Disclaimer: I bought my own copy times 3 and had a Netgalley arc. Yay me! All opinions are my own.

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Publication Date: August 6, 2019

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (some violence, some gore, some slight sexual content, romance, and death of young girls)

Publisher: Delacorte

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.

Review: Oh my god, this book was AMAZING. The story and writing just drew me in immediately. The writing was almost poetic in how it told the story. The characters were all well developed and kudos to the author for making each girl have a distinct personality. The book was also dark and mysterious and it was a great read overall!

However, I do have some lingering questions about the book that I feel should be addressed. Sequel? Side-story?

Verdict: One of the best books of 2019!

I did not want this book to end. I really enjoy reading this and is one of my most anticipated reads of this year. This is a retelling of the 12 princess. We follow our main character Annaleigh who is the 6th out of 12 sisters. Really enjoy her character and also really enjoyed this family oriented book. Love how these sisters has this amazing bond with each other. This book has a reasonable amount of deaths and did not want another character to die. What an incredible story and can't wait to read more from this author.

I was sent an eArc of this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Book Review
4 stars
I'm not a big fan of retellings but this book made me change my mind. I have never heard of a 12 Dancing Princesses retelling until I found this book. It is so good! Its really creepy & atmospheric & it really pulls you in. I did get confused a couple of times due to so many characters but I didn't mind as they are all relevant to the story. I really enjoyed the different characters & their parts in the story. I enjoyed their growth & thought their development was well done. The plot is twisted & full of twists & turns I didn't expect. I was craving something creepy & my craving was definitely satisfied with this book. I don't recommend reading it in the dark unless you have good nerve! I recommend this book if you are looking for a super creepy & atmospheric thriller but also I recommend it in general. I absolutely loved it & its a new favorite!

DNF at 50%.

This one is just not working for me. I’ve went this far waiting to see what the hype was about and just not seeing it at all. Then I’m having to start forcing myself to read it, so I decided to look at some spoilery reviews to see if it’s worth continuing, and ask some trusted reader friends...I’ve decided to just stop. It doesn’t sound like it gets any better.

The issues I’ve had so far is that the characters have zero personality, so I’m not connecting with them in anyway. The world has zero world building. I’m assuming there is some mythology/gods situation happening but this far in and all I can really tell you about them are their names. There is a plot but it’s all over the place. Sometimes I even feel like there is a web of storylines happening for the plot.

I don’t know. Just seems a hot mess.

There were a lot of things I liked about this book. It didn’t shy away from some graphic and Gothic details that made this retelling of the Grimm fairy tale Twelve Dancing Princesses grittier and suspenseful than the original. It was a genuinely good book, especially for it's target audience. It's writing was atmospherics. I felt chills in certain points and twists. It dives into topics in a way that isn't heavy handed and I can see a lot of of discussions happening because of it.

But to me, it was slower than I would have liked, especially in the middle portion. The beginning hooked me and the ending? Great. But the middle dragged and I know that is just the way more Gothic novels are and I can respect that, just as the moment of reading this I was not having it.

Again, I think that this is a great novel and if you're looking for a spooky fall read to recommend to your patrons, older teens, and even the YA lover in all of us this is a great book..

Annaleigh lives in her father's manor by the sea. Highmoor used to be a happy place. But since the death of her mother and four of her sisters, there is talk of an evil curse targeting her family. There was once 12 sisters....now only 8 remain. When Annaleigh starts having visions about the deaths not being accidents, she starts to realize there is something sinister at work.

I loved this story! Creepy, disturbing yet mesmerizing! Great read! I couldn't put the book down. I ended up reading until the wee hours of the morning because I had to know the ending! So glad I did. This was the best YA fantasy book I've read in quite awhile! Erin Craig is a talented storyteller! The ending wasn't a total surprise...but there were still many twists and turns in the tale.

House of Salt and Sorrows is Erin Craig's first book. I can't wait to read more by this author! The cover art is fantastic!!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Random House via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Mesmerizing cover and enchanting story!
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig is a young adult fantasy full of tragedy.
A large family, living in an estate by the sea, continues to lose family members. Several sisters and their mother die from a variety of causes. Verity, one of Annaleigh’s younger sisters, sees the deceased siblings as ghosts, who are injured according to how they died. Verity sketches what she sees but doesn’t seem frightened by the injured ghosts. Annaleigh is adamant that someone killed Eulalie because suspicion surrounds her death. On and on this tragedy continues and the sisters become confused about what’s really happened and what are illusions. The sisters love each other and have been close so the losses are tearing them apart. Annaleigh learns about a Trickster who causes chaos and she tries to figure out who called the Trickster and made a selfish deal, ending in ripping their family into pieces. Full of fantasy and mystery, this book weaves a beautifully written tale of enchantment, 5 stars!

