I did it! I finally finished As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann. It took me 3 weeks of solid slogging, but I did it. Was the book worth the effort? No, but when have I ever made good decisions?

As Meat Loves Salt is adult historical fiction about an awful dude in 1600s England named Jacob. After raping his own wife and murdering a guy, Jacob joins the military and develops an obsession with a coworker called Ferris. They start a romantic relationship that doesn't go well because Jacob is a control freak with anger management problems.

The beginning and end of the book are strong. I was hooked from page 1. Jacob is a train wreck of a human. I knew he was going to cause chaos and destruction, and I was interested to see how the drama would play out. The ending did not disappoint. Jacob's jealousy and desire for revenge destroys an entire community. If you love reading about irredeemably evil villains, then this novel is for you.

The middle of the book is where I struggled. The pacing is so slow! I realize that being a soldier (and later a farmer) is tedious, but I wanted something to happen. I kept putting the book down and not picking it up for days because nothing was happening. The plot wasn't holding my attention.

The relationship between Jacob and Ferris didn't fully hold my attention either because I didn't understand it. I don't know what Ferris sees in Jacob. Ferris isn't stupid. He often confronts Jacob about being an angry control freak who tries to separate Ferris from his friends. Why does Ferris bother with the relationship? It doesn't seem worth the stress.

So . . . I struggled with this one. It's a long book that feels like a long book.