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A Sweet Sting of Salt: A Novel Audiobook
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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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"Rose Sutherland expertly mingles poignancy with slow-building tension in her gorgeously written sapphic take on the selkie wife folktale. Sutherland does not shy away from the implicit cruelty in the original tale, but leans into while also giving her selkie wife agency and allies: this is a retelling with bite. Filled with fierce, unforgettable characters and sweeping landscapes, A Sweet Sting of Salt is a stunning debut from start to finish. Sutherland is most definitely a writer to watch."
— Molly Greeley, author of Marvelous
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A gorgeous tale of sapphic yearning 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, bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain -
A Sweet Sting of Salt masterfully combines rich historical detail with an atmospheric, poignant romance between two unforgettable women that will sweep readers off their feet. For fans of feminist retellings and queer fairy tales, Sutherland’s debut is a must-read.
— Allison Epstein, author of Let the Dead Bury the Dead -
Rose Sutherland’s debut, A Sweet Sting of Salt, brilliantly weaves the stark atmosphere of coastal nineteenth-century Nova Scotia as a complement to lonely midwife Jean and otherworldly Muirin. Sutherland’s thoughtful prose mirrors the environment, dotted with echoes of Brontëan romantic longing—but with heroines who have the inner strength to determine their own happy endings.
— Maureen Marshall, author of The Paris Affair -
A gorgeous tale of sapphic yearning 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, bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain -
A Sweet Sting of Salt masterfully combines rich historical detail with an atmospheric, poignant romance between two unforgettable women that will sweep readers off their feet. For fans of feminist retellings and queer fairy tales, Sutherland’s debut is a must-read.
— Allison Epstein, author of Let the Dead Bury the Dead -
Rose Sutherland’s debut, A Sweet Sting of Salt, brilliantly weaves the stark atmosphere of coastal nineteenth-century Nova Scotia as a complement to lonely midwife Jean and otherworldly Muirin. Sutherland’s thoughtful prose mirrors the environment, dotted with echoes of Brontëan romantic longing—but with heroines who have the inner strength to determine their own happy endings.
— Maureen Marshall, author of The Paris Affair -
Rose Sutherland expertly mingles poignancy with slow-building tension in her gorgeously written sapphic take on the selkie wife folktale. Sutherland does not shy away from the implicit cruelty in the original tale, but leans into while also giving her selkie wife agency and allies: this is a retelling with bite. Filled with fierce, unforgettable characters and sweeping landscapes, A Sweet Sting of Salt is a stunning debut from start to finish. Sutherland is most definitely a writer to watch.
— Molly Greeley, author of Marvelous -
Sutherland has crafted a modern fairytale as harsh and beautiful as its Nova Scotian setting, melding the gorgeously rendered love story of her heroines with the realities of queer life when such love could rarely be openly expressed. A masterful work, A Sweet Sting of Salt will linger in my imagination as vividly as any bit of ancient folklore, long after the last page.
— Laura R. Samotin, author of The Sins on Their Bones -
Both folkloric and true to life, A Sweet Sting of Salt invites us hearthside for a mesmerizing yarn. Sutherland plunges us into the forbidden desires of nineteenth-century hearts, then rescues us with the deepest kinds of uniting love. Her vibrant depiction of the Nova Scotian shore fills our lungs with salted air and imbues us with a yearning for the sea.
— Gwen Tuinman, author of Unrest -
A stunning work filled with beautifully rendered lore, evocative prose, and heroines whose indelible internal strength and magic make you root for them at every turn.
— Felicia Grossman, author of Marry Me by Midnight -
Filled with fierce, unforgettable characters and sweeping landscapes, A Sweet Sting of Salt is a stunning debut from start to finish. Sutherland is most definitely a writer to watch.
— Molly Greeley, author of Marvelous -
Sutherland’s debut is a moody, tense, queer love story, loosely based on the Scottish folktale ‘The Selkie Wife.’ The intense, passionate connection between Jean and Muirin is breathtaking. Readers who enjoy fiction inspired by fairy tales and folklore will be entranced.
— Booklist, starred review -
Wild and windswept just like its setting, A Sweet Sting of Salt is a subversive, lushly romantic historical retelling of an age-old folktale.
— Olesya Salnikova Gilmore, author of The Witch and the Tsar -
Sutherland’s debut is a moody, tense, queer love story, loosely based on the Scottish folktale ‘The Selkie Wife.’ The intense, passionate connection between Jean and Muirin is breathtaking. . . . Readers who enjoy fiction inspired by fairy tales and folklore will be entranced.
— Booklist, starred review -
A masterful work, A Sweet Sting of Salt will linger in my imagination as vividly as any bit of ancient folklore, long after the last page.
— Laura R. Samotin, author of The Sins on Their Bones -
Fierce and subversive, A Sweet Sting of Salt transforms the old tale of ‘The Selkie Wife’ into an empowering story about two women full of longing—not only for the sea, but also for one another.
— Mary McMyne, author of The Book of Gothel -
Fierce and subversive, A Sweet Sting of Salt transforms the old tale of ‘The Selkie Wife’ into an empowering story about two women full of longing—not only for the sea but also for each other.
— Mary McMyne, author of The Book of Gothel -
Wild and windswept just like its setting, A Sweet Sting of Salt is a subversive, lushly romantic historical retelling of an age-old folktale.
— Olesya Salnikova Gilmore, author of The Witch and the Tsar -
Sutherland’s winning debut, set in 1830s coastal Nova Scotia, creates a cozy queer haven . . . [with a] thrilling climax and satisfying resolution. Fans of folkloric fantasy should check this out.
— Publishers Weekly -
Sutherland’s winning debut, set in 1830s coastal Nova Scotia, creates a cozy queer haven [with a] thrilling climax and satisfying resolution. . . . Fans of folkloric fantasy should check this out.
— Publishers Weekly -
Sutherland’s atmospheric, feminist retelling of the selkie wife folk tale is a mesmerizing debut.
— The Washington Post -
Sutherland’s thoughtful prose mirrors the environment, dotted with echoes of Brontëan romantic longing—but with heroines who have the inner strength to determine their own happy endings.
— Maureen Marshall, author of The Paris Affair -
Sutherland’s debut is a moody, tense, queer love story, loosely based on the Scottish folktale ‘The Selkie Wife.’
— Booklist, starred review -
Lush, atmospheric, and threaded with multiple kinds of magic.
— Paste -
Sutherland plunges us into the forbidden desires of nineteenth-century hearts, then rescues us with the deepest kinds of uniting love. Her vibrant depiction of the Nova Scotian shore fills our lungs with salted air and imbues us with a yearning for the sea.
— Gwen Tuinman, author of Unrest
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About Aven Shore
Joy Osmanski, theater, television, and film actress, is an award-winning audiobook narrator who has won three AudioFile Earphones Awards. She graduated from Principia College with a degree in creative writing and received her MFA from UC San Diego.