I haven’t read the original classic of The Selkie Wife, but I am familiar with it and have seen other versions of the tale over the years. If you want a real visual treat, I highly recommend watching the animated film Song of the Sea. The artwork and story are absolutely beautiful – you can also get a graphic novel version if you’d rather read it.

The author living in a Nova Scotian town very similar to where the story takes place lent the story a stunningly realistic atmosphere. One of my only writing complaints (and I can overlook it in this story) was the inclusion of modern curse words. It wasn’t common to see them in the story but when they were there it stuck out to me. While I don’t live alone the author truly captured how terrifying it can be to be isolated from others in a rural setting – especially when a person is threatening you and/or your livelihood. Definitely had chills throughout that portion of the story and kept me up to see how it resolved.

Jean is a midwife to her small town and has worked extremely hard to gain the respect of her peers. Her life revolves around helping others so it was no surprise that she answered the cries of Muirin outside her door on a bitterly cold and stormy night. She definitely bites off more than she realizes in assisting Muirin but doesn’t realize it until she experiences the atmosphere between husband and wife. The full scope of his treatment of Muirin got my rage up, but honestly, for the time period it fit. I can only imagine how many poor women experienced what she did back then. I loved how Jean and Muirin’s relationship grew organically (even if over a short time) and how it was looped back towards their history. One last thing that I loved that the author included was post-partum depression (it wasn’t called that then of course), the impact it had on Jean and how she (and her mentor) checked on the new mothers to make sure that they had everything that they needed.

I would like to thank Dell and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this sapphic retelling of The Selkie Wife – all opinions are my own. I find that I much prefer this story to the original and I enjoyed reading the author’s note & the interview questions. This book also includes discussion questions in the event it is read with a group. Rounded from 4.5 stars.

Having an interest in Selkie folkore made me want to read this book. Rose Sutherland is a new author for me.

Description:
Once a young woman uncovers a dark secret about her neighbor and his mysterious new wife, she’ll have to fight to keep herself—and the woman she loves—safe in this stunning queer reimagining of the classic folktale The Selkie Wife.

When a sharp cry wakes Jean in the middle of the night during a terrible tempest, she’s convinced it must have been a dream. But when the cry comes again, Jean ventures outside and is shocked by what she discovers—a young woman in labor, already drenched to the bone in the freezing cold and barely able to speak a word of English.

Although Jean is the only midwife in the village and for miles around, she’s at a loss as to who this woman is or where she’s from; Jean can only assume she must be the new wife of the neighbor up the road, Tobias. And when Tobias does indeed arrive at her cabin in search of his wife, Muirin, Jean’s questions continue to grow. Why has he kept his wife’s pregnancy a secret? And why does Muirin’s open demeanor change completely the moment she’s in his presence?

Though Jean learned long ago that she should stay out of other people’s business, her growing concern—and growing feelings—for Muirin mean she can’t simply set her worries aside. But when the answers she finds are more harrowing than she ever could have imagined, she fears she may have endangered herself, Muirin, and the baby. Will she be able to put things right and save the woman she loves before it’s too late, or will someone have to pay for Jean’s actions with their life?

My Thoughts:
This is a queer retelling of the story The Selkie Wife. Sutherland has created virbrant characters and the story is captivating. Very sad in places. The love story is fraught with obstacles and makes for an interesting read. I found Muirin fascinating - where did she come from? How could she possibly handle the language barrier being so isolated? Was her husband a bad man or just struggling to make his marriage work? I loved the ending!

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through Netgalley for an advance copy.

3.5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed the first 90% of the book, but the end lost me. However, this would be a good book for people who enjoy historical fiction and a little bit of magic and folklore.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy!

A sapphic tale of folklore and gothic atmosphere. Weaving old legends into a new narrative was done beautifully by Sutherland. The yearning and desire was so tangible I could taste it.

