Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Salty.

I was under the mistaken impression that Salty was a thriller, but its more of a Below Deck tale and eco-terrorism featuring two very different sisters, Denise and Helen, and a privileged, entitled family, the Falcons.

I liked the rapport between the Denise and Helen; they're very different but loyal despite their estrangement.

On the other hand, character development is poor; the story begins with little exposition.

I liked the supporting characters, Denise's loyal and loving boyfriend, her crew, and how kind and loving the sisters' mom and wife is,

I couldn't stand the Falcons but I don't think readers are supposed to like them, especially Tim or Poppy.

I didn't understand all the unnecessary POVs; they were distracting and didn't move the narrative forward; Linnie is a ninny, Poppy is a silly twit, and all the sailing jargon went over my head.

But I'm not a fan of boats.

There's no urgency or suspense and the death mentioned in the synopsis happens more than midway through the narrative and is a minor footnote to the story of corporate greed, environmental destruction, and elitism.

A quirky read featuring two sisters (one a yacht captain and one a free spirited travel guide) who work together to expose the corrupt developers that built an environmentally destructive condo on their childhood home. I enjoyed the tropical island setting and the upstairs/downstairs dynamic of the yacht crew and yacht owners.

I can see "Salty" being a popular summer read this season! It follows two sisters, Denise and Helen, as they work to repair their estranged relationship while taking down a wealthy family working to develop condos on their childhood property. Is there a murder involved? Yes. Is there a big takedown plot? Also, yes. Are the events always believable? Eh...probably not, but it did not make this any less enjoyable to read.

I liked that we got the perspectives of several characters. I was able to get the insights of minor characters and felt like I knew the mindsets of all of the major players. If you're going on a trip this summer, this would be a great book to take along with you.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia for an advanced copy of this book.

Salty drew me in from first page to last. Entertaining characters wonderful story story line.Highly recommend perfect vacation reading read will be recommending.#NetGalley #harpervis

Denise is a captain for a private marina in Florida. She is very controlled and dedicated to following the rules. Helen is Denise's sister, ten years younger, and a free spirit. Helen has traveled all over the world, never putting down roots, and usually ending up getting fired from whatever job she has landed on. Helen has run out places to go, and asks Denise if she can come and work for her. Denise initially resists, but is sure that Helen won't stay long so gives in.

Helen and Denise grew up with their mom near where the marina is located, on a peninsula with ocean on one side and harbor on the other. Their mother sold their family home once they were grown and moved to the Bahamas. The current owners are developing the property with luxury condos and a lagoon that covers nearly the full width of the peninsula. Denise has written letters, and protested in any way she can think of about the lagoon. She is certain this will be a disaster, and can not understand how they got the permits to build this. When her nightmare comes true, Denise needs to find a way to prove that illegal activities were involved in this construction. Helen helps her with this and for the first time, the two sisters work together on something.

I really enjoyed the writing style and the characters in this book. The two sisters are a study in contrasts, but the reader can fully understand how they have arrived where they each are. Though it is not too heavy with backstory, there is enough to make this happen. Loved the backdrop of the ultra wealthy and those that work for them! Definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Salty is a chaotic, sun-soaked, laugh-out-loud adventure through yacht life, sibling rivalry, and shady real estate drama. If Below Deck had a baby with White Lotus, this would be it. The story follows estranged sisters Denise and Helen as they team up to work a luxury charter and quietly seek revenge on the shady Falcon family. The same folks who bulldozed their childhood home.

Kate Myers nails the humor and setting. One standout scene? When Helen teaches the yacht’s oblivious future daughter-in-law, Poppy, how to make a real daiquiri while low-key probing for Falcon family dirt. Denise clocking a drunk guest with a life preserver in the middle of a meltdown was also equal parts satisfying and unhinged. These moments keep the tone light even as a body turns up and secrets start to spill.

