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Salt & Sinew: A Dark Paranormal Mermaid Shapeshifter Romance
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
September 18, 2026
A bowl of cold oatmeal when I was expecting heavy BDSM spice
I wanted to like this book so badly because the premise had all the ingredients for something fun, dark, and a little unhinged. Siren/merman? Predator instincts? Rope restraint? Mysterious scientist antagonist? I was READY. Unfortunately, the final product was somehow beige from beginning to end.
The writing style was probably my biggest issue. There were constant parenthetical inner monologues and literary/Greek tragedy comparisons that felt oddly inserted and became really repetitive. Instead of adding depth, they kept pulling me out of the story. The plot also felt underdeveloped, especially when it came to the antagonist and the supernatural side of things. I kept waiting for a big reveal, more backstory, higher stakes, literally anything to make it all click, and it just never really happened.
And for a book with BDSM undertones, predator/prey vibes, and an actual supernatural sea man, the romance was shockingly tame. There were several moments where I thought, “Okay, NOW we’re getting somewhere,” and then… nope. Back to oatmeal. I finished it because I’m stubborn and kept hoping it would suddenly pick up, but sadly it stayed confusing, repetitive, and spice-free right through its very last odd word. The concept had potential, but the execution just wasn’t for me.
I wanted to like this book so badly because the premise had all the ingredients for something fun, dark, and a little unhinged. Siren/merman? Predator instincts? Rope restraint? Mysterious scientist antagonist? I was READY. Unfortunately, the final product was somehow beige from beginning to end.
The writing style was probably my biggest issue. There were constant parenthetical inner monologues and literary/Greek tragedy comparisons that felt oddly inserted and became really repetitive. Instead of adding depth, they kept pulling me out of the story. The plot also felt underdeveloped, especially when it came to the antagonist and the supernatural side of things. I kept waiting for a big reveal, more backstory, higher stakes, literally anything to make it all click, and it just never really happened.
And for a book with BDSM undertones, predator/prey vibes, and an actual supernatural sea man, the romance was shockingly tame. There were several moments where I thought, “Okay, NOW we’re getting somewhere,” and then… nope. Back to oatmeal. I finished it because I’m stubborn and kept hoping it would suddenly pick up, but sadly it stayed confusing, repetitive, and spice-free right through its very last odd word. The concept had potential, but the execution just wasn’t for me.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review