A Sweet Sting of Salt

Today, Rose Sutherland releases her debut novel, A Sweet Sting of Salt. Though I knew little going into this book, I was excited to get an early copy of this book about selkies, sapphic love, and overcoming the dangers of a small fishing community in 1830s Nova Scotia.

Special thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Summary

Jean is the only midwife in her small community in Nova Scotia, and though she lives a fairly isolated life, she’s well aware of everyone around who has a baby on the way. So when a strange woman appears at her home in late November, in labor and moments from giving birth, Jean doesn’t know what to make of her. Jean helps the woman deliver the baby, soon learning her name is Muirin, she’s the mysterious wife of her neighbor Tobias, and that she speaks almost no English. Muirin’s newborn son has webbed fingers and toes, but it’s her husband Tobias that Jean starts to worry about. Is he treating his wife right? Is she in danger? As a forbidden romance develops between her and Muirin, Jean knows she will do anything she can to keep Muirin and the baby safe.

Review

Besides the stunning cover, the first thing that drew me to A Sweet Sting of Salt was its allusions to the Scottish folktale, “The Selkie Wife.” I haven’t read that folktale, but I have heard it referenced in several books over the past few years. I was excited to read this reimagining of the story, now from the perspective of women and with a sapphic love story at its heart.

A Sweet Sting of Salt takes us to Nova Scotia in 1832, where a midwife named Jean will help a stranger, Muirin, deliver her baby one November night. But when Muirin’s husband Tobias comes by to find her, Jean starts noticing red flags right away. Why is Muirin, who speaks basically no English, so uncomfortable around her husband? Why is Tobias so cagey about how he and Muirin got together? And why did he never warn Jean—the only midwife around—that his wife was pregnant?

On the one hand, A Sweet Sting of Salt has a Gothic, eerie vibe that grows stronger as the book progresses. Tobias might seem like a nice guy… but something bad seems to be going on behind closed doors. The middle and later parts of the novel feel as tense as a thriller, propelling the reader forward.

Adding to all that is the hint of magic and mystery throughout. Why was baby Kiel born with webbed hands and feet? What is this unfamiliar language Muirin speaks? What is this secret item she wants back before she can consider leaving her husband?

However, beyond all the suspense and thrills, A Sweet Sting of Salt is also a love story between two women at a time when such relationships weren’t as widely accepted. Jean has history with another local woman, and things ended badly. Jean is terrified to make the same mistakes again, so despite her deepening feelings for Muirin, she’s hesitant to act on them. Of course, Muirin’s increasingly threatening husband only adds to the risk there. I love how Jean and Muirin grow to trust and care for one another, even despite the language barrier and the possible danger they’re in.

I enjoyed the way the story unfolds here, the characters (including side characters like Laurie and the goat, Kicker), and the way everything culminates in a magical ending.

Final Thoughts

A Sweet String of Salt is a beautifully written and atmospheric novel of romance, suspense, and a folktale given new life. This is an arresting debut, and I look forward to reading more from Rose Sutherland.

Get the Book

You can buy A Sweet Sting of Salt here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland
Audience	Adult
Genre	Historical Fiction
Setting	Nova Scotia
Number of Pages	352
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	April 9, 2024
Publisher	Dell

Official Summary

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.”

“Laced with a slow-building sense of Gothic dread, Sutherland’s captivating debut is an intensely beautiful experience you won’t soon forget.”—Paulette Kennedy, author of The Witch of Tin Mountain

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, drenched to the bone in the bitter cold and able to speak barely a word of English.

Although Jean is the only midwife for miles around, she’s at a loss for who this woman is or where she’s from; Jean can only assume that 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 multiply. 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 that 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?