This romance was interesting in that it was formatted as instalove, but Ellerie's stubbornness and need to be present for her family made her push him off and hold off on the romance. I didn't necessarily feel the chemistry between the two of them until much later, finding Whittaker suspicious and not trusting his intentions with Ellerie. There is some elements of religious tension in this book, however, the comparison to The Village missed the mark for me. I expected more of a cult to be responsible for the chaos within the town, and instead it was a paranormal force. The pacing of this book was strange, and a little frustrating at times. There were moments where things were happening quickly, peoples anger heightened to a peak and the consequences being high. There were other moments when things were going incredibly slowly.

Overall, I did enjoy this story and I loved the retelling aspects of a fairytale I've always loved. Conceptually, this story was fantastic, but in execution there are some things that could have been done better.

Another haunting, atmospheric read from Erin A. Craig, one of my favorite authors! Small Favors reminded me a lot of Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton, so if you liked that, you’ll definitely like Small Favors. Although the first half or so of the book is a bit slow, it keeps a very ominous undertone throughout, which kept me on the edge of my seat. Small Favors is set entirely in a very small, secluded town, but I never felt bored while reading. There are a lot of side characters, since Ellerie and her family know everyone in town, but they all have very fleshed-out personalities; no one is there as just a filler. Ellerie and her family were so much fun to read about, and I loved the combination of a historical time period and eerie fantasy. 4.5/5

I was so excited to start this book. I loved House of Salt and Sorrows and found this new book had a lot of that same surreal magic that I loved. Fans of that book should definitely pick this up. That said there are so many unique elements to this new book. I love the setting; the town history and traditions really brings the story to life. The magic and myth was well done and blended into the towns story so well so it was hard for the characters to decide what was myth and what was history. I really enjoyed how Ellerie uncovered what was going on. There were so many great twists and clues throughout the story. I loved it from the start and once I got to the second half it was impossible to put down. The ending was so well written and I was really impressed with how it managed to surprise me while also feeling totally inevitable. This book cemented Erin A. Craig as a must read author for me and I can’t wait to be immersed in her next fantastic world.

3.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC.

This book was a VERY slow start. If you're patient enough to wait for the good parts to start showing up about 48% in, then this is a book for you. I docked a star off my rating because of how long it took to get interesting.

Ellerie Downing and her family live in a small village. Life seems as normal as can be until a stranger shows up claiming he is a trapper. Weird things start to happen to their local villagers who were sent on a supply run and weird, abnormal animals start stalking their woods around the village.

The book starts off pretty slow and not much happens for about half of the story. There is a lot "village" life happening in the first half that I kept forgetting about the abnormal animals and things hidding in the forest. The last half of the book ended up being pretty action packed and worth it to finish the book. The writing had a nice flow to it and it was easy to read. I enjoyed Ellerie's character and the book ends up getting slightly dark toward the last half of the book. I would of liked to have seen more of that through the whole book.

In my wildly unbiased opinion, I adored this book! Bees are our friends! Yay bees! (I needed to download this to see how something looked on my kindle! Love you PRH!)

Small Favors is the story of Ellerie Downing, a young woman living in the isolated town of Amity Falls with her family. Old stories tell of monsters that once stalked the forests surrounding the town. The edges of the forest are still strung with the Bells, silver and brass trinkets to keep them at bay. When a supply train goes missing, townsfolk start to wonder if the monsters have returned. As mysterious and dark deeds begin to occur, Ellerie must decide who to trust in order to protect her family.

I absolutely loved Small Favors! From carefully chosen sensory details to the practicalities of living in an isolated location, Craig creates an intricate and immersive town in Amity Falls. As I raced to put together the clues and guess what would happen next, Craig was always one step ahead of me. The slow and devastating unraveling of the town and all social niceties is masterfully executed as the monsters close in. I found myself on the edge of my seat, unable to tear my eyes from the page!

