Beautiful beautiful writing and oh so spooky! It's the perfect read for a cold, stormy night (although I couldn't do it because I'm too much of a chicken. Daytime reading for me!). I would have liked more about the other sisters, though.

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House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin Craig is a unique retelling of the fairly tale ‘The Twelve Dancing Princesses” for teens. It has a distinct gothic twist.

Annaleigh lives in a manor by the sea with her father, the king, her stepmother, and what is left of her, twelve sisters who seem to be dying off one by one accidentally. Local rumor whispers they are not accidental but because of a curse.
Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh also becomes increasingly suspicious that her sister's deaths were no accidents. Her sisters begin sneaking out at night to attend magical balls as a distraction, but Annaleigh does not totally trust them. Who—or what--are they really dancing with?
When Annaleigh' meets a mysterious stranger named Cassius who has secrets of his own, the story winds towards what was to me an unexpected ending that in some ways followed the plot line, and in others was a surprise and a bit non logical. Bits of this book were more shimmering and better written than others which didn’t quite gel with me.,

Thank you Ember and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader’s copy of this book and for allowing me to review it,

Spine-chilling and powerfully eerie, this novel has a strong mysterious story with weak backbone. For a debut novel, this shows so much potential.

LOVED IT! This retelling of 12 dancing princesses was INTENSE and wicked and dark and so wonderful I loved it. The mystery element and the vaguely unreliable narrator feeling was perfect.

It took me wayyyyy too long to read this and now I wish I would have read it sooner. The lore behind this and the world building was so good, and I loved not knowing where the story was going next.

House of Salt and Sorrows was not at all what I was expecting, but in the best ways possible. I went into the story blind and was pleased with the setting and the way the plot moved unexpectedly.

** Thank you Netgalley for a free copy**

This book started as a slow burn, which I liked. You were being immersed in the story and he characters. I am not sure what happened towards the end of the book, it suddenly felt rushed.

I would still recommend the book.

`House of Salt and Sorrows´ is a young adult coming-of-age novel with elements of mystery, action, romance and family struggle. It has some darker themes, but on the whole is an appropriate book for 14+. Well plotted; with strong, complex characters and consistent themes and storylines.

I received a free copy of this e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Perfectly eerie and dripping with atmosphere, a fresh take on a fairytale we all love. There were twists and turns, and swoony moments. Perfect for fans who like a little gothic with their romance.

I’m not usually into creepy books but I loved this one so much. The whole book was a mood and I didn’t want it to end. I loved that it was a standalone and the story is complete.

I debated between rating this 2 stars and 3 stars, because while this book was was beautifully written, it was wonky and didn't appeal to me. In general, though, I just didn't enjoy it, so down to 2 stars we go.

TW: gore and violence

Annaleigh and her sisters are cursed: of the twelve Thaumas girls, four have already died from mysterious circumstances. Her father is distant, thinking only of his new wife and his unborn son. No one on the island wants to associate with them, except for a mysterious stranger from the mainland who takes an unusual interest in Annaleigh and her family. While Annaleigh searches for answers to why her sisters keep dying, she stumbles upon a pathway to a magical realm where she and her sisters can dance the night away.

This is a very, very loose retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses. More than that, it's a gothic, nautical horror story that uses bits and pieces of the fairytale as a backdrop. The story is something of an exploration of grief and how people move on. More than that, though, it's a book about madness and how despair can drive people to make terrible choices. The book was very much a love letter to the sea, with lush depictions of a seaside society that lives and breathes salt.

Still, I couldn't get attached to the characters. The characters were not quite characters, but vehicles to be towed forward by the plot. I was the most interested in Morella, the stepmother, because she managed to be both sympathetic and frustrating. The romantic subplot didn't make any sense. I do not understand why Annaleigh and her beau are in love. Also, the truth behind Cassius, the mysterious stranger who shows up on the island who is the most obvious red herring imaginable, doesn't make much sense either and felt like it came out of left field. I might have appreciated the sisterly bonds if I could keep track of which sister was which, save for Camille, because she was the haughty eldest (remaining) sister.

Certainly, I got the sense that the main character was going mad, because I was quite lost at the end. The final ending scene could have worked for a different book, but there was some tonal dissonance that made it unsuitable, in my opinion.

This book was also incredibly disgusting with its maggots and phlegm and decaying bodies. I suppose it comes with the genre, but yikes.

A full review of this novel can be found on our podcast, Gene Junkies.

A beautiful read to transport the audience into an immersive and fully imagined world. Craig’s words are pure poetry. We follow a reimagining of a fairytale that hasn’t been done to death, which is a bit of a relief. We desperately want more books from Craig, perhaps even more set in this captivating kingdom. With the seaside setting you can feel the spray on your face, taste the salt air on your lips and be whisked away with captivating characters. Not to mention there is plenty of horror and gothic sentiments mixed into the fantasy.

Great story and loved the romance. Loved the cast of characters and how the story came to be. Great story and I would read this author again.

