A story about a mermaid and a plague doctor in a land covered with snow where a group of children, led by three "saints", seek immortality. I enjoyed the stark contrast between the horror and gory descriptions against the poetic writing. Be aware though that the vocabulary was rich and sometimes obscure. It was challenging at times. I was glad to read this on my Kobo, so I could easily access a dictionary. Also, I feel that sometimes the writing was a little too much and lost its impact. Nonetheless, I loved the story and will certainly reread it.

What in the world did I just read? Surreal, disturbing, at times disgusting and very dark, this short novella is a mixture of science fiction and horror. It’s gory and unsettling and bizarre and… did I mention I loved it? It is really well written and atmospheric, and the world building is fantastic (even if no one would like to spend time there). The plot is simple, but addictive. The characters are absolutely unrelatable and yet, it’s impossible not to root for them. This is not Ariel frolicking under the sea, this mermaid has teeth. Her companion is a mysterious plague doctor and we don’t even know if it’s a man or a woman. The creatures they find along the way may not even be human. The story is full of bizarre imagery written in such beautiful, luscious prose that the contrast between the horrific events described with such lovely words, makes the whole tone discordant. I’m not sure if “enjoyable” is the right word for this read, but I liked it a lot.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/# Tor Nightfire!

THE SALT GROWS HEAVY... This was so uniquely mind melting to me. Cassandra Khaw has, as we've all heard the phrase, "a way with words" and I mean that in the best way. There are stories/descriptions that leave a lot for your brain to fill in the blanks. Not this, Khaw is an outstanding visual storyteller. Reading this was akin to watching a movie in my brain. ALSO, who doesn't love a "burn the world down" kind of story. It is cruel, dark, and adventurous in a way that makes you look over your shoulder like something is behind you.
Nothing says horror like a woman scorned. I don't typically enjoy stories where there are children involved, and I was aware of that inclusion just based off of the synopsis, but I am so glad I requested this and the TOR sent over the approval!

I cannot wait to receive a physical copy of this book to write down all of my annotations!

Cassandra Khaw! You genius! I made the mistake of picking this up during a 2am bathroom trip that turned into me making coffee because it's just THAT amazing. A beautiful love story, I can't wait to get a physical copy and tab this baby up!!! ❤️ 🖤

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Tor Publishing Group for an advance copy of this book that takes fairy tales, fractures them a tad, then rends them completely in the retelling.

I can't remember when I started learning about the true darkness of fairy tales, and the dark imagery that filled many a nursery rhyme. Neil Gaiman's Sandman made me think more about fairy tales in the literature sense, but I always had a feeling of unease about them. Or at least I like to think I did. Since my fairy tales were first presented to me in a Disney collection, I don't see where this might have come from. I know I had a book of tales with illustrations from the the Hildebrand brothers, maybe the amazing art triggered something in my head. Cute stories with mermaids, talking animals and wolves always in the background, hid far deeper themes, realities and much more. Cassandra Khaw understands this, and raises the bar a little higher, making a very creepy, very dark, and very very bloody retelling of some classic stories. The Salt Grows Heavy is a short, vicious little tale filled with love, odd friendships, revenge, and a lot of things going splatter.

A mermaid meets a man, shares a moment, loses a tongue, has children who eat the husband, and burns down the entire kingdom. The Mermaid is helped in this task by the Plague Doctor, someone the Mermaid has known, and in odd way cares for. Together they destroy what is left and take their strange party on the road, heading North to other kingdoms and other Kings who might want to marry, or lose a kingdom. Along their travels the party comes across a strange hunt, led by boys who kill another, but swear that the dead will come back and share with the Mermaid and the Doctor what is happening. The boys are lead by three "Saints" who control them, and find that the hunt is the least of the things that are happening with these boys.

The story is a novella , but is as dense as a neutron star. The language is wonderful, huge words when tiny ones will do, descriptions, allusions, illusions, and death and gore. This is a violent story, filled with what could be disturbing for some, for others this is their bag. The story does take a few pages to get into, but once the rhythm and what Khaw is doing starts to become clear, the story will have the reader locked in. As I stated it's a novella, but at the end I felt like I had taken a long wonderful journey, maybe got lost once or twice, but really wanted to do it again.

I've read quite a few books by Cassandra Khaw and I love the fact that everything is different, from plot, to characters, to ideas, to styles and presentation. Khaw never settles, trying something new in every work. Not many writers are that brave. This would be a good way to introduce new readers to Khaw's work, with the caveat that other titles are subject to change. A very different work, well worth reading. I can't wait to see what Cassandra Khaw has coming out next.

Beautifully dark fairytale with haunting prose.

Perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher or Catherynne M. Valente, this story will bite you and not let go until the end. Our main character is a mermaid-like creature more shark than siren. With her city being destroyed behind her, she walks into the woods along side a plague doctor. An easy friendship begins to form between them when they come upon a scene, where a group of boys are hunting another boy. From there the story squeezes the reader tight, not letting up the pace, while it explores the dark recesses of immortality, love and life.

