A gorgeous tale of sapphic yearning laced with a slow-building sense of Gothic dread. Sutherland’s captivating debut is an intensely beautiful experience you won’t soon forget.

That’s the blurb, but it’s not even the half of my feelings about A SWEET STING OF SALT. If I could give it ten stars, I would! I could go on and on. Filled with achingly beautiful prose and based on the Celtic legend of the selkie wife, this novel is a feat of artistic mastery. Muirin’s love for Jean is both tender and fierce, and Jean is the kind of strong, resilient heroine you can’t help but root for. I adored both of them. And the setting! The wind-tossed shores of Nova Scotia are the perfect location for a tale replete with mystery, romance, and gothic intrigue.

When you read it, please make sure you check out the author’s note. The ghost ship and the history behind it were particularly fascinating.

Note: the heat level in this book is not spicy in the usual sense of the word, but trust me—the spice is there. My god, the yearning. Think “Darcy’s hand clench” levels of purloined passion and hidden desire. It’s perfection.

I am a sucker for fairytales so it comes to no surprise that I enjoyed this sapphic retelling. It is a bit of a slower pace book with some excitement nearer to the end. But even with the slow pace, I stayed hooked wanting to know more.

The story started out with Jean coming across a pregnant woman in the middle of the night in the middle of the storm. She didn't know who she was, but as the towns midwife she knew what to do. After the whole drama of birthing a child, Jean assumes the mysterious woman must be the mysterious bride of her neighbor.

And thus the inconsistencies start. Why does Muirin not speak English? Why does her husband doesn't bring her into town? Why does she loose her spark when her husband is around?

If you know the tale you can guess some of the story, but there was enough intrigue that I was delightfully surprised at some points.

Jean's mother figure was the goat. Supportive and taking the young Jean under her wing when the town turned on her when she was younger. Her sea faring friend, who was in love with other man. They were delightful characters to get to know and love. I would have them in my corner any day.

All in all,it was an enjoyable read!

My feelings about this one are complicated -
I enjoyed it so much
It’s sooooo slow
Jean didn’t have as much character development as I hoped

I read this title slowly and found it a very enjoyable and well written debut novel.

Slower paced and lonely, the writing gives off Bronte-esque vibes. My only issue with this is I would have liked to see more character development for Jean. The slow pacing is mostly what led to my taking a while to finish it and not feeling overly compelled to hurry back to it. If you're in the mood for something quick, keep on looking - but if you have the time to devote to a more languorous novel, I recommend it.

Recommended.



Thank you to Dell and NetGalley for the DRC

I loved this book. I could picture this wild land. It was a "quiet" book, with much going on under the surface of the story. Great read!

This is a Netgalley review, so this will contain spoilers! First though, I'd like to thank Netgalley, Rose Sutherland, and Random House Publishing Group.

This book was so good! I was initially intrigued by the fact that it is a retelling (a Sapphic one at that) of the Selkie Wife...and it delivered!

The book begins with the start of the action, which I enjoyed. There wasn't much worldbuilding so the readers learn information about the situation as Jean, the main character, does. This adds to the natural flow of the story. I think it also helps keep things interesting for the reader as it is historical fiction (which as a genre could bore some readers). I know this process left me hooked until the end.

Relationship wise, I thought the progression was natural, which is funny since the story takes place in 6-months. Readers see how Jean goes from Miurin's midwife, to friend, to saving grace through their rare and monitored interactions. I really liked the dialogue here to help tell the story, because Miurin's preserverance and determination is displayed to the reader through her willingness to learn long before the truth of her situation is brought to light. It also shows how she trusts Jean.

Plot-wise, I am honestly just left in awe. I couldn't read the book in one sitting (for personal reasons), but I always found myself itching to come back to it. All of the characters come off the page and into life. I was worried about Jean and Tobias' game on one page and heartbroken for Laurie on the next one.

I definitely recommend A Sweet Sting of Salt to anyone who is listening!

this is pretty sweet! i enjoyed the mythology aspects and thought muirin's voice was particularly well-done. did feel a bit repetitive at times and the pining near the middle made me want to skip to more substantial plot points, but overall a great debut novel!!

I am usually not very convinced by historical fiction, as it often feels rather samey to me, however this was refreshing and rather delightful.
I am always a sucker for LGBT stories, and this was my first time reading it in a historical context.
I really enjoyed the author's prose, and the development of the story was mostly well paced. I did feel that the ending was a tad bit rushed, and this book may have been able to be a little bit shorter, but the relationships between characters make it easy to ignore the parts that may drag a bit.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this story, and it would have been even better if I wasn't so good at guessing twists. The only reason for my rating being somewhat low is that I don't personally see myself rereading this title, but I can definitely see this being at the top of people's lists once it's released.

Great book!!!! The quote at the end broke me in all of the best ways. I loved the atmospheric northern Atlantic setting— it connected me to the world and characters more. This is a fabulous debut. Thank you for the eARC

I had to pause on reading this a few different times because it honestly made me anxious. The way Rose Sutherland builds the tension and hostility between Jean and Tobias is absolutely phenomenal but it also made my stomach hurt.

