I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I have not been reading a lot of retellings as I would have liked this year. This is a retelling of the twelve dancing princesses. This is one with a bit more tragedy and mystery.  The princesses believe they are cursed since sister keep dying on terrible and mysterious accidents. Their father is remarried and Annaleigh thinks there are more to all this the what is shown on the surface. It did not fall the story line of the original but it had a similar concept and I enjoyed it.

Twelve Dancing Princess retellings are hard to find and it is even harder to find one that I truly love. This is a creepy/darker retelling of the story and I liked it a lot.

The title of this book pulled me in originally, but the mesmerizing story and lyrical writing kept me from putting the book down. A retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses that I did not know I needed in my life. I have already purchased a copy for my library and recommended this book to many of my students.

Fairy tale retellings can be hit and miss, but House of Salt and Sorrows is definitely a hit. Loosely based on "The 12 Dancing Princesses", this book had everything I look for in a fantasy novel- solid world building, characters with depth, surprises, and a believable and strong fantasy element.

I'd highly recommend this to fantasy fans or fairy tale lovers, a solid 4.5 stars from me.

This book started off so dark and intriguing, with a story line where a family has lost yet another daughter in a tragic accident. It was very interesting to start off a book with something so sad and somber, but I did find it intriguing to see how each character reacted to the situation with their grief. I’ve never read anything quite like this book, and I must say that it was interesting and unique from start to finish. However, at some point this book started to get a little confusing. What started off to me as a religion turned into something much more fantastical, which I had not been expecting. While this was interesting and added another layer to the book, it was just not explained as well as I wanted it to be. At times, there was just too much going on to fully understand what was going on. I will definitely be looking forward to other books that this author puts out, but this one just wasn’t my favorite. Be warned, the story turns from somber and mysterious to mystical and downright creepy. If that’s what you’re into, go for it.

I completely and utterly fell head-over-heels in love with this book. This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it did not disappoint. It was absolutely everything I was hoping for and so much more. This might not be a completely perfect novel for everyone—or just in general, as literature is such an objective thing—but it was perfect for me. A dark retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, this novel had everything I love; suspense, intrigue, suspicious deaths, ghosts, curses, dark magic, all told in a beautifully eerie and captivating way. I was hooked from page one.

In this novel, we are transported to a manor by the sea called Highmoor where we follow a girl named Annaleigh. She was once one of twelve sisters, but death befalls sister after sister, placing the Thaumus family into a constant state of mourning. This unbelievable string of bad luck has caused the residents of their town to begin whispering about the family being cursed by the gods and they keep away from the sisters in fear.

When Annaleigh starts to experience vivid, ghostly visions of her sisters, she comes to realize that the deaths that have been written off as tragic accidents may not be accidents at all. On top of this, her sisters have been running off to go dancing at lavish balls each night, returning at dawn with their shoes completely worn through. But where are her sisters going? And who are they dancing with? Annaleigh must work to discover what is plaguing her family before more harm can come to them.

This is a hauntingly beautiful tale of a family under attack by an unknown force and the lengths Annaleigh will go to in order to protect the ones she loves. It is fast-paced and absorbing and I could not put this book down—it captivated me more than any book has in a while and it was wonderful. I am a massive lover of dark retellings that are both unique as well as faithful to the original story, and Craig completely nails this.

There is so much mystery and creepiness on every page of this story—moments that will make your heart pound and keep you riveted to each word. It is a complex and carefully woven tale filled with intriguing mystery, dark and frightening ghostly visions, and unexpected twists that constantly had me on the edge of my seat. I became so wrapped up in this story and these characters and I never wanted it to end.

All of the characters in this novel are created extremely well. Annaleigh is a very strong lead character. She’s intelligent, tough, and will do absolutely anything to protect her family no matter how confusing or out of control things appear to be. She maintains her convictions about what is truly going on at Highmoor despite facing disbelief from others. I feel like I connected with her right away—she is portrayed very clearly and is multi-dimensional.

Annaleigh’s sisters are also beautifully portrayed. I love that they feel so thoroughly fleshed out and that they are so realistic and three-dimensional. Mercy is my personal favorite! And the relationships between all of them are done to perfection. They are realistic and believable, making it easy to come to care for them and to be eager to see their troubles end. Each sister’s personality is so vividly depicted and I was so glad to see that they played such a big role in the plot. Annaleigh’s love for them is so strong and the driving force of the story and the love they all share for each other is unshakable.

I actually ended up really loving the romance in this novel. This is something that I say very rarely, but Craig created such a sweet and lovely relationship that melted my heart. I was a little wary early on as a love triangle is hinted at briefly. However, it never actually happens, which I was very thankful for. There is quite a bit of insta-love here, but that is something I don’t usually mind, especially when the romance is well-constructed. Craig does one of my favorite things when it comes to romances in fantasy novels which is truly keeping it a side plot. Never once does it overpower the main plot and Annaleigh maintains her focus on her family and taking care of them.

