Scan barcode
A review by woodslesbian
A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is the lesbian selkie book of my dreams, as a lesbian who LOVES selkies and has always been fascinated with the selkie wife folktale. While usually I'm very picky, the sapphic-selkie historical fantasy of this one, with its quaint, isolated setting, had me hooked, especially with the relatively slow build of the romance. Seriously, this book just worked for me--some of the reasons it didn't click for other reviewers I can absolutely understand, but personally I was just 100% along for the ride and had a great time!
I loved the descriptive, isolated setting and the focus on the natural world, along with the descriptions of midwifery, daily life, and cheese making at this time, as a fan of relatively dense historical fiction. I found the descriptions to be vivid and beautiful all throughout and felt that they really created a strong atmosphere, both of warmth between Jean and Muirin and of dread with the way Muirin is isolated with her husband. The relationship really had me giggling and kicking my feet!!! It perhaps could've been developed a bit more, but I was personally convinced of the characters' bond and really enjoyed all of their interactions! I also loved Jean's connections with the people around her, especially her mentor and her brother-figure, which just made the town feel so lively. The sense of danger created by Tobias and his control over Muirin, on the other hand, was palpable and had me speed-reading through the latter half of the book. Others have mentioned feeling that the 'reveal' (it's on the back of the book) of Muirin being a selkie is held off for too long, but the dramatic irony of recognizing all the seal-like things Muirin does while Jean is baffled by them really worked for me! On that note, I loved the way the author explored some worldbuilding around the selkies, like the webbed fingers and growing faster than other children, that's the sort of detail I love. This was just a fun, romantic read for me about a premise that I've been desperate for!
I will say, the back of the book and the premise may set some readers up for a more serious tale and a different atmosphere than this book really contains. While I personally felt a lot of tension around Tobias and the way he is really clearly controlling his wife, this is a lighter book overall, which focuses more on warmth and connection rather than a more sinister, gothic atmosphere (as much as I adore the gothic). The same is true for the book's handling of homophobia; it's something the protagonist struggles with, but not thoroughly, and not in a way realistic to the actual time and place. I didn't mind this--as much as I love deep, historically-grounded examinations of sexuality and gender, sometimes I DO just want the lesbians to win! Especially as the book's primary focus was on the romance itself over the conflict I think. The same is true for the historical fiction. Again, it's more about making cheese and creating atmosphere than being super grounded in history and major events. All of this worked well for me, but any readers going into this book should expect a romance-first, lighter read over all.
I loved this book. I need to walk around and think about selkies for awhile now!
I loved the descriptive, isolated setting and the focus on the natural world, along with the descriptions of midwifery, daily life, and cheese making at this time, as a fan of relatively dense historical fiction. I found the descriptions to be vivid and beautiful all throughout and felt that they really created a strong atmosphere, both of warmth between Jean and Muirin and of dread with the way Muirin is isolated with her husband. The relationship really had me giggling and kicking my feet!!! It perhaps could've been developed a bit more, but I was personally convinced of the characters' bond and really enjoyed all of their interactions! I also loved Jean's connections with the people around her, especially her mentor and her brother-figure, which just made the town feel so lively. The sense of danger created by Tobias and his control over Muirin, on the other hand, was palpable and had me speed-reading through the latter half of the book. Others have mentioned feeling that the 'reveal' (it's on the back of the book) of Muirin being a selkie is held off for too long, but the dramatic irony of recognizing all the seal-like things Muirin does while Jean is baffled by them really worked for me! On that note, I loved the way the author explored some worldbuilding around the selkies, like the webbed fingers and growing faster than other children, that's the sort of detail I love. This was just a fun, romantic read for me about a premise that I've been desperate for!
I will say, the back of the book and the premise may set some readers up for a more serious tale and a different atmosphere than this book really contains. While I personally felt a lot of tension around Tobias and the way he is really clearly controlling his wife, this is a lighter book overall, which focuses more on warmth and connection rather than a more sinister, gothic atmosphere (as much as I adore the gothic). The same is true for the book's handling of homophobia; it's something the protagonist struggles with, but not thoroughly, and not in a way realistic to the actual time and place. I didn't mind this--as much as I love deep, historically-grounded examinations of sexuality and gender, sometimes I DO just want the lesbians to win! Especially as the book's primary focus was on the romance itself over the conflict I think. The same is true for the historical fiction. Again, it's more about making cheese and creating atmosphere than being super grounded in history and major events. All of this worked well for me, but any readers going into this book should expect a romance-first, lighter read over all.
I loved this book. I need to walk around and think about selkies for awhile now!