Badass women are running the political stage in a pre-colonial-Filipino-inspired universe. Let me tell you about Black Salt Queen, my summer read that got me back into reading contemporary fantasy.
Let me first start off by saying that I am no fantasy genre expert. When I read for pleasure I tend to gravitate more towards family sagas, coming-of-age novels and classics. Yet, of course, my taste in books is an ever-changing mish-mash of genres, rivaled in its inconsistency only by my 2025 Spotify Wrapped. From John Steinbeck to Miranda July, and from books on eels to landscape architecture academia, the most important and unifying feature of my preferences as a reader is simple: I take recommendations seriously. IRL. From friends and foe, but not from Goodreads algorithms!
Which brings me to earlier this year, when I discovered that the partner of a coworker had gotten a publishing deal and her debut novel would be coming out in June 2025. I got genuinely quite excited and immediately pre-ordered her novel as I told myself: How cool is that?! How often do we get to read books of new authors, or of people we have a connection with?
That is how I found myself with my first official summer read in June – Black Salt Queen, a fantasy / romantasy story set in a fictional precolonial Philippines-inspired island named Maynara.
The story’s main character is named Laya – princess or dayang, second daughter of the ruling royal family Gatdula, yet heir to their throne. Her bloodline stays in power by virtue of its kin possessing divine ancestral magic – Laya “wields the enormous power of the skies with fickle indifference”, her mother Hara Duja moves the Earth, and her younger sister Eti shapes metal. The eldest sister Bulan, however, was born without any magic, thus making Laya the heir to Maynara’s throne.
Throughout the book, we follow a Romeo-and-Juliette type romance between Laya and Luntok Kulaw, the son of a rival treacherous house, while in the background a House-of-the-Dragon political saga unfolds between the two lovers’ families. More precisely, between the two houses’ matriarchs, Duja Gatdula and Imeria Kulaw. And let me just say, Imeria was no doubt the most interesting character of Black Salt Queen – a queer mommy with hidden powers of her own, and the unshakable conviction that… Her baby boy Luntok is the best baby boy and deserves to be king! Really giving Alicent Hightower and I was there for it!!!
As opposed to Imeria, the underdog of Maynaran aristocracy, who defies all odds by single-handedly organizing a revolution – Dayang Laya is a bit of an unlikeable girlie. I don’t feel bad pointing it out, as the protagonist seems to be intentionally problematic, described as petty and arrogant in the book’s blurb. And here is even the author asking “Why do so many people dislike unlikable female characters?”:
“So many people dislike Laya, and I get it, she can be really mean, she can be really selfish […] but when you read or write characters who act on every single horrible impulse, I think there is something so cathartic about that”
So yeah, something about the way Laya’s character was written that is both bold and cool, yet makes it difficult to root for her, is that from the very start, she has it all. Luntok, the strongest young warrior, has been her secret boyfriend and has been obsessed with her long before the storyline begins. She is described as beautiful and incredibly intelligent, albeit a bit conceited. Laya is also considered extraordinarily powerful, even for her family’s established divine strength, and she is soon to become queen (Ok, that’s where she is relatable, as I too am an overly powerful princess with a secret hot boyfriend).
Yet, right off the bat her only problems are that she could not formally marry her lover and her mom isn’t including her in royal councils as much as she would have liked…question mark? That’s about all the problems she has. Even though I agree with the author that Laya was always unapologetically herself, and NOT a people pleaser like most of us (which is cool), understandably, I was still more inclined to root for Imeria’s political and personal cause as the underdog, or even for the non-magical Bulan! While Laya did have her moments, I wish to have seen her a bit more punished by the plot for her arrogance, or to have been given really something not going for her.
As a whole, I found the pace of the story extremely readable – every chapter’s finale (especially Imeria’s) leaving me wanting more and anxiously moving on to the next character’s pov. I read on a Goodreads review some people felt the pace a bit slow, which as somebody who doesn’t read fantasy as a main genre, I found crazy! The Book of Eels took me way longer to get hooked, so I was happy with the pace… Maybe I should read more fantasy, is what Black Salt Queen made me think, which is a compliment not to be underestimated.
In the end, I was shown that a novel can be enjoyable even if you are not on the main protagonist’s side. While the novel is marked as a “romantasy” and indeed, there is a fair share of love and lust in there, I definitely felt its most defining and intriguing plot line was the behind-the-scenes political revolution and the complex love-hate relationship between Imeria and Duja. On top of that, I found captivating the dynamics between Maynara’s different houses, who once possessed their own unusual powers, the Filipino-inspired culture and the divine magic, as well as, of course, the notion that women in Black Salt Queen were the main warriors in their own battles, be it for the throne, for recognition or for love. They weren’t merely pulling the strings from the dark, as we often see female characters portrayed, but actually being the ones who do both the plotting and the fighting!
Even though I don’t personally know Samantha Bansil, reading her debut Black Salt Queen is the closest I have ever been to feeling connected to the current literary world – pre-ordering, receiving an annotated first chapter in advance, then reading the whole thing, while knowing that a sequel is in the making…
Honestly, it was exciting! And I am looking forward to reading Part 2. While, of course, I still do love my classics and annual rereading of Steinbeck’s East of Eden, focusing primarily on books written by authors who are long dead, could make one miss out on the writers du jour. So, I am intentionally on the train of reading more contemporary fiction!
To my friends complaining they have nothing to read that keeps them interested – if you’re looking for a story with bold women, high-stakes politics, and a dash of romance, I’d definitely recommend giving Black Salt Queen a try. Whether you usually stick to contemporary fiction, classics, or anything in-between, this debut novel is an exciting reminder that sometimes the best reads come from stepping outside your usual type.
Finally, dear readers, please share with me your recommendations (via the Contact page) – no matter the genre.