*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I'm calling it now, I think this will be in my top 5 books of 2024.

This Sapphic re-telling of the Scottish folktale "The Selkie Wife" is brilliant. It is haunting and evocative, as the reader I felt like I was truly IN the story, not just reading it. Grief, loneliness, and suspense were expertly balanced with tenderness. Setting it in 19th century Nova Scotia was a unique but brilliant choice on the part of the author.

Overall a fantastic book, I will be recommending this for years to come!

Cozy? Check.
Fairytale retelling? Check.

This captivating sapphic historical tale offers a delightful blend of intrigue, slow-burning romance, and an immersive setting. You will be transported into a world of yearning, Gothic ambiance, and Celtic folklore, specifically a retelling of the Selkie Wife legend. The gradual development of the friends-to-lovers relationship adds depth and emotional resonance to the narrative.

While there may be moments of slower pacing, the satisfying conclusion more than compensates for any perceived lull. The overall effect is one of heartwarming positivity and contentment, leaving readers with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for this ARC.

When I heard about A Sweet Sting of Salt, my first thought was: A sapphic, Canadian retelling of a Scottish folktale (the Selkie Wife)? SIGN ME UP.

This book has romance, mystery, tension, yearning, and Gothic dread all rolled into a beautiful, angst-fueled, forbidden love story between Jean, the reclusive town midwife, and Muirin, the mysterious woman who appears on the shore across from Jean’s home while in labour. Added to the mystery is the fact Muirin’s mother tongue is Gaelic and she doesn’t speak a word of English.

I won’t say too much more about the story because I feel like it needs to be experienced firsthand and I don’t want to give anything away. I will say the setting really added to the tension: the seemingly never-ending winter on the coast of Nova Scotia, Jean’s home being so isolated, and Muirin’s house being even more isolated. Sutherland did a fantastic job of ramping up that foreboding sense that anything could happen to Jean out there all alone and nobody would know or be able to help.

If you’re looking for a tense and atmospheric historical romance, with strong characters and a romance you’ll root for, I highly recommend picking up a copy of A Sweet Sting of Salt.

Unfortunately this book just couldn’t keep me reading and had to quite about 39% in. I know a lot of people liked this one but it just isn’t for me I guess.

This one is a historical fiction set in Nova Scotia and it's also a selkie story, so if you happen to know what that is, you know what the twist is.

However, the main character character of this doesn't really understand that's the twist until 90% of the way through, which is actually kind of fun to watch because going in I know what a selkie is.

If you don't want to know what a selkie is, skip this review. A selkie comes from Scottish mythology, and it's basically a person who can take off their seal skin and walk around on land and then put their seal skin back on and then they’re a seal in the water.

It's that kind of mythology, but sometimes people have stolen the skins and then those selkies actually have to follow the directions of the people who stole their skins. As it's pointed out in the text, some people think that this is like a romantic tale of how somebody met their wife and some people, rightfully so, are like, “uh that's not really correct; maybe give people their stuff back and don't make them marry you because you stole their stuff?!”

But that's also exactly what happened in this.

See, the main character in this one is the midwife for this area and one day she comes back to her very remote cottage in the woods and that night she hears this screaming outside. When she gets outside, there's this woman she ends up having a baby at her house and then she real realizes this woman must be the new wife of her neighbour so she goes to find the neighbour, and it's like, “hey, missing a wife? I've got her. She's fine. Your baby's fine. They're both happy and healthy.”

However, when she sees them interacting, she gets kind of this weird vibe, and because the wife basically speaks no English, she decides that she wants to keep the wife there for, like, a week just to make sure that she can show her all these things that she would usually just be able to tell to somebody, but because there's a language barrier she's like, “yeah, it's going to take about a week until she's actually fit to be moved because, like, the elements aren't really great, so, like, maybe just leave her here I'll teach her some things. It'll be fine.”

As the wife spends the week there, she does pick up on some English. They are able to talk a little bit, but because of this barrier, there's so much that goes unsaid, and there's so much of this tale that unfolds over time, especially because after this week they don't have a lot of time together, and when they do have time together, it's stolen moments.