The story overall is fantastic. The relationships between the characters are well-built and oftentimes made me feel like I was sitting around with old friends instead of just reading a book. It doesn't shy away from emotion the way some books do nor does it focus on purely physical aspects of attraction. It's very well-rounded and filled with such a need to love and be loved and to protect those you care about.

I cannot recommend this book enough.

This was an ARC I was greatly looking forward to, especially as autumn weather begins. From skimming the synopsis, the set up felt reminiscent of a dark, cozy, atmospheric historical fiction retelling of the short story “The Selkie Wife.” Selkie mythology isn’t something I’m familiar with, so I flew through half of this rather blind—until I took it upon myself to research into selkies, which quickly laid out the plot trajectory of this novel for me. Unfortunately, that plot predictability did steal some of the wind out of the novel’s sails, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying Rose Sutherland’s writing.

I was pleasantly surprised by the novel’s writing style. It was atmospheric, wistful, and lonely, while supporting a classical tone. It felt akin to the modernization of classical novel style (such as, Jane Austen, Emily Brontë) and that helped to welcome a reader into the darker tones of the story. However, the writing did veer too much into introspection and wasn't as well balanced with moments of dialogue or action. Most chapters opened with pages of sitting in Jean’s head as she mused (mostly about Muirin) and provided summaries of how she was passing her days. While that built up the sense of Jean’s loneliness and isolation, it was a taxing reading experience to face paragraphs of text with no dialogue to break it up.

The plot was character-driven, which normally isn’t my cup of tea. At times, I did struggle with the plot knowing it was coming from a character-focused place; other moments, I was enraptured by it and wanted to keep pushing through the novel’s pages. Overall, the plot was slower-paced and inconsistent with its moments of action. I found the middle 50-80% repetitive, with Tobias and Jean playing cat-and-mouse, while Jean obsessed about Muirin. While Tobias’s looming threat got the pulse racing, this was a place where the plot began to drag a bit. It was circular in how a new Tobias threat would reveal itself, Jean would send herself into a spiral about Muirin worries, and it would begin all over again. I wish more subplots had injected themselves here to keep the plot moving a little faster.

With how clever and brave Jean was, I was surprised that she didn’t figure out Muirin’s truth sooner. If we had more set-up or world-building woven in of the town discussing Selkie lore, Jean could’ve had the opportunity to put the pieces together. Instead, we had Laurie being cagey about the truth and few chances for Jean to put the truth together herself. Despite knowing how this plot was going to break down—with Muirin being exposed as a selkie—it still felt a touch out of left-field. The clues were there, certainly, but Jean was actively overlooking these pieces. Having that mythology undertow would’ve strengthened the plot in a way it needed.

With how lonely Jean was portrayed, there was a sizeable cast of characters that each brought something to the page. Laurie was likely my favorite minor character, despite his development becoming underutilized. He was Jean’s foil, and I would have loved to see more parallels between their journeys earlier on in this plot. As for Jean, she had a strong character voice in the beginning, but it petered out in the second half when she began obsessing over Muirin and their relationship. (Speaking of relationships, I wish that had a little more development! We went from attraction to “I-love-yous" quickly.) I truly wanted a bit more development for Jean, as she felt static and one-dimensional toward the end.

Overall, I found this to be a solid debut. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of character-driven plots because I prefer the external plots to place a little more pressure on the characters. While the pacing was inconsistent at times, I did enjoy the hauntingly beautiful Nova Scotia inspired town Sutherland allowed the reader to explore through Jean’s experiences.

TW: pregnancy and childbirth, parent death (off-page), suicide, sexual assault, animal death (on-page), murder (on-page)

Thank you to Ballentine and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This book was so good! I didn’t know anything about selkies before picking this up but it didn’t matter I was invested immediately

I have never read a selkie related book before and was pleasantly surprised! A great novel I hope many add to their TBR to enjoy!

A huge thanks to our author, and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to reach such a great story!

This soothing, haunting work of fiction reached deep into me and has stayed with resoudning sweetness. Sutherland's exquisitely brings Jean and Muirin story to life with a lingering touch reminiscent of truly loved fairytales.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Wow! This book was amazing. Talk about strong female characters. I also did not expect the ending at all.

Atmospheric and sensitive, this slowburn historical romance evokes a sapphic exploration of selkie mythology while highlighting the often overlooked role that midwives provided for their communities in the pre-Industrial Revolution.

A Sweet Sting of Salt is a sapphic retelling of the Selkie Wife and it certainly delivers! The action starts almost immediately with our main character, Jean, finding her neighbor’s wife about to give birth outside her home in the middle of a torrential storm. As she tries to help Muirin, the titular selkie wife, recover from her birth, Jean slowly gets more and more involved with whatever may be going on in this strange marriage. Things only get curiouser and curiouser from there!

