This was a really fun read, I couldn't put it down at first. I'm rating it 3 stars because I do feel like it was a bit too long and could have been shortened. The first and last third were great, but the middle dragged a bit. I loved all the characters though, and the relationships. I loved the love story and the mystery and would still recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC.

HIGHLIGHTS
~midwives get RESPECT
~know! your!! myths!!!
~not all men sure but DEFINITELY this one
~the MC is Too Logical
~sapphic selkies ftw

A Sweet Sting of Salt is what I think is called low fantasy – there’s not a lot of magic at all, and what there is doesn’t try to explain itself. But it’s also a fantasy in the sense of, this is almost a historical fiction novel, but it’s one where queer characters get their happy endings without too much homophobia; where women escape and make lives for themselves outside of the patriarchy, again without nearly as much trouble as people of the time period probably would have experienced. It’s fantasy in the same way a daydream is fantasy, in that one aspect, and I really appreciated it.

There’s enough queerphobia in the real world, I don’t want to read about it in my fiction, okay?

But though it’s low-magic, don’t think this is a low-stakes, low-tension novel, because it most certainly is not. Anxiety for the characters had my guts in knots for a good half of the book, and there’s real, and really awful, violence, with the threat of worse hanging over the heads of the MC and her love interest.

It’s not a chill time, is what I’m saying here. A Sweet Sting of Salt is, well, sweet, but it’s also heart-in-your-throat nerve-wracking when it’s not giving you heart-ache – or both at once! Don’t curl up with this one expecting a calm cosy read, because that is NOT what you’re going to get!

Jean was outed by the spiteful mother of the girl she loved years ago, but earned back the respect of her neighbours by becoming a very skilled midwife. (This is not a coincidence; Jean’s amazing mentor, the half-Indigenous Anneke, deliberately set Jean to learning midwifery because few people are so bigoted they’re willing to ostracize the person their lives, or those of their female relatives, will almost certainly depend on someday.) And as the blurb says, the story gets moving when a heavily pregnant woman Jean didn’t even know about (what kind of pregnant person wouldn’t make sure the local midwife knew about their condition?) appears on her land late at night, only to go ahead and have the fastest and easiest delivery Jean has ever seen.

The mysterious woman is Muirin, who barely speaks a word of English – and yet, Jean is able to pick up on something between Muirin and her husband, Tobias, that makes her insist Muirin and the newborn stay with her for a while ‘just to make sure all’s well’.

I despise the lack-of-communication trope, where things could be cleared up so easily if characters just talked to each other clearly and honestly – but in Sweet Sting of Salt, the issue is that Muirin legitimately can’t communicate, as she knows very little English. And although the reader knows – or at least strongly suspects! – that Muirin is a selkie, and that’s probably why she’s so (charmingly) odd and doesn’t speak English, Jean reaches very logical conclusions to her own questions about Muirin’s nature and origins. A whole lot of assumptions are made, but they’re well-reasoned given what Jean knows of the world. This isn’t one of those stories where the supernatural is staring the MC in the face the entire time and they almost wilfully refuse to see it; although I was frantic for Jean to figure things out and get to helping Muirin, I could absolutely follow her reasoning when she came up with explanations for Muirin’s lack of family, her ignorance of the local culture, and even her strained relationship with Tobias. It was – kind of amusingly frustrating, that Jean was so rational? That there were so many perfectly obvious, perfectly reasonable explanations for all of Jean’s questions? There was just no way for someone in Jean’s position – in life, in history, in geography, even in the patriarchy – to put it together that Muirin isn’t a foreigner in a bad position, but an honest-to-gods selkie.

Part of that – and this is really my only critique of the book – is that selkies never come up in Jean’s thoughts or any other part of her life. I was really surprised that Sutherland never took the time to let the reader know what a selkie actually is – especially given that there was one scene in particular, when a child is asking for water-legend stories, that would have been the perfect moment to introduce the concept and make sure the reader knew the myth of the selkie. If you don’t already know what a selkie is when you go into this book, there’s a good chance you’ll be pretty confused when the reveal does come, as the book is written as if it’s taken for granted that every reader knows about selkies.

I mean, I do? But I’m a myth-nerd born in Ireland, where selkie stories are traditional. I’m not sure how or why Sutherland – or her editor – expects most readers to know what she’s on about. Selkies are not a type of magical creature that show up a lot in fantasy fiction; everyone knows what a dragon is (debates about how many limbs they should have aside) but selkies? Joane Harris’ The Blue Salt Road is the only selkie book I can think of from a reasonably-big-name author, and I don’t think it made enough of a splash (hah!) to put selkies on the map, as it were.