This is sapphic, it's fade to black. These aren't the only queer characters in the story, which is always great to see, especially in a historical fiction because there's never only just one or two queer people. There's other queer people and as the saying goes, we tend to find each other.

If you're looking for queer historical fiction, if you're looking for something sapphic, if you're looking for something kind of like a fairy tale, this is a good one to pick up.

This is a book best enjoyed without knowing anything about it beforehand, so read on at your own discretion. That said, I enjoyed it so much. The love story is poignant, the prose is gorgeous, and the setting is immersive. Set it the Canadian maritimes in 1813, this is the story of a young midwife who lives on the outskirts of a small fishing village, who falls in love with one of the mothers whose delivery she assists.
At times cosy and tense, there isn’t much of an overarching plot, but Jean’s day-to-day life, and the obstacles she comes across are a delight to read about. The cast of characters is surprisingly diverse, and absolutely charming.
I will be recommending this book.

<b>Historical Fiction with a Tinge of Myth</b>
<i>Review of the Random House Canada paperback, audiobook & eBook (April 9, 2024) read via a NetGalley Kindle ARC (downloaded March 14, 2024).</i>

<blockquote><i>”Can not, Jean, can not! Must find my <i>craiceann ròin*</i>.” Jean still did not know the words, and she doubted she could repeat them if she tried, but she recognized them from Muirin’s story. The precious thing Tobias had taken from her.</blockquote>

This is magical historical fiction set in early 19th century Nova Scotia in Canada which is a queer retelling which blends Gaelic mythology with gothic atmosphere. Jean is a midwife living near a coastal fishing village who finds her mysterious neighbour Muirin out by the stormy shore one evening as she is about to give birth. Jean vaguely knew that her fisherman neighbour Tobias had brought home a new bride but the couple had led an isolated life. Jean assists in the birth of the child but is then soon confronted by the husband whose character she begins to doubt. Muirin herself appears reluctant to return home and Jean manages to convince Tobias that a period of recuperation is necessary.

Jean’s caring for Muirin and the child gradually develops into a love relationship, although Muirin is barely able to express herself in English and often resorts to Gaelic words. Although Jean does not understand the true nature of Muirin’s being, she knows there is something evil and possessive about Tobias’ motivations. That will eventually erupt into a dangerous and perilous situation for Jean as she decides to rescue Muirin and her newborn from an apparent captivity.

I thoroughly enjoyed this first novel from Rose Sutherland for its atmospheric setting and descriptions and the way it brought a new interpretation to historical fiction and myth.

My thanks to the author, the publisher Random House Canada and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this preview ARC, in exchange for which I provide this honest review.

<b>Soundtrack</b>
I couldn’t resist listening to Eric Whitacre’s “The Seal’s Lullaby” which you can hear on YouTube performed by the Voces8 ensemble conducted by the composer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL7HkwnzENo">here</a>.

<b>Footnote</b>
* If you Google for this, the definition which you will likely find is for the Scottish Gaelic <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirein-cr%C3%B2in">Cirein-cròin</a>. The meaning in the novel is somewhat different though and is meant more as a transforming object.

Sutherland has created a fabulous sense of place in her historical fiction, A Sweet Sting of Salt. Set in early Nova Scotia, the tale brings alive the "salty" flavour of coastal life, both the day to day knowledge one must possess to live in such a place, and the infrastructure of the community. She is a skilled descriptive writer, beautifully creating both the natural world of the coast, and later the sensual emotions and actions of her characters. The pacing of the plot is solidly exciting and interesting, so the reader is invested in the storyline. The Celtic Selkie tale is presented in a believable fashion from the first seal sighting to the finale. Though I felt the novel moves to an unrealistic conclusion, it's still a good imagining of the dénouement.
My only other problem with the novel was in the characterization of Jean, as she was presented as a "stumble bum", constantly tripping over roots or rocks, knocking things askew, etc. We are supposed to believe she is an extremely competent woman, both professionally and in survival skills, which would contradict such ineptitude. She'd have at least sprained an ankle by now, so this strained my sense of disbelief. It may have been that Sutherland was trying to show her vulnerability by this trait, but it didn't work for me. Also, unlike the other characters, she sometimes uses modern language in her exclamations, which is a bit jarring, since the novel is pretty consistent in establishing an 1800s milieu. But these are little quibbles, and I think Sutherland has accomplished her task of presenting a sensitive love story within a mythical tale of both queer and straight characters beautifully.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

