Melinda Salisbury

A quiet lakeside community with one open secreteveryone knows that Alvas father killed her mother, all those years ago. When there are rumours of dark creatures rising from the lake, Alva assumes that rumours are all they are. But, as terror begins to hold the village in its grip, Alva comes to realise that there may well be a connection between the secrets of her past and the horror of her present.

Hold Back the Tide

buny

From internationally bestselling, acclaimed author Melinda Salisbury comes a darkly seductive story of murder, betrayal, love, and monsters in a small town in the Scottish Highlands.

Nessa Luna

I had no idea what this book was going to be like because honestly, the synopsis is rather vague. But boy Hold Back the Tide was a rollercoaster ride! It takes place in a small town somewhere in the north (? I presume) of Scotland and the setting is what made the story for me. It was such an eerie setting, I sometimes just felt chills going down my spine as I read it. Definitely my favourite setting for these types of stories. 

I also really liked Alva as the main character, and her friendship with Ren was great too. (view spoiler)[There was one character that I absolutely hated, and that was Giles Stewart. Oh god, I wanted to punch that man. Sure, he was written to be hated, but the things he did just made me cringe so hard. I think I may have hated him more than I hated the actual monsters. (hide spoiler)]

It took me a bit to get into the story, honestly, but at about the 25% mark, I just could not put it down. I actually made myself put it down, at 4:30 am because I needed sleep and my eyes were tired. As soon as I could, I picked it back up and kept on reading until I finished it just now, it just drew me in. (view spoiler)[And that ending? OH MY GOD. I may or may not have raged for a bit when I read the final sentence, and the next page was the acknowledgements. I love standalone Fantasy books, but ahhhhhh! (hide spoiler)]

If you love Stranger Things, love books set in a small town, I highly recommend you pick up this book!

Megan Paterson

A book that shows Melinda Salisbury can do anything ❤️ a story of surprises. A must-read and I am not biased because it is set in my home, the Highlands of Scotland (and am also Melinda's biggest fan!).

Julia Seiser

This book though slow at the beginning really picked up at the end. The end made you realize that the inevitable sometimes happens to heroes. This book makes you question where human and monster start and end, because sometimes it changes from person to person.

Tegan Anderson

I got this book because the eBook was 83p on Amazon and it has a pretty cover. I went into it blind, also because the blurb does not tell you anything about the story. It turned out to be my favourite book of the year so far, and in my top favourite books of all time. I read it in two days, and it’s been a week or two now, but I still can’t wrap my head around it, or even get it out of my head.

‘Hold Back the Tide’ is an incredibly intense novel. It’s my first Salisbury book so I have no previous knowledge of her work to compare it to, but if they’re all this high quality, I’m about to become her biggest supporter. She knows how to craft an atmosphere that grips you by the throat from the first sentence and doesn’t let go until the last word. The narrative itself is quite simple but quick and exciting, basically a perfect YA novel for you to sink your teeth into.

Something about the writing style speaks to me. It’s atmospheric and dark and enchanting, giving the story is unique feel. It’s set in a historical (but an exact time isn’t mentioned) close-knit village in Scotland and the isolation of the setting contributes perfectly to the horror of the plot. The story starts off slow to take time to build the world and the characters, but it’s far from boring. Most of the reveals are built up in a way where you can see them coming, but they’re still a shock. It makes the story make sense, no matter how strange it might be.

I found Alva’s role within the story more interesting than her character, as well as her relationship with the other characters. She and her father live on the mountain away from their village and have to watch over the loch and make sure the water levels are high. Alva believes her dad to be a murderer and the book opens with a few rules she’s made for herself which she thinks will keep her alive. My one negative point for this book is that her dad isn’t really portrayed to be a murderer or even a violent man. He comes across more as someone who is overly protective – controlling, even – and has a lot of secrets. Not really a murderer (in my opinion).

The descriptions of the monsters took me by surprise. It only took a few small clever details to create something completely terrifying and describe it in a way that felt like it was standing right in front of me. I’ve seen a lot of reviews describe the monsters as vampires, which I think is accurate in terms of them being monsters that can ‘turn’ a victim with a bite.

The ending made the book – and the entire story – because it was so fitting. It was beautifully heart-breaking, fast and vivid, the kind of ending where all you can do is hold your breath. The last few chapters are a series of twists and moments that made me gasp out loud, and that’s not even mentioning the actual final ending. It was unreal.