Though I would have liked to hear more about his storyline and background, I really like Cassius a lot. Cassius is very caring and he and Annaleigh go together really well—you can definitely feel a strong connection between them. I wish he had been in even more of the story. The moments between Annaleigh and Cassius are so sweet and pure that they are a fantastic contrast to the rest of the novel. The progression of their relationship creates small breaks of light happiness among the darkness and sadness in the main storyline and that worked out beautifully. And frankly, it was just plain romantic, adorable, and enjoyable!

Now we come to my favorite part of this novel—the writing. Craig’s writing is completely and utterly beautiful. Her style is so lyrical and enchanting, bringing out a strong fairytale feeling in the narrative. At the same time, her words are haunting and emotional, flawlessly bringing out the darkness of the tale. Loss, longing, love, and hope all run throughout each page. It is a style of writing that is incredibly enjoyable to get lost in for hours.

The world-building is absolutely fantastic. Craig carefully constructs a detailed and intricate setting. Seamlessly blending the tone of the narration into the environment, she creates a vivid and entrancing experience for her readers. The setting is described so thoroughly it is very easy to place yourself there and feel it come to life around you. The atmosphere is dark and eerie—to the point where it is almost tangible—and fits perfectly with the narrative itself. It is extremely clear that Craig put a huge amount of time and effort into absolutely every aspect of this narrative. Her descriptions are so clear and detailed throughout and the way she constructs the Thaumus family’s life, traditions, and backstory is magnificent.

The only minor issue I had was with parts of the ending. Things happen very quickly and I found myself slightly confused at times. Mainly, I wish there had been a little more explanation of the religious/mythological elements—they appear to come somewhat out of the blue. I wish that those aspects of the plot had been developed a bit more and had a bigger part in the story, mainly because I was so intrigued by them. However, the ending, particularly the moments involving the main villain, was properly freaky and intense and it fit the tone of the story perfectly. And that small bit of confusion did not detract at all from my enjoyment of it.

As I’m sure you can probably tell by now, this is one of the newest additions to my list of all-time favorite novels. I connected with this story completely—it was right up my alley. The suspense, the intrigue, the characters, the world, everything was perfect. Erin A. Craig’s writing is so enchanting and beautiful and I loved getting wrapped up in it. I absolutely cannot wait to read more from her in the future! I very highly recommend checking this novel out if you haven’t already.

I want to thank the publisher for giving me a chance to read this book. I really loved the character and world building. I thought the book wasn't super creepy but had just enough to keep you wondering what would happen next. Only two negative things were first it took me a little bit to get into the story. And the ending was not the way, I like my endings to go. But I loved the plot, the characters, and the setting. I read this last month for the Halloween season. And I think it's a book that I will reread again next Halloween.

House of Salt and Sorrow is an amazing macabre retelling of the Grimm classic, The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Following the now second eldest Thaumas girl, what started out as a 'who done it' transformed into a crazy ghost story full of twists and turns. I was guessing until the final page.

based on real story that I have not read or heard about. This book was a bit twisted. The romantic part was well not in the rest. Definitely could give you nightmares with how creepy it was. Almost should have a warning on the cover. But loved it

House of Salt and Sorrows was a great book! I haven’t been reading books very fast lately, but this one I finished in three days.

I absolutely loved the characters in this book. I felt really attatched to all of them. Cassius and Annaleigh’s relationship was the cutest thing ever! That was one of my favorite parts. Annaleigh’s relationship with her sisters was also really cute. Whenever another sister died, I felt very sad.

I have to say, the confusing was a little bit confusing. Just all of the stuff the author gave us like the gods and the trickster and everything could’ve been a bit clearer. But the good thing about that is that the ending was a total plot twist and blew my mind.

Overall, this book was really good and I 100% recons this to anyone who wants a cute romance or fantasy.

Four stars: An atmospheric retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses. Prepare for unexpected twists and turns.