One of my favorite parts of the story was Ellerie’s genuine relationship with her family, especially her sisters. No matter what occurred, Ellerie and her sisters remained resilient and loyal to each other. Ellerie’s struggle between needing to be in a parental role and also a sister was portrayed very well. I enjoyed the romantic love interest, he was mysterious and captivating! Ellerie and her family also keep bees and it was so interesting to learn about beekeeping, an extremely delicate art. Small Favors will make you gasp aloud as what lurks in the shadows of the town is brought to light. This was a spooky and delicious tale where every favor comes with a price. Small Favors releases on July 27, 2021 and I would highly recommend you pick up a copy! Thank you so much to Erin A. Craig, Delacorte Press, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on the publication date and I will publish it on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble etc.

I first fell in love with Erin A. Craig’s ability to tell a story in A House of Salt and Sorrows. Her latest book, Small Favors did not disappoint.

The story is a slow build. It draws you in and offers you a cup of hot tea and a blanket, only for you to find out while you were being tempted with those things, your wallet is gone. The dynamics between the people in this small town are unique and feel familiar. The woods are creepy and enchanting. I loved the instances with the bees and the hives. It made me want to go out and start my own bee hive colony. This book is the perfect read on a cold dark winter’s night.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion

I don't like scary books and tend to avoid all things creepy, but this book...wow... I couldn't put it down! It had so many fantastic elements of suspense and kept me quickly turning pages. The world of Amity Falls is idyllic and Ellerie lives a quiet life with her family of bee keepers. As the story starts, strange thing have been happening around town, in such a subtle way that no one is noticing, except Ellerie. When a great tragedy rocks this peaceful, quiet, secluded town, the story really takes off. No technology or supplies for the winter, the story gave me vibes of The Village. I loved Erin A. Craig's debute and this sophomore novel is just as fantastic, in a creepy fantasy way! Good characters, mystery and some elements of romance, I will definitely grab a copy for my classroom. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Hell yeah! The author of House of Salt and Sorrows is back with another epic, mesmerizing, unputdownable fantasy read!

I always keen on claustrophobic small town mysteries: people get trapped in the place, harsh winter comes out as the monsters start lurking around the woods. They cannot get out to provide more food and medical supplies, craving from hunger, cold, exhaustion and madness slowly takes out the direction of the place: neighbors become enemies, delusions take over control! Even your own sibling can turn into a real threat!

Who you’re gonna trust? How could you survive? When your town people, your own people become more dangerous than violent creatures, silver eyed monsters wait to hunt you in the woods, you’d better trust your own fighting skills and sharpen your survival instincts!

The story centered around the families live in small town Amity Falls in the Blackspire Mountain Range( world building and regulations of town remind you of Shyamalan’s “Village “)

18 years old Ellerie Downing, vibrant, resilient, independent, smart, tough heroine, who is more mature from her piers, taking care of her family, helping beekeeper papa to protect the hives. Her dear sisters Merry and Sadie help her for the house chores ( especially Sadie is sweetheart with her imaginary friend Abigail, you may remember from author’s previous book) But her twin brother Samuel’s secret relationship with her best friend Rebecca ends tragically which cause a big animosity between them and their neighbor Danforths. It results with a big fire at their land. Her mother gets brutally injured, critically burned!

Thankfully new mysterious trapper Whitaker (that’s the name Ellerie gave him because he insists not to tell his real name to her) are helpful enough to ride with her parents to the out own town: so her mother may get medical assistance she needs to get healed!

But after their parents are gone, her twin brother starts getting more suspicious, things get more dangerous around the woods. She starts seeing a woman in white dress, the very same ghostly figure Cyrus Danforth has seen before something real tragic happens to him!

I enjoyed the growing tension, the intense, dark, heart pounding, slow burn, claustrophobic atmosphere, the detailed and perfectly elaborated relationship patterns and governing style of town’s people.

Ellerie and her sisters are so adorable, easy to relate and it was quite fun to read their genuine, loyal relations. Their sisterhood bond reminded me of March Sisters. They get through the tough times together, supporting each other!

But there are still some things made me hesitate to give five stars even though I adored the author’s extra talented writing skills!

In my opinion the book was way too much long and from the beginning you may foresee the big twist and great mystery! Love story between Ellerie and Whitaker was instant, not credible enough even though I enjoyed the banters between them.

And ending was also not quite satisfying for me! There are some haphazard, abrupt conclusions and unanswered questions . I think I loved House of Salt and Sorrow more. But this book was still quite fascinating reading with riveting writing style, mysterious, dark, bleak premise, disturbing world building and great character portraits!

