Initial Thoughts
I loved HOUSE OF SALT AND SORROWS so I knew I wanted to read Erin A. Craig’s next book. And, I knew I wanted to read it during spooky season!

Some Things I Liked
Thought provoking and philosophical. It’s not often that YA literature leaves me thinking about humanity in a profound way but this book really did that for me. The idea that the evil our characters are working against is inherently inside of all people and all the bad guys did was bring it to the surface was a real 🤯 moment.
Secrets, lies, and mysteries. I wouldn’t go so far as to call Ellorie an unreliable narrator but she often didn’t have the whole picture. I loved the way she puzzled out the mysteries at the same time as the reader.
Romance. This book isn’t romantic. But I enjoyed the romance element here. It was dark and realistic.

Series Value
I don’t think I’d want a series here. The ominous note at the end of the book is best left undisturbed.

Final Thoughts
I knew I’d like this book. I didn’t think I’d love it. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time to come.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was a really quick and easy read! I loved how whimsical the setting was. The romance was very sweet and the horror aspects were very unsettling. I will continue picking up anything this author writes, because it just keeps getting better and better.

I LOVE Erin A. Craig's writing. It is immersive and detailed. I get lost in her world building and sentence structure. While I didn't love the plot as much as her previous novel I felt incredibly invested in her characters. I could have spent the entire book enjoying spending time in this village without anything ever happening. Her world is so creative and fresh. I cannot say enough good things about this up and coming author.

Once again, Erin A. Craig hit this one out of the park! It was the perfect blend of romance and creepy. As always, will highly recommend any book Craig writes! Can't wait for the next one!

This was such a creative story. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a good horror story or mystery with lots of twists and turns.
The first and second half of the book are very different in a good way; it kept changing what I expected to be true so that I was surprised at the end. With this, there were some story lines that got dropped or not seen through to the end which didn't take away from the story but I did notice.
It kept me haunted and intrigued but with a good romance thrown in; all set in a colonial secluded town with the everyone knows everyone and their business issues and the ideals of we all stick together. It's a true telling of be careful what you wish for!!
I very much enjoyed this read. Thank you to Erin Craig and Random House Publishing for allowing me read and review this book.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I really liked this book and how she got over someone. I enjoyed the romance and the friendships. I liked she came to enjoy her family. I liked that she was able to get over a boy and move on with her life. Great story.

An interesting slice of Americana life, set in colonial times. I quite enjoyed paying witness to the Downing's life, even though the ending wasn't my favorite and the ultimate confrontation felt underwhelming. This book could have really benefited from an epilogue, as the ending left me hanging on a lot of characters final interactions.

This book was phenomenal.. I haven’t read any rumplestiltskin retellings and this did not disappoint. Do not be fooled by the cover. This book is dark, trippy but oh so good

Creepy and atmospheric, this book is the secret lovechild of Needful Things and The Village that I never knew I wanted.

This book was received as an ARC from Random House Children's - Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I am a fan of unique Y Fantasy plots but for me, this was a bit too extreme and there were some scenes in the book that were unusually different which either could ruin the book or be a brilliant interpretation. In this case for Small Favors, I really wanted to enjoy this book and say that Erin A. Craig took the original unique approach but, it took me almost 3/4 of the way to fully understand the direction the plot was going and when I got to the end, that's when all the pieces of the puzzle came together and everything started to make sense. Myself being a librarian, my number one rule is when you start, you must finish so I am glad I did but, I do know some readers especially some YA readers that are not fans of stories trailing on until the end. They want the excitement right away. However, there are some YA readers I know that will admire the approach Erin Craig took and they'll be begging me to put this on the list for future teen book clubs. In the end, I did end up enjoying the book and I can't wait to see the feedback we will get from it.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Atmospheric fantasy lite is clearly where Erin A Craig excels. I say fantasy “lite” because while magic exists in her books, it’s not the feature. Just like House of Salt and Sorrow, Small Favors is about the people, the setting, the relationships long before it’s about the magic. The magic simply is. It exists as both a known and unknown entity that gently weaves in and out of the story.

While Ellerie is our main character, it’s hard to pick just her out as the character to watch in this book. Creating a whole book of strong characters is also a strength of Erin’s. Even side characters never feel set aside or forgotten. Everyone is crucial to this story.

I loved Erin’s first book and had been looking forward to whatever she’d write next ever since. And she did not disappoint. Perfect for fans of Shea Ernshaw and Margaret Rogerson.

(4.5 stars, rounded up)

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for providing an eARC in exchange for and honest review.

This is the first book I have read by this author, and let me tell you, she sure knows how to spin a tale. With descriptive prose and wonderful characters, this was a really good novel.

The community aspect of Amity Falls was something I really liked. I grew up in a small town so know how they can be. I also like how she evolved the vibe that was going on there. Small towns can be a weird thing, everyone know everyone else business, no matter what. But, when strange things start happening, Ellery does what she can to try and make it through.

This was an easy read, and one that is perfect for this time of year.

Release Date: July 27 2021
Review Date: October 5 2021

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.

Ellerie Downing lives in the quiet town of Amity Falls in the Blackspire Mountain range--five narrow peaks stretching into the sky like a grasping hand, bordered by a nearly impenetrable forest from which the early townsfolk fought off the devils in the woods. To this day, visitors are few and rare. But when a supply party goes missing, some worry that the monsters that once stalked the region have returned. As fall turns to winter, more strange activities plague the town. They point to a tribe of devilish and mystical creatures who promise to fulfill the residents' deepest desires, however grand and impossible, for just a small favor. But their true intentions are much more sinister, and Ellerie finds herself in a race against time before all of Amity Falls, her family, and the boy she loves go up in flames.

