A gothic YA murder mystery inspired by The Twelve Dancing Princesses, with a dash of classical-inspired mythology. There's a LOT going on in this book, and some of does get to be a bit much, but good writing, a mostly good use of gothic tropes, and a very likeable MC carry the whole thing through.

Annaleigh was somewhere in the middle of 12 sisters, but at the start of the book she is the 2nd eldest, after the varyingly mysterious deaths of the first 4. While already balancing the family's grief, some possible ghostly haunting, the public's belief in a family curse, the remaining sisters' strained relationship with their new stepmother, the fairy-tale Dancing, and a burgeoning romance with an eligible young man, Annaleigh embarks on uncovering the truth about her elder sisters' deaths and attempts to protect the remaining younger ones.

While there are some slow sections and some predictable beats, there were also elements that kept me on my toes. The last few chapters go at a clip, as they contain many big reveals -- some of which don't necessarily make sense in light of earlier information (or lack thereof), but most of which are nonetheless quite satisfying. This is a credit to the author's writing style, and also how good she is at describing gross stuff. Her created mythology is interesting too, though I wish it had been a little more developed as it's mainly there for background... until suddenly it's not.

There's also a bit of subtle meta embedded in the tale, with references made mainly to fairy-tale trope expectations, and this works due to Annaleigh being a strong and resilient girl and not at all a stereotypical fairy-tale-princess type. (Though it should be noted that most of the other characters are not nearly as well-drawn; some of the sisters, for instance, seem interchangeable and unmemorable, and as such, way more the fairy-tale-princess type.)

So, not without flaws, but a quite enjoyable and imaginative YA novel. Seems like it could be a gateway book for younger readers, too, to more "adult" gothic mysteries and/or unusual fairy-tale retellings.

Oh boy. I'm going to be the Debbie Downer in a sea of positive reviews.

First, the really good: the atmosphere is fantastic and I was intrigued by the world the author built. This world that dealt so much with the sea was terrific.

However. Yep, however...

This was YA tropeville. From Insta-Love to Love Triangles to young women who, when surrounded with darkness, death, and possible betrayal are more concerned about balls and dancing and suitors.

I just think that YA has moved so far beyond the tropes. We had an awesome setting, a world where girls can rule based on birth order rather than gender, and all sorts of magic. And we get moon-eyed yearning for this boy or that.

I was disappointed.

I would try the author again, but hope for a little more substance next time.

"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"

-Dark, mysterious, horror filled greatness! This book was so amazing I couldn't put it down! Super creepy story! I enjoyed this book so much!

This book definitely took me by surprise, I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did. I loved the story line and the characters!

Oh man, I'm stuck between a 3 and a 4 star rating for this one.

I REALLY enjoyed my time with this book. With all of the world building and history of the Gods and Goddesses that the people of the Salt worshipped. The balls, the dancing, the primping for the balls. Even the ghost story and mystery of all of the deaths of each sister but...


WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?!!!

I literally don't understand. I feel like I was slapped in the face by Mr. Viscardi himself.

I love a good retelling, and since this one was retelling a rather vague tale, and Craig makes it very much her own, it worked very well. Craig does get a little bit purple at times, waxing a bit more than necessary, but overall the prose is clean and the story was well told. I'd pick up another book by her for sure.

This was really good and entertaining. I loved all the twists it took. The characters were great! I loved the atmosphere too!

Thank you for the eARC.

House of Salt and Sorrows was an amazing fantasy read! The whole story, the intense plots, the likeable characters are really amazing. I love love the story so much

I knew I would enjoy this book. I love retellings and I've always loved the 12 Dancing Princesses. I didn't expect just HOW MUCH I'd love this story and how I'd fly through it! It was so dark and twisty and I love the nod to Poe.

House of Salt and Sorrows is that YA fantasy that I have been searching for. An all consuming and intense story that kept me riveted to each page.

