I have no words. I loved this so much. It was a dark, romantic, suspenseful take on "The 12 Dancing Princesses" tale I heard as a child, and I was here for it! I look forward to more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this eArc in exchange for an honest review.

This book had everything I love! Paranormal elements, sisterhood, mystery and twists! I really connected with Annaleigh. I truly loved this book!

A dark, ghostly retelling of Twelve Dancing Princesses, and it is MAGNIFICENT. It does start out a little slow and then suddenly a lot happens at the end, but it was a wonderful story with grand characters and epic plot twists. Annaleigh is a really great protagonist and I love her relationship with her sisters. And Cassius was just the best. I love him and his true heart and how the two of them found one another.

A take on the classic tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses". This was well written and a unique take on this tale. The writing kept me intrigued throughout. It was familiar tale, but not in a way I had ever seen it.

I can't tell you enough that this book should be on EVERYONES TBR list! From a writing standpoint it is brilliant. The suspense, the twists, the creepiness, the inability to put it down is a true testament to the author. You will not be able to stop reading this book. You will feel danger lurking on every page!

When I saw this book on NetGalley I was intrigued enough by the synopsis to request it and I'm glad that I got approved to read it. Normally I'm not a fan of mystery novels but this one actually got me invested. I loved the world building and the characters. I was sad when some of the characters died, and believe me they were dropping off left and right. I really did not see that ending coming. I can't believe all the stuff that happened in this book because of one women's misguided love for someone she could never have. Like she straight up murdered his wife to have him but the ending did seem like it was rushed.

I definitely recommend reading this book if you love fairytale retellings and mystery novels. I can't wait to see what other stories Erin A. Craig brings to us in the future.

Rating: 4½ stars out of 5

This was pretty good considering Gothic Horror is way out of my comfort zone :) The MC Annaleigh is a likable girl of about 17 who is one of a dozen daughters born to a Duke. The story stars off with Annaleigh attending one her eldest sister’s funeral (this after three other sisters had also died). Everyone thinks the Thaumas sisters are cursed, which seems likely with all the bad things happening around the manor. With elements of the supernatural and mythology, the author spins a haunting story that will keep you at the edge of your seat while trying to figure out who or what is behind all the deaths.

They started as twelve; the Thaumas dozen. Ava died of the plague. Octavia fell from a ladder in the library. Elizabeth was found floating in her bathtub. Eulalie fell from the cliffs to the rocks below. Or did she?

The people of Saltann believe her family to be cursed, but Annaleigh thinks it's something else. She thinks her family might be targeted. A secret betrothal, a lurking shadow, witnesses that wind up dead, a mysterious and handsome stranger who seems to know more about Annaleigh and her family than he should, family secrets, and the ghosts of her sisters . . . Annaleigh has her work cut out for her. Especially when she and her 8 remaining sisters discover a secret door used by the Gods that can transport them anywhere in the world. A secret door that leads them to other lands, other palaces, other suitors who dance the night away at fancy dress balls which leads to many pairs of worn out shoes. The deeper Annaleigh digs into the mysteries surrounding her family, the more she realizes she doesn't know what's real and what's not anymore. Can she figure it out before she loses any more sisters . . . or herself?

A gothic retelling of the twelve dancing princesses? Sign me up! This is my all time favorite fairy tale, and this retelling is absolutely worth a read. In fact, this is another title that I read in about 10 hours, staying up WAY past my bedtime to finish. Annaleigh's descent into madness (or is it something else) was totally engaging, and I enjoyed how she interacted with the other characters. There is an element of romance, but it's not overpowering. There are some who may pull the "instalove" card, but I feel there was more of an insta-connection that developed into something more towards the end of the story. There isn't exactly a love triangle element (which I was grateful for).

All in all, this is a fabulous retelling, and I have already recommended it to some friends. I will be adding this one to my library collection.

This was not my favorite fairy tale retelling, but maybe that's because I'm not as familiar with the story it's based on. This book felt a little long and dragged in some places, but was mostly enjoyable otherwise.

Oh my gosh!!!!!! This books was so intense! I feel like I just got off the craziest best rollercoaster ever! This is a DEFINITE 5 STAR READ!!! Some things I saw coming but everytime I thought I knew something the book was like BAM you just wait! Read this!

This is the second fairytale retelling I’ve read, the first being an anthology of short stories. I liked this, but didn’t connect with the characters much. It was well written but not something I’d usually pick up. Thanks for the ARC!

This is more like a 3.5 if I’m being SUPER nitpicky but I’m feeling charitable. It’s also the first ya release I haven’t rolled my eyes through at any point in YEARS so that’s a nice change of pace. Nothing groundbreaking certainly, but a perfectly pleasant and serviceable read. I enjoyed how fast-paced it was and the horror elements were fun. As a debut I thought it was actually quite solid. If anything, this made me open to reading more by the author in the future.

4.5/5 stars!

This was such an amazingly gothic retelling! Retellings are really such a hit lately, and I'm totally here for it!

Anyways, I ate this thing up! Only took me a few hours to get through it, and I was just so immersed in the mystery surrounding the deaths. When the plot went from serious to almost dreamlike, I knew something important was was inng to happen.