But as I said, this is a very low-magic historical fantasy, where the selkie reveal is a comparatively minor plot-point near the end of the book. Infinitely more important is the relationship that develops between Jean and Muirin, how trust becomes friendship becomes another kind of love; and there are definitely feminist themes, as the blurb promises, but Sweet Sting of Salt never feels like an IssuesTM book – I never felt like I was being preached at, or that Sutherland was stating the obvious and rubbing my face in it, as other heavier-handed storytellers have done.

I think it helps that the focus of the book is so intimate; it’s not an IssuesTM story because it is Jean-and-Muirin’s story. And a big part of that story is the legal powerlessness of women in this time period; is the specific danger most women and femmes face from most cis men, ie the threat of someone who is bigger and stronger than you; is the slowly growing horror of just how awful Muirin’s situation is – one that she is only in because of supernatural means, but that plenty of human women have experienced through history, and still do today. But I appreciated that these were all treated less as themes and more like real, practical problems faced by the characters, if that makes any kind of sense. It’s not about lessons for the reader, it’s about the stumbling blocks and hindrances and outright dangers the characters have to overcome to get their happy ending.

Sweet Sting of Salt is told from Jean’s perspective, and I think that was an excellent call. One of the things that drives Jean wild with worry as the book progresses is that she just doesn’t know what’s happening to Muirin – who is trapped with her ‘husband’ in a house even further away from town than Jean’s, somewhere even more isolated from other people. That tension, that worry, that fear, is one that builds in the reader too, as we – along with Jean – slowly start to put together that Tobias, Muirin’s husband, is not the caring and loving partner he initially appears to be. The more we realise that, the more we worry for Muirin, the more I was vibrating out of my skin with the need to know if she was okay and also to get her the hell away from him. Sutherland is an absolute master of pacing and tension – and at creating a character who wins our hearts so completely, despite having relatively little page-time.

Because it’s so easy to see why Jean cares for Muirin, why she falls in love with her. Muirin is captivating from the first moment she appears; odd, yes, but bright, shining through the pages. Her imperfect English isn’t enough to hide that she’s not just intelligent, but curious about everything and eager to learn. She is innocent, not in the shy-delicate-pure sense of the word, but innocent like a wild animal, unafraid to touch or hug or nuzzle, unashamed of her body and its workings, sometimes frustrated with her ignorance but not blaming herself for it. With Jean, she is frank and direct, making no attempt at demureness or being ‘ladylike’, free with her laughter and her feelings. She is fiercely alive, present, vibrant. She lights up the room. I’ve rarely come across a character who stole my heart as fast as Muirin did!

It’s no wonder Jean is drawn to her, then. But it’s something specifically, uniquely Jean that makes her care, care enough to push and push at the boundaries of propriety as she tries to put her finger on what it is about Muirin’s marriage that bothers her. It never reads as insta-love; instead I got the very clear sense that Jean is a person who is compelled to make sure others are well, that she wants to right wrongs when she can regardless of who’s involved, and that she is not willing – and maybe not able – to look away when she knows something is wrong. Yes, it gradually evolves into something more personal, into feelings that are specifically for Muirin, but long before that it’s clear that Jean is a pretty amazing person even when not motivated by love. She’s much more grounded, more down-to-earth, than Muirin is, but that’s one of the things that makes them so complementary, such a perfect fit for each other.

Of course, there’s Tobias in the way, and dear gods, just as I’ve rarely come across a character who stole my heart as fast as Muirin did, I have not often encountered villains I wanted viciously dead as badly as I did Tobias. Perhaps because Tobias’ evil is so disgustingly, terrifyingly mundane, too real and every-day. The gradual – I honestly don’t know whether to call it a transformation or a reveal, because for all that Tobias initially appears overprotective but very loving…he’s been a kidnapper and rapist from the moment he stole Muirin’s sealskin. Even while he still passes for a ‘normal’ husband, he’s anything but. So is it his true colours showing, when he becomes more controlling, more violent, more overtly dangerous? Or is it a change, a poisoning of his personality by jealousy and possessiveness and hate, the way a reasonably normal man can be swayed by, I don’t know, incel rhetoric or the like, and turn into a toxic version of his old self? I’m inclined to the former; I think if you believe it’s fine to kidnap someone via magical compulsion – if you don’t see how sex with someone who cannot (and for the record, fucking does not and would not) consent is rape – then you are already a terrible person, and it probably doesn’t take much ‘pressure’ at all for you to become more obviously, overtly cruel and violent.

