House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

House of Salt and Sorrows (Sisters of the Salt, #1)

by Erin A. Craig

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Get swept away by this “haunting” (Bustle) novel about twelve beautiful sisters living on an isolated island estate who begin to mysteriously die one by one.

"Step inside a fairy tale." —Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Caraval

In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor with her sisters and their father and stepmother. Once there were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last--the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge--and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.

Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that her sister's deaths were no accidents. The girls have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who--or what--are they really dancing with?

When Annaleigh's involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family--before it claims her next. House of Salt and Sorrows is a spellbinding novel filled with magic and the rustle of gossamer skirts down long, dark hallways. Be careful who you dance with...

And don't miss Erin A. Craig's newest novel, The Thirteenth Child, a haunting and romantic novel about the impossible choices we make in the name of love.

Reviewed by bookishzelda on

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House of Salt and Sorrow is one of those amazing books that you just can’t put down. A retelling of one(I have many) of my favorite Fairy Tales (Another one I would rewatch on Fairytale Theater) the Twelve Dancing Princesses. It takes the story and changes it up into something completely new and exciting.

The one thing I really really liked how about the story is how close the sisters are. They truly love and rely on each other. When we open the story we are at one of the twelve sisters funerals and as the story progresses you start to feel sad that you didn’t get to know the sisters that are missing. Due to the deaths though, the family is considered cursed and the girls find that they are feeling trapped. There is no one that is willing to even dance with them, let alone court them for fear that they will be cursed as well. So the girls decide to find their own way to have fun.

There is also some thriller/mystery parts of the book as well. Which leads me to do my best not to give the plot away because it is good. It keeps you wondering what exactly is going on and when all is revealed you kind of have that. Ahhh moment.

I love Annaleigh and her thirst for truth. She also kind, in the face of not wanting to be kind. Which is where we see a lot of her interactions with her father and her stepmother. It was interesting to see how much interaction we get from them. I also like how she isn’t so easily swayed and does not easily back down. She knows there is more to the story and she will find out. I also really enjoyed Cassius and her interactions with him.

So this book does have Gods. The most prominent in the girl's life is Pontus. He is the creator of the island and the island people. So with that they have a different culture than the mainland. One of the main things being the treatment of heirs and girls. Having twelve daughters was joyous for their father. He didn’t need a boy. There are other Gods and different parts of their world are considered those Gods/Godesses people which is all explained in the story.

I loved the writing style and the pacing. I felt both were perfect for this type of story. I could see how it might feel slower for others though.

I loved House of Salt and Sorrow and you should absolutely pick it up. Especially if you love retellings that use the framework but turn the story into something completely new.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 31 July, 2019: Finished reading
  • 31 July, 2019: Reviewed