Books like 'The Salt Grows Heavy'
Readers who enjoyed The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
fantasy horror urban fantasy dark fantasy mermaids lgbtq dark gothic myths retellings
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The Magnus Archives: Season 3 by Jonathan Sims
Rated: 4.80 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsThe Magnus Archives is a horror audiobook written by Jonathan Sims, directed by Alexander J. Newall and distributed by Rusty Quill. Sims narrates the stories in-character as the main character, Jonathan Sims, the newly-appointed head archivist of the fictional Magnus Institute; an institution based in London centred on research into the paranormal... -
![Call of Cthulhu: Horror Roleplaying by Sandy Petersen, Lynn Willis]()
Call of Cthulhu: Horror Roleplaying by Sandy Petersen, Lynn Willis
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsCALL OF CTHULHU is Chaosium's classic roleplaying game of Lovecraftian horror in which ordinary people are confronted by the terrifying and alien forces of the Cthulhu Mythos. CALL OF CTHULHU uses Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying System, easy to learn and quick to play. This bestseller has won dozens of game-industry awards and is a member of the Academy of Adventure Game Design Hall of Fame... -
![Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff]()
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsFrom holy cup comes holy light;The faithful hands sets world aright.And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight,Mere man shall end this endless night.It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise. For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness... -
![Laughter at the Academy by Seanan McGuire]()
Laughter at the Academy by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsFrom fairy tale forest to gloomy gothic moor, from gleaming epidemiologist’s lab to the sandy shores of Neverland, Seanan McGuire’s short fiction has been surprising, delighting, confusing, and transporting her readers since 2009. Now, for the first time, that fiction has been gathered together in one place, ready to be enjoyed one twisting, tangled tale at a time... -
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![Pigeonwings by Heide Goody, Iain Grant]()
Pigeonwings by Heide Goody, Iain Grant
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAs punishment for his part in an attempted coup in Heaven, the Archangel Michael is banished to Earth. The holiest of the angelic host has to learn to live as a mortal, not an easy job when you’ve got Satan as a next-door neighbour.Michael soon finds that being a good person involves more than helping out at Sunday school and attending church coffee mornings... -
![Immortal Hearts by Ellen Schreiber]()
Immortal Hearts by Ellen Schreiber
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAthena "Stormy" Sterling is coming to Dullsville, and Raven is both excited and panicked in anticipation of Alexander's little sister's visit. Alexander tells Raven that she and his sister have a lot in common, but can the mini-Raven be everything she hopes for? Alexander calls her Stormy for a reason. Stormy's visit stirs up the perfect immortal whirlwind... -
![Bottle Demon by Stephen Blackmoore]()
Bottle Demon by Stephen Blackmoore
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThe sixth book of this dark urban fantasy series follows necromancer Eric Carter through a world of vengeful gods and goddesses, mysterious murders, and restless ghosts.The Necromancer is dead. Long live the Necromancer... -
![The Shotgun Arcana by R.S. Belcher]()
The Shotgun Arcana by R.S. Belcher
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsR. S. Belcher’s debut novel, The Six-Gun Tarot, was enthusiastically greeted by critics and readers, who praised its wildly inventive mixture of dark fantasy, steampunk, and the Wild West. Now Belcher returns to Golgotha, Nevada, a bustling frontier town that hides more than its fair share of unnatural secrets.1870... -
![Fairytales for Wilde Girls by Allyse Near]()
Fairytales for Wilde Girls by Allyse Near
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA deliciously dark bubblegum-gothic fairytale from a stunning new Australian talent.‘He's gone the same way as those little birds that bothered me with their awful songs! And you will too, you and your horrible heart-music, because you won't stay out of my woods!'There's a dead girl in a birdcage in the woods. That's not unusual. Isola Wilde sees a lot of things other people don't... -
![House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland]()
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 63 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Iris Hollow has always been strange. Something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t quite remember but that left each of them with an identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats. Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar... -
![The Hungry Dreaming by Craig Schaefer]()
The Hungry Dreaming by Craig Schaefer
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe discovery of lost letters between Alexander Hamilton and George Washington, describing historical events that never happened, sends shockwaves through the academic world. Meanwhile, a citywide surveillance program is coming to New York on a groundswell of dirty money and dead bodies. To hard-nosed Brooklyn reporter Nell Bluth, the two mysteries couldn't be more different... -
![The Book of the Mad by Tanith Lee]()
The Book of the Mad by Tanith Lee
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn her darkly dazzling finish to The Secret Books of Paradys, Tanith Lee tempts the reader with a tale of horror, lust and madness that leaves no perversity untouched, no taboo unbroken.This time, the seductive nightmare unfolds in three parallel versions of the City—Paradis, Paradys and Paradise... -