This was a book that I was really excited to pick up and read. I got about half way through it and put it down.... For months. I don't know why it took me so long to pick back up, but first novels in fantasy series or just fantasys in general seem to take me a bit longer to read, just because of all the world and character building. This book had tons of characters to keep straight and the world wasn't all that interesting to me despite the hype it was getting.
Like a lot of fantasy novels a huge portion of the plot takes place in the last 20 percent of the book which seems a bit rushed and made some of the relationships seem forced.
I do have to say in the last 20 percent there were a ton of twists and turns that I was really not expecting that let me breeze through the last few chapters. It also was a bit confusing on the direction of the book and where the author was going with the story. Whether or not it was going to end with just this novel or she was going to expand it and do a cliff hanger for a series. Overall it did keep my attention and allow me to finish it up.
I don't necessarily agree with the all the hype this book received. However I do know, I personally end up with really high expectations for fantasy novels that can sometimes be unreasonable. Overall an enjoyable read, but not any rush to continue if it becomes a series.

I didn’t have high expectations going into this book, I did like this book more than I expected, and I did enjoy how dark this book ended up being, but I still have some issues.

I never became invested in any of the characters. I was not a fan of Annaleigh’s character, I found she really couldn’t do much on her own. The only reason she was able to find out what was happening to her sisters is that she had someone guiding her through everything, and she was left to figure out the very last part herself.

My favorite character in the book had to have been Cassius, I found him the most interesting, I was sad to see that he didn’t have a bigger effect over the story as I would have thought. One of my other issues with the character is that there were too many sisters to keep track of, and that meant that I could connect with any of them. I often found myself getting confused about which sister was which, and I can tell you the age order at all.

I did struggle a little bit in the very beginning of the book, but the story did pick up pretty quickly and I flew through the last 75% of the book. The plot and mystery was probably my favorite part of the book, I was unable to predict most of the mystery, I did guess who was behind it but not why. There was one aspect of the story that I felt was added to make the book more identifiable as a 12 Dancing Princesses retelling, but it was quickly discarded and had no effect over the storyline.

Ultimately I did really like this book despite my issues, it’s definitely worth picking up, and I look forward to picking up more books by author in the future.

This book was definitely an interesting twist. A little darker retelling than so many others out there but very fresh and unique! A fun read.

The moment I read it was a Twelve Dancing Princesses re-telling, I knew I had to read it. The gothic twist made it even better, in my opinion. The author really captured the atmosphere well at some points I could feel my skin prickle. I was invested in what happened to the sisters and found Annaleigh's motivations were strong and made a lot of sense.

The big drawback for me was the romance! It just felt more typical in a book that had some otherwise really interesting concepts. There were also moments that felt to me like it would fit a YA audience but not an older audience, like myself.

That said, a good read. I don't regret picking it up.

This is one mind trip! I was hooked from the beginning and could not put this book down. I loved all the characters and the story was amazing.

4.5*
One thing you can admire while reading this book is Erin A. Craig's imaginative mind when it came to the mystery and the horror elements. Most of the time when a retelling is published it can be basic or boring, but House of Salt and Sorrows was a wild ride I will never forget and still be a little bit scared of 20 years from now.
I was absolutely loving this story but what made me reevaluate my feelings was the insta love. This is more a personal thing and not a book thing. l think the relationship between Annaleigh and Cassius was well built but since it started with a tad bit insta love, I didn't trust Cassius and didn't love Annaleigh. However towards the end, I did end up loving the relationship and was screaming at the end so maybe I'm just weird.
I thought the mystery was well crafted and developed because I couldn't guess for my life who was behind the deaths of the Thaumas girls. I still can't get over that ending. It was one of the strongest endings from all of the Young Adult releases this year.
If you go into this novel expecting a little mystery, a little horror and a wild ride, you will absolutely love House of Salt and Sorrows.