In this sapphic retelling of The Selkie Wife, we meet Jean, a reclusive midwife, and her mysterious neighbour Muirin. When Muirin shows up on Jeans property in the middle of the night ready to give birth, Jean jumps right into action. And from that point on, nothing is as it seems as Jean tries to protect the woman she’s falling for..

This book is filled with longing in so many forms, and the slow burn of desire between Jean and Muirin is beautifully written. I was hoping for a bit more magic and fantasy elements, and didn’t get much of that until the very end, but it was still an enjoyable read nonetheless! I loved the mystery of Muirin and Tobias, and the slow unraveling of what is going on behind closed doors.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend for anyone who is looking for a moody, sapphic love story based in folklore!

Although I haven’t read The Selkie Wife, when I saw the description for this book, it piqued my interest.

Off to a slow start, it picked up momentum and I couldn’t put it down; it drew me in as it moved along. The characters were well rounded but at times I found some repetitiveness that wasn’t really required, if you’d been reading intently. Not a fast paced book but enjoyable just the same.

Jean, the village midwife, is a spinster and lives alone. Rumours abound as to why her friend Jo ( female) left so suddenly to be married and Jean hasn’t spoken to her since. Jean finds herself unwelcome in the town and works hard to build up her reputation as a valuable midwife.
When Jean hear's a woman's cry on a stormy night, she can't help but go outside to investigate. She finds a woman about to give birth, who speaks hardly a word of English. It's a struggle to get this distraught woman into her home, and she tries to make her comfortable. The birth is fast and safe, but too much so.
The woman, Muirin, as it turns out, is the wife of Jeans neighbour, Tobias. The next day Jean visits him, to let him know both Muirin and his new son are safe. When Tobias returns with Jean to the house, Muirin acts very strangely towards her husband, almost afraid. Jean worries about Muirin's mental state. She insists that Muirin stay with her for a week, to make sure both she and her son are healthy, and to guide her in the well being of the newborn.
As she spends the week with Muirin, and sees her state of mind and her eagerness to learn English and communicate, Jean begins to suspect something might be going on at home.
The story evolves and we get an insight into Jean’s early life along with her mentor, Anneke who is a grounding influence on Jean.
The pace picks up and I found myself reading faster until I finished!
An enjoyable read.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for my eARC.

Rose Sutherland’s debut novel, “A Sweet Sting of Salt,” blends history, myth, and romance. Set against the rugged backdrop of 1830s Nova Scotia, Sutherland creatively reimagines Celtic selkie folklore, weaving an intriguing and immersive tale.

The novel might be a more surprising read for those unfamiliar with the Selkie myth. As a reader acquainted with the folklore, I found myself anticipating the reveal, which somewhat diluted the suspense. So, if you’re new to this myth, it’s best to dive in without prior knowledge.

The narrative is a slow burn in the first half, gradually building up the characters and setting. However, the pace picks up in the second half, leading to a more action-packed and tense narrative. The F/F romance between the main characters is sweet and closed-door, adding a tender touch to the storyline.

What stands out in the novel is its vivid representation of life in the Atlantic colonies during the 1830s. The author has done a commendable job portraying the era’s socio-cultural milieu. The book also scores high on diversity, featuring strong queer and indigenous representation.

“A Sweet Sting of Salt” is a promising debut that offers a fresh take on Celtic folklore and a slow-burning yet engaging narrative. I recommend it for fans of historical fiction and mythology retellings.

