Reviews with content warning for Body horror - The Salt Grows Heavy

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

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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

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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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pich's review

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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

3.25

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fictionalfelinefanatic's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Short, intense haunting story that jumps right into the dark world of what we would say are mermaids but gies so much deeper. Listening as an audiobook, it's a delight as the author is clearly a wordsmith and able to pull you into this dark and vicious world where no one is safe including children and even.more disturbing still the children are dangerous.

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andibrimi's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.5

i don’t know what the fuck she’s saying, but girl i am living!

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