“It lifted her like a bit of driftwood as it crested and broke, crashing back down, tumbling her forward, rolling her over herself like a ball” - Rose Sutherland 💜💜💜💜 Thank you @netgalley for the advanced copy of Rose Sutherland’s “A Sweet Sting Of Salt”. Rose is so eloquent and descriptive that at times the story felt poetic and I felt transported to 19th century Nova Scotia. Part queer protagonist love story, part reimagined folklore all tied together with bits of midwifery and Mi’kma’ki culture. This is a book I would not normally have chosen but a novel I’m so glad I have read. The original folklore is not one I had heard of before so the story was told to me for the first time and I was captivated to see the fate of the heroine and those around her. If you want to expand your typical reading, I recommend giving this book a shot!

A Sweet Sting of Salt is a queer reimagining of the classic folktale The Selkie Wife.

Jean is the village's only midwife , one night she's awoken by screaming outside only to find a stranger in labor who can't speak or understand English. Jean realizes it must be her neighbor Tobias's new wife.

After delivering the baby, Jean goes out in search of Tobias to share the news. Upon returning to her cabin, she notices something was off between the couples interactions which leads to a lot of questions. The more time she and Muirin spend together, the more her questions grow as well as her feelings. When the answers turn out to be much more sinister than she imagined, she's worried she's put all three of them at risk.

I absolutely loved this novel. The author's writing and storytelling weaved a magically beautiful story that transported me to Nova Scotia. I found myself captivated by the entire story even though it was a slow burn; the characters, the setting, the angst and drama, as well as the vivid descriptions had me tearing through this book to find out how it ends. I wasn't disappointed.

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada and Netgalley for this gifted ARC.

"A Sweet Sting of Salt" is a charming cozy fantasy. The vivid world-building and warm prose make the book come alive, and The relatable character draws readers into her delightful adventures. With its perfect blend of magic, mystery, and heartfelt moments, this book is a cozy escape for any fantasy enthusiast.

Thanks to NetGalley for the book. It is too mature for the classroom, but I recommend this book to the general reader looking for a good quick read. Looking forward to my next NetGalley read.

I’ve read several earlier versions of this book and it’s only grown richer and more satisfying since. Set on the south shore of Nova Scotia, the author's evocative writing captures the lonely, Maritime beauty of ocean, forest, and a little cabin situated on a point of land in the winter that perfect symbolizes main character Jean’s loneliness and self-imposed isolation after the heartbreaking consequences of a burgeoning love for her best friend from her youth.

Jean's safe world is turned upside down with the arrival of Muirin, and the language barrier between them effectively occludes the truth of Muirin's situation even as it leaves room for tender feelings between the two of them to grow amidst the growing danger from Muirin's increasingly desperate and dangerous husband. Muirin’s gradually improving English was extremely well represented, as was the rustic lilt and phrasing of the Nova Scotia accent and the folksy, superstitious practices meant to ensure large hauls of fish, prevent a ship from sinking, or protect a baby from being replaced with a changeling.

That said, the book is really much more quiet and historical than fantastical, with Jean being tough, dedicated, and persistent both in her role as village midwife and her determination to rescue Muirin, whatever the cost to herself. Overall, it’s a lovely work of happy-ending historical queer romance with literary flavour.

I think this one was a little ambitious for me because I'm not big on folklore-type novels,

I don't think the writing was bad, but I didn't enjoy the pacing and ultimately I just wasn't super invested.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the e-ARC!

Rose Sutherland's *A Sweet Sting of Salt* is a captivating queer reimagining of the classic folktale *The Selkie Wife*, set against the rugged backdrop of 19th century Nova Scotia. This enchanting novel weaves together themes of love, secrecy, and the transformative power of embracing one's true self.

The story unfolds in Barquer's Bay, where Jean, the town's dedicated midwife, is awakened one stormy night by a haunting cry. Venturing out, she discovers a mysterious young woman in labor, who can barely communicate in English. Identified as Muirin, the new wife of Jean's neighbor, questions soon arise as to why Muirin's husband harbors such fear about her and their newborn son spending time near the sea.