I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what Sutherland wanted me to take away from Tobias’ arc within the story.

This is the commentary on the selkie myth I have always wanted; an acknowledgement, a pointing-out, that capturing a magical shapeshifter and forcing her to be your wife and bear your children is fucking fucked-up, not any kind of romantic! That there is something deeply wrong with all the fishermen in all those stories who stole a selkie’s sealskin so that she would have to stay with him; that the ending of those stories, wherein the selkie gets her skin back and runs the fuck away back to the sea, is not tragic in the least, and the fisherman isn’t the one we should be feeling sorry for! The half-selkie children – often the ones to inadvertently return their mother’s skin to her, in the myths – sure, I feel really sorry for them. But their dad? Can take a long walk off a short pier, as far as I’m concerned.

(This book also manages to address something else that has always bothered me about the selkie myth; namely, what about those half-selkie children??? I won’t spoil it for you, but I will say that the answer delighted me!)

Would you believe me if I told you I didn’t think I had enough thoughts for a proper review when I sat down to write this?

Sutherland has taken the grain of sand that is the Selkie Wife myth and built upon it, layers upon layers of incisive insight, thoughtfulness, honesty, history, secrets, and love – familial, platonic, romantic, toxic, true – and the result is a pearl, precious and wondrous and perfect in your hand. If you’re willing to brave a deep dive into All The Feels, you will find yourself richly rewarded. It’s certainly going on my Best of 2024 list!

4.25 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.

If you’ve ever heard the tale of the Selkie wife, you might enjoy this book. Based in Nova Scotia in the 1800s, this novel about love and myths and marriage is not for everyone, but I loved it.

Jean is a midwife in a small town in Nova Scotia. She’s 24 years old, quite adept at what she does, but feels ostracized by the community due to one woman’s sharp tongue and misplaced anger. Jean lives a bit out of town, next to the sea, in a small cabin. Her mother passed many years ago, and her father more recently. Other than her mentor Anneke’s family, Jean feels very much alone.

Late one night she awakens to the sounds of someone wailing outside. Jean runs out to try to find where the sound is coming from, and finds a woman very pregnant in the marsh trying to go out to sea. Jean convinces the woman to come to her home, as she is clearly in labor. Before morning, they will welcome a new child into the world.

The child is unusual. This woman speaks very little English, but they find a way to communicate. Her name is Muirin, and she’s married to the man who has the property alongside Jean’s. Jean travels up to his house to let him know that she has his wife and newborn at her home. He comes along, but when they arrive back at Jean’s cabin, Muirin’s personality changes immediately, and Jean is concerned for her safety. She convinces Tobias, the husband, to allow Jean to care for the woman for a week.

During this time, Muirin starts to learn English and how to do things around the house. Jean and Muirin develop a special friendship. When it comes time for Muirin to go back to her home, Jean is sad, as she will miss her company. Muirin does not want to go, but she gathers her things and child and leaves, obediently, with her husband.

Jean knows that there is not only something different about Muirin, but she also feels that something is wrong. Over time, she will unravel the mystery of Muirin and her husband Tobias. Things are definitely not what they seem.

As I said, I really enjoyed this novel. Jean is so likable and competent, and fiercely protective of those she loves. Muirin is such a mystery that it’s really fun to unpack her secrets over the chapters. I would definitely recommend this book. Beautifully written, you can truly picture the coast of Nova Scotia, the small town, the people. I would read it again.

Amazing historical fiction with a splash of fantasy, this sapphic reimagining of the classic folktale “The Selkie Wife" blew me away. Probably going to be a top read of my year!

Jean is a bit of an outcast and the only midwife in her small town in Nova Scotia. One night she hears a sharp cry during a storm and finds a woman in labor wandering outside who can barely speak English. After helping her give birth, Jean learns the woman's name (Muirin) and determine's she must be the new wife of her neighbor, Tobias. Jean starts to question where Muirin has come from, why they kept her pregnancy a secret, and why Tobias is so determined to keep Muirin to him self.

Full of yearning and the desire to be loved and accepted this book was beautiful. The artful descriptions and setting just made me want to sit by the sea, drink tea, and watch seals while thinking about pretty girls. We get little snippets of Jean's life before the main events of the book and her relationship with her close "friend" Jo, as well as her mother's unfortunate death. I also loved how there is a bit of mystery involved and a few moments that had me on the edge of my seat. My one and only complaint was that sometimes the writing of Muirin's English not being very good was a little Yoda-y but it was also endearing.

