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Selkie
- Author
- Nataly Gruender
- Narrator
- Siobhan Waring
- Publisher
- Hachette Audio
- Publish Date
- 12 August 2025
- Run Time
- 10 hours 58 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
From the author of Medusa comes a beautiful and emotional story featuring a selkie: a mythological creature who can turn from a seal into a human.
"Luxurious and moving." —Lauren Kate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fallen series
Seven years ago, Quinn finally dared to transform from a seal into a human and took her first steps on land. As a selkie, she is both a daughter of land and sea. But when a human stole her pelt, he stole her freedom as well, forcing Quinn to become his wife and bear his children. As legend tells, capturing a selkie will bring you luck, and she became a coveted prize.
Constrained to a life that was no longer her own, Quinn longed for nothing more than to find her pelt and seize her freedom. Then one day, her eldest daughter hands Quinn her pelt and without a second thought, Quinn snatches it and escapes to the sea. But she's no longer used to swimming and doesn't know where her herd has gone. And after an almost disastrous encounter with her former husband, leaving her severely injured, Quinn doesn't have the strength to go searching.
Instead, she finds herself taking shelter on a nearby island with a lighthouse and three lighthouse keepers. Quinn doesn't trust humans anymore and wants to stay hidden from the keepers. But she can't survive on her own. Can she learn to trust these humans and shed her hatred of all humankind? Or will she give into her fears and accept the monstrous fate that others have bestowed upon her?
"With Selkie, Nataly Gruender invites her readers on a deep dive into the mystical world of magic and maybe. Quinn's story is a charming tale of identity, second chances, and found family." -Lauren J.A. Bear, author of Mother of Rome
"An enchanting tale about autonomy and trust. Toggling between past and present, Gruender uses mythology to show the best and worst of humanity. The result is sure to please readers looking for folkloric retellings outside of Greek mythology." -Publishers Weekly
Critics Review
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“Selkie is a tale told with compassion, but with ferocity under the surface. Nataly Gruender pulls us out to sea on an unforgettable journey that leaves us asking what it means to be home, and what it means to be free.”—Kate Heartfield, author of The Valkyrie
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"With Selkie, Nataly Gruender invites her readers on a deep dive into the mystical world of magic and maybe. Quinn's story is a charming tale of identity, second chances, and found family."—Lauren J.A. Bear, author of Mother of Rome
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Praise for Medusa-
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“Medusa by Nataly Gruender is a deeply poetic retelling that brings you so close to the character of legend you feel yourself intwined with her. I felt her pain, I railed against the injustices committed against her, and I wept in pride when she turned a power that she feared into something she could claim for her own. It was beautiful and thought provoking. Gruender’s lyrical and metaphoric lines made the seamless connection between a woman of legend to a woman of now. I’ll be thinking about the evocative words for a long time after reading.”—Hannah Nicole Maehrer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Assistant to the Villain
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“Medusa by Nataly Gruender is an imaginative and thought-provoking retelling of the myth of Medusa. Gruender is not afraid to tackle the more challenging aspects of Greek mythology, resulting in a novel that is completely relevant to modern readers.”—Laura Shepperson, author of Phaedra
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"This vivid debut flips the script by transforming Medusa's curse into a source of power so she can meet fate on her own terms. A perfect read for mythology fans.”—A.D. Rhine, author of Horses of Fire and Daughters of Bronze
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"Nataly Gruender’s subject in Medusa is not just the gorgon herself, but the social milieu of the gods, the relationship between mortal and immortal, and that eternal hobgoblin of the Greeks: fate. You might think you already know Medusa’s story, and how it ends, but en route to its destination, Medusa tackles timely subject matter: sisterhood, men in positions of power abusing their privilege, and what it means to be beautiful or ugly in the gaze of others. Gruender accomplishes all of this with gripping sentences that will stop you in your tracks, or turn you to stone."—Phong Nguyen, author of Bronze Drum
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"In MEDUSA, Nataly Gruender offers an evocative and sympathetic voice to one of history's most maligned and misunderstood mythic figures, the feared Gorgon, Medusa. Often dismissed as a vindictive and vengeful monster, in Gruender's hands, Medusa's story is fully told, one of a beautiful mortal woman that became a monstrous immortal legend; born of and victimized by gods, stigmatized by mortals and destined to fulfill a prophecy that is both her curse and her gift; a power that will sustain her rise in the wake of those who seek her fall. With profound dignity, grace and wit, Gruender's MEDUSA is a delightful addition to the pantheon mythic Greek retellings."—Aimee Gibbs, author of The Carnivale of Curiosities
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"Gruender’s ingenious debut brings new life to the story of Medusa. Gruender brings a truly new spin to Medusa’s story, casting her as a tragic but resilient character who seeks to live on her own terms. This holds its own."—Publishers Weekly
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Details
- Author
- Nataly Gruender
- Narrator
- Siobhan Waring
- Duration
- 10 hours 58 minutes
- Release Date
- 12 August 2025
- ISBN
- 9781668649664
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Hachette Audio
- Genre
- Traditional stories, myths and fairy tales, Fantasy, Adventure fiction, Historical fiction, Family life fiction
Synopsis
From the author of Medusa comes a beautiful and emotional story featuring a selkie: a mythological creature who can turn from a seal into a human. "Luxurious and moving." —Lauren Kate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fallen series Seven years ago, Quinn finally dared to transform from a seal into a human and took her first steps on land. As a selkie, she is both a daughter of land and sea. But when a human stole her pelt, he stole her freedom as well, forcing Quinn to become his wife and bear his children. As legend tells, capturing a selkie will bring you luck, and she became a coveted prize. Constrained to a life that was no longer her own, Quinn longed for nothing more than to find her pelt and seize her freedom. Then one day, her eldest daughter hands Quinn her pelt and without a second thought, Quinn snatches it and escapes to the sea. But she's no longer used to swimming and doesn't know where her herd has gone. And after an almost disastrous encounter with her former husband, leaving her severely injured, Quinn doesn't have the strength to go searching. Instead, she finds herself taking shelter on a nearby island with a lighthouse and three lighthouse keepers. Quinn doesn't trust humans anymore and wants to stay hidden from the keepers. But she can't survive on her own. Can she learn to trust these humans and shed her hatred of all humankind? Or will she give into her fears and accept the monstrous fate that others have bestowed upon her?"With Selkie, Nataly Gruender invites her readers on a deep dive into the mystical world of magic and maybe. Quinn's story is a charming tale of identity, second chances, and found family." -Lauren J.A. Bear, author of Mother of Rome"An enchanting tale about autonomy and trust. Toggling between past and present, Gruender uses mythology to show the best and worst of humanity. The result is sure to please readers looking for folkloric retellings outside of Greek mythology." -Publishers Weekly
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