Salting the Earth

Layers of the Otherworld #0.7

by Heidi Belleau, Violetta Vane

Ronan's only choice when he suspects his sister has been taken by the fairies is to brave the path between the worlds to bargain for her return. He knows well the old tales and folk magic necessary to open the way, but he is wholly unprepared for what comes after. Because his impetuousness draws the interest of ruthless King Finnbheara, who intends to extract a price for his cooperation that may be too high for Ronan to pay.

Genres: M M Romance, Paranormal, Short Stories, Fae, Fantasy

39 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 22, 2013

About the author

Heidi Belleau was born and raised in small town New Brunswick, graduated with a degree in history from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, and now lives outside of Edmonton, Alberta, with her tradesman husband and two kids. A proud bisexual woman, her writing reflects everything she loves: diverse casts of queer characters, a sense of history and place, equal parts witty and filthy dialogue, the occasional mythological twist, and most of all, love—in all its weird and wonderful forms. She is the author of the REAR ENTRANCE VIDEO series, and the co-author of THE BURNT TOAST B&B. Her latest novel DEAD RINGER, co-authored with Sam Schooler, is out now from Riptide Publishing. Her work has been reviewed in PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY, LIBRARY JOURNAL, and BOOKLIST.

Reviews

[Elizabetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed previously as part of the Like It or Not anthology.

The opening to this story took a bit of puzzle solving to get the lay of the story-land and this is in keeping with these authors -- no spoon feeding and you have to work a bit for your literary supper.

We’re back on the Emerald Isle, same world as their previous The Druid Stone. Ronan’s twin sister Rose is looking a bit rough around the edges and disappears to somewhere every night. Ronan believes that the Sidhe are spiriting her away and using her in their sensual pursuits so he goes searching. He finds the faerie mound and slips into Sidhe-world and that’s when the story kicks into gear as we again meet the king of the faeries, Finnbheara and his court. Seductive Finnbheara played a part previously in ‘Druid Stone’ when he tried to lure two other of Belleau and Vane’s lads to his harem. He sinks his fetching, erm, claws into pretty, confused Ronan who becomes a plaything of Finnbheara’s court in a night of decadent debauchery. Imagine a sex-drug infused ongoing orgy and you’re there. Yum.

[Serena Yates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories, and this is one of them, make the reader work to understand them. As a result, not everyone will get the same out of reading them, so my interpretation might be totally different from the next person's. In fact, I'm pretty sure it is because I feel as if reading about Ronan and the world he gets pulled into just barely scratched the surface. This is both frustrating, because I like definite answers much better than ambiguous ones, and fascinating, because what I did get from reading 'Salting the Earth' was intriguing and scary at the same time. Once you can't be sure what is reality and what isn’t, things become very iffy. I imagine that is precisely what Ronan felt at the end of his adventure, and I commend the authors for managing to make me feel exactly like that as well!

Ronan is having a hard time. He's been to America but had to return to Ireland early (we do find out why – and it's not good). Then his sister is taken by the fairies – or so he thinks. And when he goes after her, thinking he knows what he's doing he finds out he really doesn’t have a clue. The price he is made to pay is high, and doesn’t exactly help him figure out his life. In many ways this is a snapshot of what he goes through, but there is no resolution – at least not that I could see.

If you like ambiguous stories with mindboggling events, if you enjoy reading about orgies where pretty much anything goes and consent isn’t a factor, and if you're looking for a read that will sweep you into a world of fantasy and mind-altering events, leaving you unsure of "what just happened", then you will probably like this short story. It's definitely a wild ride!

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short story set in the world of Layers of the Otherworld series and the only connection is that Cormac makes an appearance once. If you've read The Druid Stone, Cruce de Caminos or Out of the Tombs, Exceedingly Fierce, you know what kind of world it is.

Salting the Earth didn't have the same appeal as other stories. Even if Cruce de Caminos and Out of the Tombs, Exceedingly Fierce are not romantic, there is at least the connection to the characters - Sean in Cruce de Caminos and Cormac in Out of the Tombs, Exceedingly Fierce. There is no such connection to Ronan at all. The highlight of the story is Cormac's appearance.

The ending is great.

[Neyjour]

★★ - Read in Like it or Not

[Thomaidha Papa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Hearts
Review written for MM good book Reviews

Oh My God! What a freaking, creepy, psychedelic read. Loved it!
Yeah, I know there must be something wrong with me, because I simply adore these kinds of books.

Ah, what can I say about this book. Well first of you must really like dub-con stories because Ronan here has gotten himself into some serious trouble. Believing that his sister Rose is forced to serve the fairies and getting up his mind to save her from her fate, he literally barges into the unknown...

Read the rest of the review here.

Thommie

[Jana Downs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a sucker for Fae and Sidhe stories. I enjoyed everything but the ending. This was just a personal preference, not really a "problem" with the writers' choices. I enjoy more definitive endings and we're not given that here.

That being said, the writing style was pleasing, the plot was interesting, and the characters were fascinating. :)

[Dena · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*