Salt & Broom by Sharon Lynn Fisher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sharon Lynn Fisher has created an absolute page turner recency romance with a witchy twist, high stakes mystery, and all the magic of the autumn season one needs for a cozy weekend.
Huge thanks to Sharon Lynn Fisher for sharing an ARC with me in exchange for an honest review. I first became acquainted with her writing in 2020 when I read an ARC of The Warrior Poet, which I also immensely enjoyed.
Fisher’s writing draws you in, creates a world with the details you need without being overly purple or wordy, but still with a sophisticated flare that I can’t stop reading.
It’s been awhile since I started a book I just didn’t want to put down and this one was definitely hard to pause. It starts us right off in the adventure and doesn’t slow down for a second.
I love Jane’s inner monologue, it just added such a spunky layer of complexity to her character that connected me to her, like we were best friends sharing intimate thoughts about the sticky situation of the scene.
I thought the romance and tension between Jane and Mr. Rochester was lovely and well-developed. It wasn’t eye-rolley or cringy. Not too in your face for the story, and it was very much in line with the classics like Pride and Prejudice and the OG Jane Eyre. I was pleasantly satisfied by how well the romance arc complimented the overarching story. Neither was too overpowering for the other in the slightest.
I adored the witchy spellwork and herbology woven in. It reminded me just a little of Once and Future Witches, and I would say if you enjoyed that book then this one is definitely a must read. Like OaFW, the magic was ingrained in the storyline and the character and it was not inserted as an afterthought. Fisher handled this brilliantly.
I particularly loved reading this in October, since the story takes place in October as well, and it just made the scenes that much more sensory to me as I read, which I also loved. It also has some creepy/haunting themes which makes it a lovely cross-over for spooky reads/Halloween season.
I enjoyed all the characters. They each had unique voices and all were well written into the story. There were quite a few of them, but every one had a unique role that revealed clues to the mystery surrounding Thornfield. Several times I was caught by surprise. Though I will say, some of the revelations weren’t completely shocking (and I was fine with this), but a couple of them were, and I was so delighted how neatly Fisher had set everything up.
This wasn’t a long book, 266 pages, and that was the perfect length, and the perfect pace for this story. A very fun, quick read, perfect for Jane Austen/Charlotte Bronte lovers who love rejency slow burn romances and also enjoy stories with well threaded magical twists.
This would be the perfect read for a rainy weekend curled up with a pumpkin spice cappuccino.
Salt and Broom officially publishes on 1 December and is currently available for pre-order in multiple formats and everywhere you buy books! Click here for the listing on bookshop.org and support your favorite indie bookstore with your pre-order 🙂
