The Saltwater Curse Audiobook By Avina St. Graves cover art

The Saltwater Curse

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A woman escaping her past…

Kristy Gallagher has slayed a monster before. When she could no longer live with her husband’s abuse, she plunged a knife into his neck. Then, she fled his family’s criminal empire—changing her name and traveling to the far reaches of the world, before finding her safe haven in Bali.

She’s used to looking over her shoulder but nothing could prepare her for the monster that lurks beyond the shore. Sharp claws, grasping tentacles—Krakens are real, and their King has decided she’s to be his bride.

A monster trying to end a curse…

Ordus is King of the Dead Lands, the last Kraken of his bloodline, and the final hope to break a terrible curse that plagues his lands. He must find his destined bride, his soul mate, and marry her to save his kingdom.

His fated mate shouldn’t be a human, but something about her calls to him like no other creature ever has. He drags her to his island, kicking and screaming, begging to be returned to the mainland.

Ordus must convince her he’s not a monster to be feared, but her soul mate who will protect her from anything and anyone who means her harm.

Including his own people.

A dark and delicious tale about what makes a monster—THE SALTWATER CURSE is inspired by the Hades/Persephone myth. Only with a lot more tentacles.

©2025 Avina St. Graves (P)2026 Avina St. Graves Fantasy Paranormal Royalty Destiny Mythology
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I enjoyed this story very much. Cindi made me literally yell at her a few times,(as all my favorite books do) but the twists were good, and it was my flavor of twisted throughout.

It was funnier than I anticipated

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I couldn't get enough omg I lovedddd this book. absolutely stunning. Spicy and full of plot at the same time. And that twist gave me whiplash!

ps. Vas was the cherry on top and I hope he is forever blessed with coconuts haha.

beautiful doesn't describe it enough.

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The one thing I couldn’t get out of my head was that the male voice sounds so much like Penn Bagley in YOU. Very crazy

Great story!

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The Saltwater Curse was a rough one for me. I almost DNF’d it multiple times, especially in the beginning. There’s just way too much exposition up front, and it made the whole book feel like a chore before it ever really got going.

It also didn’t help that the FMC hated the MMC for basically the entire book, which made the central dynamic hard to enjoy. And honestly, neither of the main characters was all that likable to me in the first place, so I never felt especially invested in them.

The one real saving grace was Vasz’s chapters. Those at least gave me something to hold onto when the rest of the book wasn’t working for me.

To be fair, it did get better toward the end. But for me, it wasn’t enough to undo everything that came before it, and definitely not enough to push this up to three stars.

A slog with a slight improvement too little, too late.

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Duet narration on this is PERFECTION. The story however….
it was very slow paced and drawn out. I struggled with the FMC’s internal dialogue being very repetitive, specifically with the PTSD she has from her past domestic violence. Her thought pattern is so redundant, not one single chapter goes by where she isn’t rambling about being triggered, terrified or angry because of her ex. By 3 chapters in it’s like we get itttt already, but you get to hear lots more about for a couple dozen more chapters.
For being a monster romance this was very timid on the spice but it was still a fun ride.

Repetitive internal dialogue

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