The constant metaphor of bees and honey throughout this whole book might have been my favorite detail. From the start, there's something so eerie about a beautiful thing being attached to a horror book. It's eerie in the same way insects are both beautiful and yet disgusting and creepy, I don't know if I could explain it with words. If it wasn't for this honey bee detail, the book might have reminded me a little too much of that Amanda Seyfried Red Riding Hood movie - a small town, a scary wolf, and distrust everywhere. A very typical main character. But somehow, she managed to make it way better than I could imagine.

Small Favors was a solid 3.5 star read for me but since there are no half stars, I’ve decided to round down to three. I made this decision because while I do love a great deal about this book, I think the issues I have outnumbers what I love. Let’s start with the positive, shall we.

Craig is simply a good writer. Her books grab my attention and I can’t put them down. I FLEW through all 480 pages because I needed to see what happened next. Her worlds are immersive and her characters are always flawlessly written. It doesn’t matter how many characters there are, each one will be unique. In Small Favors, the main character is Ellerie. Ellerie has two sisters, Merry and Sadie, and a twin brother, Sam. Sometimes siblings in books can be kind of indistinguishable but that was not the case here. I truly loved every character, even the villains.

I also love the way Craig takes classic fairytales and twists them into something gothic and creepy. I’ve discovered after reading her books and The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson, that macabre fantasy is my favorite way to partake in the horror genre. The fantasy element keeps it from being too much for me. While House of Salt and Sorrows was a spooky take on “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”, this book was a take on “Rumpelstiltskin.” It was clear that this book was also heavily influenced by Needful Things by Stephen King. Needful Things is one of my favorite King books so I did enjoy that aspect of the story but at times, I think Small Favors borrowed a little too much from Needful Things. With that, let’s talk about my issues with this book.

Small Favors takes place in the fictional town of Amity Falls, located somewhere in the eastern United States… I think. This book never gives a clear location or time period. I don’t really care about the location because it’s fictional but I would like to have a better understanding of the time period. It’s definitely historical and if I had to guess, I would say the 1700s or 1800s. Craig also kept these details vague in House of Salt and Sorrows, however, I think it worked better in that book because everything from the location to the religion was fictional. Amity Falls is not only located in the USA, it’s also an intensely Christian town, bordering on cultish. While I don’t mind Christianity being used in books, I think it took away from the fantasy/fairytale element.

Along with the Christianity taking away from the fairytale feel, the story in general wasn’t fairytale like. The “Rumpelstiltskin” aspect was very vague throughout and nothing really happened with it until the end of the book. This was particularly disappointing to me because I really wanted to see Craig’s take on it. This book was honestly more inspired by Needful Things than “Rumpelstiltskin.” If you’ve read King’s book, you’ll know how it ends and that is almost exactly how Small Favors ends. Up until the ending, I was enjoying the similarities between the two but having this book end with a town wide fight scene just didn’t do it for me.

The ending in general is why I can’t rank this book higher. Until about the 50% mark, this was a five star read and it dipped down from there. There were a few random things that didn’t go where I expected them to and it affected my overall enjoyment of the story. I’m going to get into them now but I’m going to list them in a bullet list for clarity.

One of the main creepy things happening in the town was the animals giving birth to deformed and monstrous babies. This was brought up multiple times so when Ellerie’s mother and Sam’s girlfriend both became pregnant, I assumed we were going in a real spooky direction. I thought that either one or both the babies would be born deformed or as something other but that didn’t happen. Sam’s baby was born totally normal and we never find out about Ellerie and Sam’s sibling which brings me to my next issue.

Ellerie’s parents, Gideon and Sarah, played a pretty big role in the first part of this book. I really liked them and liked what they brought to the story. When a pregnant Sarah was severely injured, she and Gideon left the tiny village for a bigger city to seek medical care. We NEVER find out what happened to them. It’s left totally open ended so who knows if they lived or died. Leaving this open ended was a major misstep, in my opinion.

