Ok, I'll admit that I requested this arc based on the intriguing cover alone. It turns out that it was definitely out of my comfort zone, as I realized that it was a unique combination of fantasy, historical fiction, and LGBTQ romance.

The book is set in the 1800s and features the female protagonist, Jean, a midwife who is woken in the night to find a strange woman (Muirin) in labor. This woman does not seem to speak or understand English. As Jean cares for Muirin after delivering her son, she becomes suspicious about her relationship after meeting her husband Tobias, and observing them interacting.

I enjoyed the lovely prose and descriptions in the book, but most of the plot just didn't hold my attention consistently. That being said, I do think many would appreciate this book, especially if you are fond of retellings of historical folktales.

A Sweet Sting of Salt is a Sapphic retelling of the selkie wife folktale set in 1800s Nova Scotia. What an amazing premise!!! I was all in to read this book after reading the blurb. Jean, the village midwife, meets Muirin, the mysterious wife of a sailor, when she turns up in the middle of the night in labor. The two become closer, and Jean begins to suspect that Muirin does not have the happy life of a beloved wife that her husband claims.

I have heard the selkie wife folktale in a few different settings (Iceland, Ireland) but have never seen it adapted into a book. It's such a unique story and I'm really happy to see it represented. Setting it in Nova Scotia was such a cool move! A Sweet Sting of Salt considers immigrant culture in a remote community with a harsh natural environment. I liked Jean a lot as a character and loved that she was a midwife. I liked how the story progressed and the epilogue was just perfect.

There are several instances of explicit and implied domestic violence, so I would keep that in mind when reading this book. I skipped over those scenes whenever I came across them.

Overall, I loved this book and highly recommend it! 5 stars. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC of this book, my thoughts are my own!

An interesting take on a selkie tale. It wasn't for me personally and didn't keep me hooked the entire time. The writing style was beautiful, however it felt fairly repetitive and failed to hold my attention for long periods of time. I think a lot of readers will really enjoy it and I have recommended it to people in the shop.

This was one of the best books I’ve read this year; I couldn’t put it down. For me, everything tied together in this perfect way to make the story riveting from the selkie legend, to the villain to the heroine herself.

The villain was extremely terrifying, made more so that on the surface to both the characters and to us, he reads as romantic and normal. What’s so scary about a man that wants a wife and kids and to take on the role of provider? Or that he’s very protective of his wife? But his true nature is sinister. This echoes a lot of the kind of men out there that women fall prey to and end up abused, trapped or both. He was terrifying.

I loved everything about this book and recommend it to anyone who loves a love story that is hard fought and earned.

Was very interested in getting into this title. The cover and synopsis were promising. However, the writing was in need of a good editor: there were anachronistic expressions, repetitions in the text, and head-jumping. The work is very slow, with obscure descriptions of what was going on, and it was hard to keep interested in how the story progressed.
Not recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this work.

3.5 stars! I really enjoyed this and it was a welcome surprise! This book follows Jean, a midwife, and Muirin. I’m the middle of the night Jean is awoken to the sound of pained screams and goes out near the water where she finds Muirin. After giving birth Muirin stays with Jean for a week when Jean notices that something isn’t quite right with Muirin’s life with her husband Tobias.

This book has such a soft magical feel throughout it and Rose is a very talented writer. She has beautiful descriptions and characters that you can’t help but love!

I love the ,odern updated tale on the story of the Selkie wife and it's a compelling and refreshing read. A Sting of Salt is not to be missed and one I would absolutely recommend.

A great retelling of the selkie tale. I felt for the two women as they navigated such a difficult journey.
Jean is a strong woman who sees something wrong with the pregnant woman Muirin who she helps deliver her first child, and she stops at nothing to find help Muirin.
One review i read spoke about how there is not much dialogue but lots of description. Since Muirin can't speak English, I didn't really mind less dialogue. Sometimes I find forced dialogue to pull away from the story.
Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an unbiased review. I enjoyed it!

This book was a stretch for me, in terms of the genres I generally gravitate towards. I typically struggle with both historical fiction and magical realism (and this book lives right at the intersection of both), but I found it quite enjoyable. There was nothing particularly unique or novel about the story structure or characters, but the author did a nice job of establishing the atmospheric/moody setting, and it was easy to get lost in the novel. I would certainly be interested in reading Sutherland's work again in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

LOVEEDD this book! Honestly I didn’t rlly read the description on netgalley, I just saw that I’d been approved for it and I read it. Definitely a good decision though, this book is super well written and has a happy ending, which I love!

"She held her love in an open hand."

A Sweet Sting of Salt is lovely debut novel that is a queer retelling of a classic folktale. I knew the story of The Selkie Wife already, but that didn't lessen the tension and fear that Sutherland's writing often invoked. The romance was well written and believable, the main character and the love interest likable. The plot did get a little bit draggy near the end, and the climax was somewhat predictable, but overall, the writing is lovely and the world well built with a beautiful and well deserved ending.

A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland is a captivating addition to the fantasy genre that immerses readers in a richly imagined world filled with magic, adventure, and intrigue. From the very first page, the book draws you into a meticulously crafted universe where every detail—from the landscapes to the lore—is brought to life with vivid, engaging prose.

