Not So Well Read | A Sweet Sting of Salt: A Novel

A Sweet Sting of Salt: A Novel

Rose Sutherland

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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?

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Posts about this title from Not So Well Read

Not So Well Read\ \ Courtney\ \ • Jan 10 2025

Mermaids, sirens, and selkies

Current literary obsession: mermaids, sirens, and selkies.

Not sure why, but I’ve recently become obsessed with stories about women and the sea. I’ve read a few books on these topics in the past, but have been really enjoying diving into some of the newer ones that have come out over the past few years. I’m about 60% of the way through Emilia Hart’s newest (out 4.1.25) and it’s definitely scratching that itch. I cannot put it down.

Have you read any books about these myths? What were your favorites?

10 books

Not So Well Read\ \ Courtney\ \ • Jan 5 2025

[Hi friends! Two posts from me in one day? What is this madness? Is this truly a new year, new me situation? In order to keep myself accountable for posting, I'm hoping to do these weekly wrap ups where I can chat random topics in the book world, book news, and–of course–talk about what I have been reading.\ \ These will be lowkey and I hope to post them every Sunday. Keep me accountable friends! I'll also be posting prompts in the discord for you all to chime in on in the Discord. Yes, I am reviving the Discord from the grave.\ \ Now enough rambling, let's get to the meat of this thing.\ \ This week in the book world: \ \ There's no way I can write this post without talking about the Fable/Gen AI scandal, because woof. In case you missed it, popular reading/book club app Fable came under some very-deserved fire when multiple users encountered reader racist/bigoted reader summaries. This was first brought to my attention by Tiana's Lit Talk on Threads, but then several other readers began posting other screenshots. Fable initially posted this very lack luster apology where they basically said "we're a small baby and are experimenting with gen-AI, don't be mad at us pls".\ \ This is when I learned that most folks don't actually know that Fable is actually a large Silicon Valley startup owned by a literal billlionaire. I won't go into detail more on that again, but if you want to read my threads write-up, you can do so here. Readers and users continued to push back on Fable, starting in no unclear terms that they do not want AI anywhere near their reading apps and in a, frankly shocking, turn of events Fable posted another apology and announced that they are removing all AI features from the app. Score one for reader? Eh. Maybe not. We shall see.\ \ I personally have decided to wait until after their townhall happening tomorrow evening (1/6) to decide whether or not I will continue to use the app. If they lay out a plan that feels adequate and is endorsed by those directly harmed, then I have no problem continuing to use the platform with the renewed hope that maybe people actually can change?\ \ This week's new releases/publishing news: \ \ We're still in the post-holiday publishing slump, so there really wasn't anything that came out this week, nor were there any particulary exciting deal alerts. Things pick up starting next week with some insanely good weeks coming towards the end of the month.\ \ What I read this week: \ \ The Bear and the Nightingale (Finished)\ \ I finished my first read of the year and, honestly, what a wonderful way to start. This was our first Mostly Fantasy Book Club pick and I loved it. I know this is not a new take, so forgive me for being so late to the party. I will be getting book 2, but I thought the ending of this one was so satisfying that I'll probably let it sit for a bit.\ \ Immortal Dark (70%)\ \ This is my current audiobook pick and, holy shit, this is DARK. I am really, really loving it, because vampires are my favorite, but I was not expecting it to be quite as dark. It's also surprisingly steamy, which makes me curious about the decision to publish it as YA. Please don't come for me about how it's okay for YA books to have sex, because I agree with you, I just think this could have easily been packaged as an adult romantasy with college-aged characters (i.e. Alex Stern series). Because I'm not going to lie, there's been a few moments that have made me blush...\ \ Fagin the Thief (6%)\ \ I have to finish this book tonight, so I can blurb it for Indie Next, because I procrastinated big time. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.\ \ What I bought/shelved this week: \ \ A Sweet Sting of Salt\ \ I'm sorry, but no one told me this was a sapphic retelling for the Selkie myth!!!\ \ Beyond the Aching Door\ \ This author did an excellent job with the marketing in this thread. Instantly added this one to my TBR.\ \ Other musings: \ \ If you got this far, thanks so much for reading! A few additional reminders:\ \

Join the Discord! I know it's not super active right now, but I may be transitioning book club to there in the future.\
Become a paid subscriber! Friends, I love chatting books on the internet, but this does take a lot of work. So, if you are in a financial state where you can spare a few $$ a month, you can help me continue to produce content and also afford to buy a coffee made by a barista.](https://notsowellread.binderybooks.com/item/XGj5n8G8vTI6ticlA928/)

Weekly Wrap Up – 12.30.24-01.05.24

5 books

Not So Well Read\ \ Courtney\ \ • Apr 16 2024

Current Wishlist

Working in a bookstore is financially dangerous work, but someone has to do it. Here’s a handful of books on Underbrush’s shelves that I want on mine.

Have you read any of these yet?

#bookcovers #newreleasebooks #booksbooksbooks #whatshouldireadnext

9 books

Not So Well Read\ \ Courtney\ \ • Mar 31 2024

April Most Anticipated

As we look towards April, I wanted to highlight some of my most anticipated releases for April 2024! Some of these I’ve read already and loved, some of these I’m dying to get my hands on.

What books are you looking forward to this month?

12 books

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