Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - The Salt Grows Heavy

The vibes and visuals were top notch, but the pretentious writing was a slog to get through. How many complicated and uncommonly used words can be used in one sentence?! I for one had to read close to my computer so that i could have the dictionary ready.

Not to mention that there were many cool concepts in the story that were not explored enough. The mermaids daughters, for example - with their sinister presence only appear at the start of the book and peace out for the rest of it. We should also have gotten much more backstory of the protagonists and the world itself needed more context and structure.
Point is, and terribly sorry to say, this was to short of a book. Honestly still good, but the issues were to glaring.

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allyareads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I'm currently on a horror kick and this book has me obsessed. I haven't stopped thinking about it and already desperately want to reread it. I feel like it may be a story you get something different with each read.

Please I implore you, take your time when reading this. The atmosphere, characters and actually all of the writing is handled with so much deliberate care. Even the most violent or gory scenes (i.e. most of the book) are written so beautifully and delicately. No doubt heavy on the purple prose, but I found once I was in I was in (I also read an Ebook version and we love a quick hold-down thesaurus check).
I’ve always hated the story of the Little Mermaid and this does a fantastic job of exploring the dark suspicions, the various myths and the cyclical nature of storytelling. Getting to hear the story from the monster/victim in their own truth was perfect.
I’m livid it was so short, even with the original short story attached. It may be controversial but I think I might have enjoyed reading the short story before.

But as someone who works as a bookseller, I know it will be divisive. I can tell some people will love this wholeheartedly and others are going to fucking hate it. So I can't recommend this to everyone.
If you don’t like books heavy on vibes, body horror and with big pretentious words, this ain’t your book.
Recommend to fans of tv series Hannibal, the dark elves from the Magicians, dark fairy tale retellings and the people who cheer on the monsters.

If anyone has any simliar books, ~~GIMME!~~ I would love some suggestions please.

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serinalovesreading's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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ctara2123's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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pryingblackbird's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

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carolinamoon's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

Quite possibly the darkest, most gruesome fairy tale inspired story you'll ever read. This was sharp, potent, elite horror writing. And, a love story... there once was a plague doctor of no discernable gender traveling with a mermaid princess through the taiga...
Highly recommend to shake you awake out of your reading slump whether or not you typically read horror. This was simply a well written story with delicious vocabulary words as well as acrid sentences. A terrifying pleasure to read.

(Content warning: harm to children)

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crisscrossedshelves's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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ceruleanseas's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This is a stunning fantasy horror novella. Khaw reimagines a version of The Little Mermaid where the prince wasn't so sweet and spins a tale, not about revenge, but about the aftermath. The mermaid (for lack of a better description or a name) leaves her husband's kingdom in ruins, accompanied by a plague doctor who is more than they seem. I adored the elegant and imaginative prose, and appreciated the complex motivation of characters who are unapologetic about their natures.

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