As Jean delves deeper into Muirin's secrets, her concern for Muirin's well-being transforms into something deeper—an affection that challenges societal norms and personal boundaries. Sutherland deftly explores Jean's journey of self-discovery and courage as she navigates the complexities of love and duty, confronting her own desires against the backdrop of a community steeped in tradition and suspicion.

The characters in *A Sweet Sting of Salt* are beautifully crafted, each with their own secrets and vulnerabilities. Jean's steadfast determination to protect Muirin, coupled with Muirin's enigmatic presence and inner turmoil, creates a poignant dynamic that drives the narrative forward. Their evolving relationship is tenderly portrayed, highlighting the nuances of queer love in a time and place where such affections must remain hidden.

Sutherland's prose evokes the windswept beauty of Nova Scotia, painting a vivid portrait of a coastal community bound by superstition and sea lore. The narrative tension builds steadily as Jean unravels the mysteries surrounding Muirin and her connection to the sea, leading to revelations that challenge everything Jean thought she knew about love and sacrifice.

Thematically, *A Sweet Sting of Salt* explores the consequences of secrecy and the liberating power of embracing one's true identity. Muirin's journey towards self-acceptance mirrors Jean's own awakening, demonstrating resilience in the face of adversity and the courage to defy societal expectations for the sake of love.

In conclusion, *A Sweet Sting of Salt* is a beautifully rendered tale of love, courage, and transformation. Rose Sutherland's lyrical prose and evocative storytelling create a compelling narrative that lingers in the reader's mind long after the final page. This novel is a testament to the enduring power of love and the strength found in embracing one's authentic self, even in the face of daunting obstacles.

*A Sweet Sting of Salt* by Rose Sutherland is a spellbinding journey into the heart of queer love and self-discovery, set against a backdrop of myth and mystery. With its richly drawn characters and evocative setting, this novel is a must-read for fans of historical fiction and stories that celebrate the resilience of the human spirit. Prepare to be swept away by Jean and Muirin's unforgettable tale of love found and secrets unveiled amidst the stormy shores of Nova Scotia.

I couldn’t tell you why, but I am obsessed with sapphic selkie stories. There are very few of them out there, but I leap on the chance to read any that I stumble upon. Don’t get me wrong: I like sapphic mermaids, too, but there’s something about a sapphic selkie story that hooks me like no other. So it’s not surprise that A Sweet Sting of Salt was one of my most anticipated releases of the year.

This is such an immersive story. It’s a Nova Scotia gothic, and I could feel the spray of waves crashing against rocks as I read it. Sutherland describes this seaside town in loving detail, even as the main character has a less rosy view of it. Jean has been an outsider since she was caught with another woman when she was younger. Her girlfriend was sent away to marry a French man—despite not being able to speak French—to Jean’s heartbreak. Luckily, Jean was taken in by the local midwife, and now she has earned the town’s begrudging respect as an extremely skilled midwife herself.

Helping someone give birth is an everyday occurrence for Jean, but not the way it happens this night. She wakes up to the sound of a woman screaming outside and finds a stranger in labour outdoors in the middle of a storm. She brings Muirin inside and helps her, though Muirin doesn’t speak any English. Jean finds out that Muirin is the wife of her neighbour Tobias, but it’s very strange that Tobias didn’t let her know about the pregnancy, and Muirin is reluctant to go home.

As you’d expect from a gothic, the tension and danger slowly ratchets up over the course of the story. First, we get to see Muirin and Jean become friends as Jean teaches her English and assists with the baby. Jean’s mother committed suicide shortly after she was born, so she’s attentive to new mothers’ mental states, determined to prevent that from happening to any of her charges. Soon, though, she finds herself falling for Muirin in spite of her best efforts not to.

Maybe it’s inevitable in this sort of story, but I was surprised that the main character doesn’t find out that Muirin is a selkie until well into the book. It’s in the marketing, so the reader knows right away. I don’t love having information the main character doesn’t for that long, but that’s a personal preference.