‘House of Salt and Sorrows’ puts the “grim” into Grimm’s fairy tale retelling

Erin A. Craig’s ‘House of Salt and Sorrows’ is an even darker retelling than Grimm’s original tale of the ‘12 Dancing Princesses’ and we’re 100% here for it. (minor spoilers within)


’House of Salt and Sorrows combines ‘The 12 Dancing Princesses’ and gothic romance<

The classic fairy tale he 12 Dancing Princesses, which was sometimes also called The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes, was originally published by the Brothers Grimm but has been retold time and time again throughout history. House of Salt and Sorrows is the newest, and we can’t stop thinking about it.

What makes House of Salt and Sorrows stand out? For one, retelling mixes the dark and shocking Grimm’s fairy tale version with that of a gothic romance. The imagery conjured by debut author Erin A. Craig is nothing short of haunting and mesmerizing.

The world building surrounding an isolated island where their faith revolves gods of the sea and returning to said sea upon their deaths is as creepy as you can imagine it being. The book starts with a funeral, where we find out that, unlike the original fairy tale, there aren’t going to be twelve dancing princesses, because Annaleigh’s family has been devastated time and time again by her sisters dying one by one.

News of her step mother’s pregnancy brings Annaleigh out of her life of perpetual mourning and into a life where she and her sisters are allowed to wear colors other than black and attend balls for the first time in years. Not everything is as it seems, though, as Annaleigh begins to suspect that her sister’s death was not an accident, but that she was murdered.

This sets up House of Salt and Sorrows as a gothic romance perfectly. Gothic romance as a genre has specific criteria that has to be met, that is so rarely utilized in media in recent years. Haunting and addicting, I hope that House of Salt and Sorrows is the first book of a resurgence of the genre.

After the success of Crimson Peak in 2015, which absolutely terrified me in the best way possible, it’s no wonder I compared it to <em>House of Salt and Sorrow</em> every step of the way.

What makes ‘House of Salt and Sorrows’ a gothic romance?

House of Salt and Sorrows is set in a “haunted” house, or rather, it’s said to be cursed. Highmoor is on a craggy cliff, overlooking an unkind sea with jagged rocks and crashing waves. It’s picturesque, if you’re looking to get murdered. The setting of gothic romances are usually set in a seemingly haunted house or castle. Highmoor gave me major Crimson Peak vibes… in other words: if this house was real I wouldn’t go near it to save my life!

The atmosphere of House of Salt and Sorrows fits gothic romance as well, with creepy family portraits, eerie descriptions of burial vaults, along with haunting imagery throughout keeps the reader in suspense with every turn of the page. The weather is terrible the entirety of the book, with storms, fog, and other atmospheric and perfectly timed phenomenon such as howling winds and eerie noises that can’t be explained.

All gothic romance has a damsel in distress, and Annaleigh fits the stereotype perfectly. So many terrible things have happened to hear and her family that she starts second guessing what she believes to be true, and her descent is terrifying on its own, and captivating to read.

Paired with the damsel in distress trope is the disturbing dreams that run rampant in gothic romance and literature. Annaleigh’s dreams and the superstitions surrounding her family and their supposed curse fits perfectly into the gothic mold.

Ghosts and monsters play a huge part in gothic romance, and House of Salt and Sorrows has them in the most unique of ways that I wasn’t expecting. The genre of gothic romance may be hundreds of years old, but this book kept me on my toes the entire time.

The heightened sense of drama from the unexplained deaths, inner torments, and gas-lighting adds melodrama to the book that fits the themes and atmosphere where death plays a major part.


Sometimes cliche is exactly what is both needed and wanted.

We’re at a point where we are told time and time again that cliche’s are overdone, that stereotypes are bad and how books should be unique, but there is a reason we reach for retellings and stereotypes: we crave a good cliche.

Gothic romance is full of cliches and stereotypes, and we love it. We love being scared, of the unknown where there is a haunted house and murder, where you’re not sure what’s real and whats not. Not everything we read and watch needs to be subversive all of the time.

There is something freeing in reading something with common cliches, where the wind will howl at the perfect point, lightning will strike exactly when it should. What would <em>Frankenstein</em> be without the famous “he’s alive” moment, or in <em>Crimson Peak</em> when everything falls into place eerily and perfectly. Gothic horror and romance are built upon these stereotypes, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good.