![Norylska Groans by Michael R. Fletcher, Clayton W. Snyder]()
Norylska Groans by Michael R. Fletcher, Clayton W. Snyder
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNorylska Groans...with the weight of her crimes. In a city where winter reigns amid the fires of industry and war, soot and snow conspire to conceal centuries of death and deception.Norylska Groans...and the weight of a leaden sky threatens to crush her people. Katyusha Leonova, desperate to restore her family name, takes a job with Norylska's brutal police force... -
![The Ammonite Violin & Others by Caitlín R. Kiernan]()
The Ammonite Violin & Others by Caitlín R. Kiernan
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn Caitlín R. Kiernan's The Ammonite Violin & Others, one of contemporary dark fantasy s most bewitching and distinctive voices is back with another banquet of the weird and unexpected. In his introduction, Jeff VanderMeer (City of Saints and Madmen, Finch) writes, Kiernan creates her own light in this remarkable collection, and shines it on dark places... -
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![Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap]()
Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“Am I dead?”Mebuyen sighs. She was hoping the girl would not ask.Spells and stories, urban legends and immigrant tales: the magic in Isabel Yap’s debut collection jumps right off the page, from the joy in her new novella, 'A Spell for Foolish Hearts' to the terrifying tension of the urban legend 'Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez'... -
![The Revenge of Lord Oda by Nick Lake]()
The Revenge of Lord Oda by Nick Lake
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNow that the vile Lord Oda is dead, Taro and his friends are safe in the mountain lair of the ninjas. Or so they think. When a homing pigeon arrives with news of Taro's mother's whereabouts, Taro sets out for the Tendai monastery - without stopping to consider why the pigeon, which was given to his mother months ago, took so long to arrive... -
![Chapel of Ease by Alex Bledsoe]()
Chapel of Ease by Alex Bledsoe
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe latest installment in Alex Bledsoe's critically-acclaimed Tufa series that Kirkus Reviews calls "powerful, character-driven drama...a sheer delight." (starred review)When Matt Johanssen, a young New York actor, auditions for "Chapel of Ease," an off-Broadway musical, he is instantly charmed by Ray Parrish, the show's writer and composer... -
![Black Heart, Ivory Bones by Ellen Datlow, Brian M. Stableford]()
Black Heart, Ivory Bones by Ellen Datlow, Brian M. Stableford
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHair bright as gold...Lips red as blood...Heart black as sin...Truth sharp as bone.. -
![Skeleton Song by Seanan McGuire]()
Skeleton Song by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsChildren have always disappeared under the right conditions—slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere . . . else. Adventures are always interesting, but they’re not always happy.From the worlds of Wayward Children comes a story of love, of devotion, of bones wrapped in flesh... -
![A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson]()
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsA lyrical and dreamy reimagining of Dracula’s brides, A Dowry of Blood is a story of desire, obsession, and emancipation. Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king... -
![Beneath the Loch by S.D. Simper]()
Beneath the Loch by S.D. Simper
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBeneath the Loch: A Novella: A Dark Lesbian RomanceAs a child, Mairi made a deal with a young fae - a kiss in exchange for gills.Now, betrothed to a man she hardly knows, Mairi is desperate to escape her fate. When she finds that same fae at the river's edge, she's offered a proposal that makes her skin grow cold . . . and her blood run hot.Romance meets horror in this lesbian fairytale... -
![Silver Birch, Blood Moon by Ellen Datlow, Garry Kilworth]()
Silver Birch, Blood Moon by Ellen Datlow, Garry Kilworth
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe four previous volumes in Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling's anthology series of fairly tales retold with a distinctively modern edge have been hailded by reviewers as "brilliant," "provocative," and "disturbing... -
![Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark]()
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsIn America, demons wear white hoods.In 1915, The Birth of a Nation cast a spell across America, swelling the Klan's ranks and drinking deep from the darkest thoughts of white folk. All across the nation they ride, spreading fear and violence among the vulnerable. They plan to bring Hell to Earth. But even Ku Kluxes can die... -
![To Charles Fort, with Love by Caitlín R. Kiernan]()
To Charles Fort, with Love by Caitlín R. Kiernan
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTo Charles Fort, with Love is award-winning fantasist Caitlín R. Kiernan's third collection of short fiction, a haunting parade of the terrible things which may lie beyond the boundaries of science, the minds which may exist beyond psychology, and the forbidden places which will never be located in any orthodox globe... -
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![Nightmare Magazine 37: October 2015. Queers Destroy Horror! Special Issue by Wendy N. Wagner, Chuck Palahniuk]()
Nightmare Magazine 37: October 2015. Queers Destroy Horror! Special Issue by Wendy N. Wagner, Chuck Palahniuk