A tip for people, if you don't know what a Selkie is or the lore surrounding them and are ok with not going in completely blind, maybe look it up because having a bit of knowledge might give you a deeper understanding of some of the magical bits of this story.

Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC of this book!

I think this book is a very interesting concept. I love this merging of mythology with the past. Jean and Murin are both beautifully written characters that just jump off of the page. Even with Murin’s limited ability to communicate her story shines through as does the love both women feel for each other. I loved seeing the connection develop between the two of them, and the mythology perfectly blended into a story that just draws the reader in and captivates them. I think that book clubs will truly enjoy reading this story and I look forward to recommending it really soon.
Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for sending me an e-ARC of this title!

I absolutely devoured this story! Jean is the village midwife, who has few friends and is something of an outcast. She finds a woman, Muirin, in labor outside her cabin on a stormy night and soon learns that there are dangerous secrets surrounding her.

This story gripped me from the beginning. I had to keep turning the pages to find out more. Jean’s character was so rich and I felt her emotions throughout the story. I also loved how everything came together in the end and fit together perfectly.

A Sweet Sting of Salt
by Rose Sutherland
Pub Date: 09 Apr 2024

A Sweet Sting of Salt is a story about an old folklore associated with selkie’s which I had never heard of until reading this book. It was interesting yet very different than what I was expecting. It was a sapphic love story with so much angst yet heartfelt and tender at times. The story started out very slow, there were many times I almost gave up but I hung in and I'm glad I did. It was a good read.

Synopsis:

Once a young woman uncovers a dark secret about her neighbor and his mysterious new wife, she’ll have to fight to keep herself—and the woman she loves—safe in this stunning queer reimagining of the classic folktale The Selkie Wife.

Many thanks to #NetGalley #RandomHousePublishingGroup and #ASweetStingofSalt for providing me with an E-ARC of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint. It exceeded every expectation I had of a retelling of the Selkie Wife and I’m actually in tears writing this review. It’s an absolutely beautiful tale of sapphic romance and perfectly timed gothic dread. I adored Jean and Muirin, and their slow-burn was flawless. The tension, the yearning, the forbidden love! Most romance books these days are too fast for me, but the relationship between these two was developed at just the right pace.

The imagery of 1800s Nova Scotia was very well-done. I could visualize the homes, the livestock, the mud perfectly in my mind. I felt cold and wet reading this and had to curl up with a blanket and a space heater.

Gothic dread can be tough to get right, but the creeping horror of this had my heart in my throat since the moment Muirin’s husband was introduced. Tobias completely terrified me. His “marriage” with Muirin was a deeply abusive relationship that is easy to imagine, even with the supernatural/fantasy elements. How he manipulated her language barrier in particular turned my stomach. You can’t trap someone and force them to love you. You need to hold your love in an open hand..

Give me all the Selkie books! This is the third one I have read and I just love everything about their lore. A Sweet Sting of Salt is a wonderfully written sapphic historical fiction with folklore, YEARNING, a beautiful connection , and a story that comes to life vividly. This is the author's debut and I can't wait to see what she writes next.

It took me a little to get into this, but in the end it found its rhythm and I liked the strong characters and their relationships

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

I wasn’t familiar with the Gaelic folklore behind this, so I went in not knowing what to expect. The story takes place in 1832 Nova Scotia and follows Jean who is a midwife choosing to live in her family home away from town. One night she wakes up to noise and finds Muirin in labor in the marsh by her home. Jean snaps into action to help deliver the baby. Later Jean makes the trip up the cliff to share the news of the birth, but feels something is off between Muirin and her husband.

While I did enjoy reading the folklore retelling, and the sapphic relationship the build was so slow it made me question if it was going anywhere. The pacing was also a bit slow for my liking which made it hard for me to want to pick it up from time to time. I did enjoy the ending and having all the pieces fall into place.

Super atmospheric writing, I really enjoyed the writing style. This was really a character driven novel, which I don’t love for fantasy. I like to get to know the characters, but I really need more plot development and world building in fantasy.

Will absolutely read another book by this author.

The setting in this book is so expertly done. I can practically smell salt air when I read it. I love the selkie myth and this was such an interesting take on it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC of this book!

