Unwrapping: Review of SALT REDUX: Sequel to SALT BRIDE by Lucinda Brant

Back in August 2012, I reviewed SALT BRIDE by Lucinda Brant. I fell in love with the characters, Jane and Salt, and Caroline and Antony. I despised Diana St. John for her evil doings, yet was intrigued with her stalker mentality and devious attempts to keep Salt to herself. I wished for Sir Antony to find happiness with Lady Caroline and live free of his evil sister. Well, when SALT REDUX:  Sequel to SALT BRIDE was released in March, I was eager to read it. I welcomed Lucinda’s request for a read and review.

***eARC provided by author in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for SALT REDUX: Sequel to SALT BRIDE:

 Jane and Salt—four years of Happily Ever After
Sir Antony Templestowe—four years of Exile
Lady Caroline—four years of Heartache
Diana St. John—four years plotting Revenge

The time has come... How does a brother cope with life knowing his sister is a murderess? How can a nobleman have the life he has always wanted when a lurking evil consumes his thoughts and haunts his dreams? What will it take for good to triumph over evil? For readers who enjoyed Salt Bride, the story continues…

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Diana St. John has been sent to a place where Salt and Antony hope she can cause no further harm to their families, friends, or anyone else that might cross paths with her, but they are to be proven wrong by this devilish woman. 

Sir Antony Templestowe has spent the past four years in Russia, a self-exile if you will. Having offended far too many, he decided it was best that he, like his sister Diana, be as far away from the happiness of those he cares most about – Jane, Salt, their children, his beloved niece and nephew, and most of all, Caroline – the woman who holds a claim on his heart. 

Lady Caroline Aldershot, heartbroken by unrequited love, did something foolish that ended in her settling for an undesired marriage that in turn, ends tragically. Still heartbroken and alone, now responsible for her dead husband’s sister, Kitty Aldershot, she is taken by surprise when Sir Antony Templestowe reappears in London and proceeds to propose to her. 

SALT REDUX: Sequel to SALT BRIDE by Lucinda Brant carries with it all the grandeur, georgian history, on edge concern for what Lady Diana St. John will do next, as we were treated to in SALT BRIDE, but in the end there’s a happily ever after for everyone. I admire Antony’s respect for Caroline and his willingness to wait for her. I will say that in SALT BRIDE, Diana’s character was much more believable, but I was overjoyed to see Diana finally gets hers, and most justly as well.  

I will say that I found SALT REDUX a bit slower moving than SALT BRIDE but over all, it still makes for an intriguing read. I’d hoped that Diana would show her evil earlier, although the prologue sets her up to be as villainous as before. I found that her ability to so easily fit herself back into London society a tad irrational considering how off the deep end she’d become, but then again, this is fiction. As with SALT BRIDE, Lucinda’s style of writing, switching points of view between characters, sometimes with only a few lines separating them, makes for a slower read and so I cannot call this a fast read even though once the story actually gets going, it moves quickly. 

This is not a stand-alone novel, to understand the story and move forward, you must read SALT BRIDE.  However, if you have read SALT BRIDE, then yes, I recommend you read SALT REDUX: Sequel to SALT BRIDE by Lucinda Brant, if for no other reason but to find out what happens to Jane and Salt, Caroline and Antony, the children, and most importantly, Diana St. John – a conclusion you won’t want to miss. 

Happy Reading Everyone! 

SALT REDUX: Sequel to SALT BRIDE by Lucinda Brant, Sprigleaf, available now in ebook formats.