Amazing. AMAZING. Gorgeous writing with scenes creepy as all heck. I adore this book. Make sure you add this one to your reading list.

My friend read this book, and unfortunately I no longer want to read it. I just don't think it's a book I need to spend time on anymore, and I don't think my review would be positive. It sounds like an interesting book, just not for me.

Gave this one a 4/5 stars. I was immediately drawn in by the setting and characters. It was a quick read overall, and would highly recommend for readers who love sea-based worlds with magical, fantasy elements. The cursed twists left me wanting more throughout the entire book!

House of Salt and Sorrows took me for quite a spines I couldn’t put this book down and when I absolutely had to I kept thinking about it. Annaleigh spent her whole life at Highmore. All her life has known is sorrow. One day all of that changes. Her father takes on a new bride and whole new outlook on life. Then things start to happen. I was everywhere in this book trying to predict what would happen. In the end I was flabbergasted by what happened. Everyone should have this on their “to read” list. Best retelling I’ve ever read.

it took me so long to read this book and honestly it was starting to cause me a reading slump. maybe it’s because i’m not very familiar with the 12 dancing princesses but i just didn’t enjoy it. in the beginning i was really into it and there were some scenes that freaked me out but i definitely wouldn’t consider it scary then i started to get the characters confused.

the siblings weren’t shown well because maybe like 1/3 of the book she didn’t even talk to some of her sisters. also, besides the sisters i thought that there were too many side characters that i also got confused. if you’re going to write a fantasy with like 8 siblings that are actually alive you probably should only have like 3 side characters outside of them so people aren’t confused. i thought the main character was bland and her only trait was her sisters.

finally, i thought that the mythology aspect was weird? like i love mythology but i thought that it just didn’t fit the book but as i said earlier i’m not familiar with the 12 dancing princesses so maybe that’s something that’s in the original that the author wanted to include? i dunno i just didn’t think it would fit well.

ARC provided by publisher through NetGalley.

I have been reading this book for well over a year. Not actively obviously, just like I read the beginning hundred to two hundred pages in a frenzy, left the physical book in America, would occasionally read a few pages as an ebook, tried the audiobook (was not a fan of the narrator), went back to the physical book and finally decided too actually finish this book. This is all to say that I think I need to revisit this book in the future to give it another shot.

House of Salt and Sorrows (an amazing title with the most beautiful cover) is a twelve dancing princesses retelling with a murderous twist. Well, maybe the original Grimm story has a murderous bent, I don't think I have actually read it; my exposure to this story comes from the animated HBO series Happily Ever After from when I was a little kid; that one didn't have any of the princesses being murdered. Annaleigh is one of 12 daughters, her mother and multiple of her sisters have died one by one; it would seem that the family has been cursed, or that there is someone murdering the women who live at Highmore.

I really really enjoyed the beginning of this book; it is fun and fast and creepy. I liked watching the story build on itself, and I enjoyed being surprised by where the story was going. I clearly got bored by the middle, hence putting the book down so many times for such a long time, but something about the story still compelled me to finish it even after all this time. I think having such a large cast of characters who weren't always clearly established as their own person made some of the mystery lose my interest. Why should I care who is murdering everyone if I can only be sure who some people actually are? I was constantly switching the step-mother's name with the eldest sisters, the little sisters all blurred together, and not just 'the graces' or the triples who were grouped by the author. I actually think that grouping made is more confusing when the girl's names were actually used. I have been considering making a crossword puzzle for this book, but it might be too confusing? I am unsure.

The romance also didn't work that well for me. I loved its beginnings, but I found it a bit saccharine and melodramatic by the end. I also just thought they were from 'wow, you are cute and mysterious, and I like you' to 'i would die/kill for you' very quickly, and I wanted a few more interactions between the two to build to that feeling better. After the misunderstanding conversation, things snowballed, and I was thrown off guard by it.

I also thought the end was rushed. I know it needed to be fast because a lot was happening, but it didn't seem like it really had the time needed. I felt the end was too fast for me to really have any sadness at the bit that probably should have made me sad. Also, the villain just kind is revealed (thought was obvious from about a quarter of the way into the book), gives an evil speech to two characters, then dies. I really wanted more form that ending. I didn't want a 'this is why I was evil' speech; I wanted to see the emotional toll the reveal would have on certain characters who were not there.

The novel's tone was certainly a stand out factor! It is deliciously creepy, and no matter what time you are reading, it makes you feel like it is night. I felt the tone became less consistent towards the end, things leaned to just being gross or became a bit convoluted, so I didn't have the same delicious atmosphere, but most of the book holds it very well. If you are looking for a creepy fall/winter book, I recommend this.

I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads and The StoryGraph. I would recommend this book to people! Clearly, lots of other people have positive feelings about this book, and there are many things that I had issue with that are obviously subjective. If you are looking for something spooky, a fairytale retelling, or a YA mystery in a fantasy setting, you should probably check it out. I plan to come back to this at some point; when that happens, I will certainly update my feelings just in case they shift.