Key things to note you HAVE to stick through until about 2/3 of the way through the book. Otherwise you might think that the plot is going everywhere and nowhere at once.

I did have some problems with the characters, as it seems that they do complete 180s on decisions, suspicions, or even just their own character at the most random times. It felt so off, but I did understand it once I got closer to the end.

Also, Cassius and Fisher are my loves and this books grabbed my heart and crushed it multiple times.

Seriously, check this out. I just finished reading so my review isn't the most coherent, but take my word!

ARC provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

* I was given this E-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review"

3.5/5

I didn't know what to expect while reading this book. The beginning was what drew me in because there was a mystery afoot. I will say I think it was maybe a bit longer than I wanted it to be. But overall I really enjoyed the story and the characters, and it was an interesting plot.

I will be honest, the first few chapters of this book, I was completely uninterested and unimpressed. However, after probably the 6th or 7th chapter, things really started picking up and becoming interesting.

This book is a horror retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, so if you're okay with lots of creepiness and lots of death then perfecto! Annaleigh is positive that someone is murdering her sisters, but no else believes her and she has no proof. The entire story is spent with Annaleigh trying to solve the mysterious deaths of her sisters, along with the help of an extremely handsome Cassius (*heart eyes*). This book is filled with so many twists and turns, I was shocked with almost every chapter.

Overall, Erin Craig did a wonderful job spinning together an extremely wonderful and engaging story. I loved her writing style and the descriptiveness of it. I really felt like I was there with Annaleigh.

I really enjoyed this book! My only critiques are that there are times when the main character does things very suddenly that don’t make sense based on her thoughts, and that the romance seems rushed and underdeveloped.

Annaleigh and her eight sisters live with their father and stepmother in Highmoor, a manor near the sea. There were twelve daughters, but tragedy seems to strike the family with regularity. Annaleigh is convinced that the death of her most recent sister was no accident. She and her sisters find relief from their grief when they discover a secret passage that transports them to different lands to attend unimaginable balls. They also find magic, Gods, death, and hope.

This novel is very loosely based on the beloved children's story of twelve dancing princesses. I was afraid as I was reading that it would turn into an eye-rolling cliche of a story, but I was thrilled when this did not happen. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The mystery elements were enough to keep readers guessing throughout the novel, but did not overtake the story. The characters were well developed and the world building was immersive. It was well written and I could not wait to find out what happened next.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA fiction, re-tellings of fairy tales, or historical fantasy.

The writing was sublime. I loved the mystery and world building. This was however very dark and creepy which I usually do not read horror and this definitely goes that direction. So if you like a magical read with a gothic horror feel then this book is for you.

House of Salt and Sorrows is a book that I actually wasn’t really excited about when I started it because I forgot what it was supposed to be about by the time I picked it up. When I requested a review copy I was excited to read it because I had heard that it was a re-telling of the 12 Dancing Princesses which is one of my favorite fairy tales. This book was extremely eerie and creepy, but also incredibly beautiful and magical at the same time. It is a wonderful retelling and really does the dark fairy tale justice.

The first half of this book was absolutely incredible. There were these horrifically creepy scenes that felt straight out of a horror movie and then there were chapters where the girls were excited about dresses and balls. It was a crazy mix of contrasts and it was all pulled together beautifully somehow. I found myself quickly emotionally attached to the characters and absolutely outraged on the behalf of Annaleigh and her sisters at the way their step-mother was acting. I really loved all of Annaleigh’s sisters, but Camille and Verity were my favorites. I loved the eerie atmosphere and the writing. I loved the magical balls and the relationships and dedication to family. This book seemed to be looking like it was a five star read.

Then it suddenly seemed like I was reading a different book. The climax and the ending of this book sucked. The reasoning behind everything ruined the magic and what was supposed to be the height of the book felt drawn out and boring. I felt like as soon as the girls started going to the magical balls the pace slowed way down. The novel focused on the goings on at home rather than beautiful magical balls that were so much more entertaining. The climax was written poorly in my opinion because it held no intensity for me. The last half of the book was slow and ruined the magic of a wonderfully exciting tale. I felt like the author created this wonderful story and then didn’t know how to end it so she threw the ending together at the last minute. Either that or the ending needed another round of content editing.

Overall I am still impressed. I absolutely loved most of this book and was amazed at how beautifully magical scenes and creepy horror like scenes were all melded into one story. I was very disappointed in the story, but would definitely still recommend this book to horror fans, dark fairy tale fans and even fans of books about magical balls. House of Salt and Sorrows was way better than I had ever expected it to be and I can’t wait for other people to read it and for it to make it’s dark splash in the sea of readers.

Is there anything you wouldn't do when your sisters begin dying one after another?

WOW. This was unexpected. I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish this creepy, gothic retelling of the Twelve Dancing Sisters. I honestly couldn't stop thinking about it even after I was through. It gave me the creeps in the best possible way.

And I truly enjoyed the characters - it did take me a minute to keep all of the sisters straight in my mind - but they all brought a unique personality to their story.