This was an ARC review for NetGalleyl

It was everything I hoped it would be. Charming, and gripping, and unexpected. It’s set in 1830 in Nova Scotia, and the main character is a midwife who falls hard for a Scottish woman who lives just up the coast and over the hill. But the story is about far more than them. All of the secondary characters, except for two, are interesting in their own right. There are animals we come to care for, (and I still want to know what happens to the fox!), people with backstories only hinted at, and I would totally be there for another story set in that village. The LGBT content isn’t flung in your face, and is very sweet. In fact, this is the sort of book I would be happy to read to my mother or grandmother! I highly recommend it!

Arc provided by Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

** 2.5 stars
the entire reason i requested this book was because it was sapphic and set in nova scotia. i cant really call this a good or a bad book, to put it quite simply nothing really happens in this book. it was a slow burn with one small climax and then an epilogue. if you love the pinterest cottage core aesthetic you’ll probably find this book really charming. the romance was sweet. that’s about all i can say.

I love a Canadian story, and the fact that it was an East Coast of Canada story made it even more appealing to me. This is set in one of my favourite parts of Nova Scotia (shout out to Mahone Bay) & that definitely was a draw for me.

I wasn’t familiar with The Selkie Wife folktale, so I did a bit of reading about it beforehand which I definitely think made me appreciate this sapphic retelling a bit more than I would have otherwise. I’m an Ancestry.ca girlie, and so I loved reading about the kind of life many of my ancestors lived in Nova Scotia, and how superstition and folklore affected their day to day lives.

I enjoyed Jean and Muirin’s relationship although a lot of Jean’s decisions were frustrating to me as a single woman living in the woods next to a psychopath. The pacing seemed off in the first half but it definitely picked up after that.

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read and review!

I requested this book based on the cover and the outline - even though I was not familiar with the folklore the story is based upon. So while reading the book I found myself enjoying the mystery. The book was well written and I found the beginning third and the last third to be more interesting as they were more quicker paced. The characters were likeable and I appreciated Jean's independence despite the timeline the book takes place.

'Only their mingled superstitions took root, and those had twinned around one another until it was hard to say where one story left off and the next began, which were fanciful and which were true.'

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a captivating folklore reworking wrapped up in a sweet historical fiction queen love story. Jean's fierce independence, her supportive found family, and relationship that develops with Muirin are all just very enjoyable and satisfying to read. The story gets a bit dark at times - and I was worried there wouldn't be a happy ending at some points - but ultimately, it is about love and being true to yourself.

Would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, folklore, and queer love stories.

Ahhh, the nostalgia I experienced reading this book left me feeling all warm. I was born in Nova Scotia, and lived there until I was ten. Some of the phrasing really brought me back to my childhood. I’d love to read this on audiobook if the accents were done properly.

A Sweet Sting of Salt follows Jean, a midwife in the small seaside village of Barquer’s Bay. Jean has always felt a little separated from the rest of the community, even though she is very respected in her profession. One night, she awakes to strange noises, and finds a labouring woman in her yard who speaks no English. Jean deduces she is Muirin, the mysterious new wife of her closest neighbour, and her instincts and empathy quickly lead to Jean becoming invested. Jean and Muirin become friends despite the language barrier, and much to the disapproval of Muirin’s husband, Tobias. Tobias’s actions and Muirin’s ill-ease around her husband lead Jean to believe there is more to the story than meets the eye.

So, if you know the folklore behind the Selkie Wife, you pretty much know the secret of the story going in. That didn’t keep me from tearing through this book, anticipating the reveal and learning how Tobias and Muirin became married in the first place. While the story is slow-paced, it is filled with tension, leaving the reader eager to find out what happens next.

I enjoyed the characterization in the story. Jean, Muirin, Laurie and Anneke were fleshed out characters, each with distinct voices. Tobias I found a bit cartoon villainish. Jean and Muirin were worth rooting for without Tobias being basically evil. I would have liked a little more nuance there, as well as more time spent on his motivations.

This would have been a five star read if the ending had not included a long, detailed explanation given by a new character. This left me feeling detached from the story and main characters we had come to know. One of the big points throughout the book was that Jean and Muirin were able to communicate, and have their relationship grow, even with a language barrier. It felt like an easy out to have someone else come in and explain everything.

