I loved this book so much, I cannot wait for her next book later this year! ( )

i enjoyed this more than expected; surprisingly kept me guessing til the end. ( )

I love original fairy tales. They are so dark and disturbing. I love that people long ago accepted them as perfectly normal, as if eyes plucked out or bloody feet were the least upsetting part of life back then. I also appreciate the trend of fairy tale retellings. In many ways, I imagine changing a well-known story to make it your own requires a very different set of writing skills than writing an original novel. Erin A. Craig's adaptation of the twelve dancing princesses tale is an excellent example of the skill necessary to take a simple story and flesh it out to become grander than it was.

House of Salt and Sorrows is deliciously macabre and twisty. From the start, you know that Ms. Craig has no issues with darkness. The story opens with the family burying yet another family member, having lost one per year for the last five years. Of the twelve daughters, only eight are still alive. Everyone in their sphere believes the family is cursed, and the girls find themselves with no friends and few prospects.

What Ms. Craig does well in House of Salt and Sorrows is create a story wherein you begin to doubt everything you read. Something is causing the run of bad luck in Highmoor Manor, but you don't get answers until the end. Even those answers leave you questioning certain scenes because they play so well into Annaleigh's growing paranoia. The "did she or didn't she" element of the story is creepy, insidious, and masterful.

Of course, House of Salt and Sorrows wouldn't be a fairy tale without a romance subplot. I didn't mind this subplot because it remains firmly secondary to the main plot. There is a bit of instant-love, one of my least favorite tropes, but I look at the romance as a much-needed break from all the horror that occurs. Annaleigh needs a respite and something to give her hope and a reason to keep asking the necessary questions. When considering that viewpoint, the instant-love subplot is not so annoying but rather a necessary evil that does no harm.

House of Salt and Sorrows is not a Disney fairy tale. There is plenty of death, both in the past and viewed directly by the characters, to make squeamish readers uncomfortable. Ms. Craig also includes gods, demons, and one of the most disturbing birthing scenes I've read. All of the horror elements are spectacular.

The sequel to House of Salt and Sorrows releases next month, and I will be reading it with the hope that it is every bit as creepy and dark as the original story. It has big shoes to fill because House of Salt and Sorrows checks all the boxes for gothic horror. Let's hope this sister story does as well! ( )

An interesting retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses that plays with unreliable narration. A story of sisters, suffering through grief, and trying to find a way to live in the shadow of death. ( )

I love this book It had such a good spooky atmosphere. It kept me guessing and wondering what was going on up until the last bit. I didn't see a lot of that coming and I loved the ending so much. The ending just like was such a good wrap up for me personally.
Excellent read, very much enjoyed it! ( )