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNIGHTMARE is an online horror and dark fantasy magazine. In NIGHTMARE's pages, you will find all kinds of horror fiction, from zombie stories and haunted house tales, to visceral psychological horror... -
![Briar Queen by Katherine Harbour]()
Briar Queen by Katherine Harbour
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe dark, moody, and mystical fantasy begun in Thorn Jack, the first novel in the Night and Nothing series, continues in this bewitching follow up--an intriguing blend of Twilight, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alice in Wonderland, and A Midsummer Night's Dream--in which Finn Sullivan discovers that her town, Fair Hollow, borders a dangerous otherworld . . -
![The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales by Angela Slatter]()
The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales by Angela Slatter
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA stunning, emotional and eclectic collection of fantasy and dark tales. These are the stories told to warn children, entertain adults and beguile all... -
![Pan by Francesco Dimitri]()
Pan by Francesco Dimitri
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNelle notti romane ci sono bambini che sognano, e che nel sogno, ogni volta, ripetono il viaggio verso una grande isola che non c'è. Nelle notti romane ci sono ville borghesi illuminate dalla luna piena, e dai loro giardini spesso s'innalzano, non visti, mastodontici galeoni pirata... -
![The Hounds of Avalon by Mark Chadbourn]()
The Hounds of Avalon by Mark Chadbourn
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Hounds of Avalon are coming... For these are the twilight days, when eternal winter falls and the gods destroy themselves in civil war... when an invasion force of ghastly power threatens to eradicate all life. Humanity's last chance lies with two friends, as different as night and day, but bound together by an awesome destiny... -
![The Devil's Backbone by J.L. Murray]()
The Devil's Backbone by J.L. Murray
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“What does Death fear?”Niki has been to Hell and back to find a single shred of something to call a life. As Death, she has very little time to do anything but usher the lost souls to their resting places. But when Lucifer, the reason for her taste of happiness, comes up missing, Niki has to face how she feels about him. And about the prospect of losing him... -
![High Moor by Graeme Reynolds]()
High Moor by Graeme Reynolds
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsWhen John Simpson hears of a bizarre animal attack in his old home town of High Moor, it stirs memories of a long forgotten horror. John knows the truth. A werewolf stalks the town once more, and on the night of the next full moon, the killing will begin again. He should know. He survived a werewolf attack in 1986, during the worst year of his life... -
![In Mercy, Rain by Seanan McGuire]()
In Mercy, Rain by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsJack Wolcott was only twelve years old when she and her twin sister Jill, descended the impossible staircase and found herself in the Moors, a world of drowned gods and repugnant royals... -
![L'Esprit de L'Escalier by Catherynne M. Valente]()
L'Esprit de L'Escalier by Catherynne M. Valente
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the award-winning, bestselling author of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland comes Catherynne M. Valente's dark fantasy tale "L’Esprit de L’Escalier", a Tor.com Original.In this provocative and rich retelling of the Greek myth, Orpheus, the musician son of Apollo and Calliope, successfully rescues his wife Eurydice from Hades after her untimely death... -
![Lord of the Vampires by Jeanne Kalogridis, Elizabeth Jane Miller]()
Lord of the Vampires by Jeanne Kalogridis, Elizabeth Jane Miller
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAfter the death of his half brother, Stefan, at the hands of Vlad Tsepesh--also known as Dracula--and after the destruction of his vampire father, Arkady, also at the hands of Vlad, Abraham van Helsing has traveled the world slaying many vampires... -
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![The Antlered King by Marianne Gordon]()
The Antlered King by Marianne Gordon
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn this stunning conclusion to the Raven’s Trade duology that began with The Gilded Crown, Hellevir’s bargains with Death to save the ones she loves—including the princess she risked everything to bring back to life—may just lead to the ultimate sacrifice... -
![Monstrous by Nicole M. Rubino]()
Monstrous by Nicole M. Rubino
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 5 ratings"I’ve never been afraid of the dark. I never needed any reassurance that there was no monster in my closet or under my bed. Perhaps that’s because a part of me always knew I was one." Monstrous claws weren't the type of gift I’d been expecting for my eighteenth birthday, along with the desire to eat my ex-boyfriend... -
![That Which Should Not Be by Brett J. Talley]()
That Which Should Not Be by Brett J. Talley
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMiskatonic University has a long-whispered reputation of being strongly connected to all things occult and supernatural. From the faculty to the students, the fascination with other-worldly legends and objects runs rampant. So, when Carter Weston’s professor Dr... -
![Saffron and Brimstone: Strange Stories by Elizabeth Hand]()
Saffron and Brimstone: Strange Stories by Elizabeth Hand
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWidely praised and widely read, Elizabeth Hand is regarded as one of America's leading literary fantasists. This new collection (an expansion of the limited-release Bibliomancy, which won the World Fantasy Award in 2005) showcases a wildly inventive author at the height of her powers... -