Although this book is short, I read it so slowly, gnawing on the words and phrases. I highlighted and shared so many quotes with my bookish friends because I had to share the Cassandra Khaw's beautiful words with everyone. "There is a reason the hunt is central to so many narratives. For all that humanity professes to delighting in it's own sophistication, it longs for simplicity, for when the world can be deboned into binaries; darkness and light, death and life, hunter and hunted."

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for this advanced reader copy.

This book is best read outside at night, by a warm fire with good company (keep a knife close at hand).

Cassandra Khaw is so tremendously skilled. She weaves sentences and worlds with such creative spin and depth. Salt Grows Heavy is one of her more rich and deliciously gruesome works yet. What's amazing is the same mind who created the Japanese Folklore in Blackened Teeth has created this folklore of the sea.

This was a short, yet dazzling read. The writing style reminded me of Catherynne Valente's. I want more of this world, desperately.

4.5 stars

I went in blind and suggest other readers do too! I loved this haunting, gruesome and strange little fairytale.

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the digital ARC!

This tiny tale of horror is packed with blood and gore from start to finish. It’s part fairy tale and part love story filled with horrific elements. The writing is absolutely gorgeous, and I could easily imagine all the gruesome scenes. I did have to use the dictionary feature on my kindle a few times to understand. I think people who enjoy dark faerie tales will definitely enjoy this book.

This book was creepy and interesting. I did like some of the world for sure. However, I felt the story was too confusing at times and I couldn’t stick with it. Thought I did like the ending!

(i have received this e-ARC from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

wow. cassandra khaw has done it again: making me feel the entire spectrum of human emotion in this gutsy and unflinching tale inspired by folklore. each page (and each paragraph and each sentence) is filled with a kind of magic that ensnares the reader in an inescapable web. the characters have burrowed their way into my heart, and even after the end, their claws will remain a permanent memory on my mind.

Astounded. My introduction to C. Khaw, was bombastic and I am absolutely flabbergasted. Cunning, grotesquely graphic, my senses were heightened throughout the whole read. With each virtual finger flip of a page I tasted metal in my mouth and sharp prodding down to my bone. As the story continued, the detail entranced me, leaving me sitting, crookedly in my spot, only getting up to stretch, listening to my bones snap between my breath, I just wanted more.

The world is a visceral place. We are animals. Sometimes, rather than just being instinctual, we let it live on pages.

As this story unfurled, it did not go the way I expected. The ending, Wow. Am I going to look into everything C. Khaw has published, absolutely, yes. Do I want all the copies and all the signing invites, dead yes. I just want more.

Though March, one of the best books I've read all year (this is my 21st).

Thank you Netgalley & C. Khaw for this ARC.
(this rocked!!)

See this book was good but a 3 star book. Like when you ask for Coke but they ask if Pepsi is okay. And you say sure because pepsi is good but not exactly what you wanted. That's this book. It was just good.

I honestly have no idea what I just read and no idea what I feel about it but leaning significantly more towards I didn't like it at all.

This is a thrilling tale of a quirky adventure that you won't want to put down. This book is dark, riveting, and not for the faint of heart.

The premise had me at “Ariel,” the book delivered on horror I didn’t know I needed. This is a twisted tale, but somehow a parable for truth and vulnerability too. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

A violent and gory spin on The Little Mermaid fairy tale. A mermaid leaves the sea to live on land with the man she loves but she does not get the fairy tale ending. Years later her daughters have bled and burned the kingdom down forcing the mermaid to flee with a somber doctor hiding behind a plague mask. They hunt and become the hunted when they run into a nightmarish group of bloodthirsty kids who are tortured and torture others in a village controlled by bizarre surgeons. The story is written in a fairytale style yet it definitely falls into the horror category. Not for those looking for a Disney reboot but it is a prime example of blending genres. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

A mermaid leaves a ruined kingdom in the company of a plague doctor. The odd couple share a strange kinship as neither is entirely of the world they inhabit. During their journey, they encounter a vicious group of children who worship a trio of scary surgeons.

While the world building is wickedly cool, the plethora of obscure words and flowery language of the mermaid’s narrative may be off putting to some readers. I liked the relationship between the mermaid and the plague doctor and their casual acceptance of each other. The mix of weird science and myth worked for me. I found the children and the surgeons especially creepy and found myself rooting for the mermaid and the plague doctor despite their monstrousness, or maybe because of it.

The book is simply structured with three chapters each covering a night and an epilogue. The epilogue really made the book for me as did the mermaid’s chronicle of her world and the relationship between her and the plague doctor. Be sure to check out the sweet dedication in the acknowledgments.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Tor Nightfire for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

This book was provided to Me by NetGalley and torNightFire for free in advance of publication for me to provide an honest review. Thank you Net Galley and tor!

This is a travelogue following not your Disney princess mermaid who has a taste for human flesh and a plague doctor who is non-binary. During their journey of a cross a kid being hunted by a group of other kids, the surviving kids take them to a village to meet the three adults that the kids called the saints. The saints harvest the organs from the victim and use it to extend their lives. The victim is then resuscitated. The plague doctor does not want this to continue and wants to expose the saints for what they are: monstrous humans.

This book examines what it means to be monstrous. At its heart, it's also a love story. I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the taiga setting. Cassandra Khaw's writing is so brutal and gory and honest I could read it all the time.