By the end of A Sweet Sting of Salt, I was reminded of Carmen Maria Machado’s “The Husband Stitch.” “The Girl With the Green Ribbon” and “The Selkie Wife” share a similar premise, a women’s horror story: the idea of sacrificing everything for your husband/children and it not being enough. Women are so often expected to be completely subsumed by the role of wife and mother until there’s nothing left that’s just theirs. These feminist retellings make that message shine through, and they show that a truly loving and equitable relationship means being able to keep something for yourself.

I liked the dynamic between the practical to a fault Jean and mysterious, passionate Muirin. Muirin picks up language at an unnatural rate, so they are able to communicate even when they don’t completely share a language. I also appreciated the side characters, including Jean’s mentor midwife and mother figure, who is Indigenous, and a character who is coded autistic. I always appreciate when historical fiction has a diverse cast. We also get to see how Jean’s former girlfriend’s life turned out, which was a pleasant subversion of my expectations.

While I didn’t like knowing the reveal hundreds of pages before the main character did, that was a pretty minor complaint. A Sweet Sting of Salt was an immersive read perfect for fans of queer retellings, folklore, gothics, and seaside settings.

A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland is a historical fiction retelling of the selkie wife folktale, set in mid-1800s Nova Scotia. Jean is a midwife who one night helps her mysterious neighbour give birth. Suspecting something is wrong with Muirin's marriage and developing strong feelings for her, Jean decides to investigate, putting herself in danger.

Sutherland creates a vivid sense of place and time, giving attention to the fishing culture of small Nova Scotian villages, as well as the subsistence living many survived on.

I really liked Jean. She's become reclusive and resigned to be alone due to her preference for women, but she has an inner strength and determination. She doesn't buckle under the danger and she remains determined to help Muirin with no need for reciprocity. The characterization was top notch - I believed in their motovations and attitudes. I especially loved the addition of Laurie's subplot and Anneke's mentorship of Jean.

This book does have a small issue in that the "twist" of Muirin being a selkie is literally in the book's premise and marketing, so it isn't a twist. I spent a lot of the book recognizing all the selkie parts of it and just waiting until Jean would be clued in. The end has a fairly large exposition dump to accomplish this, which was fairly perfunctory.

Overall, this is a sweet historical fiction/magical realism that celebrates queer romance, fighting injustice, and being true to yourself.

I enjoyed this story! I liked that it was a queer take on the traditional selkie myth, or, rather, that it's the traditional selkie myth, with a queer HEA.

I also really enjoyed that this is set in a town very close to where I live, and involves a local myth, of the Young Teazer, which was a tall ship that caught fire in Mahone Bay and sank. It is said, that if you are driving through town at dusk, you might catch site of the burning ship out in the Bay...

This is the story of Jean, who is the local midwife, and a bit of an outcast in town because of a "close friendship" that she had with another girl when they were in school. But, she's now a well known midwife, catching the babies of the town with skill.

Jean is woken in the middle of the night by a sound outside, of someone crying out. When she goes out to investigate she discovers a young woman who is about to give birth. She takes her in to her small cottage and helps with the birth. She finds out that the woman's name is Muirin and she's married to Jean's neighbour who lives back in the woods a ways. Over the course of Muirin recovering and then Jean checking in on mother and babe, they get to be quite close friends, and then maybe something more.

I will admit that this is quite a slow story. I think it's worth it, but it is slow and it's not until near the end that things start to pick up. I wouldn't call this a romance, it's more general fiction, as the story is more about Muirin and how she came to be married to Tobias and about Jean and her background and her life now.

I really liked the sense of found family in the book. It didn't feel the same as how a contemporary-set found family might feel, as this is very much a small town and the townsfolk coming together to help out, but it is still definitely found family.

The overall story was great, and I likely would have given this a higher rating if it had had just a bit more *something*, something to draw me in and keep me there.