![The Hollow Gods by A.J. Vrana]()
The Hollow Gods by A.J. Vrana
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA perfect story for contemporary fantasy readers who love their narratives razor-sharp and their secrets dark and deadly. Black Hollow is a town with a dark secret. For centuries, residents have foretold the return of the Dreamwalker—an ominous figure from local folklore said to lure young women into the woods and possess them... -
![Personal Darkness by Tanith Lee]()
Personal Darkness by Tanith Lee
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe sequel to "Dark Dance". The House is destroyed, the Scarabae dead or scattered, and the youngest and most dangerous of them, voracious for destruction, is free. Ruth, a mind as old as evil in the body of a teenage girl, unleashes blood and fire across southern England... -
![Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant]()
Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsWhen the Imagine Network commissioned a documentary on mermaids, to be filmed from the cruise ship Atargatis, they expected what they had always received before: an assortment of eyewitness reports that proved nothing, some footage that proved even less, and the kind of ratings that only came from peddling imaginary creatures to the masses. They didn't expect actual mermaids... -
![Scenting Hallowed Blood by Storm Constantine]()
Scenting Hallowed Blood by Storm Constantine
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Grigori Trilogy #2 The Grigori are an ancient race. Powerful people, possessing abilities and senses humans do not have. They live among us, their presence clear to those who have eyes to see... High Crag on Cornwall's desolate storm-lashed coast is a terrible place with dark secrets. Here the Grigori are preparing for world dominance as the new millennium approaches... -
![Blood Moon by Geoffrey Huntington]()
Blood Moon by Geoffrey Huntington
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe mystery of the Tower at Ravenscliff is at last revealed in the long await continutation of The Ravenscliff Series."The terror begins on page one and never stops! This is my kind of book-filled with magic and dozens of frightening surprises." -R.L. Stine"A rich, riveting and sophisticated read... -
![Vault of Glass by Candace Robinson]()
Vault of Glass by Candace Robinson
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSome see it... Some don't...People in the town of Deer Park, Texas are vanishing. There is a strange museum, known as Quinsey Wolfe's Glass Vault, that appears overnight. Perrie Madeline's best friend and ex-boyfriend are among the missing. Perrie, along with her friend August, go on a pursuit to search for them in the mysterious museum... -
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![Vampyrrhic Rites by Simon Clark]()
Vampyrrhic Rites by Simon Clark
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLazarus Deep is a lake that sits like a blot of darkness in the valley. Eighteen-year-old Dylan Adams is on the verge of leaving his hometown for a life in the city, but his plans are dramatically changed when his old school friend Luke Spencer goes missing. A search finds nothing. All anyone knows is that he was last seen at Lazarus Deep... -
![Unknown Regions by Robert Holdstock]()
Unknown Regions by Robert Holdstock
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA young boy with amazing--and incredibly dangerous--psychokinetic powers is able to travel into the past and, with guidance from a shadowy spirit, return with artifacts of great value. But, unknown to him ir his family, each trip into the past brings him closer to a terrifying fate, a fate that only a psychic investigator may be able to change... -
![Waking the Merrow by Heather Rigney]()
Waking the Merrow by Heather Rigney
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn 1772, angry Rhode Island colonists set fire to a British ship, sparking the American Revolution. Taxation without representation was a motivator. So was the vengeful, man-eating mermaid who had it out for the commanding officer. That was then. This is now. Mermaids, or merrow, still hunt in Narragansett Bay, but these days they keep a lower profile... -
![The Nine by Tracy Townsend]()
The Nine by Tracy Townsend
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn the dark streets of Corma exists a book that writes itself, a book that some would kill for... Black market courier Rowena Downshire is just trying to pay her mother’s freedom from debtor's prison when an urgent and unexpected delivery leads her face to face with a creature out of nightmares. Rowena escapes with her life, but the strange book she was ordered to deliver is stolen... -
![An Encore of Roses by S.T. Gibson]()
An Encore of Roses by S.T. Gibson
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAn Encore of Roses is the A DOWRY OF BLOOD epilogue short story in Alexi’s POV. It was originally sent out in S.T. Gibson's newsletter as a subscriber bonus, and can be read for free on Substack. Content guidance: This is a story about long-distance relationships and ethical nonmonogamy... -
![The House of Binding Thorns by Aliette de Bodard]()
The House of Binding Thorns by Aliette de Bodard
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe multi-award-winning author of The House of Shattered Wings continues her Dominion of the Fallen saga as Paris endures the aftermath of a devastating arcane war....As the city rebuilds from the onslaught of sorcery that nearly destroyed it, the great Houses of Paris, ruled by Fallen angels, still contest one another for control over the capital...
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