House of Salt and Sorrowsis beautifully haunting, and Erin A. Craig’s usage of gothic imagery and elements only adds to the Brothers Grimm’s story of he 12 Dancing Princesses, making it unique and breathtakingly haunting.

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig is a young adult fantasy that is a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses by the Brothers Grimm originally published in 1812. Now everyone is of course familiar with the more known Cinderella or Peter Pan stories so those are easy to compare when reading so when going into a more obscure original story retelling I tend to read and rate more on their own merits as I am with this book.

House of Salt and Sorrows is told from the point of view of Annaleigh who is one of twelve sisters who have been raised in Highmoor by their father since the loss of their mother. Since losing their mother the girls have been no strangers to loss and mourning when accident after accident had begun taking the sisters.

Now after the fourth funeral for one of Annaleigh’s sisters word is spreading through the village that the girls have been cursed. All the sisters are coming to an age they should attending balls and meeting suitors so their new stepmother wants to break the cycle of mourning but Annaleigh’s is more concerned with finding out just what had happened, accidents or murder?

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig was a solid fantasy read with walking a line between mystery and horror with of course that dash of romance. I thought while this one was easy to follow and get immersed in this world I kind of wished the author would have gone a little deeper into the world building. It definitely had that Gothic, creepy vibe down but I waited for more information at the start that didn’t come but thankfully the characters and story did as they should and carried over for what wasn’t described and I enjoyed it overall in the end.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

2.5☆ DNF @ 53%
ARC received from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All of my opinions are my own, and are in no way affected by the exchange.

I really enjoyed the setting but the characters were so bland and the story really couldn't keep my interest at all. The setting was incredible and I think the author has some promise but the characters all felt like cardboard cutouts to me. I'm fairly sure that I figured out what the ending was super early. Idk. I'm pretty bummed about this because it was getting amazing reviews.

I received this book as an ARC from Net Galleyalley and really enjoyed it! . . . . . This story follows a group of royal sisters in House Thaumas who are believed to be cursed - one by one, from oldest to youngest the sisters begin to mysteriously die. Annaleigh is fed up of losing her sisters and starts to investigate what is going on with her family. I absolutely loved the beautiful imagery and imagination in this book! There were many dark twists and turns I did not expect. If you are a fan of Kendare Blake and the Three Dark Crown series you will love this new fantasy as well!
.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed and ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
DNF @ 38%

Okay, this is a hard one. I really wanted to like this one and there were moments where I thought I was going to start liking it, but over 30% into a book over 400 pages and I'm more annoyed and enjoying it, so I'm calling it quits. I'm not entirely sure if I would have preferred this if I was reading it on a cold winter day. See, this book is on the slower side which I'm not a huge fan of, but I do have more patience for gothic books when it is cold and not hot and muggy.
Besides the pacing, I'm also not a huge fan of Annaleigh. She felt like two different characters to me. At times gungho and ready to solve a mystery and at others silent follower. While I understand how a person can be both, the times she was silent just didn't work for me and seemed done more to make tension or drama.
Perhaps I'm also at a disadvantage because I've had to put this book down a few times, so I might be misunderstanding or incorrectly remembering past parts in the book, but the building romance had me so confused... at the possibility of a love triangle I decided to put it down.

This is super unfortunate and I've heard that it gets super interesting at the 50% marker, but I just don't have time to trudge through 250+ pages to finally start liking a book.

Now, I'm not saying other people won't enjoy this. There are so many creepy moments-- this is what was making me want to continue reading. The atmosphere is really well done: it is creepy, dark, and lonely. There is a mystery surrounding the deaths of Annaleigh's sisters and their curse which is really intriguing. Are the Gods real? Are the ghosts?? What is the truth about the deaths and this door that brings the sisters to an amazing ball?
There is a lot to be interested in and the writing is well done. I won't be surprised if many people find this to be an amazing book.

Unfortunately, it just isn't working out for me.

Perhaps one of the most amazing and disturbing books I have ever read. In a good way. Quite a unique retelling of the classic fairy tale, The Twelve Dancing Princesses. I liked that it was a framework for a totally unique and intricately developed tale that only echoed the old tale. I loved the characters and the skillful way the author wove in doubt and madness into the plot without robbing the main character, Annaleigh, of her inherent strength.

Not only was the character development masterful, but the worldbuilding transformed the backdrop into a character all of its own.

You want to read this book...but keep the lights on.

Four Thaumas sisters dead, eight left. Is it a curse or a series of freak accidents? Our main character Annaleigh begins to question the circumstances. Add in a new stepmother that is a bit unlikable, and you have an action packed book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was full of twists and turns and heart clenching in the best way.