One of my only complaints in my review of House of Salt and Sorrows was the instalove. That is also a problem here. The love interest is Whitaker and I really do like him. I liked him and Ellerie together but I wanted more. There was not enough interactions between the two for me to believe that they were in love. Also, as in House of Salt and Sorrows, the male love interest is mysterious and possibly the bad guy. I DO like that but I can see it becoming very formulaic if Craig continues to do this in future books.

Sam is a very confusing character. As Ellerie’s twin, he’s literally her other half. We’re told repeatedly that Sam is (or was) a great guy but we never see that. Sam is truly awful from the beginning. I initially assumed it was because of the dark forces in the town but then we find out that nope, that’s just who he is. So, if he used to be a great guy, what happened to make him so awful? He also gets his girlfriend pregnant but refuses to believe the baby is his. When it’s born and looks just like him, he doesn’t seem surprised and in fact, acts like he knew it was his baby the whole time. He then meets an unfortunate end and that’s that on that… very unsatisfying.

The ending of this book was unsatisfying in general. I really feel that this could have been a five star read with just a few minor tweaks. I love the claustrophobic village, the characters, the bees and the writing in general but all of that isn’t enough to make me happy with the ending.

Small Favors is a is a wonderful and incredibly rich fantasy novel, so well built and fast paced that I wasn't able to put it down till I reached the end. I was absolutely captivated by the atmosphere, and the characters.

This novel submerges the reader in a landscape so imaginative and detailed that the information of the world building/plot never feels forced, and is never difficult to understand or picture in one's mind. I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day! I enjoyed every page and thought that the plot/story was very unique. Would recommend to anyone!

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book to review.

I liked this book so much better than her debut novel, which, to be fair, was pretty good, too. This was like a horror version of Little House on the Prairie. Since it was comped to The Village, I kept waiting to be surprised by all of this set in a modern era, but that never came and, as a result, I could never pinpoint when exactly this novel takes place. I loved the bees, I loved Ellerie and Whitaker, it’s such a good story. I devoured it in almost a single sitting.

Erin A. Craig's ghoulish debut House of Salt and Sorrows left me in no doubt as to her talent for spine-chilling horror, and this small town, pioneer era gothic was even more deliciously claustrophobic. Craig is above all a wizard of atmospheric prose; just as HOSAS left me feeling salt-sprayed and emotionally wrung-out, Small Favors invokes in equal measure the suffocating heat of high summer and and the eerie silence of snow-silenced pines. The tension within these pages is palatable, as the isolated town of Amity Falls spirals closer and closer to a sort of Dionysian madness. The story is a loose retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, and I was impressed by how Craig put a thoroughly unique stamp on the classic fable. However, similar to my issues with HSOSAS, the brilliance of the setting and tight, even plot eclipsed the blandness of the characters, none of whom stood out to me as especially memorable. The romance felt hurried and unmotivated for what was otherwise a compelling story, and I found myself bored by leading man Whittaker. Furthermore, the plot itself unwound near the end culminating in an ending so furiously rushed and unsatisfying I thought I had missed something and had to flip a few pages back.

Still, this book will sink its hooks into you and keep you guessing right up until the final page. Craig's writing is phantasmagoric, and will transfix you as surely as smoke lull Ellerie's bees. TW for gore, violence, animal death, and a classic Erin A. Craig traumatizing birth scene.

When I heard Erin Craig had a new book, I jumped at the chance to request an arc. House of Salt and Sorrows was one of my absolute favorite books of last year! Dark, memorable, and terrifying; it took one book for me to figure out I love Erin Craig’s style. So, I fully thought that Erin Craig was switching gears from fairytales to small town horror in this book. I did not get this at all from the synopsis and I somehow missed this when I skimmed over other people’s reviews, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this book is actually a retelling of Rumplestilskin. We are keeping the fairytale trend going which I could not be happier about! Horrific fairytale fiction in YA? HELL YEAH.