Author Rosie Sutherland weaves the legend of the Selkie Wife together with a lovely, sapphic romance between a lonely midwife and the intriguing woman she meets one night.

It is the early 1830s, and Jean lives on the outskirts of a small town in Nova Scotia, and is the only midwife for many kilometres. She treats the women whose husbands, brothers and fathers are farmers or fishermen. Jean's success keeps people arriving on her doorstep despite the nasty gossip spread by a woman whose daughter Jean was in love with some years earlier.

One night, Jean awakens to find a heavily pregnant and labouring woman struggling at the shore. Jean immediately brings the woman in, and helps her birth her baby. The woman does not speak English, and Jean and she must muddle through the night. Jean manages to get the stranger to trust her, and eventually, a healthy child arrives. Jean also discovers the woman is named Muirin.

Jean deduces that Muirin must be the wife of Tobias, Jean's neighbour, When Tobias arrives, Jean begins to notice that though happy prior to his visit, Muirin shuts down in his presence. Jean begins to worry about Muirin, and seeks to learn more about Muirin so that she can protect her from what might be a dangerous marriage.

This was such a lovely story. Though it's easy to figure out Muirin's secret well before Jean does, how Sutherland gets us there was well worth the trip. Jean is a wonderful main character, who has her own secrets, and at the novel's outset just wants to have a chance to help women, and rid herself of the “stain” she supposedly carries because of her forbidden love for her childhood friend.

And yet, at some risk to herself, Jean decides to help Muirin, teaching her English, and caring for her and her son, while also making her home a safe place for the other woman, despite Tobias' increasingly angry and ugly behaviour. At the same time, the two women begin falling for each other, and it's beautifully handled by the author, slowly and realistically building over the course of the novel.

Jean's reliance on some in the town was also wonderfully conceived, with the relationship the author draws between Jean and Laurie (son of Jean's mentor) full of love and humour. Jean's connections, loyalty and kindness are what allow her support Muirin, and to deal successfully with the increasing danger surrounding both of them.

I totally loved this book, with its compelling characters, well-realized atmosphere and deeply satisfying romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Penguin Random House Canada for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This book is magic. It sneaks up on you, wraps an invitation around you, and draws you deeper in with every chapter.

What really captured me? The radical, realistic prickliness of the main character, Jean, was one major factor. Ostracized in her small coastal community for loving another woman, she has earned her way back by becoming the midwife, and people have come to trust her skills. When she finds a newcomer to her community out on the rocks one night, about to give birth, she offers the woman shelter and support. She is also very aware that something is not quite right in the woman's marriage, and finds herself drawn to protect her.


So, a mystery, along with a romance and a fairy tale in its own way. This book is challenging to categorize, but the more lovely for it. Rose Sutherland has written a captivating story that makes place a character of its own. I admit to being a sucker for that as a reader.

I think the reader will figure out the underlying twist to this tale long before Jean and her supportive friends do. This is one to savour, maybe even on an East Coast road trip?
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the e-arc.

I DNFd at about 20% as the writting style really wasn't for me. I found it to be a bit jumbled up and I really couldn't get into the story. I may try and pick it up again in the future as the premise is very intriguing but it felt really messy to read. Giving it a 2 star as I don't think I can fairly rate it.

Slow progress, but interesting characters. Now I know what a selkie iWorthwhile. Worthwhile. Worthwhile. Worthwhile. Worthwhile. Worthwhile. Worthwhile. Worthwhile. Worthwhile. Worthwhile. Worthwhile. s. Worthwhile. Worthwhile. Worthwhile. Worthwhile. Worthwhile.

A fantastical and tender sapphic love story, and a reimagining of the story of the Selkie's Wife. I was surprised at how this one gripped at my heartstrings, and was more romantic than most romances read!
Absolutely stunning for a debut, and found myself wanting even more flowery writing from this author.