This is a very interesting retelling of the 12 dancing princesses. I loved the atmosphere, the mystery, the love between the sisters & the twists and turns as we approached the answers that Annaleigh was desperately looking for. It felt very much like a fairy tale, both magical & dark.

I really liked everything about this book, *except* the romance. It's silly & instalove. I'm only ok with it because as a whole, I like the story and I can see how a fairy tale can require instalove.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy of House and Salt and Sorrows.
This is a fantasy retelling of 12 dancing princesses and it has a lot of great detail and family dynamics. I really enjoyed the MC Annaleigh and her devotion to her family and the land she lives in. Her sisters were all diverse characters in their own right.
This isn’t a light and happy fairy tale but has some dark elements with death, hauntings and curses. Overall it was an enjoyable read and I look forward to more from Erin A Craig!

**For more reviews visit me at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/

Annaleigh is tired of having her sisters die, her life has been spent in mourning and she wants the death to end before it claims any more. When her mother in law announces she is pregnant, and with a son no less, her father decides it is time for celebration. His daughters need shoes, beautiful dancing shoes, but he doesn't know what they are using them for...or where they are going.

I am always on the prowl for retellings (I am a sucker for fairytales) and I was excited to find that this was a new version of the 12 Dancing Princesses. I thought this was a fantastic way to have the bare bones of that fairytale but in this new dark and scary version! Yep, I said it- House of Salt and Sorrow was dark and creepy, full of death and shadows, misdirection, vivid imagery, and it made me terrified to read it at night. I had no idea what to expect when I started the book, but this was not it and I mean that in the best of ways. The author sucked me into this world and kept me guessing, no idea what was up or down, what was a true or imagined, who was telling the truth- it was perfect! And there was a swoony romance sprinkled within the horror, just the way I like my stories. I have no idea how this was a debut book because the author seemed like a season pro with her plot twists and descriptive imagery as well as her unique world building.

Overall this was a great read, so unexpected and engaging. The author was able to create something so new and unlike anything I read before and I can't wait to read what she comes up with next. I highly recommend this for fans of dark fantasy, YA reads, retellings and mystery.

‘House of Salt and Sorrows’ by Erin A. Craig is an adaptation of the Grimm’s Fairy Tale ‘The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces’ (also known as ‘The 12 Dancing Princesses’). This story is due for release on August 6, 2019. I received an ARC of this novel through Net Galley, and the synopsis intrigued me: a wealthy Duke enduring the mysterious loss of a daughter year after year. I never read the fairy tale before taking on this story, but I decided to read the story based on the paranormal aspect.
‘House of Salt of Sorrows’ is set in Salann, an island territory in the world of Arcannia. Each territory follows its own deity based on the climate of the area (the residents of Salann worship Pontus, a god akin to Poseidon. The story follows the perspective of Annaleigh, who is now second in line to her father’s inheritance, due to the eldest daughters suffering tragic, unexplainable deaths. Annaleigh sets out to solve the mystery of her sisters’ deaths, and encounters disturbing elements of paranormal occurrences along the way. Her youngest sister endures quite descriptive images of paranormal activity, yet Annaleigh doesn’t acknowledge these signs until she is in the throes of her journey. She finds herself racing to discover the origin of her family’s dilemma before any further losses take place.
Aside from the fact that all the sisters in the story (with the exception of the eldest) are under 18, I was surprised at how descriptive the death and violence scenes were in the book. I enjoy reading books with tragic elements, but I guess I just didn't expect that from a YA novel. This didn’t take away from my interest in the book though. I always enjoy a good tale with mystery and paranormal elements.
‘House of Salt and Sorrows’ is a wonderful fairy tale retelling, and I look forward to reading more of Erin A. Craig's work!

Cathleen (Woven From Words)
https://wovenfromwords.com

My email: wovenfromwords@gmail.com

Review Links:
http://wovenfromwords.com/2019/01/31/house-of-salt-and-sorrows-by-erin-a-craig-a-review/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RABAQRKEQSPND/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1984831925