This was such a beautiful and atmospheric read. It was gripping and gorgeous and eerie. The ending was a little rushed and I think there should've been some more hints to what was coming in the rest of the book because it felt pretty random. I'm still mulling over if that really bothered me or not though - I read the last half in one sitting because I couldn't put it down, so....it may not have bothered me all that much.

3.5 stars

I really enjoy fairy tale retellings. I have never read one about The Twelve Dancing Princesses before.

I enjoyed it. It was a little slow in spots. But I loved the characters and the setting. It is very creepy and atmospheric. I kind of wish I would've waited until October to read it. It is just what I look for in a fall read.

Billed as fantasy/a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, House of Salt and Sorrows is more horror than fairytale adaptation.

Annaleigh and her eleven sisters are in perpetual mourning as, first, their mother died six years ago. In those intervening years, the four older Thaumus girls have also died. With the arrival of a new stepmother, the Thaumus family’s is allowed to put aside the year-long mourning time when a new death occurs. This allows for the triplets (Legia, Lenore, and Rosalie) to celebrate their sixteenth birthday with a grand ball with beautiful gowns and dainty shoes for all the sisters. But the villagers murmur that the Thaumuses are cursed, and none of the handsome men will pay attention to the sisters. Refusing to die old spinsters, they discover a secret doorway that allows them to visit balls all across the kingdom. But then two more sisters die, and Annaleigh becomes suspicious. As she tries to work out the mystery, she falls into madness. Will she be able to climb her way out before anymore of them die? If it is a curse, who put it on the family and why? Will the (remaining) Thaumus sisters get a happily ever after?

4.5 stars! This bookies engaging and twisty, but it wasn’t quite at the same level of enjoyment/devouring of a Sarah J. Maas story. Nevertheless, I really liked the horror aspect, which I did NOT see coming!

I have to be honest. I can't give this book 5 stars like I want to because I wasn't immediately drawn in. I didn't love the characters or the story and almost DNF! BUT, there came a point where I was invested enough that I needed to find out what in the world was going on...so, just for the last half of the book alone I give it 4 stars. Worth the trudge.

A retelling on a classic fairy tale I have never heard of...The 12 dancing princesses. Not knowing this tale didn't keep me from wanting to read it. This book has some major creepy, horror vibes filled with twists and turns you won't see coming. Everyone should read it and enjoy!

The fact it took me almost 2 weeks to finish has nothing on the book itself! I blame life of getting in the way.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was an excellent retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses", with a twist. The so-called curse and the sister being able to see the dead sisters was the perfect level of creepy. I throughly enjoyed it, from start to finish.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig is a haunting debut that pulls no punches, and I hope Craig is so proud of it because I certainly am! This book delivered everything I had wanted out of The Wicked Deep–a maritime setting, a spooky mystery, and murder most foul–and cranked everything up to eleven.

The novel opens with a funeral. Annaleigh Thaumas is once again returning one of her sisters to the Salt after she mysteriously plunged to her death. Three others have been returned to the sea, and she, her father, and her seven remaining sisters have been steeped in mourning for years. That changes when her father’s new bride announces she’s pregnant. Thus, the Highmoor estate does what it never has before: it moves on.

Or it tries to. Despite preparing for their first debutante ball, the Thaumas sisters are haunted by gossip of a curse laid upon the women of their family by the gods. Armed with new dresses and “fairy shoes,” the sisters begin sneaking out of the estate, slipping through a magical door to attend grand balls and dance with partners who are unaware of the curse. Despite how wonderful the dances seem, something is not quite right, and Annaleigh begins seeing visions of her dead sisters and other horrific things–and then the curse strikes again. To unravel the Thaumas curse, Annaleigh accepts the help of Cassius, an outsider who knows more about her and her family than he should, but who or what can she really trust when her visions aim to drive her mad?

I’ve never actually read “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” so I can’t comment on how true or original this standalone book is compared to the fairytale. What I do know is that, most of the time, I was utterly riveted. Annaleigh and her sister Camille are so vivid, and most of her other sisters also feel like their own people, given three of them are near inseparable triplets and three others are very young. Craig does a wonderful job juggling such a large cast while keeping Annaleigh as the prime focus for telling the story.