Holy Guacamole! where to begin. I wanted to read this one after really enjoying the author's first book House of Salt and Sorrows and this one was even better. Oh My Gosh. This book was so wonderfully creepy. October was the perfect time to read it. For me anyway, I'm actually a big chicken so other people might not think so.
This book kept me guessing most of the time. Whenever I would pick it up, I couldn't put it down. This felt like super creepy Little House on the Prairie honestly. The setting definitely reminded me of Walnut Grove on some creepy steroids. I loved Ellerie as a main character. A lot of the stuff happening with her brother though made me mad. I wanted to punch him in the face. And the best friend.
That ending was crazy. I want more.
This may be my favorite book of the year. There I said it. This was so good. Erin A Craig is definitely an automatic read/buy author from now on.

"Were the stories true? Were the monsters real?"

^That is basically the whole book. Are the monsters real? Is the heroine crazy? Who believes her? Should she believe herself? Ever seen the movie "The Village"? This book basically takes place there.

While I really enjoyed the characters and their interwoven lives and the challenges newcomers bring to their community, I was told this was a Rumpelstiltskin retelling and it was....in a way. This book meanders...a lot. I really wish I'd known before going into it that the pacing would be so slow the whole way through. Don't get me wrong-it was never boring. I would have enjoyed it more if I'd known, though.

Would I recommend? If you're into creepy, meandering tales that take their time, yes!

I enjoyed the creepiness and study on human behavior in this book. It can start some excellent conversations and the author leaves you to answer some questions which is an interesting way to do things. I will recommend it to readers.

3.25 Stars. I did not connect with this one as much as Craig's other fantasy novel House of Salt and Sorrows. Oddly, I liked that one a little more than the consensus and this one less than the consensus. I think it was that it feels like it should be a shorter book. All the interesting bits of it were stretched out, especially in the beginning. This one is also a sort of retelling but gives it a horror twist. Craig certainly doesn't shy away from the darker bits of fairytales, and it shows with this book especially.

I like the characters for the most part, but they aren't all that distinct from each other. They pretty much range from bland but 'good' villagers, to the 'bitter and mean' villagers. Even Ellerie, the lead character isn't all that distinct, and much of the plot feels like it happens to her and she's just pulled along for the ride. Which is unfortunate, because she is smart, vivacious, and tenacious. Often the plot requires her to be less intelligent than she is just so she doesn't solve the mystery quickly. There are times were she is actually right on the verge of solving the problem, but then something dramatic happens and most of her progress is forgotten.

As for the horror/ thriller elements of the story, I really liked those parts. They are sufficiently creepy and kind of gross without going too graphic. The chaos near the end of the book was just a massive explosion of violence that had been threatening throughout the book. And that is where I can understand the slow build up that I talked about. So many different bad and unlucky events stretch out over the course of the book, to the final breaking point and the villagers finally snap. The dark undertones of at the beginning do pay off, but wow it takes a while to get there.

As for the fairytale retelling - this is a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, the story about the miller's daughter who requests favors from the mischievous imp and has bad things happen to her until she is able to guess his name. Here, there are some twists as to how the Rumpelstiltskin stand in finds the village, but the showdown between the stand in and Ellerie is very similar to the original. I liked it, mostly because Rumpelstiltskin is basically a living monkey's paw, and the horror that comes from poorly worded wishes can be as varied as the imagination allows. It really fits Craig's willingness to throw in horror elements into her retellings.

If you're a fan of fairytale retellings that tackle fairytales that aren't targeted for retellings, then this is for you. I'd even say if you like some light spooky elements in your fantasy, this will be up your alley as well. I didn't enjoy how slow it was, and thought the villagers were a little to samey to make them interesting at all, or even care about them all that much, but I still thought there was some good payoffs at the end.

*I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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if you know me, you know that I absolutely adored house of salt & sorrows. so to say I’m disappointed with EAC’s sophomore novel is certainly an understatement.

I really can’t say much about this besides that it was an utter and complete bore. the characters were bland, the writing style was not as lush/atmospheric as I was expecting, the plot was nonexistent, and it wasn’t chilling enough.

I just finished this book and I really could not tell you what it was about. not because I didn’t retain anything, but because things rarely happen. something climactic doesn’t happen until almost the half way point (which literally doesn’t even affect the story). most of the time is spend watching small rumors and seeds of distrust amongst the town. not interesting in the slightest.

the ending is so bad that I almost want to knock it down to one star.

this was not my jam, at all.

Yes yes yes!!! This is the YA fantasy thriller of the year! Put Erin A. Craig on your auto-buy author list because she is one to watch out for. Small Favors is a fairly loose retelling of Rumplestiltsken. Craig's writing is engaging and atmospheric. Set in the small, isolated town of Amity Falls (think The Village), Ellerie dreams of a bigger life. Though, it's hard when she lives in a town surrounded by woods that rumored monsters live in. When a supply run ends with missing townspeople, panic spreads like wildfire. The creatures are real and causing chaos. They offer to fulfill your deepest desire in exchange for a small favor. But just how small are these favors? This is a beautifully written dark fairy-tale. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoy YA fantasy thrillers. Small Favors is an excellent one to check out!

This loosely based Rumplestiltskin retelling was such a fun, strange and spooky tale. The little town of Amity Falls was full of secrets, betrayal and monsters yet none of it was in the townspeople control. Evil forces arose and I have to say there was a few scenes where I knew I wasn’t going to sleep well after reading them lol. I really enjoyed the main character, Ellerie, I thought her development was really strong. I also really enjoyed Whittaker’s character, he was so mysterious. If you’re looking for a read with spooky autumn vibes I would highly recommend this one—I couldn’t put it down. I also think this would do really well as an adaption!