I went into this book knowing very little, only getting a slight grasp of the story from the blurb. I thought I’d enjoy it, but I didn’t expect this YA adventure to be nearly as gripping as it was!
Hold Back the Tide, Melinda Salisbury
Themes: Fantasy, YA, Horror
Reading Format: Paperback
4 STARS // 8 CAWPILE
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Let’s start off with one thing, the blurb of this book does not tell you what the book is about. So you are essentially going into Hold Back the Tide blind. Now that’s sorted – it is super hard to write this review without any spoilers, but this will be spoiler-free, but it will also be short.
Alva lives with her dad, a man she believes to be a murderer. She lives in constant fear of what he will do to her if she steps out of line and it is that fear that compels her to want to escape her small town. The narrative reflects the knife-edge she’s living on and makes the reader feel very tense. That is the constant mood throughout this book, you are definitely on the edge of your seat to wait and find out what is happening.
Alva as a character herself isn’t particularly compelling, it’s more her role within the story that I found interesting and her relationship with other characters. This is set in a close-knit village somewhere in Scottland, in which Alva and her father have to watch over the loch and make sure it is safe. Of course, there are some complications along the way and havoc breaks loose and this book is about how Alva deals with this.
I liked the isolation of the setting and think this contributed perfectly to the horror of the story. It was a simple narrative that felt quick and exciting, basically a perfect YA book. Overall I felt completely hooked and can definitely say this is a novel to sink your teeth into.
Buy Hold Back the Tide | Amazon | Waterstones
I got this in my March Book Box and really enjoyed it!