House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
Publisher: Delacorte
Publication Date: August 6th, 2019
Rating: 4 Stars
Source: Purchase
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 416
Summary (from Goodreads):
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.
House of Salt and Sorrows is apparently a retelling of Twelve Dancing Princesses. I immediately wanted to say a darker retelling, but I've never heard the tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, so really, how would I know?
Anyway, this story follows Annaleigh after the death of her sister Eulalie, who is the fourth of the 12 sisters to end up dead. But Annaleigh thinks there is something fishy going on and starts trying to figure out if her family is actually cursed or if there is someone out there murdering her family one by one.
With a new stepmother who wants her child to be the heir to the family's seaside manor and an attractive new guy on one of the islands who knows things that he shouldn't, Annaleigh has her hands full trying to figure out what's going on.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There is a large cast of characters, seeing as there are eight living sisters who are all obviously important to the story plus the other characters important to the household and a love interest... There's just a lot of people to keep track of. I personally didn't have too much trouble keeping track of the people that needed to be kept track of.
Like all of the sisters are important characters, but not all of them are so important to the point that you need to be able to distinguish all of them super well. Maybe just what group they're in. Like there's the dead sisters, Camille (the newest heir), Annaleigh, the triplets, and the Graces (which are just the youngest three).
I liked Annaleigh. She is the only one who seems to believe that, rather than her family being cursed, something sinister is afoot. She especially starts to think something is up when she starts to see her dead sisters around. I don't really know what else to say about her, I read this book all in one sitting so maybe some things aren't as clear as they could be.
I liked the romance in this book. I almost thought there was gonna be a love triangle going on here, but there really wasn't. I feel like the romance doesn't really start until kind of late in the book, but that could be because the beginning of the book is really rather slow. Annaleigh and her love interest are so cute together, I absolutely adored it. However, I did feel like it was definitely a bit insta-lovey. But I loved it.
I loved the story and how things went. I thought at several different points that I definitely knew what was going on, but when it was revealed I didn't really know what to think. I feel like, looking back, there were probably enough hints and I probably knew in the back of my mind that this is what was going on, but I was still a bit surprised.
Obviously this book will hit you in the feels at least a little bit. At the start of the book, the Thaumas family is holding their fifth funeral, which is the four sisters and also the mother. And if you think the death stops there, well... you had better think again. This book hurt my feelings.
I really enjoyed this book. If I was going to complain about anything, it would just be that the beginning is slow and it feels like it takes a looong time for things to pick up. It was a perfect book to start my spooky-ish, atmospheric reading list. I think I have seen this book described as a horror fantasy, but it wasn't particularly scary or really fantastical. I think that kind of like a paranormal mystery/thriller would be more accurate.
If you have been on the fence about picking this one up, I would personally recommend it if anything I've said sounds like it could be up your alley.
Also, sorry if my review is atrocious, I still feel SO rusty getting back into writing reviews. I have been going into these reviews with the intention of trying to say a lot with few words, but I am WINDY, my friends.
Have you read this book yet? What did you think of it?
With a new stepmother who wants her child to be the heir to the family's seaside manor and an attractive new guy on one of the islands who knows things that he shouldn't, Annaleigh has her hands full trying to figure out what's going on.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There is a large cast of characters, seeing as there are eight living sisters who are all obviously important to the story plus the other characters important to the household and a love interest... There's just a lot of people to keep track of. I personally didn't have too much trouble keeping track of the people that needed to be kept track of.
Like all of the sisters are important characters, but not all of them are so important to the point that you need to be able to distinguish all of them super well. Maybe just what group they're in. Like there's the dead sisters, Camille (the newest heir), Annaleigh, the triplets, and the Graces (which are just the youngest three).
I liked Annaleigh. She is the only one who seems to believe that, rather than her family being cursed, something sinister is afoot. She especially starts to think something is up when she starts to see her dead sisters around. I don't really know what else to say about her, I read this book all in one sitting so maybe some things aren't as clear as they could be.
I liked the romance in this book. I almost thought there was gonna be a love triangle going on here, but there really wasn't. I feel like the romance doesn't really start until kind of late in the book, but that could be because the beginning of the book is really rather slow. Annaleigh and her love interest are so cute together, I absolutely adored it. However, I did feel like it was definitely a bit insta-lovey. But I loved it.
I loved the story and how things went. I thought at several different points that I definitely knew what was going on, but when it was revealed I didn't really know what to think. I feel like, looking back, there were probably enough hints and I probably knew in the back of my mind that this is what was going on, but I was still a bit surprised.
Obviously this book will hit you in the feels at least a little bit. At the start of the book, the Thaumas family is holding their fifth funeral, which is the four sisters and also the mother. And if you think the death stops there, well... you had better think again. This book hurt my feelings.
I really enjoyed this book. If I was going to complain about anything, it would just be that the beginning is slow and it feels like it takes a looong time for things to pick up. It was a perfect book to start my spooky-ish, atmospheric reading list. I think I have seen this book described as a horror fantasy, but it wasn't particularly scary or really fantastical. I think that kind of like a paranormal mystery/thriller would be more accurate.
If you have been on the fence about picking this one up, I would personally recommend it if anything I've said sounds like it could be up your alley.
Also, sorry if my review is atrocious, I still feel SO rusty getting back into writing reviews. I have been going into these reviews with the intention of trying to say a lot with few words, but I am WINDY, my friends.
Have you read this book yet? What did you think of it?
No comments:
Post a Comment