Rather than a standard fairytale setting with castles and princesses like in her previous book, this fairytale retelling takes place in a claustrophobically small town in the mountains. Heavy creepy religious cult vibes, right from the first chapter. This book shows the danger of small town living and how fanatic people can easily get when they aren’t governed by anyone outside of their community. My main complaint is how slow to start this book was, aka my biggest book pet peeve. It’s a pretty long book, clocking in at nearly 500 pages, and I think it could’ve been far shorter. Seriously, this book could’ve been about 200 pages shorter. The first half showed the slow and mysterious decline of the community, which I think was solidified well enough 30% into the book. So much of it was unnecessary. I went from motivated to annoyed when I got to 80% of the book and still nothing had happened. Sorry but I can’t read 400 pages of essentially nothing and still be as excited as I was starting it. I spent most of the book antsy for something to just HAPPEN ALREADY.

The issue I had with this book was the same issue I had with House of Salt and Sorrows, which was nothing really happened until the last 10% of the book. It was overly long and repetitive until the last 10%, the big reveal was extremely predictable and I called it about 20% into the book. Overly long and nothing happening until the last 10% is a bad combo.

My other issue was that the ending was extremely unsatisfying. In House of Salt and Sorrows, the fairytale ambience and incredibly action packed last 10% made it an above average read for me, but unfortunately Small Favors missed the mark. It also desperately needs an epilogue, as that ending was so unsatisfactory. When I turned the page and saw that the book was over, I was like wtf that’s it?

I debated back and forth between 3 or a very generous and biased 4 stars due to my loyalty towards House of Salt and Sorrows and my love for fairytales. To be honest it would’ve been a 3.5 star read until that frustrating, unsatisfying ending, pushing this down to a 3/5. I’ve seen some comparisons between this book and The Grace Year, and if you are looking for something scarier with higher stakes and more action, I personally recommend that one instead.

Thanks to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

Small Favors is Erin A. Craig's follow up to debut House of Salt and Sorrows and it delivers on the slow building tension and dread and explosive finale. It follows 18 year-old Ellerie Downing and her beekeeping family in the extremely isolated mountain village, where mysterious creatures lurk in the forest using tricks and small favors to turn the village residents against each other until the tension erupts into violence. It's atmospheric and deliciously creepy. Craig is great at building spooky aesthetics and blending fantasy with horror. If you enjoyed House of Salt and Sorrows, Small Favors will scratch the same itch.

I really enjoyed this beautifully written, slow-burn thriller. It's kind of like the movie "The Village" if the monsters were real. There were a few loose ends that I felt were not brought to a satisfying conclusion (WTH, Sam??), but overall it was really good!

This is a dark little book, and I really enjoyed it. I have come to appreciate the dark notes that permeate Craig's writing, and the different intricacies of human nature that she explores and exploits.

When I first read Erin’s debut, House of Salt and Sorrows, I knew she would quickly rise to one of my favorite authors. To say I’ve been waiting with bated breath and following every line drop, aesthetic post, and update from Erin about Small Favors, would be an understatement. So when I saw it dropped on NetGalley for review, I knew it was an auto-request for me! Thankfully, I was approved with no sacrificial promises required.

Small Favors did not disappoint. Before you even crack the cover you’re met with a beautifully rich and vibrant cover almost literally dripping with honey. It completely sweeps you into the atmospheric world of the book - a promised land made up of a quaint and perfect little town. The world-building is extremely rich and you quickly grasp not only the layout of the town but the social hierarchy that exists. It’s very reminiscent of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village.

Simplistic in its daily life, the village lives in an almost Puritan-like environment without technology, mostly isolated from the rest of the world. To survive, supplies like fabric, medicine, and groceries are transported from cities across the Blackspire Mountain Range via supply train. Because the mountains are treacherous, the pass can only be traversed during certain times of the year and takes several weeks to return. We enter the story as one of the supply trains is on its last run for the year before winter sets in and the bigger cities become unreachable.

While the initial atmosphere is very “love thy neighbor”, that doesn’t last and the town is plagued by mischief soon after we meet our protagonist, Ellerie Downing. Ellerie and her family (which includes her parents, twin brother, and two younger sisters), manage a farm as well as beehives.

