NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Get swept away by this “haunting” (Bustle) YA novel about twelve beautiful sisters living on an isolated island estate who begin to mysteriously die one by one. This dark and atmospheric fairy tale inspired story is perfect for fans of Yellowjackets.
"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 Craig's Small Favors, a mesmerizing and chilling novel about dark wishes and even darker dreams.
This was different than I expected- in a good way! I mean, to be fair, I never fully know what I am expecting because I rarely make sense, but that's okay. Fine, I thought it was about mermaids or something, shhh. (It isn't, by the by.) It is, however, about an upper-crust family consisting of a bunch of sisters (twelve in all but a whole bunch are dead) who live by the sea and are sure they are cursed. Which tbh, I feel, because how else do you explain all these deaths, goodness!
The sea setting is kind of awesome and atmospheric. To be fair, I could have used a little more worldbuilding, but that is because the worldbuilding we did get was interesting and I wanted to know more stuff! The family is incredibly tight knit, especially after all their losses. The sisters disagree on a lot of stuff, but they love each other so very fiercely. It is kind of how I imagine having sisters would work, really. You might get on each other's nerves, but you love the heck out of one another. That's how this group is, and obviously their terror of losing another one of them adds to both the tension and the love.
There's a mystery at the core of the story. What exactly is happening to the sisters? Is there a curse? Can it be stopped? And hey, what's with all the worn out dancing shoes, anyway? I'd do you a disservice by talking about any of it much more. You'll get an ending that satisfies your answers to all those questions and more. Promise.
Bottom Line: Atmospheric and full of familial love, House of Salt and Sorrows lives up to its name and then some.