One last thing to touch on - the dedication. Absolutely beautiful, thank you to the author for such sweet words that will no doubt touch a lot of hearts.

A fantastic debut novel by author Rose Sutherland. Can’t wait to see what she writes next. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing the ARC of this book. This review is my honest and voluntary opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rose Sutherland for providing me with an egalley of this book in exchange for my thoughts on it!

I enjoyed this novel! The descriptions of the scenery was great, and I think Sutherland did a strong job of building out the characters of all the key players.

I especially liked Jean's dream sequences, as I found it to be a clever way to convey her subconscious feelings without monologuing her working through complex emotions.

There were a few points that dragged for me just a bit. A lot of the novel felt like a bit of a waiting game for Jean to do something while Tobias escalated threats of violence against her.

I'm also a little surprised that Jean was never able to piece together Muirin's true identity despite the signs all being there. I'm assuming if selkies have taken up residence in this local town then Jean must have had to have come across the folklore at some point, but she seemed willfully unable to piece together the clues she was given. I can't tell if her reaction to seeing Muirin's pelt for the first time was meant to be a foil to Laurie's reaction, but I found that aggravating more than anything. It felt like Sutherland thought there needed to be one final conflict before settling into the denouement and instead of making that a Jean and Muirin vs. the town, Jean had to make a sudden character regression. With all that we knew of her, it felt out of character for her to be so cruel about something that was clearly precious to Muirin, even if she was still unable to understand what was going on without it being spelled out for her.

This very much felt like reading a fairytale. The magic of the story, the villain, the beautiful (and queer) love story. It was all so charmingly presented in this sweet and extremely stressful book. I say stressful because even though it very much felt like the story could go only in one direction I probably wouldn't be able to count the many times I yelled at Jean for doing something stupid (but justifiable by her character and the story). There were many heartbreaking parts to the story, which of course comes with the setup of a selkie wife story but honestly, nothing prepared me for how emotionally wrecking it felt when Tobias weaponized his ability to speak English against Muirin, it made me scream. The cruelty of that, the way he wanted to keep control of her in a way that would make her unable to build any relationships of her own. What an awful, awful man.

If I wanted to be picky I could complain about how everything was just wrapped so perfectly in the end with all the different points coming together in a very unrealistic way but honestly, like I said it's a very fairytale-like story and it felt fitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with an eARC!

A Sweet Sting of Salt is the selkie folktale reimagined as a historical sapphic romance. Jean is a midwife in a small town, an important role but she still feels like an outsider. One night during a storm she sees a pregnant woman in labour outside of her house and rushes to deliver the baby. She doesn’t know the woman, Muirin, who doesn’t speak English and appears to have not had any prenatal care. She later learns that Muirin is the mysterious new wife of her distant neighbour. Although mother and baby seem healthy Jean can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong. As she and Muirin grow closer, Jean puts everything on the line to help protect her. The author did a great job setting the scene with strong costal small town vibes and superstitious townspeople. There is an unsettling atmosphere throughout the entire book and it was oddly suspenseful for something I thought of as a historical romance. The main characters are well developed and you really get a sense of who they are, but a lot of the townspeople mentioned seemed to blur together. A character would be mentioned with some background to only say one line, so sometimes it was hard to keep track. However, I really liked the relationship between Jean and Muirin, it was a great slow burn with so much yearning. My heart was racing during the climax, the middle portion of the book was a lot of buildup but I sped through it. Even though the actual sequence of events was a little predictable, the setup and the descriptions of what was happening still made it a memorable experience. I really enjoyed all the superstitions that were mentioned, I find it really interesting to see what different people believe in but the main piece of folklore that the story is centred on isn’t mentioned until the end. It wasn’t a dealbreaker for me but just seemed a little weird. I think if you like a slow burn historical romance, with just a drop of fantasy this would be the book for you. It reminded me of another book I enjoyed called The Lighthouse Witches, which has a similar eerie costal vibe.

Thanks to NetGalley, Rose Sutherland and Penguin Random House Canada for this e-ARC