I love this book. It's such a touching story and great queer representation <3 I read this book as a cozy historical fantasy and it did not diappoint!

A Sweet Sting of Salt pairs best with a cold coastal town and perhaps a glass of wine. A retelling of the folktale "The Selkie Wife" following Jean and her relationship with Muirin as she teaches her of the world outside of the sheltered world Muirin's husband has provided her, even baring her from English instead teaching her Gaelic. As Jean develops feelings for the strange woman she has come to care for, she is reminded of the rumors that have followed her.
This is a stellar debut and a fantastic atmosphere.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

A sapphic take on the legend of the Selkie wife. Jean is a midwife in rural Nova Scotia when she stumbles across Muirin who is in labor walking through a storm. From the moment she takes her in, Jean knows there’s something different about Muirin and the two quickly grow close. Muirin’s husband comes looking for her, however, and quickly forbids Jean from having anything to do with his wife. The pull between the two women is strong, though. Will they both escape their unfulfilled lives and start a new one together?

This was quite the book! The historical detail was amazingly accurate with some of the usual liberties writers use at times. All the characters, including the secondary ones, were three dimensional and each had an important part in the story. The ending was a surprise for me. I knew the main characters would end up together, but it was great to see a realistic sapphic “marriage” in a historical setting. There was no angst at the end, just happiness.

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A stunning period debut full of sapphic longing and nerve-wracking mystery. Jean, a young midwife living on the outskirts of 1800’s Nova Scotia is awoken in the middle of the night by cries of pain. She ventures out to discover a young woman in labor who doesn’t speak a word of English. Somehow Jean is able to help her deliver her baby and ascertain her name, Muirin. But her happy and open demeanor changes when her husband and Jean’s neighbor Tobias arrives. Although he agrees to let Muirin stay with Jean for a week to help her adjust to motherhood, his hot and cold behavior brings more questions than it answers.

In an effort to help Muirin Jean secretly begins teaching her English. But the more she learns, the more Jean becomes weary of Tobias’s intentions. And when their feelings grow beyond friendship Jean realizes she has to get Muirin out of there. But the deeper Jean digs, the more danger she finds herself in. Will Jean be able to save Muirin, the baby, and herself before Tobias figures out their plan? And what is the “treasure” Muirin keeps saying Tobias stole from her?

This freaking book oh my god. I knew it was going to be a 5-star read about halfway through and right I was. Definitely a slow burn and the prologue may seem out of place initially if you aren’t familiar with the original folktale. However, I don’t mean those as critiques in any way shape, or form. A Sweet Sting of Salt was completely flawless. Despite its slow pace, I found myself unable to put it down. The tension of Tobias’s increasing threats combined with the breathtaking chemistry between Muirin and Jean left me reeling for more.

Jean is everything I could want in a main character. She is stubborn but not annoyingly so and loyal to a fault for those she loves. Her unwavering determination to help Muirin despite barely knowing her is the stuff of sapphic dreams. And their friends to lovers' romance didn’t feel forced or trauma bondey. I despise tropes that only put people together due to a lack of choices or adrenaline-based relationships that are passion-heavy but will inevitably fizzle out. Which, thank goodness, could not be further from the relationship here.

I went into this book not knowing the original lore of the folktale it’s based on, The Selkie Wife, and I loved it. So don’t feel forced to do a load of research before cracking this open. The mystery is actually more interesting, in my opinion, if you don’t because the folktale does give parts of it away. But if you do already know the story don’t worry, there is still plenty of heart-pounding tension to keep your eyes glued to the page. Also it's so queer for a period piece!! Major bonus points in my book.

All in all, if you make one book purchase in April 2024, let it be this one. Not only will the cover look beautiful on your shelf but the story will have you racing to rate 5 stars on Goodreads faster than Jean can make the dough for her biscuits. Happy reading!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishings Ballantine for sending this eARC for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

CW: Abusive relationship, animal death, attempted murder, blood, childbirth, death, kidnapping, homophobia, pregnancy, stalking, and violence.