So I’m lowering only one star and giving my four silver, wolffish, terrifying, horrific, epic stars!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s / Delacorte Press for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

Chilling and deliciously creepy, Small Favors is a novel that starts out so innocently, a young girl and her family living in the idyllic town of Amity Falls, where everyone respects and helps each other as one unit. Ellerie,, her twin Sam, her sisters and parents farm a homestead on the outskirts of town and are the beekeepers. Life is good until many things go wrong at once. Sams girlfriend becomes pregnant and he denies being the father, the supply train returning with supplies from the city ambushed by monsters, their field of flowers set ablaze and one by one the townspeople start to become strange. The only good thing is Ellerie meeting Whitaker, a trapper passing through and they grow to deeply care for each other.
Set over the course of a year, what starts out one way becomes another and the towns course is irrevocably set.
The ending was a little too much, with not enough explanation in some areas, and too over the top in others. Almost like Blazing Saddles where the movie is stellar until the ending becomes farcical. I think this ending does not do the whole book justice as it’s written. But that being a flaw I still recommend reading Small Favors because 90% is well worth it.

Small Favors is a good read.

The story is dark and compelling and highly suspenseful, drawing you in quickly. I really was anxious to find out how things would end. I also loved our characters. They were very well drawn and, when we find out some of their secrets in the end, they felt even more real.

If I had one issue, it was that the world building fell short at times for me. Between reading times, I found myself thinking about the author’s world (a good thing) but also questioning it (not so good). I was left with lots of questions about this world – questions that were never answered.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed the book. It was worth the read!

• ARC Provided via Net Galley

Craig has been on my must-read list since her debut HOSAS, so as soon as I saw this title, I clicked request as fast as I could. I mean--that COVER. It's one of my favorite cover reveals of the last few years. I was thrilled to be approved and quickly dove in.

Ellerie Downing has lived in Amity Falls her entire life. It's a small town built on steadfast rules and community, and until a supply run goes horribly wrong, Ellerie never considers that Amity Falls could be anything but what it is. Orderly. Content. Thriving. But that was before the creatures beyond the bells threatened their existence and the world as Ellerie knows it is irrevocably changed.

Oh, I loved this book.

To start, Craig's writing is meticulously detailed, creating a fully-immersive read in which you will get totally lost. The storytelling is top notch, with rich back stories, anecdotes, town legends, and gossip. Each side character becoming a piece of the larger picture, a seemingly innocuous narrative choice until the strands start weaving together. Then, it's chaos and beauty.

Ellerie's voice carries the story, and I found her to be strong, curious, and endearing. I was invested in her goals, in her desire to earn her father's pride and her mother's adoration, in her nurturing relationships with her siblings, but above all, I was invested in her burgeoning love interest--and as someone who doesn't typically gravitate toward these storylines, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. No spoilers, of course, but this was an excellent sub-plot that added layers to both the characters and the conflict.

And it was scary. Stripped of all electronics and modern-day preoccupations, we get a community fighting against unseen monsters and each other. We get the metaphor and the reality, an indiscernible evil that manifests in so many small moments that the reading itself is an elongated tension. The imagery here wins, both understated and subtle and a punch-in-the-face.

Overall, Small Favors is a chilling, un-put-down-able read that will keep you on your toes until the very last page and then some. It's a story about love and family and coming of age. It's a story about hope and consequences and the monsters that live inside as well as behind you. I'd recommend to fans of atmospheric horror in the vein of The VVitch or M. Night Shyamalan or anyone looking for a strong POV with elements of the supernatural.

Big thanks to Delacorte and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

4.5/5 stars, rounding up to 5 because it really was insanely enjoyable and unputdownable.

This was by far one of the most unique books I have in the past year or so. Erin A. Craig has a wonderful imagination, and a beautiful way with words. This was so incredibly strange and compelling - I loved every second of it!

The only thing preventing me from giving this 5 stars, is that there were a few areas that I felt could be much more fleshed out. I will touch on this further in longer, more detailed review. Spoiler tags will be included so don't worry!

I will update my review with the longer version closer to publication.