What was once a community built on trusting and relying on each other, takes a turn after Ellerie’s twin brother, Samuel, becomes involved with her best friend Rebecca, who falls pregnant. Once Rebecca’s pregnancy is revealed to Ellerie and her brother, Samuel denies involvement and casts suspicious accusations towards other potential lovers in the town.

This denial causes animosity between the Downing’s and Rebecca’s family and results in the Downing’s farm and crops being burned to the ground. In attempting to put out the fire, Ellerie’s mother is critically injured and must seek medical treatment outside of the town to have a chance of survival. While this would be arduous on its own, given how remote the town is, it’s compounded by strange reports of beasts from the surrounding forests and a ravaged supply train. Having no choice, Ellerie’s parents set off for a faraway town with the help of Whitaker, a new-in-town trapper.

Left on their own, it’s up to Ellerie to fend for her family through the winter which is made worse with the rapid decline of the town’s friendly nature. How will they, and all of Amity Falls for that matter, survive?

I truly loved this book and am still thinking about it months later after my read. Erin is a master when it comes to creepy, atmospheric vibes that suck you in. While a lot of YA novels rely heavily on character development to move the plot forward, I feel like Erin takes a different approach and focuses more on world-building to further the plot and the characters are secondary - in my opinion, this gamble pays off and makes for an interesting read!

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.



Erin A. Craig returns to the dark fantasy world we all know and love with her latest standalone, Small Favors! If House of Salt and Sorrows was akin to The Worn Out Dancing Shoes aka The Twelve Dancing Princesses, I'd say this one is more like Rumpelstiltskin, but only the vaguest, loosest sense of the word. It was still a rather dark and mysterious read, but the fairy tale element was not as clear to see this time around.

Ellerie lives a simple life in her village and truly, all is well. Then one day, she finds out her best friend has been seeing her twin brother behind her back. Prior to a dangerous monster was found in the woods that surround her village and with winter fast approaching it doesn't look good for their survival when the trip to stock up on supplies is cancelled. Adding to the strangeness, a mysterious stranger comes to town and Ellerie can't help but be drawn to him.

Then the unthinkable happens, tragedy after tragedy, it seems, an accident leaves Ellerie's mother in danger and in order to save her, her parents go on a trip to the city to get the care she needs. Ellerie is left behind to care for her sisters and to take care of their family's bees. They're the "honey people" in her town.

Strange things continue to happen periodically around town. Little things that you might not notice right away and then of course there's all the strangeness surrounding the forest and the creatures lurking within. Trouble is afoot and it's from an unseen force that will wreak havoc upon the town before it's done.

While I admit that this one was a bit slower than I would've liked, I never once thought of stopping reading because I was eager to see if my theories panned out and to see what was what with all the creepiness. And there's some serious creepiness to this story despite some of the other lackluster qualities.

I guess I was expecting too much of a fairy tale retelling, instead, I felt like this one just took fairy tale aspects and hid them in the story. Mostly generic elements from other old tales of warning and caution.

There was a little bit of romance in this one too between Ellerie and the enigmatic stranger with no name. Their interactions were few and far between but they were always intense ones to say the least. I enjoyed watching their interactions, but I admit, I wanted to know more about these dark and spooky woods with monsters lurking about. While we do get some answers to that part of the story in the end, I was craving a bit more than what we got. I mean, I see the appeal in just getting the bare bones of an answer, but alas, I craved more.

All in all, Small Favors was an intriguing read, but I feel like it had more potential to be an awesome story and instead what we got was one that just pretty good. The ending did kind of make up for some of that. It's not the ending you'd expect for a fairy tale ending, but when compared to the original fairy tales...it just might fit in!




Overall Rating 3.5/5 stars

Small Favors is is similar to House of Salt and Sorrows in that it features a strong, young woman protagonist, in an isolated setting, dealing with creeping dread and loss.