The world-building is also fresh, from the islands the Thaumas family calls home to lands beyond their borders. Even if we aren’t at the latter for very long, there are still many interesting, small touches applied to make them feel real and stand out. Much of the world-building also applies to the culture of the characters, which is why it stands out in ways a lot of YA world-building doesn’t.

I admit, it took me a minute to catch on that the gods each people worshiped are actually real in the story, not just believed to be real. Once I realized that the goddess of love often walked among mortals, I became extremely enamored of how House of Salt and Sorrows presented its mythology. If anything, I wish for infinitely more of it, especially more of Viscardi, the trickster god of bargains.

However, I am equally enamored with Annaleigh and her family. Her bond with her sisters could be as harmonious as it was motherly or chaotic. Her father also demonstrates admirable and terrible qualities, as do her stepmother; in short, everyone feels completely, fallibly human, a rarity in the black-and-white realm of fairytales.

The ghostly element, however, is what really makes this book shine. Annaleigh’s visions sent chills down my spine, and Craig is masterful at making them seem real and vivid and then disproving them the next. You identify so incredibly with Annaleigh’s perspective and her fears of going insane because you can’t readily identify what’s real and what’s not, either. It’s been awhile since I’ve found such a horror/psychological element pulled off in YA with such finesse and with utterly no fear. Note, though, that there are some visions Annaleigh has that are legitimately disturbing, so take care of yourself. I love them, though.

Really, the main complaint I have for this book that keeps it from being a five-star (other than more stuff about the gods, especially Viscardi) is because of Annaleigh’s love interest, Cassius. He actually starts off fairly intriguing, but once his mystery is unraveled, I found myself bored by him. He feels so much like a plot device used to just get Annalaigh where she needs to go, and nothing else. The sparks between them die after his big reveal and how he “knows” her, so I couldn’t believe these sudden declarations of love. Their relationship is so much more promising before any of this happens, and his presence taints the ending of the book. Overall, I would have enjoyed it more without him being there, keeping the finale of House of Salt and Sorrows about the Thaumas family and the Thaumas family only.

Despite this lackluster relationship, Craig knows how to keep her story interesting. There are so many twists in this book, a few I saw coming, but she never just leaves it there. There’s always something else that pulls the rug out from the predictability, leaving me blinking at the page like, “Whoa, did that really just happen?” I’m not saying “predictability” in a bad way, either. Rather, Craig does an amazing job of balancing reader’s expectations towards where the story is naturally progressing while also finding ways to surprise you that also make complete sense. It’s not shock value. It’s an honest to God plot twist, and it is so refreshing.

When all is said and done, House of Salt and Sorrows is a marvelous retelling presented uniquely and viscerally, full of hope, love, and also tragedy. It’s a mystery, it’s a fantasy, it’s a ghost story. It makes me want to go to mysterious midnight balls, consequences be damned. (And it gave me another problematic fav, which is always, always a plus.) As a debut novel and standalone, it’s a cut above so many of its kind. If Craig is already this talented, I’m beyond eager to see what else she writes and how her imagination will take over.

House of Salt and Sorrows is a fairy tale retelling with a horror twist. While it did take me a bit to get hooked, once I was I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed the author's writing style and liked the twists and turns. The world building was very well done and intriguing. I would like to read more stories that take place there.

Overall, I would give this book 3.5 stars because I felt it dragged a bit in the beginning and I nearly put it down before it started to get good. I also felt like there were too many sisters to keep straight in the beginning and was glad when some of them started dying off. I thoroughly enjoyed the chance of an unreliable character.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Wow. That was my reaction after reading this book. When I read that this book was a retelling of the Brother’s Grim 12 dancing princesses I was super excited. I've never read a retelling on that story. So I had it in my head that there would-be princesses and dancing and obviously some creepiness. What I didn’t know was how creepy this book was. Like there were times where I wanted to take a break from reading it, or that I had to stop listening while eating. But the creepiness made this book that much better.