Annaleigh watches yet another coffin with someone she loves encased inside descend into the salt. Annaleigh and her family live in a lonely manor by the sea. Once Annaleigh had a beautiful mother and twelve sisters, but death has been taking her family one by one. Now there are eight sisters and a stepmother by the sea. Annaleigh has a nagging sense that the deaths might be more than tragic twists of fate. Is her family cursed as the villagers believe or is there something more sinister at work?
What I Liked:
*If you like classic tales that are refashioned into something original, this is one to read. I loved the dark, atmospheric setting, the unexpected twists and the revision of a classic.
Annaleigh is an admirable main character. I liked that she was sharp, capable and that she was also kind and compassionate. She was always looking after her sisters, and she even forged a friendship with her stepmother. Annaleigh is easy to get behind because she is easy to like.
*The dark, atmospheric setting was fantastic. The novel opens with a funeral, which of course lends a creepy vibe from the first page. The majority of the story takes place in an isolated manor by the sea, which helps build the suspense and the eeriness. I thought the author did a wonderful job with the setting. Of course, there are many secrets in the manor just waiting to be discovered, some more twisted and confusing than others.
*The story starts out straightforward, you have the sisters under a curse, enchanted balls and all that, but then the suspense kicks up and the story takes on a whole new life. There are many startling reveals such as ghosts, paranormal entities, curses, treachery and betrayals, murder and mayhem. It was one thrilling shock after the next. I loved that so much of the story caught me off guard.
*I liked that the author took a well worn classic tale and completely refashioned it. I thought I knew where the story was going, until I didn’t. Loved the creativity and originality.
*The ending was surprising in so many ways. For the most part, most of the questions were answered and the story lines done up. No cliffhangers. This appears to be a stand alone.
And The Not So Much:
*With twelve sisters, it is a tall task to keep track of them all. I struggled so many times trying to keep the sisters straight, it didn’t help that there was a set of triplets, I kept getting them confused. This isn’t a big issue because the main player is Annaleigh.
*I wish the author had been more clear on the gods/ goddesses portion. All of a sudden there are some gods thrown in. I felt like this came out of nowhere. This part needed more explanation.
*The romance was a miss for me. At first, I thought the love interest was going to be a life long friend, I was totally down with that. Then things change and there is another suitor. I just never felt the chemistry, it comes out of nowhere. Then things get weird, and more weird and then the ending is really weird..... I wasn’t sold on the romance.
*The ending was confusing. I kind of struggled with the way it played out.

The House of Salt and Sorrows takes a classic fairy tale and puts an entirely new spin on it. I loved the creativity and originality with this one. Add in an eerie atmospheric setting and some dark twists and you have a novel worth checking out. If you like fairy tale retellings, this is one not to miss.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.

Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig is a book I had my eye on ever since I saw the cover. I know the saying but don’t judge me…I love a pretty cover! All of that aside, the book was great so in this case, I feel justified.

Annaleigh is the main character and she lives at Highmoor, a fairly isolated manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and their stepmother. At one time she had twelve sisters but through a number of tragedies, four of Annaleigh’s sisters are dead and there are rumors that their family is cursed. As Annaleigh digs into the death of her sister who died most recently, she begins to believe the deaths are not accidents.

There are a number of things going on in this story that really helped to keep things moving and although it may seem they aren’t connected to the main story of the deaths, think again. As the family has been mourning for a very long time, there is a sense of loss, not only for the sisters, but for everything else the girls would like in their lives. They want to be able to go to parties, meet boys, and wear clothes that are not for mourning. When their stepmother takes the opportunity to announce her pregnancy (tackily at the most recent wake), everyone begins to argue that they should be celebrating, and it’s decided that the family will have a party in honor of the twins’ birthday. Annaleigh pushes back a little and I thought she would have stuck to her guns a bit more (even with her father pushing her along) but eventually she joins in and follows the lead of her sisters.

As the party nears, Annaleigh meets a mysterious stranger in town and is immediately drawn to him, but he clearly has some secrets. When the party doesn’t have the outcome the girls were hoping for, they find another way to have fun by going to balls and dancing all night. Annaleigh decides to skip out on this activity after experiencing some disturbing things around the manor, but she also worries that the parties are having a negative effect and taking a toll on her sisters.

I loved how the relationships were addressed in the book. Of course, the sisters are key to the core story, but they had a lot of engagement with their father and stepmother…especially Annaleigh, and it helped to see those interactions and relationships to understand her and her motivations more.

All of these things combine to make an interesting story. I’m clearly not going to tell you all the things here as I don’t want to ruin the mysteries behind it all but there are a number of twists and turns in this book that I wasn’t expecting which made me enjoy it even more. Add to that well-developed characters and writing that sets the stage and atmosphere, and you’ve won me over as a reader!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I can’t wait to add a finished copy to my bookshelves. Based on this story, I will be looking for more books from Erin A. Craig in the future and I recommend you pick this one up when you can.

This book was so unique. I really enjoyed the fantasy/magic aspect combined with a mystery. The characters were wonderfully written and I read this in one sitting!

Thank you to Netgalley, Delacorte Press, and the author for a e-arc of House of Salt and Sorrows in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed reading this book. I love how this book incorporated several genres including horror, fairytale, and fantasy. It was a great retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses and it kept you wanting more. If you haven't read this book yet and love a good retelling, then I recommend you adding House of Salt and Sorrows to your TBR list because you won't be disappointed.

