2026/003: The Salt Bind — Rebecca Ferrier

"Does your family know what you are? Born with too much salt, fey-blooded, siren-bound..." [loc. 2616]

Kensa lives in the Cornish fishing village of Portscatho, with her mother, her stepfather and her half-sister Elowen. Her father was hanged for smuggling, and she crept up onto the gallows to steal a hagstone from his pocket: that and her red hair (and the stubborn temper to go with it) are all the legacy he left. One night, a sea monster washes up on the shore, and Kensa and Elowen go to see. Kensa claims to have been the first there, and so she becomes apprentice to the local wise woman, Isolde. From her, Kensa learns about the Pact between Land and Sea, and the Bucka, a sea god also known as the Father of Storms. Isolde also attempts to teach Kensa that there are limits to the Old Ways: that wisdom is as important as witchery. But when Elowen sickens, and none of Isolde's potions can help, Kensa is determined to save her sister -- whatever the cost.

The first half of the novel is a gentle, and rather slow, historical fantasy. Kensa isn't an especially likeable character but she is determined, confident and heedless. Isolde, a fascinating character in her own right (and neither gentle nor slow), gives as good as she gets: she and Kensa become fond of one another. But then there's a sudden change, a sea-change, and the gentle fantasy develops into gory horror. The pacing picks up to match it, and the second half of The Salt Bind is full-tilt adventure.

I liked the setting -- 18th-century rural Cornwall, more or less untouched by the Enlightenment -- and was happy that the romantic subplot was secondary to Kensa's journey from lonely, angry child to responsible young woman. For me, the change of pace and tone midway through was too abrupt, and the final chapter -- a return to a sort of peace, and the introduction of new characters -- rather facile.

There's some lovely evocative writing here: stormy seas, half-ruined cottages, the carnage of the pilchard catch. And Ferrier definitely has an eye for detail, and an ear for dialogue. I look forward to reading her next novel.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance review copy, in exchange for this full honest review. UK Publication Date is 22 JAN 2026.