This book had a lovely feeling about it, really immersing you in the environment and feeling as though your sitting in the book experiencing everything with the characters. I think you know how lonely Jean is before she does, since she didn't notice it until Muirin went home with Tobias. You know something is wrong between Tobias and Muirin, but you don't know what exactly, although I had a very good guess. I also knew immediately what was up when she found Muirin in the very beginning of the book (I hadn't read the blurb.) It's well-written and evocative, however, I got tired of the repeats. Jean experiencing this, then Jean thinking about it, then Jean telling her mentor, Anneke, etc. etc. etc. It dragged the book down and made it hard to focus on the good parts. Overall, a good story, but too slow because of repetition.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell, and NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

If you’re a fan of the story of the selkie wife and love a sapphic storyline, this book will definitely be for you! I always enjoy a good retelling, especially with a queer spin to the story.

In this book, we follow a young midwife who lives on the outskirts of her village and keeps to herself. She assists a woman who stumbles into her yard in the middle of the night with delivering her baby and then quickly becomes entangled with this woman’s life.

While I enjoyed the story, I did feel the MC’s internal monologues were a bit tedious at times and the story felt a bit slow. However, the magic behind this retelling was truly felt.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine | Dell for an E-ARC copy of this book!

I was drawn to this book on NetGalley because of the intriguing title, the stunning cover, and the fact that it was a queer retelling of the Selkie folktale, something which I'd never read before. And there is so much to enjoy about this book. This historical fiction novel set in early 1800s Nova Scotia, revels in the daily minutiae of its characters' lives, even more so than in the more fantastical aspects of the story. Which was a huge plus for me. I loved feeling like I knew the ins and outs of life in this small village - its economy, its weather, the dress and food, and social lives of this community. I also really enjoyed the midwifery aspects of Jean's life, and through her eyes, falling in love with Muirin, irrepressible in the face of hardship. While I don’t think it was the perfect book for me – it was a little too sweet and a little too gentle in spite of the darker aspects of the story – I love the fact that it is making space for queer joy in the world of historical fiction, and I think there will be many readers who will love this book wholeheartedly. I would recommend it to anyone who loves found family, folktales, or historical fiction that delights in the details.

What a beautiful, unique love story.
Following the local midwife and a surprise, heavily pregnant woman - who doesn't speak the same language and confusingly is determined to run into the marsh while giving birth. As tragedy and confusion unfold, a mystery awaits readers to find out who this woman really is. and her quiet, gentle husband may not be the man the town thinks he is.
Overall this story was written so beautifully. I wish the folklore was explored more indepth, as the 'tell all' at the end felt a little flat. I wish Jean and Miurin's relationship was explored more fully. I loved watching them learn to communicate despite the language barrier. I think I would have felt more fulfilled if we had more of that and less of Jean playing detective.

A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland was a luscious atmospheric sapphic retelling based on the Celtic retelling of the Selkie Wife.

What appealed to you the most in this story?

I love folklore, but this was my first-time hearing about this Celtic story. It's a fascinating tale, and I definitely now want to read the original. This retelling had a serious bite, and the mystery with a background steeped in dread made this story an experience I won’t forget.

Read if you like:

Sapphic Retellings
Fantasy
Mystery
Romance
Atmosphere
Gothic Intrigue
Fierce Characters
Tender Moments

How was the pace?

The slow burning tension kept me turning the pages while the climax had me on the edge of my seat.

Do you recommend this book?

Truly an achingly and enchantingly beautiful debut from start to finish!

Make sure you check out the author's note. The ghost ship and the history behind it were particularly fascinating.

Thank you, Dell for this gifted copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

This book is stunning—from the cover to the setting to the growing sense of narrative dread and the pining between Muirin and Jean. Absolutely gorgeous. This is one of those novels that I will never stop talking about and recommending.

A Sweet Sting of Salt is folkloric fiction at its best. Sutherland has created wonderful characters—women whose strengths are distinct and complimentary, a villain whose humanity allows readers to imagine a different path for him even though he doesn't take it—and her prose, which strikes the perfect balance between poetic and spare, begs to be read aloud.

I cannot recommend this novel strongly enough. If you're looking for what to read next, stop looking. You've found it.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of The Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this new take on an old folk story. I got drawn into the characters and all they had to do to find love and truth. I'm really glad I got this book and will recommend it to my friends.

I really enjoyed this book. I think it needs to be read more like a short story being more quickly vs taking it slow or the reader could lose interest. I was not familiar with the tale it was based off of so wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought it was a sweet story. While I caught on to some of things happening right from the beginning leaving no room for a surprise. I read the book in basically one sitting. I would give this one 3.5 stars and would recommend to those that like folktales. Thank you to the author publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this charming tale for my honest opinion.

