Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Salt Grows Heavy

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

183 reviews

casandwa's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.25

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gothic_moss's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

I really loved this story. It's characters were strangely endearing, and the fairy-tale esc horror was quite simply, delicious. A lot of people critique this book's prose, and admittedly, it is not for everyone. If you do not enjoy graphic, often lengthy descriptions, this book may annoy you. I however, am an absolute fiend for over-explanation, and for 'flowery' prose. This writing style especially shone in Chapter 4, which broke my heart.

I would recommend reading this book if you:
-can tolerate gore/graphic descriptions of it
-liked the dark Grimm stories better than their retellings
-love casual Non-binary rep, especially as a mysterious plague doctor
-found the black plague intriguing

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jemmers's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

Gothic, deeply romantic, queer retelling of the classic mermaid myth. Quick read.

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sofiadanielle's review against another edition

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dark tense

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

Almost docked it to a 3.5, honestly. However!!! Though I think the first 30 pages makes the story framework difficult to understand, I very much enjoyed the last 30 pages.

A critique I will stand by, though, is the use of overly complex, “flowery” language. While I do believe that this type of writing helped in creating that uneasy horror-esque feeling, I would’ve enjoyed the story written in a plainer way.

Feels very fever dream-like (said positively, towards the end.) Quite unique, and I adore the epilogue.

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hendrixpants's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

4.0

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abyjo's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

The writing *chef kiss* It's a short story, so if you need a horror retailing similar to "Thornhedge" by T. Kingfisher, this book is in the same alley.

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rhall_13's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

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valodniece's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Daaaaaamn. I'm not sure if Khaw intended this to be a criticism of the Russian state throughout all of its incarnations (imperial, communist, modern), but it certainly is. Set in the taiga, worshiping those who hurt you and cannibalize you and the belief that they will still somehow lift you up but never do... on the surface, sure, it is a dark and cannibalistic Little Mermaid retelling, told through the looking glass inspired by Lord of the Flies, but it really reads as more than that. Excellent work by Cassandra Khaw, and I will definitely be reading more of their work.

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ccrtb's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

Very interesting and gory spin on The Little Mermaid tale, though it has more to do with the happy-ever-after. Honestly could not guess where the plot was going to go so the horrors of the narrative were unique and surprising. Can’t fully explain why I liked this one. I just enjoyed it.

The writing is beautiful, but a little too embellished at times. It took me a few pages to feel like I understood what was going on because I was only three sentences in when I had already encountered two words I had no idea existed.

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magnetarmadda's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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