ARC Book Review: The Song of Salt & Shadow by Seren Rose

Megs
Jun 3
2 min read

A siren born without a tail. A pirate who is cursed.

Eryse flees from hunters and climbs aboard a pirate ship. Soon she realizes that not only is the whole crew is cursed, but some are willing to sell her or send her to her death. As the Captain and Eryse battle to break the curse, they must either reclaim what was lost or be each others ending.

The Song of Salt & Shadow

Seren Rose

Publisher:

Published Date: June 3, 2026

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Fiction

391 Pages

Date Read: June 1-2, 2026

Format: 📱

Source: Author ARC

As always, if you prefer a spoiler free review please read my quick review instead of the in depth review below.

Quick Review (Spoiler Free)

I was hooked at the Pirates of the Caribbean meets Phantasma line... I love both of those so much and this book did not disappoint.

This is my first pirate romance to read and I absolutely loved it. I felt like it almost had a Peter Pan vibe to it in some ways too. I enjoyed Sable’s character the most. There are so many things I loved that I can’t say without spoiling the story.

It was such a great book and I’m excited to see if she writes more!

Now, let's get into the details!!

(Note: Some text may appear to be blocked out, just highlight that text to read it.)

Okay, first, let's talk about Eryse's instincts to protect Lark. How freaking cute that she would protect the little boy who thinks he's a full grown pirate!! I could just see a continuation of Will and Elizabeth's story with a kid like this in Pirates of the Caribbean. That just melted my heart.

And then, the detached shadow/Peter Pan vibes. I absolutely love Peter Pan and was not expecting that addition when I started reading but it made me so invested to see how that panned out (see what I did there, lol).

Also, are you KIDDING ME... the dream scene! I about had a heart attack and was thinking my heart was going to be crushed with this book. Talk about waking me up at 2 am... geez.

And of course, the ending... I love that she finally got her tail and that he got all his memories back when the curse was removed. His softness toward her in his shadow form... I should have seen that coming. But in the end, when he's whole and he finally remembers all of the things he said/did as his shadow... chefs kiss. I really wanted a big impact ending here but I feel like it was left very open to interpretation. I wanted them to have a defined happy ever after but overall I'm very happy with the way this story went.

I would like to thank Seren Rose for this eARC opportunity!

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