Ever since watching and loving the movie Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses as I child I've loved all things to do with the age old tell, so when I heard about a YA retelling I just had to get my hands on an early copy. Saldy, due to my schedule I wasn't able to read it as soon as I had it in my hands, but the minute I did I fell in love. This is a wonderfully written, wonderfully dark tale that is perfect for the spooky season, and I would 100% recommend it to fans of fantasy and the original Twelve Dancing Princesses tale.

I absolutely LOVED this book and I can’t stop thinking about it. This book was creepy and atmospheric and gorgeous and I want more.

"The Twelve Dancing Princesses" is a fantastic traditional folk-tale that many people have read today. The retelling of this story was amazing and riveting. House of Salt and Sorrows has become one of my favorite fiction pieces that I have read recently. I tend to read everything to get the best reviews for my students, but this was a book I wanted to read no matter what—I wanted it for myself and I did not want to put it down at all. I have placed this book on my to order list so that my students can get the amazing writing of Erin Craig ALL TO THEMSELVES.

The story had me hooked within the first few sentences, and I could not stop reading it once I had it at my fingertips. I read it when I had off time, I read it at home, I read it at lunch… I thought about it on the way home from work. It was wicked, it was creepy, it was horrifying but it was a book that could suck you in immediately.

There were several times when the talk about suicide, blood, and gore shocked me but it is nothing worse then what the student’s are playing today. It is actually a book that could get a student to read because it DOESN’T hold back which is an issue many authors seem to have today. They fade to black too quickly and thus this causes a slow book to become even slower—or not interesting.
They need to learn to be more like Craig and find a way to interest the current atmosphere of readers. House of Salt and Sorrows has certainly done that here.

*ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review*
I recently found out that this is a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses? (I hope that’s what it’s actually called.) But the point is that this was my first of this tale. It follows Annaleigh as she tries to solve the curse surrounding her and her 11 sisters. Because of this, it turned out to be one of the darker books I’ve read and I liked it.
Unfortunately, I had a really difficult time wrapping my head around some of the lore mentioned here. If you ask me any questions about it, I wouldn’t be able to answer. It confused me too much and I remember nothing of it. I don’t know if it’s my fault or not… Either I’m still not in the right mindset for fantasy yet or something else is going on.
With that said, I absolutely adored finding out little details about how this world incorporated the sea into their lives. I just couldn’t get enough of it. Water is my kryptonite and there is nothing better than it for me. I loved every mention of it and it was one of the main reasons why I couldn’t stop reading, even when it felt underwhelming.
Speaking of underwhelming, I kept hearing how this book was so creepy, which elevated my hopes up, but I should have known better than to let that happen. What’s creepy for many people, is boring for me, and sadly, that’s what happened here. I was in a never-ending state of waiting for the creepiness to begin but it never did. There were definitely some stomach-turning things (as in gross) but I expected to be creeped out like everyone else and that was my own downfall.
Now, what I also loved was the unreliability of everything. It had me guessing at every turn of the page but the theories in my head turned out to be a bit more interesting than the way the book actually played out. It also didn’t help that the ‘villain reveal’ was not the best. At least for me.
Because of all of this, I was going to give this 3 stars. But then 4 stars because those last 20 pages or so really played with my emotions, but I have thought better of it. I guess we can say that it’s a high 3 now instead of the low 3 I started with. Those last few pages were what I expected from the entire novel but I’m glad they happened at all.
Lastly, I wasn’t really attached to the main character but it was easy to overlook because of the bond between her and the sisters. I am a sucker for anything that revolves around strong sibling relationships and theirs appeased me to no end. It was heartbreaking to witness during the dark circumstances that befell them constantly, but it had its moments of light which I didn’t take for granted.
Anyway, I can’t end this review without mentioning the characters that stole my heart from the beginning (and will own it forever) which were, Verity and Cassius. I loved whenever they were mentioned and they made the book for me. Also, Fisher was such a treat to read about.
I might have been underwhelmed by most of this but one thing I can say, was that I shed a few tears and that’s all I ask for in a book. There were many, many, heartbreaking moments that had me blubbering like a fool and it showed just how impactful those pages were.

3/5 stars.

I'm not super familiar with the 12 dancing princesses, which is the fairy tale this is loosely based on. But this does have a dark, foreboding fairy tale vibe. Like the Grimm version of the Little Mermaid. Craig has written a gorgeous, creepy book, full of atmosphere and suspense, along with some romance!

Gothic romance, horror and A Brothers Grimm fairytale all rolled into one! I cannot five this book enough stars! I have always been fascinated by The Twelve Princesses fairytale since I first read it when I was 8 but the story was a cliffhanger and I always wondered about the characters. This lovely retelling of the story will keep you on the edge or your seat turning pages until there are no more to turn.