I was able to listen to the audiobook since I didn’t get a chance to read the arc in time, but I am glad that it worked out that way. I thought that the audiobook was done super well and I loved the narrator and thought she handled the creepy parts brilliantly. 

We follow our MC Anneleigh. She was once one of 12 sisters, but over the years 4 of her sisters have passed. Her mother also passed away while giving birth to her youngest sister. So Anneleigh, her 7 sisters, her father, and her stepmom live at Highmoor, a manor by the sea. Because of all the deaths, the sisters do no get out much and or get a chance to see many other people, but most people think they are all cursed. What other reason would there be for them to keep having sisters die? So although the older sisters want to find a husband, it makes it very hard because of this supposed curse. 

After finding out some things about her latest sister’s death, Anneleigh starts thinking that maybe these deaths were not all accidents. She starts snooping around and finding things that back up this claim. On top of trying to find the killer of the last sister that died, her and her other sisters find a door that takes them wherever they want to go. And they all want to go out dancing at a ball. Anneleighs other sisters go out almost every night, and its starting to show. Anneleigh, on the other hand, is starting to not trust anything. She starts to see visions and is worried about her other sisters, that someone is out to get them. She has to find out who is doing these things to her sisters before another one dies. 

I knew that I was most likely going to enjoy this book, but I didn’t realize how much I would love it. This book had so much to offer and was written so well. I got so many goosebumps from all the scary parts. I really need to go and read the Brother’s Grim story now because I only know the cutesy version. If you love fantasy, mystery, and a little bit of creepy, you will absolutely love this book. If you have already read this book, leave a comment so we can chat about it!

"Once there were twelve of us: the Thaumus Dozen. Now we stood in a small line, my seven sisters and I, and I couldn't help but wonder if there was a ring of truth to the grim speculations." (Loc. 87)

Annaleigh Thaumus is the second oldest surviving daughter of the 19th Duke of the Salaan Islands. Four of her sisters have died. The most recent death, that of Eulalie, triggers Annaleigh to investigate. The more she looks into things, the eerier it gets. Meanwhile, she and her sisters have been mysteriously wearing out their slippers.

This is a gothic retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses. It has more death and ghostly happenings than the original. And a little romance as well.

Good things about this story include good characterization of Annaleigh. There is a strong gothic flavor. The mystery is interesting and a little different from the original. It has a lovely twist to it.

There were more positives than negatives. My main complaint was that it's slow early on and I had a little trouble getting into it. But, I found it worth it in the end.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars. It's well written and mostly well done. It's worth a read especially if you enjoy gothic literature or retellings.

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig was published August 6th, 2019 by Delacorte.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not influence my opinion.

House of Salt and Sorrows is an atmospheric retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Brothers Grimm. I faintly recall reading it (or parts of it) ages ago but you don't necessarily have to know all about it to enjoy this book. Fairytale retellings are my kryptonite so reading this was a no-brainer for me (also, the cover is beautiful!). It's a gothic tale / whodunit involving a family said to be cursed.

The Thaumas family are no strangers to death. They are trapped in an almost constant state of mourning because the Thaumas sisters keep dying in disturbing ways leading many to believe the family is cursed. It's the most recent death that leads our main character Annaleigh to suspect that maybe Eulalie's death wasn't just a freak accident and certainly not suicide. No, all clues point to murder. Annaleigh just has to prove it.
Magic doorways, gods, haunting visions, a dash of romance, spectacular balls that may or may not be quite what they seem? It's all here!

It is a pretty slow read until you near the end where there's a twist that picks up the pace. From there, drama ensues leading up to an explosive ending. I really liked the epilogue, it lightens the story up a little and provides us with a Happily Ever After so it's not all doom and gloom!
Overall, House of Salt and Sorrows is a solid debut and an eerie, imaginative retelling.
If you like dark YA fantasy/retellings, I'd definitely suggest picking this one up.

WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO READ THIS BOOK!?!?
Seriously, I’ve had the ARC since around May. What took me so long?! Ok, it might have something to do with working three jobs, volunteering, planning a wedding and trying to get enough sleep to maintain, but right now I am seriously regretting not starting House of Salt and Sorrows sooner!

House of Salt and Sorrows introduces us to Annaleigh, one of 12 daughters born to the 19th Duke of the Salann Islands. Annaleigh lives her life in Highmoor Manor, a mansion on the sea. However, the loss of her mother, and, one by one, four of her older sisters, shrouds Highmoor in a cloud of mourning that lasts for years and creates murmurs and whispers of a Thaumas sister curse. Annaleigh must grieve for her sisters, while protecting those she has left, as she is plagued with ghostly visions and doubts of the circumstances surrounding her families’ deaths.

Going into HoSaS, I had no idea it was a retelling. As much as I love to claim that I’m a fairy tale fiend, I have actually never read the entirety of the Brothers Grimm stories. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read a lot of them, but although I had heard of it, I was unfamiliar with the story of the 12 Dancing Princesses.

House of Salt and Sorrows had just about everything I love! It was mysterious, spooky and magical all sprinkled with an incredible amount of ocean salt! The characters were relatable. The world was original and fantastic! The way Craig wove in the history and magic of her whole mythology was interesting and easy flowing. She created a great feel of the depth and vastness of the world she created without boring me to tears with historical facts and long chapters of winded world explanations.

All in all, I was floored. It was eerie, romantic and different. It kept me guessing and questioning until the end. I loved everything about HoSaS and cannot wait for more from Erin Craig.

While this fairytale retelling starts slowly, it is worth reading. Right away I was intrigued with the main character, Annaleigh, who starts to piece together some inconsistencies surrounding her latest sisters tragic death. I connected with her and wanted to dive in and help her solve the mystery. This novel has so much going on! There is a mystery to solve, relationships to explore, and a developing romance with a bit of magic, gods and goddesses thrown in for good measure. If you enjoy reading fantasy/mystery/fairy tale retellings then this book is for you!

I love retold fairy tales and "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" is one I don't see reworked very often. I was excited to see what Craig did with it. While the narrative itself didn't disappoint, this version is full of twists, and horror, and interesting character development, it suffered from pacing. It was a slow read, the suspense didn't build up quite as much as I expected, and I found the end a little predictable. I will be interested to read Craig's next book but this one didn't do too much for me.

House of Salt and Sorrows was an incredible story of loss, love, and magic. Once I picked the book up, I could not put it down. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I was almost breathless while reading this beautiful story. The world building was incredible as was the character development. I was enchanted by the plot and stunned by the conclusion. Honestly, I was sad to see the story end and wanted to live a little longer in this world.

This was certainly a unique book. Grim and gory YA Fantasy, it’s a loose retelling of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” fairy tale. Although when our story begins, there are only eight princesses (and not really even princesses, Duke’s daughters) remaining; four have already perished. Living on a wild but beautiful island, the girls have been in almost perpetual mourning for six years. When presented with a magical opportunity to dance away the night and momentarily forget their sorrows, the girls take it. But there are whispers of a curse, and madness, and murder. Nothing is really what it seems, and can anyone really be trusted?

This book was dark, y’all. Definitely be prepared for death, and gore, and a plot that twists and turns so much that you’ll think you’re going mad. But maybe that’s your thing. There are hints of a love triangle, but the romance plays second fiddle to solving the mystery of the dying sisters.

What I liked: I loved the gothic atmosphere and world building-a fiercely independent island duchy with a very devout sea religion. The main character Annaleigh is intelligent and determined, and the book does truly surprise you at times. Those surprises are usually horrifying, but I enjoyed the dark, kind of twisted take on this obscure fairy tale.

What I didn’t: Despite having lots of twists and turns, the momentum of the book is very slow, so the suspense never builds. There are quite a few very irritating characters, and a few details that didn’t seem realistic. For example, two of the sisters are 10 months apart. What woman gets pregnant two weeks after a vaginal birth? No woman. That’s who.