That said, the plot gets a bit murky toward the end. The final 50 pages pack in a lot from collapsing buildings, mysterious LLCs, and sudden character reveals, and not everything lands cleanly. Still, the sister dynamic is messy and lovable, the writing is sharp, and the vibe is pure escapist fun.

Such a fun "beach read" about sisters and working girls, Denise and Helen, and the rich and entitled Falcon family! Salty is set in a beautiful beach and cruise setting, where rich folks display their wealth in new and questionable beach construction, and luxurious yachts. Denise is the captain of the yachts, Helen is the all-purpose helper. The Falcon's son, Tim, is engaged to clueless Poppy, who the family uses indirectly to protect their investments. Their lives all become dangerously entangled.

This story is fun and compelling, and the characters are well developed and entertaining. I was hooked from the beginning, but then just a little disappointed at the quick ending. I would have loved reading more details about how the situation that ends the story played out. Highly recommend for vacation reading fun!

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Salty.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Denise is the captain of a luxury yacht known for her salty persona. Her much more optimistic younger sister is a member of the interior crew and is known as "a walking HR violation." The two siblings come together over the destruction of their childhood home in favor of gaudy condos that threaten the area's fragile ecosystem when the latest construction collapses. The outrageous developers are their first clients and the sisters will do whatever it takes to uncover evidence that will sink them for good.

Chaotic and sometimes hard to follow, Salty suffers from an uneven plot. The characters are brightly painted and come alive with Mayer's descriptions, but the pacing was a bit slow. Billed as a fun beach read for lovers of Below Deck, I was immediately excited as I am a great connoisseur of the reality television arts and sciences, unfortunately the book was weighed down by an inconsistent lack of action. I struggled to get through this in a few places as a result. Two and a three quarter stars rounded to three for this average thriller.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I really wanted to like this book off of the premise, but I just could not get into it. I needed the characters to have more depth to them, to understand why they are that they are. Poppy and Tim were just so annoying and unlikable. I also spent the first 100 pages confused who was who and what perspective I was in. Overall a quick read that will be good for summer, but I wanted it to give me more.

This was a great beach read. The chapters are short, the characters are funny, and the stakes are low. Denise is stereotypical older sister and Helen is the perfect chaos gremlin little sister. I wanted more Jules because her comment at the very end made me actually laugh out loud!

I struggled a bit with pacing because the action only happens in the last 50 pages, and even then it is kind of confusing. The ending with Donna is barely mentioned, Poppy and the LLC isn't mentioned at all, and Randy came out of left field; It felt a little throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. It's been 2 days and I'm still trying to process who did what, when, and why.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the free ARC.

4.5 ✨

Thank you HarperVia and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Salty is a funny, ridiculous, enjoyable ride. I really enjoyed the hint of a mystery here and the whole vibe reminded me a lot of Carl Hiaasen. The characters are so over the top — I wouldn’t say you particularly love any of them but you also don’t hate them. The whole spectacle is unfolding and you’re just happy to be along for the ride. And the writing in general is hilarious while also being really smart and a satire all in one.

What a ride! 🛥️

hilarious and fun with some awesome vibes and mystery, although at time the characters are somewhat blending into each other and have less of their own identity. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Salty is an irresistible mix of humor, suspense, and family drama that takes readers on a whirlwind adventure across the Caribbean seas. Kate Myers does a fantastic job bringing Denise and Helen’s estranged sister dynamic to life, with their clashing personalities providing plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. Denise’s no-nonsense approach to life as a yacht captain and Helen’s unapologetic chaos make for an entertaining pair you can’t help but root for. The story strikes a perfect balance between lighthearted fun and high stakes. As the sisters plot against the shady Falcon family—complete with a collapsed building and a dead body—the tension builds alongside the laughs. The vibrant Caribbean setting is vividly described, adding a touch of escapism to the mix. With sharp wit and clever twists, Salty is a breezy, captivating read that’s perfect for fans of sisterly antics and sun-soaked mysteries.

The synopsis of this book made me think it would be entertaining; I was not expecting fine literature, but it is awful.

