Title: House of Salt and Sorrows

 Author: Erin A. Craig

 Genre: YA Fanstasy, Horror

 Published: August 6th 2019

 Series: Standalone

 My rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis

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

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they 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 the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters 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.

My Review

When I first saw this Book, its breath-taking cover made sure I picked it up. Then when I read what it was all about, the blurb surprised (pleasantly) and excited me. I grew up watching the story of the twelve dancing princesses. And while I have come across MANY fairy-tale retellings, they’ve mostly been the conventional fairy-tales like Beauty and the Beast or Snow White, but never this. I knew I had to get it, and I’m glad that I did.

“I think you get to a certain point in life when ghosts are no longer fun. When the people you love die… like my father, your mother and sisters… the thought that they could be trapped here… it’s unbearable, isn’t it? I can’t imagine a worse fate. Unseen, unheard. Surrounded by people who remember you a little less each day.”

– Erin A. Craig, House of Salt and Sorrows

From the very first page, there were ubiquitous undertones of poignancy and intrigue that lasted throughout the novel. I had made assumptions about how the book would end and what the plot twist was, as I do with all other mysteries. But it was only when the author wished to reveal the mystery that I realised I had no real inclination of the real story before that. The closer to the end we got, the more confused I became, until, of course, it was all made clear.

The story follows a family, plagued by a curse that ensures their demise. Not only do they have the curse to be fearful of, but also have to suffer through the hostility of the people around them who believe in the curse. A respite comes in the form of numerous balls and dances that the princesses were all too happy to attend. But even they could ensure happiness for them for only so long.

I loved the characters in the book, especially Annaleigh; She was strong, resilient and very capable of handling herself. And she cared; she cared about her sisters, her friends, her family, even in times when they probably didn’t deserve it. She fought for them the hardest she could, even if that meant putting herself at risk. The development of relationships, as well as individual character development, in the book was great. The pacing, writing, story; I don’t think I thought of a single critique while reading this. Needless to say, this is going in my favourite’s shelf!

Now I know this is bit of a stretch, but I would honestly love for this book to be adapted. I’m always in search of good horror movies but lately, the trend that I’ve been noticing is that “horror movies” means cheap jump scares and gore without any real story. It’s just frame after frame of people gruesomely dying, without making the audience develop any emotional attachment to the characters beforehand – but that just makes their deaths not mean anything to us, right? It barely even qualifies as entertainment. But I think if this book were to be adapted, it would make a killer horror movie; It had enough jump scares to make you want to grab onto something, some gory stuff to make you cringe and a hell of a story to go with it. I felt for the characters so deeply, the fear, the disgust, the happiness.

Although I do know that there is no possible way that a movie would turn out to be as good as the book itself, I’d still love to see it, probably more than once.

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About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Erin A. Craig has always loved telling stories.

After getting her B.F.A. from the University of Michigan, in Theatre Design and Production, she stage managed tragic operas with hunchbacks, séances, and murderous clowns, then decided she wanted to write books that were just as spooky.

An avid reader, decent embroiderer, rabid basketball fan, and collector of typewriters, Erin makes her home in West Michigan with her husband and daughter.

She is represented by Sarah Landis at Sterling Lord Literistic.

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