Thank you NetGalley for another one of Erin Craig's books!!! I got her first book, House of Salt and Sorrows also as a netgalley and was instantly obsessed. I jumped at the chance to read another book of hers. Erin is a masterful writer and I don't know how but she perfectly blends together fairytale retellings with horror and I can't get enough. I read in her authors bio that she is a big embroiderer and I feel like she's embroidering these worlds together stitch by stitch and in the end it creates a masterpiece. This book starts off pretty idyllic as we read about Ellerie and her family and their quaint little secluded town, Amity Falls. (What a perfect name right?) Everything seems perfect and things start to slowly fall apart and then all at once. I could feel the dread curling up in my stomach as I read and I couldn't make myself stop. The characters were wonderful, the writing was great and the suspense was killing me. Some things were slightly predictable and I do feel like the final confrontation with the big baddie wasn't quite what I wanted. This also isn't the perfect ending where everything gets fixed which I appreciated. I feel like she left it open to where it could be a sequel but it could also be just a standalone. Erin has become one of my favorite authors and I recommend her books to everyone.

This book will have you stockpiling your pantry and compulsively looking over your shoulder. Small Favors was a delight to read, and a shining edition to the YA genre.

I first became aware of the author, Erin Craig, when I read her debut novel, A House of Salt and Sorrows. Like her first book, this one did not disappoint. The originality and thought behind her novels is truly astonishing. Once again, the main antagonists are cleverly introduced throughout the book, bit by bit, and constantly keep the reader hooked to find out more. The main protagonist, Ellerie, was also extraordinary brave and strong. After being thrust into a leadership position she didn’t want, Ellerie stoically protected her sisters and rose to solve the problems they faced. The bond between the three main siblings was also incredibly well developed, and all of the characters were fleshed out with distinct personalities. I’d recommend the book based off of the characters alone.

There was a small romantic subplot that could have been better developed, but overall it definitely added to the tense setting. The plot was fast-paced, and the hectic climax was cleverly integrated into the storyline.

There is something lyrical and beautiful about Craig’s writing, and it really went a long way in bringing the landscape and characters to life. It also made the book compulsively readable, and I wouldn’t recommend starting it if you don’t have the time to finish it. Once you start reading Small Favors, you won’t be able to put it down.

I received an ARC of this novel from Random House and Netgalley, opinions are my own.

I'll admit it, I was sucked in by the cover. I am a sucker for a gorgeous cover. In this case, Small Favors can absolutely be judged by its cover. Beautiful prose and an amazing story.

Ellerie and her family live life filled with happiness and love. When a stranger arrives in town and horrible accidents follow soon after, Ellerie is forced to make decisions for her family that no 18 year old should have to make. Erin A. Craig’s second novel is a winner and will have you watching over your shoulder. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my review.

*Spoiler free*

After reading and loving House Of Salt And Sorrows, I was really looking forward to anything else this author was going to write. Small Favors seemed like it was going to be extremely different than House, but I have to say, the bright yellow cover for a horror novel is certainty intriguing. And the process of small favors spiraling into something bigger and even deadly? Yes, I definitely wanted to know more. Trigger warnings: burns, vomit, blood

This book was really good. It had a few frustrations with it, which is honestly a bummer because the rest of the book really was amazing.

I'm going to start off with the things I did like. First off, the writing. Craig has TALENT. The way she weaves words together to create such beautiful scenery and such vivid stories is incredible. Her words seem to sink into my brain with such a soothing affect. Which is odd, considering how creepy this book got. Though, beautifully written horror books does seem like something that would hit the nail on the head.

The setting was another thing that I fell in love with. This book takes place in a secluded town, surrounded by forest. It's seeped in legends, and even superstitions to extent. There's a set of rules to live by, and they even rhyme! I love creepy forest books, and this is another one added onto the list. Plus, the way darkness creeps around the edges, looking for cracks to crawl through, is just stunning. It's a wonderful setting that's wonderfully written, which makes it wonderful all around.

Another thing I really loved was the creepy factor. The subtle way it's slipped in at the beginning, to how it blooms into something bigger later, was terrifying and so well done. Craig knows how to write horror, and I loved being terrifying by what she wrote.