Erin A. Craig’s House of Salt and Sorrows pays homage to The Twelve Dancing Princesses while standing completely on its own. In fact, the nods to source material create a sense of familiarity without telegraphing.

House of Salt and Sorrows is a gothic read that reaches out and pulls you in from the start. It’s one of the most engrossing novels I’ve read this year. It’s deliciously dark tempered with light notes throughout, and the plot twists are surprising and enjoyable. I read this in digital ARC form, and I plan on buying a physical copy to add to my personal library.

The author has taken a pretty innocent Brothers Grimm short story and turned it into something quite a bit darker and twistier. The foreboding atmosphere is layered throughout the entire story, gaining momentum and intensity as you near the conclusion. This is a gothic mystery about a girl named Annaleigh who must solve the suspicious deaths of her sisters before she or any of the other surviving girls fall victim too. There are ghostly apparitions, unexplainable events, and almost everyone at her father's estate Highmoor comes under suspicion at some point. Is the Thaumas curse legitimately wiping the family out, one by one as the townspeople are whispering behind their hands? Or is something more sinister at play that's worse than anyone could ever imagine?

Annaleigh starts to become suspicious that all is not as it seems. She sets out to investigate the circumstances of the most recent death of her sister Eulalie. I have to admit, I found the sisters to be quite immature, a little callous in their lack of grieving, and at times spoiled. I was taken aback at how quickly they would brush off tragic deaths, often witnessed firsthand, and giggle and squeal over dancing and meeting potential suitors. Annaleigh was really the only sister who consistently wanted to ask questions about discrepancies, and cared more about the fate of her family than having fun. She even struggled to gain her father's attention with her concerns as he was putting all of his focus on his new wife. It seemed everyone just wanted to forget and move on past the gloom and melancholy days that had been stretching on endlessly since the loss of their mother.

You do get a little romance intertwined between the threads of the overall mystery. Cassius is a mysterious newcomer to town who immediately gets a twinkle in his eye for Annaleigh. Their romance is a subtle undertone to the story, with just light flirting and long glances, that kind of thing. But he's very obviously hiding things from the very enamored Annaleigh, the question is whether or not his secrets are harmless or deadly. There is another boy who has his eye on her, but thankfully it wasn't a love triangle. I was so relieved that my suspicions were squashed almost immediately because I'm not a big fan of that trope.

I felt that the pace of the book really affected my enjoyment. This could have easily been a five star read, but there were stretches in the story where I felt it was progressing as slow as molasses. The writing style was lovely, very rich and descriptive and I thoroughly enjoyed how the author transports you into each and every scene. If I were judging on the last 25% alone, it would be an enthusiastic five stars. I needed a little bit more to hold my attention, as much as I loved the ominous mood that stretches through this surprisingly blood-stained tale. I wasn't expecting the amount of death that occurred, and it got pretty grisly toward the end.

This was a wildly imaginative retelling of a classic fairy tale, and very impressive for a debut novel! I would definitely read more from Erin Craig in the future. She has a lot to offer the genre and I'll be excited to see what she comes up with next.

I love the creativity of this book! As a fairytale retelling it is easy for the concept of the book to feel stale or unoriginal, but Erin Craig did a fantastic job with crafting the twist of this book. The last third of the book was when everything came together in a beautiful way for me. Some of the worldbuilding and character relationships at the beginning of the book seemed forced and rushed, so it was a little hard to get through but I am so glad I did!

Eight sisters live in a castle by the sea, mourning the four they lost. Loosely based on the fairy tale, Twelve Dancing Princesses, this book is so much more! It's part murder mystery, part fable, part mythology. Annaleigh is convinced that there must have been foul play in her sister Eulalie's death and refuses to believe that there's any sort of "curse" on the family, but as she unravels clue after clue, she starts to realize there's more to this than she bargained for. Throw in a mysterious, handsome stranger, plus, a childhood crush all grown up, and this dark and moody tale balances nicely with some heart flutters that aren't just from a quick turn around the dance floor.