Publisher:
Date of publication: February 26th, 2024
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Series: The Talisman Series
The Search for Synergy—Book 1 (review here)
Riders of Fire and Ice—Book 2 (review here)
Windy City Ruins—Book 3 (review here)
The Battle for Verdana—Book 4 (review here)
Slumber of Silence—Book 4.5 (review here)
Desperate Tides, Desperate Measures—Book 5 (review here)
The Taste of Storm and Brine—Book 5.5
A Dragon’s Dyne—Book 6 (review here)
Purchase Links: Kindle
Goodreads Synopsis:
The inevitable, all-out war for Earth is inching ever closer, and luckily, we have The Alliance to defend us from the Darkbrand army. But what about other parts of the world? The Alliance, as talented as they are, can’t be everywhere all at once. And the Darkbrands don’t just pop up in the most convenient places. They are indiscriminate and random, as well as dangerous and smelly. So, expanding The Alliance’s circle of allies seems like a good idea, right? Well, one certain water dragon seems to think so, anyway. Starboard, The Sentry of the South, is a loyal and stout defender of The Den of Oceania. He’s even met most of The Alliance members face to face. But after a brush with death, can he convince his fellow water dragons to join The Alliance’s claws… Um, I mean cause? Will The Den of Oceania ever be able to trust the humans completely? Or arrrrrr their hopes for survival destined to be swept out to sea by the coming storm?
First Line
“Aaaargh, stand still ye bleedin’ stink-faced mongrel!” shouted Starboard as he swiped furiously at a dodging Garm.
The Taste of Storm and Brine by Brett Salter
Important details about The Taste of Storm and Brine
Pace: Fast
POV: 3rd person (Starboard, Tampa, Driftwood, Bismark, Captain Delroy, Mrs. Case, Mr. Rider)
Series: Can be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend reading books 1-5 first.
Trigger Warnings: The Taste of Storm and Brine contains themes of violence and boating accidents.
Language: The Taste of Storm and Brine contains no swearing or language that might offend some people.
Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in The Taste of Storm and Brine
Setting: The Taste of Storm and Bride is set in Oceania and Man-o-War Island.
My Review
I was excited when the author contacted me with a review request. I have reviewed this series since the beginning and thought it was fantastic. So, when Brett mentioned that he would be doing novellas cannon to the series, I couldn’t wait. My internal hype did not let me down this time. The Taste of Storm and Brine was an excellent (and quick) read.
The Taste of Storm and Brine occurs between Desperate Tides, Desperate Measures, and A Dragon’s Dyne. Readers can read this book as a standalone, but if they want to understand what is going on and who certain people are, I highly recommend reading books 1-5 first.
The storyline in The Taste of Storm and Brine focuses on Starboard and the other sentries: Tampa, Driftwood, and Bismark. The book explains why the dragons in the Den of Oceania hesitate to join the Alliance. This storyline was well-written and humorous.
Each sentry had their personality. Starboard talked like a Cockney Englishman, Tampa couldn’t be bothered to remember the names of her other sentries and people, Driftwood had the personality and spoke like a surfer, and Bismark was important in his own mind. Out of the four sentries, I liked Starboard and Driftwood the most.
There is a lot of action in The Taste of Storm and Brine. The book starts with Starboard fighting three Garms and escalates from there.
I liked that Mrs. Case and Mr. Rider appeared in The Taste of Storm and Brine. Their interactions were funny. I still didn’t trust Mr. Rider, but it was nice seeing him doing good instead of causing mischief and mayhem.
The end of The Taste of Storm and Brine was interesting. I can’t get much into it without spoiling book 6. But I will say this: It made sense why things happened as they did.
Many thanks to Brett Salter for allowing me to read and review The Taste of Storm and Brine. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
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