This story is a retelling of the Selkie Wife, which was a huge drawing point for me. It had everything that I love: folklore, beautiful writing, and sapphic elements. I like how the author describes characters and the world she builds. It's beautiful and meditative. However, there are some things that do fall short for me.

Jean's relationship with Muirin is sweet but I cannot help but that it is hard to buy into their romance? In contrast, Jean's relationship with Jo had more substance. As Jean and Muirin's was the main relationship, it made it a little hard to buy into. Furthermore, I expected a bit more of the folklore elements. Yes, this had to do with the day to day life of a selkie being forced to live on land. But this island has superstitions and a history of honoring certain practices, this is something that is established at the outset. I would have liked to see more of this throughout, it feels like it just disappeared at some point? And given that Muirin's family was so near, I'm a little surprised that certain characters weren't able to help Jean piece the puzzle together sooner.

Nonetheless it was an enjoyable read. Would recommend for a cozy day inside by the window.

This debut novel, A Sweet Sting of. Salt, was an easy to devour and engrossing read. Don't let the weirdly confusing painting on the cover throw you off. My chosen genres are usually Fiction or Historical Fiction, I am surprised how much I enjoyed this novel that leaned toward a mystic fable retelling and had elements of romance, a predictable genre I usually avoid. The strong female seeking her own version of life and family and the adventures that ensued to that end are fresh, and comfortable, but not predictable, The story is brilliantly built around an old fable/fairy tale topic as its foundation. I will be following Rose Sutherland and hoping she creates more of these retellings of old school legends into real life adult adventure tales for our reading pleasure!

This cover has been on my mind since I first saw it and I think it being based on a folktale about Selkies makes so much sense. Sapphic, Gothic and worth every second of my time.

This is a reworking of the tale of the Selkie wife with an LGBTQ+ twist.

Jean is a midwife who lives alone since her father died. One night she hears a cry outside and finds a woman, Muirin, in labor but she speaks a strange language. She helps her with her labor and delivery and they become close friends.

The story started kind of slow and I had thought about giving up but I was interested in finding out what as up with Muirin and I'm glad I kept going. I liked Jean. Her life hadn't been easy, she lived alone but she had her mentor, Anneke, and all of her family as a support system. Anneke's son, Laurie, is particularly close to Jean. Muirin was delightful. She was trying to make the best of a bad situation and keeping her son and Jean safe while being curious and trying to learn everything about this new life. The atmosphere was particularly desolate and isolated, especially in the winter time. I shivered through some of the storms depicted.

At times the dialogue seemed off. I didn't have a sense of the time frame but it was 1813 and sometimes the language seemed more modern like "she landed on her a$$."

I'm not a big fan of magical realism but I really enjoyed this story. I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House Ballantine for providing me with a digital copy.

This book was beautiful and haunting. I loved the chaotic beginning and how it spun into an understanding between these two women. I loved the slow creeping ominous sense that something was not quite write. The prose was beautiful, but the pacing was a little bit slow for me. That said, I really enjoyed the sense of feelings that snuck up on Jean and caught her by surprise and the way that this town felt claustrophobic and remote all at once.

This was good in theory but not executed well. Half of the story was there for no reason and it was just unnecessarily long. I made it to the end, but just barely.

Thanks to Netgalley for this incredible arc! I can't believe that this is the author's debut book. The roller coaster I went on reading this book was incredible. I was stressed nearly the whole time but the soft tender moments in between were achingly beautiful and I fell in love with this story. When Muirin finally told her full story to Jean it felt like I was reading a true sapphic fairytale. I will definitely be buying a physical copy to add to my collection!

DNF at 31%.

I really wanted to like this book, but I unfortunately just couldn't get invested in the story. Something about the writing style felt disjointed for the time period it was set in and I never felt IN it. I was excited about this book, I loved the idea of it being a Celtic folk tale retelling, and I hadn't read much about selkies, let alone with a sapphic twist. In addition, I couldn't connect with the characters. Essentially, this didn't make me excited to pick it up and I have so many other books I'm looking forward to reading right now that I can't justify continuing on with this one.