 3.5ish/5 stars.

Technically, I did read a physical version of this (the owlcrate edition is stunning). Overall, I really liked this and the vibes it gave off with Lola and being Salvacion (with her brother). I don't think the romance was developed well at all though, and the worldbuilding needed more. It also ends like there is going to be a sequel or more in the world? The idea of magic colored salt is definitely interesting though, and I did also appreciate how it would just slip into Spanish f0r some words and phrases in the middle of the sentence. It is a quick read though!

Salvacion by Sandra Proudman takes a whole new spin on the tale of Zorro by casting a young Mexican teenage girl and her older brother trying to protect their small town in historical California, right after Mexico loses California to the United States.

Can Lola stop Hernandez from getting some more sal roja?

Lola de La Pena
Lola de la Pena and her family came to Coloma, a town her grandfather had bought, to obtain sal negra and discover why her mother was drawn to it. She tries to do what her parents tell her to do, but like any teenager, that honestly doesn’t always happen. Lola acts like what they want her to be like during the day, but by night, she is Coloma’s angel by the name of Salvacion to protect the townsfolk from those who want to take what the others have. She is a great character, and I loved how protective Lola is of her family, her town, and of justice.

Sal Negra and Sal Roja
In this fantasy time setting that takes place in a historical moment, there are two kinds of salt in the forefront. Sal Negra is a black salt that heals people, and the duration of the healing process depends on the severity of the ailment, the length of time it takes, and the dosage required. Lola’s family has figured out that if you mix the sal negra with some water, it helps even more. The other kind of salt is sal roja. Sal Roja is a red salt that kills people. The sal roja to activate needs only a single grain, and then it's all over, even if you have some sal negra with you, since it takes a lot of sal negra to attack and stop the sal roja.

The magic system that Ms. Proudman introduces with this type of magic is so interesting. I loved every minute of it since it’s different, and it's awesome how it all works.

Five Stars
My rating for Salvacion by Sandra Proudman is five stars. I recommend it to anyone who wants a different take on the Zorro tale with a fantasy twist. Ms. Proudman had me on the edge of my seat, wondering what would happen next throughout the whole book. I loved every minute of being in this book. Ms. Proudman took me out of Texas and back to California just in the past. It was honestly a thrill to picture how different California was back then.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Salvacion by Sandra Proudman.

Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness

If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out Baroness Book Trove.

I really enjoyed this book, it wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it kept me reading. A really entertaining YA book.

I absolutely loved this book. It has been a while since a YA book has kept me interested throughout the whole story and this one did just that. A must read for sure.

Salvación is a powerful and emotional story that explores faith, identity, and the search for redemption. I've never read anything by Sarah Proudman before, and I found her writing to be both honest and heartfelt.

Lola must fight against those who are trying to steal from her community. Is everything as it seems, or will she discover new secrets? I loved how sure of herself Lola became as the story progressed, and even though many didn't believe in her, she never gave up and fought against evil. Not only is there a lot of history, but there were also two different salts that served two distinct purposes, which was quite interesting.

Thanks to Wednesday Books for the eARC and paperback copy and NetGalley!

The setting of this book took me back to my childhood memories of watching Zorro episodes on TV. It’s set in California in a town built up around a mine where someone has discovered a salt with healing power. Lola lives a privileged life in her town, but she wants nothing to do with the fancy dresses and future romance that her family might want for her. Instead, she wants to help others. Particularly, she wants to protect the people in her town from those who would harm them.

The story doesn’t follow a stereotypical superhero path. For one thing, though Lola has a secret identity as Salvación, she shares the identity with her brother. The two of them work as a team, but he stays in the shadows. As Salvación, she’s the face of their team.

I liked exploring the teamwork and their relationship as brother and sister within the story. Lola also isn’t the kind of hero who charges into danger with a sword every time there’s trouble. She does background investigating. She forms relationships. The girl has layers! I love that.

On the whole, I enjoyed the book. It really delivered the vibe of the Zorro TV episodes I watched as a little kid while telling a Latinx-centered story. If you like historical fantasy, you’ll want this one on your reading list.