I came for the Nova Scotia, stayed for the beautiful sweeping story by the seaside. It's not often a book can make you feel wistful for a place you already live, but somehow Sutherland made sleepy, rain-drenched towns by the sea seem so mysterious and romantic. When I read a story like this I'm often taken back to my teenage years, when queer fantasy just wasn't readily available in bookstores; how glorious is it that someone like me, a married lesbian and mom, can stumble on a title like this without having to search dark indie bookstores for it?

got an arc from netgalley!

honestly, didn't love this one. it just didn't grab me, which is really sad because i wanted to be grabbed. i found the first chapter to be severely infodump-y, and honestly i don't think i needed the information anyways? it could all have been woven into the text much more smoothly than the way it was done. as for the main character, i have Issues with jean. mostly with how she is just constantly making the most insane assumptions. not like once or twice, but several times. i understand that humans love to think wrong things about other people, but the way jean just misinterprets things that are so clearly laid out was really frustrating to me. like, she keeps assuming tobias is a good guy and has good intentions when he acts in the most suspicious of ways. jean isn't presented as a trusting/oblivious person, so these misassumptions make no sense. i also think that any character who is that obvious about "i can't get close to anybody because of that one time i lost someone" is boring. i mean, it's great when it is done well, and with complexity. jean did not do complexity.

muirin is like fine, i guess. i really felt that there wasn't much to her, especially because her communication with jean was so hindered by uhhhhh not knowing english. the connection between them was just vibes, which would have been great, if i had been able to sense the vibes myself too to get why they cared about each other so much. alas, i did not get it.

i've spent what feels like a lot of time recently complaining about books that think they are all clever and subtle when really they are just annoying, and somehow i think what this book needed was more complexity and subtlety, and to know that about itself. if this book was just a bit more arrogant, it might have worked a lot better.

early on in the book, there is a dream sequence where a past event has a very different ending than what actually occurred. it took me quite a while to understand that that was what was happening, and i don't think it was well communicated to the reader (i could just be stupid. i am often stupid). this isn't a major thing, since i did figure it out, but it didn't endear me to the book.

also: people in books have horrible timing for when to have sex. like get a move on ladies! you don't have time for this!

also also: i hate an epilogue that is just several pages of summary about how everything is just so perfect now. especially when it doesn't add anything to the satisfaction of the ending of the book. i found the epilogue in this one to just be frankly boring and unnecessary.

all in all, this book was fine. i didn't care for it but that's partially my problem. i probably won't be reading more by this author unless it comes recommended to me but hey, you never know.

Folklore retelling? Check
Canadian Setting? Check
Queer love story? Check
Strong female characters? Check

As a lover of historical and queer romance I just had to give this. book a read. Plus, as a Nova Scotian, I was really excited about the setting as well. It was a lovely retelling, with. a unique twist and is definitely worth the read!

A Sweet Sting of Salt is a queer re-telling of The Selkie Wife set in Canada and is author Rose Sutherland’s debut novel. It has all the folklore and fantasy and sapphic yearning you could ask for and more. My first thought while reading this book was how it could possibly be the author’s first. The words are so atmospheric that they pull you right in and give you a front row seat to the relationship between Jean and Muirin. Their bond felt so genuine and had a depth that could not be rushed, only beautifully nurtured, giving it a very organic feel, quite unlike the relationship between Muirin and her husband. The pacing is perfect and never felt rushed or dragging, so I became easily immersed in the story quickly.

Having the shores of Nova Scotia as the backdrop only added to the book’s allure with vivid descriptions that only a local could write. I’m thrilled at the amount of wonderful Canadian debuts lately that are actually set in Canada. We have a wonderful history and deserve to have our beautiful country front and center as often as possible. I’m thankful for all the authors who are doing exactly that, a long with showing off the unique voices that are on offer here. Bravo.

A Sweet Sting of Salt was published on April 9, 2024.

4 stars.

I feel like one of the things I loved most about this book was just ... the VIBES. The cold, damp middle of nowhere by the sea vibes. I didn't really feel all in on the romance until we got to Muirin's story, and something about that really made it click on for me. The pacing was a little slow, but that worked for me, in that I enjoyed the atmospheric vibe of it.