Sibling relationships was another big part of this book that I really enjoyed. Positive and not positive both, all of them were so well written and I loved Ellerie's whole family.

There were a few things that I didn't particularly love, and I think it was because of one thing: the romance. It just seemed to kind of cheapen the whole thing. It felt like it moved way too fast and was tinged with an ounce of oversweetness because of it. It wasn't completely unnecessary, I just think more development could have been beneficial here or there. I think this also lead me to not like Ellerie's character as much as I would have. I think I just didn't get her on a more fundamental level. She seems to be driven by a mishmash of things, so I feel like I could've gotten to know her better than I did. I still loved her, but I felt like I could have loved her more.

The ending was also something that I didn't particularly love. First off, I felt like it was very abrupt. I wanted at least another chapter wrapping up a couple of loose ends. I just wanted to know more. I did read an ARC, so perhaps the ending in the final copy will be slightly different!

I also felt like there was an opportunity for this book to go extremely dark. I respect that fact that it didn't, and even like the way it went, but with my feelings towards the ending, I almost wish that it had gone extremely dark.

All in all, I came out of this book enjoying it immensely. There were a few frustrations here and there, but that didn't diminish the fact that I wanted to devour this book. It's bright, but it's dark, and it's really, really good.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

This is a really difficult book to rate, and glancing back on my review of the author's debut novel, I can see I had similar problems with both. I guess my problem is with the consistency. It seems like there was always talk of monsters in the woods but later on characters say it started only a few years ago. Amity Falls gives off a very Village-type vibe with their way of life yet they are aware of bigger cities with better medicine, so it makes me wonder why they don't modernize in any way. There's also Abigail, whom Sadie has apparently been speaking with for a long time now. There also doesn't seem to be any reason why Sam lies about certain things or why he's constantly doing stuff that hurts his family, other than because he's a horrible person. I don't know, it didn't all seem to fit together properly.

I'm going to also pick on the romance a little, as always. I feel like some of it was just the corrupting influence of these demons, but it also has YA all over it with how quick it is and how little Ellerie knows about Whitaker before thinking of marrying him. In this case it's because Whitaker keeps stuff from her and she knows it, yet she still trusts him. I just didn't feel any sort of chemistry or connection between them. Whitaker just loves her... for reasons. And he decides to help her and her family... for reasons. And the big bad calls Ellerie "special"... for reasons. That one had me groaning.

I don't know how to feel about the ending. Everything goes to Hell and people start killing each other and the conclusion definitely doesn't feel like a happy one. There's a huge emphasis on "watching" that seems to grow more and more as the book goes on, but there's very little action, and when action is taken it ends badly. It just feels like the book is saying these creatures have been doing this for years, will continue doing this, and nothing can be done about it. Which is definitely not a typical ending for a YA book, but it feels unsatisfying with a lot of unanswered questions and unknown fates of characters. I get the whole idea that people have this underlying nastiness inside them, but what about all the mutated animals and the blighted crops and the weird weather? And why is it all escalating now if these demons have been around town for years?

I like leaving on a positive note, so I will say that the writing is good. The mutated animals are horrifying to picture and the various talks about beekeeping shows that the author did some research on that subject. The one time I really got emotional was when Ellerie had to say goodbye to her bees. I also think the small town vibe was done pretty well. I'm not sure I ever fully understood what the Our Ladies or the Bells were for, but I got a pretty good picture of town life.

So overall it wasn't a bad book, I just think maybe it was a little cluttered with stuff or just not consistent with its ideas or taken to an extreme too quickly. Just... something was off about it.

I read a digital ARC from Netgally. Erin A Craig did a wonderful job on this book. Like House of Salt and Sorrows, there is lots of creepy imagery and twists. Ellerie Downing is the main character. She and her family live in Amity Falls, where they are beekeepers. Not long after the book starts strange things start to occur. The villagers think that the monsters from the years the community was founded have returned. Winter settles in and the community is cut off from the city with no new supplies and mistrust between members runs rampant. The mysterious creatures, some questionable characters, and a few small favors set this community up for its problems. This book was a page-turner. It had lots of great imagery. It was creepy and even sinister in places. You won't want to put it down!