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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Salt Grows Heavy in Books

May 12, 2024  
TS
The Salt Grows Heavy
Cassandra Khaw | 2024
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
94 of 220
Book
The Salt Grows Heavy
By Cassandra Khaw
⭐️⭐️⭐️

After the murder of her husband and the fall of his empire, a mermaid and her plague doctor companion escape into the wilderness. Deep in the woods, they stumble across a village where children hunt each other for sport, sacrificing one of their own at the behest of three surgeons they call "the saints." These saints play god with their magic, harvesting the best bits of the children for themselves and piecing the sacrifices back together again.

To save the children from their fates, the plague doctor must confront their past, and the mermaid must embrace the darkest parts of her true nature.

This was certainly not the story I’m used to reading when it comes to mermaids. This was fully of gore and dark meanings. Some parts are hard to read and not for the context but it’s like a full dictionary has been thrown in and it really put me off. Overall it’s a deeply dark fairytale of mermaids and death. For a small book it packs a punch in places.
  
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Morgan Sheppard (1036 KP) created a post

Apr 22, 2026  
There's something I love about a character who holds a clear vision of the world they want to help build. Harri carries that quality throughout DAFFODILS AND DREAMS. 🦢 He's a man on the threshold of kingship who hasn't lost sight of what matters, and the quest at the heart of this story grows naturally from who he is.

Ffion wasn't expecting to be moved by any of it, and I think that's what I enjoyed most about writing her. She arrives with her own sacred role to fulfil and her own quietly formidable sense of self, and the romance that unfolds between them is all the more tender for being unexpected. 🌿

As a retelling of Little Briar Rose, it carries the familiar shape of the tale, but the heart of it belongs entirely to these two. 💙

The fourth instalment in the Brodyr Alarch series, it continues a journey that began with SEALED WITH A CURSE, and I hope it feels like a worthy chapter in that larger story.

What do you love most about fairytale retellings that take the romance seriously?

#Fantasy #Romance #WelshGods #BrodyrAlarch #FairytaleRetelling #BrothersGrimm
https://books2read.com/DaffodilsAndDreams
      
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Cori June (3033 KP) rated Once Upon a Winter's Night (Faery, #1) in Books

Nov 21, 2021  
OU
Once Upon a Winter's Night (Faery, #1)
Dennis L. McKiernan | 2002 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Makes you think (2 more)
Vocabulary
Riddles
But of a mary sue (1 more)
Sometimes drags
This is a good book based on a Norse fairytale. The main character is a bit of a Mary Sue. But it does have some deep subject matter. I'd file it as a winter book. Makes you think and can challenge some views.
The book can be somewhat draggy, as an epic fiction it's alright and doesn't kill itself in. Purple prose.
It's a good book if you want to expand your vocabulary or have High School assignments that are like "pick a book and write the sentence when it uses a word you don't know." Or was that just my english class? Anyway, I'd say it's good for ages 14 and up if they are tired of the kids section and not ready for the bloody. hardcore adult or too snooty (or hate the love triangles) for the ya fantasy. Its pretty easy to follow so if you want to put your toe in for epic fantasy but aren't sure if you want to start you can start here. It's part of a series but can be read alone.