An immortal kraken, a human omega, and absolutely ZERO patience for a slow burn.

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My Review

I received an ARC of Salt and Knot by Ella Verso, and the second I saw that cover, I knew I was going to read it.

A monster-shifter romance with omegaverse vibes, fated mates, and a possessive alpha?

Obviously, I was interested. 😂

But a 600-year-old, tattooed billionaire who also happens to be a KRAKEN?

Well, that’s a new one for me!

And let me tell you, this book wastes absolutely NO time getting down to business.

Chapter TWO, ladies. CHAPTER TWO.

The spice is already spicing, and we haven’t even had time to get comfortable.

Forget the slow burn. Forget the longing glances and weeks of sexual tension.

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🐙 Dylan — Six Hundred Years of Waiting, and He’s DONE Waiting

Meet Dylan.

A 600-year-old billionaire Alpha who also happens to be a secret kraken shifter.

Because apparently being rich, tattooed, and ridiculously possessive wasn’t enough.

Then there’s Isla, a human omega who has always felt a mysterious connection to the sea.

When these two meet, Dylan recognizes her as his fated mate, and that’s pretty much it for him.

Six hundred years of waiting, and this man is NOT about to waste another minute.

He’s possessive, protective, and completely obsessed with taking care of Isla.

And I actually loved that about him.

Underneath all that alpha energy, there’s a surprisingly sweet caretaker. He doesn’t just want Isla; he wants to protect her, provide for her, and make sure she has everything she needs.

I mean, an immortal billionaire who’s completely devoted to you?

There are worse problems to have. 😂

Isla took me a little longer to warm up to. She’s a bit naïve and unsure of herself in the beginning, but I liked watching her become more comfortable with Dylan and their unusual relationship.

And honestly, these two did have great chemistry.

I just wish we’d had a little more time to see their relationship develop outside the bedroom.

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🔥 The Spice Is Spicing… But Where’s the Plot?

Listen, I love a spicy romance.

Clearly. We all know why we’re here. 😂

And Salt and Knot definitely delivers in that department.

We’ve got fated mates, heat cycles, knotting, forced proximity, and some very creative monster anatomy.

Although, can I just say something?

I actually expected MORE tentacle action.

There. I said it.

Never thought I’d be writing that sentence in a book review, but here we are. 🐙😂

The book is short, fast-paced, and very heavy on the spice. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!

Sometimes you just want a quick, ridiculously spicy read without a complicated storyline or fifty chapters of emotional turmoil.

And if that’s what you’re looking for, this absolutely delivers.

But personally, I wanted a little more.

The beginning moves so quickly that we don’t get much time to understand Isla, Dylan, or the world they live in before their relationship takes off.

There’s an interesting story hiding underneath all that spice, and I would’ve loved to explore it.

Give me more of Dylan’s past. More about Isla’s connection to the sea. More of the unseen world.

Give me something to sink my teeth into between all the tentacles! 😂

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🦇 The Unseen World — Now THIS Has My Attention!

One thing that really caught my interest was the introduction of Dylan’s fellow shifters.

Because excuse me, Ella Verso, you can’t introduce all these intriguing men and expect me NOT to have questions!

We’ve got:

• 🪨 Pierre — a gargoyle shifter
• 🐂 Thoreau — a minotaur shifter
• 🐉 Aiden — a dragon shifter
• 🌑 Moros — a mysterious shifter whose true form nobody knows
• 🐺 Conri — a wolf shifter

HELLO?!

Now you’ve got my attention.

Especially Moros.

A mysterious shifter whose identity is a secret?

You know I’m going to want answers.

And this is where I started wondering whether Salt and Knot is meant to introduce us to a much bigger world.

Because there’s so much potential here!

Different shifters, different personalities, and an entire supernatural world we’ve barely scratched the surface of. And the best part? None of these men have found their fated mates yet! Tell me that doesn’t sound like the perfect setup for more books! 👀🐉

I’d love to see future books dig deeper into these characters, with more worldbuilding, suspense, plot twists, and maybe a little mystery.

The possibilities are definitely there.

I just hope we get to see them.

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🎧 Wait… Should I Have Listened to the Audiobook?!

Okay, so I read this one on my Kindle.

And afterward, I started looking through some audiobook reviews.

Now I’m questioning my life choices. 😂

Apparently, Bastian Allen and Cleo Pope do a fantastic job bringing this story to life, especially those spicy scenes.

And considering just how much spice we’re talking about here, I’m thinking I may have missed out.

I love a good audiobook performance, especially when the narrators can make the characters and chemistry feel even more real.

So now I’m sitting here wondering if I need to go back and listen to a book I literally just finished.

Because apparently reading about a possessive kraken wasn’t enough.

Now I might need to hear him, too. 🫣

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💭 Final Thoughts — More Tentacles, More Plot, Please!

Salt and Knot was a fun, quick, seriously spicy monster romance that knew exactly what it wanted to be.

And for the most part, I enjoyed it!

Dylan was possessive, protective, and surprisingly sweet. Isla grew on me, and their fated-mates connection was cute, even if everything happened a little too quickly for my taste.

My biggest issue was that the spice took center stage while the plot sat quietly in the background.

I wanted more character development, more of the unseen world, and a little more romance between all those steamy scenes.

And then there’s the ending.

We get an epilogue showing Dylan and Isla years later, which I normally LOVE.

Give me a glimpse of my favorite couples thirty years down the road, still happy and obsessed with each other, and I’m a happy reader.

But this time?

I was a little disappointed.

Not because of their happily-ever-after. I loved that.

It was because there wasn’t even a tiny hint of what might come next.

No little mystery. No foreshadowing. Nothing to make me immediately wonder whose story we’d be getting next.

And after introducing five other shifters, I was really hoping for something!

Maybe this is simply a standalone, and that’s perfectly fine. But I can’t help feeling there’s a whole lot more story waiting to be told.

So, would I recommend it?

Absolutely, if you’re in the mood for a short, spicy, slightly ridiculous monster romance with fated mates, a possessive alpha, and a guaranteed HEA.

Just don’t go into it expecting a complicated plot or a slow-building romance.

This kraken has waited six hundred years for his mate.

He’s not waiting another six chapters. 😂🐙

And one final thought…

I don’t think I’ll ever look at calamari quite the same way again.

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ARC Disclosure: Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing me with an advance review copy of Salt and Knot. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book. As always, all thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

🌟🌟🌟 3.5/5 Stars from this “Good Girl”

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