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“A modern sapphic updating of the selkie wife folk tale that’s already scoring with readers”—Parade (A Best Romance and Best LGBTQI+ Book of the Year So Far)
“Lush, atmospheric, and threaded with multiple kinds of magic.”—Paste
AN ELLE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
When a sharp cry wakes Jean in the middle of the night during a terrible tempest, she’s convinced it must have been a dream. But when the cry comes again, Jean ventures outside and is shocked by what she discovers—a young woman in labor, drenched to the bone in the bitter cold and able to speak barely a word of English.
Although Jean is the only midwife for miles around, she’s at a loss for who this woman is or where she’s from; Jean can only assume that she must be the new wife of the neighbor up the road, Tobias. And when Tobias does indeed arrive at her cabin in search of his wife, Muirin, Jean’s questions continue to multiply. Why has he kept his wife’s pregnancy a secret? And why does Muirin’s open demeanor change completely the moment she’s in his presence?
Though Jean learned long ago that she should stay out of other people’s business, her growing concern—and growing feelings—for Muirin mean that she can’t simply set her worries aside. But when the answers she finds are more harrowing than she ever could have imagined, she fears she may have endangered herself, Muirin, and the baby. Will she be able to put things right and save the woman she loves before it’s too late, or will someone have to pay for Jean’s actions with their life?
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
April 9, 2024 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780593594605
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780593594605
- File size: 4496 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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November 1, 2023
On a rainy night in 1830s Nova Scotia, a woman in labor appears on the beach near the home of midwife Jean Langille. The woman, Muirin, does not speak English and wandered over from a neighboring homestead, where she lives with her husband, Tobias Silber. Jean, concerned that Muirin's desire to make her way to the water resembles the postpartum depression that took her mother's life, encourages Tobias to allow Muirin to stay with Jean for a while. Jean soon realizes that Tobias is unusually possessive, and he rapidly turns on both women, forbidding Jean from visiting his wife. Jean devises a plan to rescue Muirin with the assistance of her closest friends. But Muirin refuses to leave without a mysterious item that Tobias has stolen from her and hidden, putting the escape plan--and the women's lives--in jeopardy. Sutherland's breathtaking debut is a moody, tense, queer love story, loosely based on the Scottish folktale ""The Selkie Wife."" The intense, passionate connection between Jean and Muirin is breathtaking, and both women's determination to escape Tobias' cruelty leads to shocking instances of subterfuge. Readers who enjoy fiction inspired by fairy tales and folklore will be entranced.COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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January 29, 2024
Sutherland’s winning debut, set in 1830s coastal Nova Scotia, creates a cozy queer haven in an unforgiving but subtly magical environment. “A spinster midwife at just four and twenty,” Jean Langille sees her solitary life careen in an unexpected direction when she finds a woman in labor on her land in the middle of a stormy night. Jean delivers the baby and learns that the woman, who speaks almost no English, is Muirin, the mysterious wife of a neighboring fisherman. The two quickly become close and Jean resolves to help Muirin escape her troubled marriage. The story’s meticulous attention to detail regarding character and setting is offset by its measured pace, as the reader will have discerned Muirin’s supernatural secret long before ever pragmatic Jean suspects anything out of the ordinary. Still, Jean’s relationships with Muirin and the few other townsfolk she trusts are pleasantly sweet, and the thrilling climax and satisfying resolution are well worth the extended development. Fans of folkloric fantasy should check this out. Agent: Jill Marr, Sandra Dijkstra Literary.
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