Ellerie lives with her twin brother, two younger sisters and their parents in a small rural community. Things start to fall apart when the group making the supply run is destroyed by wolves (or is it something scarier). Now Amity Falls needs to survive the winter with severely limited supplies. As the worries mount, so do the fears. Of each other and of what's out there in the darkness, beyond the perimeter of bells and signal fires.

If you're looking for unsettling creatures in the dark, Small Favors is for you. When friends and neighbors turn on each other, it's reminiscent of the Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street."

Erin Craig's writing is so beautifully ominous! I was so engaged with Ellerie and her resourcefulness. And of course, I needed to know what was going to happen with Whitaker, the mysterious trapper who seems to know far more about what's happening than a simple stranger should. And his obvious feelings about Ellerie.

I raced through this book although I kept trying to pace myself. I couldn't! I had to know what was going on with Amity Falls.

Her world-building captured the feel of how difficult life in a small rural town can be - isolated with limited resources and how dependent everyone is on each other for survival. She added just enough tension to let you know that you're not in Little House on the Prairie.

Small Favors has a Kendare Blake or Rin Chupeco vibe that's deliciously scary.

Amity Falls is a small ideallic town, where neighbors help each other, and they live by the rules set down by the towns founders.. Rules like no children are allowed at town meetings.. and that no one is allowed to venture into the woods alone.. When a supply run goes very wrong and the whole party ends up dead, that rule begins to make some since, and no one realizes quite yet what kinds of changes this will have in store for our little town.

It sucked me in from basically the first page when Ellery and her father are tending the bee hives.. As more and more things began to go wrong, and the townspeople started showing their darker sides I just had to know how everything was going to play out.

The whole book has this ominious and creepy feeling.. An isolated village, monsters in the woods, and now no way to restock supplies and winter is coming.. Tensions rise as the town begins to turn on each other.. What is causing this? Could it be the things in the woods? or is it something else entirely? There were alot of twists and turns that I didn't see coming, and I really look forward to buying a physical copy of this book, and reading whatever else this author comes out with..

I loved Ellerie, she is strong, smart, loves to learn, and watches over her siblings.. When the children find themselves alone on the farm Ellerie really steps up, and does her absolute best with what she has to make sure her little sisters survive the winter.. That they will all survive until their parents return. Whitaker was also pretty awsome, we know that he will have something to do with something.. but you can really tell that he has growing feelings for Ellerie, and that he wants to help her when he can. Merrie and Sadie were great as well, they were fully fleshed out characters with very distinct personalities that reminded me of my own little sister.

I don’t even know where to start! I was lucky to receive a digital ARC through NetGalley but I can guarantee I’ll buy a physical copy when it’s released.

This book is similar to House of Salt and Sorrow in that the protagonist is a badass, headstrong female and the overall element of terror. There were quite a few scenes when reading that I got goosebumps and I’m not one to unsettle easily! The scene and setting of the story is wildly different in a delightful way—think Little House on the Prairie meets The Village.

The story follows 18-year-old Ellerie Downing in her quaint town of Amity Falls. The town gears up for their supply run when fatal disaster strikes. The townspeople have to try to survive the winter with limited supplies and monstrous animal attacks. But as time goes on and devastation escalates, it’s unclear who is the more deadly threat—the things lurking beyond the pines or the thing that lurks within.

Erin A. Craig did NOT disappoint and I can’t recommend Small Favors enough!

DNFing @ 32%. This book started out strong, the first 15% or so I was really invested in where the story went but then it just started to drag. The time it was set in is also confusing, it felt like it was historical but other points it felt present day, as well as feeling slightly fantasy in genre. That mixed with non-gender equality is not really something that im super hyped about reading right now. Honestly, the main character isn't enough to get me to crawl my way through this book, which im a little disappointed about as I was really excited for this one.