**I received an advanced copy in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own.**
I loved this book! I have never actually read the original story of the 12 Dancing Princesses, but reading this retelling makes me want to!
I loved the mystery behind the deaths of the sisters and found myself facing tons of surprises. I was also pleasantly surprised that the person responsible for all the tragic death was the person I predicted it to be (no spoilers!)
The build up to the end was done well and even though it ended on some sad notes, there were some very happy ones as well.

I've long cited the Twelve Dancing Princesses as my favorite fairy tale, so I'm always on the lookout for great retellings. This story honed in on the creepiness of the original story while placing it in an original setting and world. My morbid little heart is happy.

I’ve been trying to find the words necessary to write this review for almost two weeks, but words cannot express how much I loved House of Salt and Sorrows. This debut Gothic fantasy is masterfully crafted, hauntingly atmospheric, and full of magic and love. I devoured my eARC in one sitting and stayed up until 4am to finish reading it. I will be instantly buying any of Craig’s future books.

Craig’s writing is captivatingly descriptive without overburdening itself. Her descriptions are so vivid that I truly felt like I was watching a movie in my head while reading. The mood and Gothic atmosphere creep into her word choices, sweeping me away. Also: I want a pair (or twelve) of those fairy shoes.

“We are born of the Salt, we live by the Salt, and to the Salt we return.”

I was swept away immediately by this retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses by the Brothers Grimm. The worldbuilding is masterful. The book begins with a funeral, and three pages in I was fully immersed into the world that Craig crafted. You get a true sense of the beliefs and history of the characters without it ever feeling like an info-dump.

“Sickly-sweet incense still danced through the room but couldn’t quite block out the tang of salt. No matter where you were on the island, you could always taste the sea.”

The home feels so lived in and full of love despite all the heartbreak and loss the family’s endured. If you enjoy stories centered on sibling relationships, you will love House of Salt and Sorrows. The sisters and their relationship with one another gave me Little Women vibes in the best of ways. Their love for one another shines on the page, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t poke fun at one another or get annoyed.

“At least we’ll always have each other. Sisters and friends till the end. Promise me.”

There are a lot of characters but each of them feel distinct and as real as you or I. I felt strongly connected to Annaleigh and her sisters: Camille’s responsibility as heir and desire to find a partner, the Grace’s excitement for their debut and the next chapter in their lives, Verity’s childlike wonder. I found myself loving them completely and anxious about their well-being while reading.

“The euphoria was tangible: I could taste it in the air, the sweetness coating my mouth and going straight to my head like champagne.”

I found the book to be equally driven by the characters and plot. I was simply mesmerized by the story and interested in what would happen next, but I was equally invested in the well-being of the characters. I found the pacing and build perfect, but it does take some time for the story to get to the nightly dancing. I was so invested in the characters and world that honestly, I would have read just a boring Day in the Life narrative and found it interesting.

“Flushed with starlight and moonlight drowned,
All the dreamers are castle-bound.
At midnight’s stroke, we will unwind,
Revealing fantasies soft or unkind.
Show me debauched nightmare or sunniest daydreams.
Come not as you are but as you wish to be seen.”

There are layers of complexity to the story: love and heartache for those they’ve lost, a desire to move on, the town’s fear of the curse, the nightly balls the girls attend. The tension (and sorrow) is absolutely palpable as the mystery unfolds, and honestly, it gets quite creepy! I was so immersed in the story and there are some truly nightmare fueling moments. If you aren’t a fan of hauntingly spooky stories, you might struggle a bit with some of the tale. I live for horror and creepy vibes, and was pleased with the number of ‘NOPE’ annotations that my eARC received from me while reading!

There is so much that I loved about this book, and I am sure that it will make my top reads of the year post. Stephanie Garber blurbed House of Salt and Sorrows saying “Step inside a fairy tale,” and that is the perfect description. In a way, the story bends genres because it fits both the Gothic fantasy and mystery bill, with a generous dose of magical realism. If you are a fan of atmospheric and magical fantasy driven by the characters (and sisterly love), I cannot recommend this book enough. Please, read it unless the idea of being a little scared doesn’t bring you joy.

CONTENT WARNINGS: death, hallucinations, loss of a loved one, suicide
REPRESENTATION: none

Many thanks to Delacorte Press for providing me with an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. Quotations are from an uncorrected proof and are subject to change upon final publication.

I've been reading tons of fantasy books and this one gets my seal of approval. It's creepy (in a tingly spooky way). It's suspenseful and has the most stunningly eerie yet beautiful vibe that is so enchanting.
Gosh I'm probably not selling it well with those words 🤦‍♀️😂 (we all have those moments 🤷)

I didn't know until after I was done reading it that this book is a re-telling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Brothers Grimm.