The story follows Jean when she hears a sharp cry in the middle of the night, which unfolds with a compelling blend of action, mystery, and character development. Rose Sutherland excels at creating multi-dimensional characters whose growth and relationships drive the narrative forward. With the Celtic folklore it adds so some fresh concepts to keep the story alive even after you've finished.

Sadly, this one didn't land as well as I thought it would. The book spent a lot of time describing the setting and backstory of Jean, so it took away from the plot for me. The major conflict also felt very inconsequential as it could resolved fairly quickly. The language barrier between Jean and Muirin also felt very insta-lovey to me as I didn't necessarily buy their connection.

The lore was interesting enough and I wish the author would have spent more time detailing the selkie lore and not have expected them to know all the information.

A Sweet Sting of Salt was a really interesting and engaging read. I appreciated the character exploration and would read more from Sutherland.

This book lacks a compelling plot, in my opinion. It's too slow paced for me, but I see a lot of people loving it and I appreciate many of the elements in this. It just didn't work for me.

Rose Sutherland's "A Sweet Sting of Salt" invites readers into a hauntingly beautiful narrative set against the evocative backdrop of Nova Scotia's rugged shores. At its heart, the novel reimagines the classic folktale of The Selkie Wife through a lens of queer romance and magical realism.

The story unfolds in Barquer's Bay, where Jean, the sole midwife, discovers a mysterious young woman in labor during a tempestuous night. Unable to speak English, the woman, Muirin, is shrouded in secrets that unravel with each passing chapter. Jean's growing concern for Muirin intertwines with her deepening feelings, sparking a journey of self-discovery and forbidden love.

Sutherland's prose is as lyrical as the sea's lullaby, painting vivid scenes that immerse readers in the rugged beauty and eerie mystique of coastal Nova Scotia. The characters are nuanced and deeply human, each grappling with desires and burdens that transcend the ordinary. Muirin's enigmatic nature contrasts poignantly with Jean's steadfast determination, creating a magnetic tension that drives the narrative forward.

As the layers of mystery unravel, themes of identity, sacrifice, and the transformative power of love come to the forefront. Sutherland deftly explores these themes against a backdrop of folklore and the natural world, weaving together a narrative that is both captivating and introspective.

"A Sweet Sting of Salt" is a testament to Sutherland's storytelling prowess, blending folklore with a contemporary queer narrative that feels timeless yet fresh. It's a novel that resonates long after the final page, leaving readers enchanted by its poignant portrayal of love and the enduring search for belonging in a world fraught with secrets and magic.

3.5 stars This was a good retelling of the Selkie Wife story but I had a rough time getting into the story at first. As the plot moved forward it got better, but I did think that some characters were introduced into the story too late to flesh them out, and became unnecessary.

Sutherland retells the folktale, “The Selkie Wife,” in this moving novel of two women and their potential love for each other. Sutherland exposes the violence and cruelty inherent in this folk tradition of a mythic creature captured by a man and forced to be his wife. The plot keeps the reader on edge, driven by gradually revealed heroes and villains with complex motives. Sutherland brings to life nineteenth century Nova Scotia. She immerses her reader in the daily routines of Jean, the town’s midwife, as she tends goats and chickens on her small coastal homestead, and as she navigates the vicious gossip that forces her to hold herself separate from others except when her services are needed. The angry mother of the girl Jean loved in a way forbidden by the community has made it her job to marginalize Jean. Then one wet night, Jean finds her mysterious neighbor outside, seeking something Jean doesn’t understand, but also heavily pregnant and very much in need of Jean’s midwifery. More trouble comes with the introduction of the woman’s husband and escalates with deadly consequences. Jean has allies in town who will help if only Jean will let them.

Sutherland creates vivid language to express both physical descriptions and inner emotions. For example, a cold dawn leaves “the grass silver tipped and furred with frost.” At a reminder of Jean’s first love, “The memory opened up a hollow between Jean’s shoulders, where her spine ought to be, as empty and cold as the hours after midnight.” When she’s neglected someone, “Jean’s skin shrunk, prickling with guilt.”

The novel is a striking, beautifully written love story set in a world of finely portrayed details.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an early copy of this book, but I actually listened to the audiobook via my local library. I thought the narrator did a wonderful job telling this story. I requested it so long ago, so I didn’t really remember the summary before starting. Historical fiction isn’t a genre I pick up that often but I ended up enjoying this one. I think that’s because maybe it’s more of a retelling, but either way, I would definitely recommend this one. It was more of a slow and character focused story than one with a more focused plot.

Loved this twist of the folktale of The Selkie Wife. This gave very gothic vibes and just a good overall plot. I really enjoyed the relationship between Jean and Muirin and watching it grow and become quite magical.

Jean is a midwife who has been left to feel as an out cast from the village she lives in because of the loss of her family and a romantic relationship with her best friend. She lives isolated but has the magic touch when it comes to seeing mother and child through labor. One night she is caught off guard with a cry out side and finds a woman giving birth in the middle of a storm. She brings her in and discovers they don’t speak the same language.

They begin a friendship and Jean discovers some troubling realizations about Muirin and her husband and works on freeing Muirin from the cage she has found herself trapped in.