The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
allisoncrutch's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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? No
4.5
i haven't read any retellings of fairytales (that i know of) but i really enjoyed this, especially since i've always been interested in mermaids (and vampires) . i did not realize that this book was also a bit of a romance but i do appreciate that aspect, especially in the epilogue. i think that the gore was done so well, i nearly gagged and wanted to cover my eyes because it was so gross. i also really appreciated the use of language in this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
bazzie101's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, and Child death
Minor: Miscarriage
lumie's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
1.5
No 124 pages have ever felt this long. It was a droning, overtly descriptive, pretentious fever dream of repugnant, disgusting gore. I was vaguely nauseous reading through this, and I'm no stranger to horror. But this just felt gory for gore's sake.
Heed the trigger warnings, there's long detailed descriptions of mutilations, and vaguely human things eating children and other vaguely human things, to excruciating vomit-inducing detail.
The only part I enjoy was right by the end. We are sold this book as a dark retelling of the little mermaid, and that is what the final chapter was. And it's short, impactful and tragic in the best way. It also contains a far less excessively descriptive writing style. It almost seemed disconnected, like it was written by someone else. If anything, it would have made more sense to start the book with this chapter, to grip you with its impact.Â
Instead I was sort of both bored and disgusted throughout the first 110 pages, wondering if all the carnage was leading to something. And it was, but to a romance that to me felt flat, as the characters didn't have much chemistry between them.Â
Instead I was sort of both bored and disgusted throughout the first 110 pages, wondering if all the carnage was leading to something. And it was, but to a romance that to me felt flat, as the characters didn't have much chemistry between them.Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Cannibalism, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
alexijai98's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
Saw this book described as having A24 vibes and I 100% agree. One of the most unique things I’ve ever read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, and Body horror
_scvvter's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Considering the fact that I was able to finish this in two days when I'm a notoriously slow reader says a lot. It says even more the fact that the second day was literally when I first woke up in the morning says even more.Â
As I've been trying to get back into the groove of reading again, the two other short novels I picked for easiness has not been the best in my eyes. Started to make me think that I was not the biggest fan of short novels. But this completely changed my tune. A horrifying but exillerating ride from start to finish, Knaw's was able to easily suck me into the world with these character I grew quite found of really quickly. The plot had me on the edge of my seat, well more like bed, waiting to find out what's gonna happen to these characters. I was actually very nervous that the characters would actually not succeed and that was a great feeling to actually have from a novel.
On critique, if you can call it that, is that a lot of words flew over my head while reading this. Looking it up to find a lot of it be medical terms for the body, so be ready for that. And some other tiny things that I got over such asIt seeming like the main character got her toungue, which was cut out a while ago and was slowly growing, growing to normal size and her being able to speak like there was no problem. Â
Overall, absolutely loves this book and can't wait to look for more novels by Cassandra Know
As I've been trying to get back into the groove of reading again, the two other short novels I picked for easiness has not been the best in my eyes. Started to make me think that I was not the biggest fan of short novels. But this completely changed my tune. A horrifying but exillerating ride from start to finish, Knaw's was able to easily suck me into the world with these character I grew quite found of really quickly. The plot had me on the edge of my seat, well more like bed, waiting to find out what's gonna happen to these characters. I was actually very nervous that the characters would actually not succeed and that was a great feeling to actually have from a novel.
On critique, if you can call it that, is that a lot of words flew over my head while reading this. Looking it up to find a lot of it be medical terms for the body, so be ready for that. And some other tiny things that I got over such as
Overall, absolutely loves this book and can't wait to look for more novels by Cassandra Know
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Blood, Gore, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Pregnancy
thegodmachine393's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Violence, and Gore
makenal's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book was extremely different from anything I’ve ever written. It was twisted and gory, but never to an extent that was overdone or felt like it was being written for shock factor. The author used these dark themes to her advantage, to tell the story more thoroughly and to help the reader understand the complexities of the characters. It was a very unique story, and minus the gore, the writing style sort of reminded me of The Alchemist. I thoroughly enjoyed this novella despite the fact that I certainly didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I started it. I would recommend giving it a try, if you don’t mind the gore (:Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism and Gore
ruhlen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
3.5
The most beautifully written gory fairy-tale romance story I've ever listened to.
I'm kind of glad it was so short.
I must admit that I chose to listen to this novella based purely on the cover art and the title. The Salt Grows Heavy is an awesome, intriguing title and the cover art is striking and mysterious. Cassandra Khaw is an interesting writer - I'm still not sure if she is for me. I've read Food of the Gods, so I'm not unfamiliar with Khaw's viscerally graphic style. It did make me uncomfortable listening to it in this book, though.
 The Salt Grows Heavy is a first-person retelling of the mermaid myth. It also includes a Frankenstein-esque tale of man trying to achieve immortality and what reminded me of Lord of the Flies group of children worshiping the trio of immortal "Saints." If you're looking for a deep, dark fairy tale, this is about as deep and as dark as you can get.
Susan Dalian performs the narration of the audiobook beautifully. I would compare this audiobook to Circe or Piranesi for the overall tone it evokes. The prose is poetic and delicate and gorgeous, in stark contrast to what it is describing. Much like my warning for Food of the Gods, do not read or listen to this story during any type of meal.
Overall, I think I would give this more like a 3.5. Did the story and writing make me uncomfortable? Yes. Was it memorable? Yes. Did it add something new to the fairy tale fantasy space? Yes. Was it my kind of story? Undecided. Since it is so short, if you are curious about Cassandra Khaw as an author and what she brings to the genre, I would definitely give this one a try. And I highly recommend the audiobook.Â
I'm kind of glad it was so short.
I must admit that I chose to listen to this novella based purely on the cover art and the title. The Salt Grows Heavy is an awesome, intriguing title and the cover art is striking and mysterious. Cassandra Khaw is an interesting writer - I'm still not sure if she is for me. I've read Food of the Gods, so I'm not unfamiliar with Khaw's viscerally graphic style. It did make me uncomfortable listening to it in this book, though.
 The Salt Grows Heavy is a first-person retelling of the mermaid myth. It also includes a Frankenstein-esque tale of man trying to achieve immortality and what reminded me of Lord of the Flies group of children worshiping the trio of immortal "Saints." If you're looking for a deep, dark fairy tale, this is about as deep and as dark as you can get.
Susan Dalian performs the narration of the audiobook beautifully. I would compare this audiobook to Circe or Piranesi for the overall tone it evokes. The prose is poetic and delicate and gorgeous, in stark contrast to what it is describing. Much like my warning for Food of the Gods, do not read or listen to this story during any type of meal.
Overall, I think I would give this more like a 3.5. Did the story and writing make me uncomfortable? Yes. Was it memorable? Yes. Did it add something new to the fairy tale fantasy space? Yes. Was it my kind of story? Undecided. Since it is so short, if you are curious about Cassandra Khaw as an author and what she brings to the genre, I would definitely give this one a try. And I highly recommend the audiobook.Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child abuse, Child death, Medical trauma, Torture, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Medical content, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Genocide
pbeeandj's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Child abuse, Body horror, Child death, and Gore
moonytoast's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Violence, Murder, Blood, Death, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, and Child death