Salt of My Blood by Jae Mazer
Lærke is a gentle soul whose heart belongs to the sea.
Born in the town of Ringkøbing, Denmark, Lærke spends her days breathing ocean air, dipping her toes in the frigid waters of the North Sea, and dreaming of life beneath the waves. And from the dark, deep waters, a friend emerges, one that Lærke holds more dear than anything in the world.
Harald is a hateful, greedy boy with a craving for pain. He grows up to be a loathsome pirate who sails the North Sea, leaving waves of suffering in his wake. But when he crosses paths with Lærke, his world becomes a torrent of unfathomable horror.
THE SALT OF MY BLOOD is a novella filled with love and loss, pleasure and pain, creatures and pirates, and the violent squall when all collide.
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United StatesTenticles, Pirates OH MY
Have you ever read a book that scratched an itch you had no clue was itching? Well, Fleshbags, let me introduce you to Jae Mazer. .5/5 So where do I start. Tentacles - Check Pirates - Check Folklore - Check Bloody - Check I kind of stumbled upon this author and I'm beyond thankful that I did. First, this author has an amazing way with words. There are very few authors that I've read that just have an eloquence to there style that is . She is one of them. Second, I couldn't finish this book fast enough. Its a shorter piece of work, but it is captivating from beginning to end. I did feel a slight time warp detracted a bit from the story, but that could just be me wanting more. Hence the half star. We are introduced to our main female character Lærke and her love for the ocean right from the start. Her story is filled with heartache, turmoil and death. All of which culminate into a fantastic story of love, birth and power. Did I mention tenticles? I won't delve deeper, but its fair to say this is a must read for you pirate loving scallywags, but not in the traditional sense that is romanticised on TV. Pirates are dirty, disgusting and riddled with disease as has been told through history. Jae captures that very precisely.
United StatesMyth Meets Misogyny
Jae Mazer’s Salt Of My Blood is a tale of two vastly different characters, revealed through snapshot windows into their respective lives as we wait for what we’re sure will be a tumultuous meeting when the two come together. From childhood through the setbacks and disappointments of adult life, we witness the two characters grow and evolve along separate paths. Living in post-war Denmark, Lærke and Harald are deeply tied to the treacherous North Sea, but their relationships with the water are as distinctly different as their personalities. Lærke’s lifelong love of the sea transforms into something far more peculiar–equally disturbing and beautiful in the way Mazer tackles a fascinating taboo–when she discovers her only true friend where the sand meets the sea. Harald’s love of the sea is deeply tethered to his cruel and predatory nature, and piracy becomes his sole passion. When their two worlds collide, it is truly captivating; a spectacle sure to feel like a reward to the reader. Mazer addresses heavy topics in this modern-day fairy tale; sexual assault, mistreatment of women, the antiquated concept of the wife’s role within marriage, and the misogyny that underpins all of those things.
United StatesGorgeous!
What an absolutely beautiful nautical folk horror story. This was my first time reading Mazer's work and I'm thoroughly entranced with the gorgeously built world and characters. I actually found myself liking the character of Harald, and empathizing with him. The strange love story between Lærke and Knut Kåre was sweet and I wanted them to be together forever.