Rating: ★★★★★ (4.5 stars)

Narah Quinn

The first thing I feel you need to know about this book is that you should probably eat something before you pick it up. Every time you pick it up. The food in this sounds incredible and I spent a good portion of it salivating and wondering if I could bear queueing up at my local store just to get extra ingredients to make all the things!

Before we go any further, here is the blurb:
"Everyone knows what happened to Alva's mother, all those years ago. But when dark forces begin to stir in Ormscaula, Alva has to face a very different future - and question everything she thought she knew about her past..."

I really enjoyed this, a lot, I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but I am pretty sure that it delivered so much more along with the crushed pieces of my heart and a very full stomach.
Alva lives with a murderer, her father, and she has spent years since the night he killed her mother being as useful as she could be, as well behaved as she could be, and all the while, has been plotting her escape.

But then the water levels at the Loch she and her father take care of drop and Alva comes face to face with something even more terrifying than her murderous father, and even though she knows she should still leave, when villagers start to go missing and die, she knows she has to stay, at least long enough to warn them.

I really liked the way Alva developed, the slow lowering of the walls she had built around herself. I really liked that two very different boys (I am ever so slightly in love with Murren Ross) had never looked at her the way anybody else had and I really hoped for good things for them all.

This tale lead us through a whole load of feelings. It makes us uncomfortable, and at times leaves you feeling very unsettled. Descriptively it is just beautiful in the range of emotions it makes you feel and Alvas first meeting with the (REDACTED) made my heart race.

It had me thinking that maybe there was something more to this whole sorry story of her life, and I was actually really pleased that I was right because it made sure to correct our judgements (which were made mainly through the eyes of our narrator Alva) and it also made sure to make us hurt at the end.

This truly was a beautifully tragic little book (it's less than 400 pages) and I am so very pleased I read it! 
Side note - this actually only took about 6 hours to read but over 4 days, spread over a day a week as part of the buddy read!

Kristin Rocca

I have realized just how deep and emotional horror novels can be. I did not go into Hold Back the Tide expecting to cry, but here we are!

I have read quite a few books with monsters, and this one stands out from the rest. I love the focus on a father/daughter relationship and I was surprisingly moved by this gruesome and terrifying book. So underrated! 

Manon van Heumen

I was so pleasantly surprised by this one!

Lisa Beasley

This was brilliant. I very much enjoyed everything about this book, Melinda manages to create an incredible atmosphere and characters you become attached to very quickly. I cannot deny Mel broke my heart with this book, but I still love her. Damn woman.

Beth Bartholomew

Let's start off with one thing, the blurb of this book does not tell you what the book is about. So you are essentially going into Hold Back the Tide blind.  Now that's sorted - it is super hard to write this review without any spoilers, but this will be spoiler-free, but it will also be short.

Alva lives with her dad, a man she believes to be a murderer. She lives in constant fear of what he will do to her if she steps out of line and it is that fear that compels her to want to escape her small town. The narrative reflects the knife-edge she's living on and makes the reader feel very tense. That is the constant mood throughout this book, you are definitely on the edge of your seat to wait and find out what is happening. 

Alva as a character herself isn't particularly compelling, it's more her role within the story that I found interesting and her relationship with other characters. This is set in a close-knit village somewhere in Scottland, in which Alva and her father have to watch over the loch and make sure it is safe.  Of course, there are some complications along the way and havoc breaks loose and this book is about how Alva deals with this. 

I liked the isolation of the setting and think this contributed perfectly to the horror of the story. It was a simple narrative that felt quick and exciting, basically a perfect YA book. Overall I felt completely hooked and can definitely say this is a novel to sink your teeth into.

Jessica Tallady

From internationally bestselling, acclaimed author Melinda Salisbury comes a darkly seductive story of murder, betrayal, love, and family secrets in a small town in the Scottish Highlands. Here are the rules of living with a murderer. One: Do not draw attention to yourself. Of course, when you live with a murderer, this is impossible. Even the subtlest of spectres is bound to be noticed. Which leads to the next rule. Two: If you can't be invisible, be useful. Everyone in this quiet lakeside community knows that Alva's father killed her mother, all those years ago. There wasn't enough proof to arrest him, though, and with no other family, Alva's been forced to live with her mother's murderer, doing her best to survive until she can earn enough money to run away. One of her chores is to monitor water levels in the loch-a task her father takes very seriously. Their family has been the guardian of the loch for generations. It's a cold, lonely task, and a few times, Alva can swear she feels someone watching her. But the more Alva investigates, the more she realizes that the truth can be more monstrous than lies, and that you can never escape your past . . .

Hold Back the Tide

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