This book was wonderfully crafted. The representations that were created through the different animals created an even better atmosphere within this. The story plot was fantastic; the way the story was crafted in accordance with the original folktale was wonderfully created. The one thing I would have say on the negative side is the relationship created between Anneke and Jean. Their relationship was diminished when the word “mentor” was used. Their relationship was so much more and there was no need for a boundary to be created between the two of them. The book would have been absolutely five stars if the relationship between these two characters wasn’t diminished. In truth they were mother and daughter and the author diminished that truth within their relationship.

I really, really wanted to adore this book. So many of my friends did. And there was much to love here: A queer (F/F) spin on the story of the Selkie Wife, with some suspense and a great deal of longing. Gorgeous prose. A dramatic setting, without too much of the detail about politics and wars that can often overshadow the plot in novels with an historical setting. Some comic relief (goats!). People being generally kind to each other, except for the people who are ruthlessly unkind.

But I just could NOT get past the MC's cluelessness and willfulness. I don't want to give away the plot, but let's just say that there are endless clues that Jean can't seem to put together. For someone who is such a competent midwife, she seems unable to look past her own feelings and anxieties to take in the whole picture of what's going on. I spent half the book yelling at her (just ask my group chat). It's really a shame, because I love the angle that Sutherland brings to the Selkie Wife tale.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the advance review copy.

Very excited for the F/F, but the pacing was so slow here, it overshadowed everything and made this largely unengaging.

This was new author and I’m so glad I was given the chance to read her debut novel! It was so wonderful! I enjoyed that this story was a classic folktale I’ve never heard of until now! It was done in a different way. I adored the MC’s and their story! Jean and Muirin are so perfect for each other. They were destined for each other from the beginning! Muirin shows up at Jean’s during the night when she goes into labor! Jean helps and realizes that Muirin can’t speak English. Jean ends up wanting to help Muirin in all the ways but her husband is controlling and weird. Jean starts to feel things for Muirin. Muirin tells Jean things about her husband that aren’t good! Jean has a plan to release Muirin. These two have quite the story and all the drama with emotions. They had great chemistry with all the longing! The scenery was so picturesque! Im sure so many are going to love this story!

The Sweet Sting of Salt has cemented my undying love for historical and romantic books between women taking place in the 1800s. There was something so rich and satisfying about the way Rose Sutherland created her world and dropped me right in it.

From the cover to the synopsis, I knew I would love The Sweet Sting of Salt before even committing to reading it in its entirety (and I stood corrected!). This was such a beautiful read, I wanted more and more and more of Jean and Muirin and their day-to-day in this little seaside town and the sea. So much of it reminded me of a more fantastical The World to Come and I cannot get the parallels out of my mind. One of the things I kept hoping for were more emotionally charged and intimate moments between the two protagonists. I ached for more yearning which I don’t feel was quite as strong as I expected it to be.

While there was so much more I wish I could have read about but I think the author kept a good pace in terms of the overall plot. I will say, however, that it lacked a true built-up when it came to the big reveal. From the very beginning the author was hand-feeding me all of the details and I was then waiting on Jean to catch up. I don’t necessarily believe that impacted my general enjoyment of the book, but I was less than thrilled when the reveal occurred and it didn’t add to my feelings about the story or the characters. There were no true surprises and, in my honest opinion, no “a-ha!” moment (including the unravelling of the dynamic between Jean and the Silbers, followed by, again, the big reveal).

Overall this was a lovely read. Although not as emotionally impactful as I hoped, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story itself and the characters! The cover is beautiful and I adored Muirin’s adoration of Jean—all the sweet ways she always looked and interacted with Jean physically.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group, Rose Sutherland, and NetGalley for granting my wish to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The writing style left a lot to be desired to the point that is was hard to finish. The pacing was severely slow and made the story, who's concept was interesting, soooo boring.

This book blew me away. The story swept me out and tossed me around in a sea of emotions. The characters feel as if they are reaching out and grabbing me by the throat. I felt the world was incredibly realistic and stunningly build. I would read a thousand books in this voice!

First of all, I love the cover on this one. It was so beautiful. Second, I was very drawn into this novel. I’ve always wondered about the story and myth of the selkies and what they stood for. Was it a way for women to express feeling trapped in relationships and being able to finally be free?