This queer reimagining of The Selkie Wife starts out with Jean finding a pregnant woman outside in the middle of the night. After she helps deliver the baby she figures out that this woman, who can barely speak English, must be the new wife of her neighbor Tobias. Things only get more suspicious from here as Jean tries to figure out why Tobias hid his wife, her pregnancy, and gets increasingly possessive when Jean tries to befriend Muirin. Her growing concern for Muirin starts as a safety concern and evolves into love as she tries to free Murin from Tobias' grasp. Tobias becomes increasingly unhinged and the story has a bit of a thriller element as his threats become more and more violent. I enjoyed this book a lot and it held up really well as a retelling of The Selkie Wife. Knowing that story doesn't detract from the overall experience of the story.

REVIEW DOES NOT CONTAIN SPOILERS!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jean has aided in her fair share of strange births, but nothing comes close to finding a pregnant stranger screaming outside her home at midnight. Upon helping the woman-- Muirin-- bring her son into the world, Jean learns that the mysterious woman is her neighbor's new bride. Unable to communicate due to a language barrier, the two women become closer each day through body language and a mutual trust. It quickly becomes obvious that everything is not as it seems when it comes to Muirin's marriage, though. Jean can't quite put her finger on it, but something is deeply, deeply wrong...

As your local sapphic who loves all things fantasy and mythology (but lets be honest, I think all sapphics do...) I have to say I truly loved this book.
I find it hard to root for relationships in stand-alone novels because it almost always feels rushed and half-baked. However, Tobias served as an amazing foil to Jean's character. Where he failed to be a good partner, Jean shined, thus making it more obvious how right her relationship with Muirin was. The two women were endlessly gentle with each other but neither was afraid to fight ruthlessly for what they love. Their story provides a perfect blend of soft yearning and heart-wrenching angst.

I deeply appreciated the simplicity of the world-building. The exposition was light and required very basic knowledge of the time period that nearly every reader already has. Again, I often find myself drowning in exposition in many stand-alones, so I loved the easy glide into this world.

The atmosphere was fantastical but still realistic, slightly gothic and certainly romantic. A Sweet Sting of Salt is a beautiful transportation onto a rocky shore with grey skies and curious seals at your feet.
If you enjoy retellings, mythology, fantasy, sapphic relationships, period pieces, and a little bit of angst-- this is for you!

Will absolutely keep my eye out for more of Rose Sutherland's work in the future.

3.5/5
This book is so atmospheric and cold. It perfectly captures the feeling of safety and warmth you feel when you’re out of the rain or when you find your lover. I went into this with expectations of coziness, queer love and belonging, and seaside adventure. This did not disappoint. The writing is gorgeous, but the pace is slow.
I loved the relationship between Jean and Muirin. I loved how powerful the tension felt with such little words. I loved the friendship between Jean and Laurie. Their friendship felt very realistic to finding someone similar to you in a world that is so different. This book is perfect for people who enjoy books about domestic drama, longing, and fairy tale retellings.
The only reason this is not a 5-star for me is because it felt a little too slow in the first half, but historical fiction tends to be a bit slower for me. I will think about this book every time it rains and on every seaside cliff. #JusticeforHoney

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I felt neutral about this book. I enjoyed it but was not totally immersed in the story. I thought the writing was great and very poet and I enjoyed the folklore aspect but there was something missing for me.

Lots of fun reading this one! I enjoyed the folklore aspects of the historical fiction. Reminded me a bit of the fox wife by yangsze choo

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I was drawn to the premise of A Sweet Sting of Salt, because, while I’m not familiar with its source material, the folktale, “The Selkie Wife,” I love the idea of retelling a folktale from a more feminist and even queer lens, not to mention being steeped in selkie lore. It also has a Gothic feel that immersed me in the story from the first pages.
The choice to focus on a more peripheral character to the action, midwife Jean, serves the purpose well. She senses something is wrong when she encounters Muirin, and later meets Tobias when he comes looking for Muirin. And while Jean is hardly the typical Gothic heroine, preferring to stay out of other people’s business rather than poke into it, she’s also rather perceptive about something not being right between the couple.
And things get even more complicated as she and Muirin begin to bond. I loved the expression of yearning between the two, and how they were both caught in this intense situation, with Muirin’s husband literally holding her captive and keeping her from the sea, never mind keeping her and Jean apart. I deeply rooted for them to find a way to be together, and/or for them to help Muirin to her freedom.
This was a deeply moving book, and I’m excited to read more from Rose Sutherland in the future. If you’re interested in a sapphic folklore retelling, especially if you enjoy selkies, I’d recommend checking this out.

I’m so sorry to say but this book was just not good. The writing is sub par and the plot line is un exciting. I sadly would not recommend this book. With better writing I maybe could’ve gotten into it… at 85% through it had to be a DNF for me… I couldn’t force myself to keep going.