This book is a gorgeous read that feels like it flows so naturally. It is primarily a historical fantasy, and you can tell because the setting is written so vividly it’s easy to feel like you’re right there with them. Set in Nova Scotia, you’re in a quiet village by the water with Jean living even further out of town. It’s reminiscent of something out of an Austen novel, except by the sea! Most of the book takes place in winter, and it made me long for a fireplace to stoke and a warm cup of tea to drink. Some of the best parts of the book are small paragraphs dedicated to describing kneading bread or making cheese- you can tell the author is devoted to the small details and they are integrated so well in the story! It never feels random, and in fact, it adds life to Jean and Muirin’s tale.

For their part, Jean and Muirin jump off the page in their own right and their romance just feels right. They are the perfect pairing and their romance builds at the right pace with lots of tension and chemistry. The novel is pretty centered on them, but the other villagers you do get to meet are really cool as well.

I’m so in awe of this novel as a debut! It was something I read in almost one sitting and I very much wish I had more of. While I can’t exactly say this was a cozy read because a large part of it is very nearly a horror story (the plot builds tension and anxiety and it feels like anything’s about to jump at us from the corner), it is so charming and picturesque and I really wish it was an animated movie so that I could watch it over and over again.

This is a pretty easy read and you don’t need to know anything about selkie mythology to understand it, but it’s a bonus if you do. As the reader, you know more than Jean does, but it never feels boring or too slow to read about her discovering what is truly going on with Tobias (the neighbor) and Muirin.

This book comes our next April and I really recommend putting it on your list!

During the middle of the night in a terrible storm, Jean a midwife hears a cry outside her home. She is shocked to discover a beautiful young woman, who doesn't appear to speak English, going into labor. Despite a rough start, she delivers a healthy baby and sets out to find out more about this mysterious woman. She soon learns that she is the new wife of a fisherman, Tobias, who lives across the woods. Attempting to do the right thing, she notifies him of her and the baby’s whereabouts quickly realizing that this woman might be in danger. Despite learning early on to stay out of peoples business, Jean is determined to help her new friend even if it means putting herself in harm’s way.

A Sweet Sting of Salt is a fantastic debut novel and queer reimagining of the classic folktale The Selkie Wife. I don't see many novels written about Selkie's, and the cover art for this one was beautiful, so of course I had to read it. I was quite surprised by how well written this novel was as well as how they incorporated the queer romance. This novel follows Jean, the midwife and town pariah, whose only crime was to love someone she wasn't allowed. She quickly learns to keep her head down and do the job she is given to stay out of harm’s way. When she befriends the mysterious new fisherman's wife, rumors begin to spread and the jealous husband will do anything to keep his wife a secret. A fun, historical romance with a folktale twist...a must read for 2024!

A combination of historical fiction, fantasy, and romance, A Sweet Sting of Salt is a sapphic reimagining of the classic folktale The Selkie Wife, filled with high stakes and irresistible chemistry. Set in 19th-century Nova Scotia, Rose Sutherland beautifully depicts the budding relationship between Jean and Muirin with tenderness and care. Whether or not you are familiar with the original folktale, the elements of suspense and tension make the book a page turner. This has instantly become one of my favorite books.

A Sweet Sting of Salt comes out April 9th, 2024. I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet historical fiction retelling of The Selkie Wife tale. The imagery, setting and atmosphere in this book did so well for the story. It helped keep up the suspense and mystery within the tale. I loved how well the characters were developed and how their interactions were natural feeling, not forced to move the plot along.

Rating: 4/5
TW: Violence, Abusive/Controlling Relationships, Homophobia
(Gifted a copy by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

“A Sweet Sting of Salt” is a thrilling romance with a mythical twist from Rose Sutherland.

When loner midwife Jean encounters her neighbor’s heavily pregnant wife (who she didn’t even realize existed), she’s thrust into a relationship and mystery. While Jean and Murin (said wife) grow their friendship and Muirin’s English proficiency, Jean struggles to figure out what is up with Murin’s marriage and if there’s anything she needs, or even can, do.

This was a lovely and quick read. Jean and the other character’s swelled with life. The world felt lived in and the background we uncover on Jean was revealed in a steady fashion. I was pleasantly surprised how developed Muirin felt, given how easily the trap of her failure to speak Jean’s language could have led to her feeling underdeveloped. I would also note that while this is a historical fantasy romance, I read it much more as a thriller romance. We (the reader) know the twist and what’s happening with Muirin and are waiting on pins and needles not just for Jean to realize the truth, but also make a plan to get Muirin to safety.

And speaking of the twist, given how obvious it is to the reader’s, the very delayed nature of it did wear on me a bit. While the reveal is nice, I spent so long knowing it was coming that it felt anticlimactic. That and some minor plot issues kept this from being a five star for me.

That said, I really did enjoy “A Sweet Sting of Salt”, especially for a debut novel. I would definitely try something from Sutherland again. I think if you’re even remotely intrigued by a sapphic, selkie tale then this will satisfy and delight you.