This novel was extremely gripping. I love the sea and the stories that are told surrounding the sea. This was a unique novel in its setting and background. Jean’s story is slowly told in bits and pieces throughout the novel and helps inform her actions throughout the story. As we see Jean’s and Muirin’s relationship develop, those familiar with the story of the selkie will start to see some foreshadowing as the novel progresses. I’ve marked this with a spoiler warning, but I think it’s not necessarily a spoiler as it’s a fairly large theme of the novel to pick up on. I did think there was one portion of the book that was a little slower but there was a lot of suspense and mystery in the novel that I enjoyed. The book ended strong and I would recommend it.

Please be advised I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Salty, as affectionately called by Rose, is a lesbian retelling of the Selkie folklore. However, there really aren’t any obvious signs until close to the end. The beginning of the book is a slow crawl, for about 50%, BUT it’s enrapturing and pulls you in. You can’t help but love (most) of the characters and they’re all fully fleshed out. You feel their terror and their excitement and tension. You feel the fatigue they feel. It’s impeccable.

For Rose’s first book, this is an amazing start. This book almost made me miss being in a relationship again. I did dock a half point just because it’s quite slow in the beginning, but it truly is worth getting through to the end. As far as lesbian love stories go, this is probably one of the best well written ones I’ve read to date. Thank you Netgalley and Rose Sutherland for gifting me this ARC in exchange for a review. Looking forward to future books from you, Rose.

Wow. I felt transported back in time to a beautiful little village near the coast.
This story was brilliant & beautiful.
A Sapphic retelling of Scottish folklore with a mix of historical fiction.
I absolutely adored the main characters in this book & was on the edge of my seat for most of this book. I had a hard time putting it down for sure.

Had some very gothic vibes which I wholly loved.

Read- and I cannot stress this enough- the authors note! I really enjoyed learning more behind the inspiration for this book.

This might be my favorite book of 2024 and it’s not even 2024 yet!!!

I can’t thank NetGalley enough for this e-ARC & the publisher for granting my wish!

What a gorgeous story that so vividly captures the loneliness of the protagonist and her beloved, tragic in their circumstances and exclusion. This tale of domestic abuse and tender sapphic love had me captivated.

Going into this I didn't know the original folktale, but I sometimes prefer that so I can have my own expectations. Unfortunately, I think knowing the original story would've parts of this more enjoyable.

While I liked the characters, where they ended up, and how they got there. The pacing kind of killed this book for me. It felt very slow going for much of the book. Some of what was happening felt a little meandering for me.

I did like Jean as a character. She was sure of herself when it came to her profession of being a Midwife. But when it comes to people in town she is very unsure of what they think of her because of something that happened when she was younger. She feared the rumor mill and kept to herself for safety. She is stubborn and I like that she wasn't entirely meek when it comes to others.

Muirin, her character took longer to get to know for several reasons. She didn't talk much for most of the book because of language barriers. The biggest issue for me with her character is I don't know how old she's supposed to be. She could be anywhere from 17 to 25, but I have no idea and I can't remember if it was ever addressed. But not knowing how old she is gives me a little bit of "the ick". Since she only speaks Scottish Gaelic, her husband treats her a little bit like a child.

Things do end kind of abruptly, but on a good note. I would've liked a little more closure with some things, but overall the ending was satisfying. Just getting there felt like it took ages.

Having a tough time deciding on a review for this one. The sapphic love story was sweet and the pain of a town who sees you as an outcast felt true and deep. However, so much of the plot relies on the main character’s misunderstanding and making assumptions. A miscommunication trope is my least favorite and there were just so many times Jean made blatant assumptions that I as the reader could see were so obviously wrong it was frustrating more than anything. As a known take on the Selkie Wife story, an author would have to be incredibly subtle to keep these miscommunications from being obvious and irritating- this author didn’t quite achieve that. Overall I enjoyed it, I might recommend it in certain circumstances even, but not one of the best books I’ve read lately.

I enjoyed this retelling of the silkie wife. This was a good spin on it. It is more modern so more people will want to read it.this was a good book and I enjoyed it.
I just reviewed A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland. #ASweetStingofSalt #NetGalley
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I’ve never heard of the fairytale of Selkies and really enjoyed this interpretation. I loved the setting of 1830s Nova Scotia in a little wintery town. The pacing of the story was just right and kept me intrigued.