Salvacion by Sandra Proudman

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Salvación

by Sandra Proudman

Published by Wednesday Books on May 20, 2025
Genres: YA Romance Fantasy
Pages: 327
Format: Audible Audiobook, Hardcover, Kindle
Source: the Publisher
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In this Latinx YA fantasy inspired by El Zorro, Lola de La Peña becomes the masked heroine Salvación in order to save her family and town from a man who would destroy it for the magic it contains...if she doesn't fall in love with one of his men first.

Lola de La Peña yearns to be free from the societal expectations of a young Mexican lady of her station. She spends her days pretending to be delicate and proper while watching her mamá cure the sick and injured with sal negra (black salt), a recently discovered magic that heals even the most mortal of sicknesses and wounds. But by night, she is Salvación, the free-spirit lady vigilante protecting the town of Coloma from those who threaten its peace and safety among the rising tension in Alta California after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

But one night, a woman races into Coloma, barely alive, to tell the horrifying tale of how her town was obliterated by sal roja, a potent, deadly magic capable of obliterating anything it comes into contact with and the man who wields it: Damien Hernández. And when Hernández arrives the next day with a party of fifty strong and promises of returning Alta California to México, Lola knows it’s only a matter of time before he brings the region under his rule—all Hernández needs is the next full moon and the stolen, ancient amulet he carries to mine enough sal roja to conquer the land. Determined to protect everything she loves, Lola races against time as Salvación to stop his plans. What she didn’t count on was the distracting and infuriating Alejandro, who travels with Hernández but doesn't seem to share his ambitions. With the stakes higher than ever and Hernández getting closer to his goals, Lola will do anything to foil his plans, even teaming up with Alejandro—who she doesn’t fully trust, but can’t help but fall in love with.

Salvacion by Sandra Proudman takes a whole new spin on the tale of Zorro by casting a young Mexican teenage girl and her older brother trying to protect their small town in historical California, right after Mexico loses California to the United States.

Can Lola stop Hernandez from getting some more sal roja?

Lola de La Pena

Lola de la Pena and her family came to Coloma, a town her grandfather had bought, to obtain sal negra and discover why her mother was drawn to it. She tries to do what her parents tell her to do, but like any teenager, that honestly doesn’t always happen. Lola acts like what they want her to be like during the day, but by night, she is Coloma’s angel by the name of Salvacion to protect the townsfolk from those who want to take what the others have. She is a great character, and I loved how protective Lola is of her family, her town, and of justice.

Sal Negra and Sal Roja

In this fantasy time setting that takes place in a historical moment, there are two kinds of salt in the forefront. Sal Negra is a black salt that heals people, and the duration of the healing process depends on the severity of the ailment, the length of time it takes, and the dosage required. Lola’s family has figured out that if you mix the sal negra with some water, it helps even more. The other kind of salt is sal roja. Sal Roja is a red salt that kills people. The sal roja to activate needs only a single grain, and then it’s all over, even if you have some sal negra with you, since it takes a lot of sal negra to attack and stop the sal roja.

The magic system that Ms. Proudman introduces with this type of magic is so interesting. I loved every minute of it since it’s different, and it’s awesome how it all works.

Five Stars

My rating for Salvacion by Sandra Proudman is five stars. I recommend it to anyone who wants a different take on the Zorro tale with a fantasy twist. Ms. Proudman had me on the edge of my seat, wondering what would happen next throughout the whole book. I loved every minute of being in this book. Ms. Proudman took me out of Texas and back to California just in the past. It was honestly a thrill to picture how different California was back then.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Salvacion by Sandra Proudman.

Until the next time,

Happy Reading!

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2025 Goodreads RC
• 2025 Young Adult Book RC

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