A Sweet Sting of Salt

A Novel

Author  Rose Sutherland
A Sweet Sting of Salt

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 KOBO EMERGING WRITER PRIZE

When a young woman in 19th century Nova Scotia uncovers a magical secret about her neighbour, she’ll have to fight to keep the truth—and the woman she loves—safe in this stunning queer reimagining of the classic folktale The Selkie Wife.

When a sharp cry wakes Jean, the sole midwife in Barquer’s Bay, Nova Scotia, in the middle of the night, she’s convinced it must have been a dream. But when the cry comes again, Jean ventures outside during a terrible tempest and is shocked by what she discovers—a young woman in labour, barely able to speak a word of English. Jean can only assume she must be Muirin, the new wife of her…