If you like Below Deck and White Lotus, you’ll love Salty. The story follows two sisters, Helen and Denise, as they work together for the first time to charter a yacht for the Falcon Family who coincidently mowed down their childhood home to build condos with a a problematic lagoon. The Falcons shady real estate dealings, and own personal gains, come to the surface and culminate with showing just how far they’ll go to keep their secrets.

This book was a like, not love for me. There are a variety of characters in the book and often times it was difficult to discern who was narrating a chapter. Helen was undoubtably my favorite character and I did find myself laughing out loud during points of the book. It felt a little long in the middle and then a rushed ending where it jumped to an unspecified time in the future with a snapshot of where everyone is now. I would have loved to hear more about the drama and fall out after the storm and what transpired.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Tongue-in-cheek, hilariously sharp, and brimming with maritime mayhem, Salty is exactly as its title suggests—a bitingly funny, deliciously cynical look at the ultra-wealthy and their scandalous messes.

Captain Denise is far more at ease wrangling a stingray than entertaining yacht guests. With years of experience navigating the Caribbean, she’s kept her career afloat by following one golden rule: never mix with the owners. That is, until her recently fired, walking-disaster sister Helen shows up to work for her, dragging chaos right onto Denise’s meticulously maintained decks.

Their first gig? Hosting the Falcon family, shady real estate developers who, as fate would have it, bulldozed the sisters' childhood home to build luxury condos. But when one of the Falcons’ newest buildings collapses—and a dead body washes up with it—Denise and Helen are thrown into a storm of corruption, cover-ups, and questionable guests, including the insufferably obnoxious Tom and his suspiciously sweet fiancée, Poppy.

Kate Myers delivers a laugh-out-loud, whip-smart mystery with the perfect mix of family dysfunction, social satire, and high-seas suspense. With a cast of deliciously awful one-percenters and a pair of sisters who are equal parts flawed and entertaining, Salty is a must-read for anyone who loves sharp-witted capers with a side of revenge served briny and cold.

#Salty #KateMyers #HarperVia #YachtCrime #DarkComedy #RichPeopleProblems

Mix White Lotus and Below Deck together, add privilege, environmental concern, relationships, wealth and a dash of satire and you have Salty, the read of the summer and every season to come. Denise, a yacht captain and her sister Helen, a yachtie, have been estranged but now unite over development plans for their peninsula home. Somehow (we can guess) the uber rich Falcon family has received permission to develop the fragile peninsula ecosystem into a condo/lagoon community. This will not go well. The Falcons, foreseeing problems, begin to transfer property to their hapless, soon-to-be daughter-in-law Poppy. Problems ensue.

Salty is a delectable read that should go to the top of your TBR pile! A tropical location next to a marina and boating life combine with unforgettable characters. Denise and Helen try hard to repair their relationship and be a family again. And Poppy, Poppy is amazed by her sudden wealth and blinded by Falcon manipulation. Her fiancé Tim, although truly obnoxious, uses creative speech “absofruitly” “gird your groins” “Beverly Hills Pop” that makes him laugh-out-loud funny. No spoilers here. Just go to the library or nearest bookstore and put in an order for Salty. You’ll thank me. Publishes June 24. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperVia and Kate Myers for this ARC.

this was a good book! It was full of so many funny moments, and the pacing of this book was really good. I liked the themes of friendship, losing, moving on, and rebuilding! It was an entertaining book and I enjoyed reading it!!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Denise is a no-nonsense boat captain and her younger sister, Helen, is more of a free-spirited social butterfly who also works on boats. When Helen begs Denise for a job, they find themselves reconnecting and uniting against a common enemy - the Falcons. The Falcons are real estate magnates who destroyed Denise’s and Helen’s childhood home and are currently mixed up in another shady deal…

Salty is funny, a bit mysterious, and a lot of fun. I enjoyed getting to know Denise and Helen (and Randy and others) and how they teamed up to take down the Falcons.

Thank you to HarperVia and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.