Salvación by Sandra Proudman
In Alta California, injustice comes at a few different levels. First, Mexico has lost California to the Yankees, signing away the territory that its people inhabit in a treaty that ends the war. This puts Lola and her family at risk—they’ve moved to the remote village of Coloma, where Lola’s mother uses black salt for works of healing. Though they had always planned to return home, Lola’s mother doesn’t feel the mission is complete, and Lola worries that the Yankees will come before they return to Mexico. She and her brother, Victor, have already become the guardians of Coloma under the guise of Salvación, a hero in black whose sword-fighting keeps out the rough element. Unfortunately, even Salvación can’t hold back an army.

But the Yankees aren’t the worst threat. When a group of rebels comes to Coloma, promising to take back Alta California, Lola is suspicious—and rightly so. An injured woman comes with a message for Salvación: the leader of the rebels is a magician who uses red salt to harm, rather than heal. Lola witnesses it herself when the rebel leader slaughters one of his own followers, deep in the woods. She and Victor have to stop this magic, so they can keep their family safe.

Lola faces one final injustice, beyond the scope of magic and politics: it’s only as Salvación that she feels truly herself, rather than the girl Lola is expected to be—interested in clothes and embroidery and gossip. Even if Lola succeeds in saving Coloma, will she ever be respected as herself, and the girl she wants to be, rather than the role she is expected to play? Find out—Salvación is out now.

I loved this book! I grew up watching Zorro, and this book definitely hits the spot and gave me a lot of feels. The MC is plucky, determined, and someone who wants to do the right thing, just like the original Zorro, and I recommend it for anyone looking for a swashbuckling, adventurous read. The romance is swoony too!

I ended up DNFing this one at 20% mainly because this ended up not being the type of story for me. This definitely leaned much more historical fiction with politics of the time versus kind of what I was hoping for. I wanted more of an adventure story with some fantasy in it, so it just wasn't what I was hoping for. The writing was very dry and stated everything very matter of fact, which also leant more into the historical side of things. That being said, I'm giving it a 3 star because there are quite a few people who I think this would work for since they enjoy historical fiction more than I do.

DNF at 62%

I’ve been a huge fan of Zorro since I was a kid, and was so excited to read a gender swapped Zorro story, but unfortunately this fell flat for me. It felt like we had been dropped in book 2 instead of the beginning of a story. The worldbuilding around the magic and sal negra and sal roja wasn’t clear. Why was it only there? Has it ever existed in the world before? Why did her mother know it was there? Why was only her mother allowed to use it to heal even though anyone could? It felt like the characters were trying to be so many things, that it felt superficial and contradictory. Our main character complained constantly about hating dresses and her boots and felt very not like other girls and didn’t seem particularly pressed to keep her secret identity as Salvacion a secret.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the e-arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was ultimately a very wholesome story about 17 year old Loli growing into a self-assured young woman while learning to navigate challenging familial dynamics and the fact that the world is constantly changing around her.

The messages and themes of this book, surrounding how siblings can have different relationships with their parents, how people can deserve second chances should they want to change for the better, and how nature should be left alone and left to be wild without human interference are very important and I felt as though the messaging got through and gave the book lots of depth. I really did enjoy these aspects of the book.

However, I just don’t think I was as engaged as I wanted to be with the plot itself. It felt like sequences were happening just to happen and Loli was making wild and not thought-through decisions in order to get those things to happen.

In addition, Loli’s narration was at times really repetitive, just saying the same sentence again with slight variation.

Overall, enjoyed the themes and messages of this book. Loved seeing Loli and Victor’s complex sibling relationship and how that tied into their relationships with their parents. The siblings were definitely a highlight of this book. I thought Loli’s learning to accept herself and be self-confident in an environment where women are expected to fulfill a singular and specific role was relatable. Like I said, the plot itself just fell flat for me.

I do recommend this book if only for the themes of the story, but I can see plenty of people enjoying the plot as well!

Salvación is a powerful, evocative journey of healing, faith, and resilience. Sandra Proudman’s lyrical storytelling beautifully captures the struggles and triumphs of finding salvation in unexpected places. A deeply moving read that stays with you long after the last page.