A charming story is hinted at from the very first pages of this book when we are introduced to a small family who lives off of their own land and the goods that their neighbors grow, a secluded village that sees very few unknown faces, a father who keeps bees, and a mother who makes heavenly cakes with the precious honey that is set aside from bottling and selling. What's not to love about Ellerie Downing and the life she lives in Amity Falls? At first, everything seems picture perfect, but slowly a little bit of darkness begins to seep in around the edges, and that's when the story really begins.

Amity Falls is a close-knit community that supports each other through the good times and the bad. It seems as though the town has had a stretch of good luck lately, and life is good for the townsfolk. Every so often, a group of people get together and go on a supply run to the nearest city to purchase food and medicine that they can't grow or make themselves. The journey can be treacherous, even in good weather, and the most recent group to make the trip never returned, leading people to believe something must have apprehended them on their trip there or back. Then rumors surface of gigantic wolves living in the surrounding forest, striking fear into even the bravest of the local men.

Tragedy begins to strike from all sides when a fire destroys several buildings on the Downing farm and other strange and devastating happenings occur. Suddenly, Ellerie finds herself left at home with her older brother and younger sisters while their parents travel to the nearby city to seek urgent medical care. With supplies running low and the responsibility of taking care of beekeeping duties and much of the housework on her shoulders, Ellerie begins to doubt her ability to keep her family safe and fed until their parents return home. Of course, this is the perfect time for a mysterious (and handsome) young trapper to emerge from the woods and help Ellerie in her time of need.

I can't believe that I almost missed out on this book because the cover just didn't catch my eye. Now that I've seen it and looked at the cover more closely, I'm not sure how missing it was possible, as the cover art is quite intricate and beautiful. The story inside is just as good as the cover, if not better. It appeased my love for fantasy/magical realism and had a little bit of romance thrown in for good measure. I can definitely see myself re-reading this book in the future and enjoying it just as much.

Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy

Ellerie Downing lives a simple life with her family in Amity Falls. The town is a close-knit community where neighbors depend on each other to survive.   As Ellerie transitions from a girl to an adult, her journey is marked by incredible changes- she starts to realize she barely knows her twin, her closest friendship is threatened, and the people of her town start to unravel. Anyone that ventures into the woods isn't making it out alive.  Disfigured, unnatural animals start to appear. As neighbors begin to turn on each other, she fears that the monstrous creatures in the woods aren't the real danger. Sounds exciting?  This isn't even the best part- Mix in a mysterious, handsome stranger in the woods, and you have a dangerously, exciting read. You have to read this one! Small Favors out July 27,2021.

A slow burn of a small town mystery, with fantastical monsters thrown in and a somewhat Rumplestiltskin-esque element thrown in - I have to say I adored it!

The story centers around the town of Amity Falls, surrounded by woods and mountains, where strange things have begun to occur, beginning with the deaths of the trading party who recently set off for other cities. Is the cause wolves, other creatures? Something more mysterious and sinister? As things begin to go wrong even in the center of town, and people seem to change in an instant, it seems so.

Ellerie, our main character, and her sisters were so authentic and likeable, and I loved the addition of the mysterious trapper and stranger to town - Whittaker. Ellerie and Whittaker's seemingly instant romance felt a little much, a little less than believable - but honestly not unbelievable enough to drop my rating of the book.

I loved the dark tension, the slow burn, the small-town atmosphere, and the wondering who was going to turn next. All in all, I definitely recommend this book!

Dystopian society. Ellerie and her close-knit family live within a small community. When this town was founded, the elders described strange beasts in the woods. Although no one had seen these beasts for decades, the bells on the outskirts of town and the tales told throughout the years were fair warnings to all citizens--stay within the town's boundaries. So, when silvery eyes begin to appear within the woods, caravans ravaged, citizens murdered, and strange occurrences begin to occur, then fester--Ellerie and her community are crippled with fear, anger, and indecision. How will this community move forward--much less survive?

As a result of my various committee appointments and commitments I am unable to disclose my personal thoughts on this title at this time. Please see my star rating for a general overview of how I felt about this title. Additionally, you may check my GoodReads for additional information on what thoughts I’m able to share publicly. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this and any other titles you are in charge of.