[this review will be up on my blog, acquadimore.wordpress.com, on August 23, 2019]

House of Salt and Sorrows is a standalone YA gothic murder mystery set in a high fantasy world.

No one in this book had a personality. I can’t tell you anything about the main character apart from the fact that she’s attracted to Cassius and cares for her sisters; she was more a placeholder than a character. The boys were even worse, existing in the book just to be handsome, vaguely mysterious, and exchange possessive glares that the book will carefully specify are masculine while fighting for the main girl.
And while I knew, getting into a Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling, that not every sister was going to be developed, I didn’t expect their attraction to boys to replace the personality of all of them (in the older ones; the younger one is never anything more than a “creepy little girl” stereotype.)
Four sisters are dead at the beginning of the book, and the living ones are worried not because of that, or not because maybe they’re going to die next, but because their supposed “curse” scares men away and they think they’re going to grow old and die unkissed, without ever having danced with a boy.
Yeah. Priorities!

So, let’s be kind and say that this book is plot-driven.
The plot wasn’t that great. House of Salt and Sorrows is a gothic mystery with a really interesting premise and solid background, but the execution ended up being really messy. All the tension relied on the usual “is the main character *gasp* insane or is that magic?” trope, which is cheap and I hate it, especially when the answer is so obvious and when the book constantly approached even only the possibility of mental illness in really insensitive ways.
By the way, in case that wasn’t already clear: there is no diversity whatsoever in this book. The whole cast is all-straight, and, unless I missed something, also all-white and all-abled (which: the realism, where?). There’s one old blind man whose entire personality was “crazy” who appeared for half a scene, and that’s it. No diversity, bland unnecessary romance, love triangle… did we all somehow time-travel to 2013?

The mystery was kind of underwhelming, but it wasn’t terrible. The foreshadowing was somewhat unsubtle and heavy-handed at times, but it didn’t give away the whole story immediately as many YA mystery books do; the revelation wasn’t the most unpredictable thing ever, but it was fine – I was mostly annoyed by how rushed the resolution was.

And I still didn’t dislike this, not really.
I mean, I clearly had many problems with it, but the thing is, it kept my interest. I’m barely reading these days and I finished it really quickly – which yes, that also means that there wasn’t much substance to it, but it was a fun ride most of the time, and I wanted to know what happened. I never really thought about DNFing it.

Another reason I didn’t dislike this book is that I got into it for the island gothic aesthetic, and in that aspect, it didn’t disappoint at all.
Have you ever watched a movie or a show in which the acting was bad and the plot was mediocre but the setting and the costume design made it worth watching at least once, purely as eye candy? House of Salt and Sorrows is the book version of that. The descriptions are beautiful, and the island atmosphere is perfect. I loved all the mentions of coastal marine life, the descriptions of tide pools, all the details this book gave me about buildings and dresses and shoes and accessories.

This is deeply forgettable and really flawed, and not something I would ever reread, but it was worth reading once just for that.

House of Salt and Sorrows is a hot topic ever since it came out, and it was hyped for months before it’s release.
I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to read it via Netgalley and I can tell you, I completely understand where the hype comes from.

This story really impressed me and even though it is a retelling of a tale of Twelve Dancing Princesses I would say it is one of the most unique books that I have read in the past few months. However, I have to stress out that I am not familiar with the original fairy tale nor did I watch the Barbie movie.

The atmosphere was spooky and I loved it so much. I like how the story became darker and darker as it progressed, that closer to the end it even had some horror elements.
The atmosphere was my favorite part of the novel.

What I found funny was how at some points Highmoor people gave me that Greyjoy vibes (Game of Thrones reference), and it almost felt like they were cousins (their funeral rituals are so similar that I couldn’t help myself but laugh, but in a good way).

The main character Annaleigh was likeable and it was easy to connect with her. I enjoyed following the story from her perspective and I also really liked her relationship with her older sister Camilla.
I was also fascinated with their stepmother and wanted to know more about her.
As for other characters, I have to admit that I wish they had more substance to them, because they felt pretty much dull and I had hard time to recognize one sister from the other.

One of the big reveals (how they went to the dances) blew my mind and in my opinion, it was the best part of the story.

I was also very happy with the way this story ended, including all the dark and spooky elements.

I really enjoyed reading House of Salt and Sorrows and I would like to read other work by Erin A. Craig.

I highly recommend this one to lovers of young adult fantasy and spooky stories.