I absolutely loved this book. I loved the art of the cover and I loved the whole story. It was a very epic retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. I read this with a book club and the cover artist joined our chat and explained how she created the cover. It was really cool.

Erin A. Craig does it yet again. She creates these beautiful worlds with such remarkable characters that stay with you. She is easily one of my favorite contemporary authors and I am always overjoyed to find when she is publishing something new. This book was on my want to read list for some time, since its rumored release to be exact, and having the chance to review early did not disappoint. In summation, I would give this book a two word summation. Hauntingly beautiful. Ellerie Downing is a compelling MC, and one that stays with me. I sincerely adored this book and cannot rave about it enough. It did give me Rumpelstiltskin-esqe vibes but nonetheless, I felt like she did a fantastic job.

If you’re looking for a book to give you goosebumps as you read, you’re going to want to add this one to your TBR! Erin A. Craig is a master at creating the creepiest book atmospheres; I was sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading this book. Amity Falls is a masterfully crafted world where it’s not just about the monsters that might be hiding out in the woods, but the ones hiding within ourselves as well. You’ll find engaging and enigmatic characters that seem like friends, but might also be hiding some fiendish intent behind their easy smiles. And if you love The Village, you’re absolutely going to love this book.

This is the PERFECT read for Halloween time—a spooky and creepy fantasy set in a small town with just a dash of romance. This book gave me the chills (in the best possible way). Great for people who aren't fans of Stephen King level horror but who want a little bit of a thrill.

4.2 stars

If you're a fan of atmospheric, dark fantasy retellings in isolated and mysterious small towns, with elements of folklore horror, mystery, and romance M. Night Shyamalan and Neil Gaiman's style, then you should give "Small Favors" a try! It can be slow somehow and some parts are predictable but it is very atmospheric and immersive with great worldbuilding!

I like Dr his one a lot. It kept me turning the pages. And I didn't want to put it down. Which is hard when ypu spend half your day teaching kiddos in a classroom haha.
Definitely a read I would pick up again or suggest to my friends

Small Favors is a YA fantasy novel along the lines of Stephen King’s Needful Things. Amity Falls is a small prairie community where strange things begin happening when a visitor travels into their midst. We see small town secrets disturb the young and old in this isolated community. Part fantasy, part horror, part romance, Small Favors is an easy read that won’t require much investment from you. Thank you to NetGalley for my review copy.

OH MY GOODNESS! I loved The House of Salt and Sorrows SO much, that I don't know how I missed this in my Kindle - and I'm really sad that I didn't get to it until now, because think I loved it even more than HOSAS.

This book ticked ALL the boxes - the amazing world building, Craig's lyrical writing, well-developed characters, and WOOBOY, VIVID imagery. This story definitely hit the weird and creepy factor in just the right way. The atmosphere was just spooky and unsettling, and the way the plot unfolded and the tension just kept creeping up - I couldn't put it down.

This was page turning, keep the light on, scary fun. With a sweet romance. ALL THE THINGS. I loved it.

Unfortunately I got really behind on my NetGalley shelf and now I’m finally going back to the old books I missed. I can’t believe I waited so long to read this book! Erin A Craig became a favorite author of mine after reading House of Salt and Sorrows. Small Favors goes for more of a crappy small town that does get many visitors due to the mountains and forest surrounding it, but a supply party goes missing and old threats might be back. People in town think the old mysterious monsters might be back and Ellerie needs to figure out what to do to save the town, her family and the boy she loves. A bit slower paced but wonderful story telling!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to read this early. Review has been posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I absolutely devoured this book! I actually enjoyed this one more than House of Salt and Sorrows! The isolation of the mountain town added the chill factor for me. One of the things that really stuck with me is how well the author paced the novel. Readers were introduced to the farm and the town, and then small things gradually built up to much larger problems. I was completely hooked because of the pacing, and I definitely stayed up too late many nights to find out what would happen next! I think the only thing I didn't enjoy was the ending of the book: the author decided to leave it open for the reader. That may make it a little difficult for readers who prefer their endings more wrapped up.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel!

Once I actually committed to reading it, I could not put this book down!. Erin Craig’s writing always hook me in with her eerie atmospheric writing.

Though it was a bit slow world building and I didn’t particular love the ending, you really get to see all the personalities of the characters and get a feel for how small towns function.

Overall, it was a captivating read and I loved all the nature references!

Ellerie lives on a farm in a small remote village with her family. Her father keeps bees and her mother takes great care of everyone. Ellerie’s twin, Sam, has been distant so she’s helping their father more often. Merry and Sadie are the younger siblings and now their mother is pregnant again. The crew that left for a supply run never made it far. They were killed and no one knows what happened. The village believes that huge wolves with silver eyes are to blame. Ellerie meets a young man that she describes as having a vulpine face, supposedly he’s a trapper, wandering by the creek edge as she’s washing laundry. He says his name is Price but she doesn’t think he’s telling the truth. She decides to call him Whitaker Price. Sam is accused of getting Rebecca pregnant and Sam insists she’s sleeping around with others. Rebecca’s father is accused of starting a fire in Ellerie’s family’s fields and might hang for it. Weird things keep happening to the villagers; small acts of violence that they’re blaming each other for. One night, Ellerie wakes to the farm ablaze. Their mother is caught in the fire and has to be taken to town for medical treatment. The unusual young trapper that Ellerie has gotten to know, takes Mama and Papa into town and returns to let the rest of the family know they made it safely. Whitaker, the mysterious trapper, suspiciously won’t answer any personal questions that Ellerie asks him. Ellerie finds this strange but enjoys his company and wants to spend more time with him. Mind tricks seem to be working on the citizens. The villagers spiral out of control and Ellerie does everything in her power to save her beloved town. Unique spin on the tale of Rumpelstiltskin, 5 stars!

Likes/dislikes: An absolutely perfect book! Beautiful writing, vivid imagery, strong characters and amazing world building. Great character development.
Mature content: PG-13 for drinking, kissing, premarital sex mentioned but not described.
Language: PG-13 for 22 swears, no f-bombs.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody deaths by monsters, shootings between villagers, fighting.

I liked this book. I really did. But sadly I didn’t love it. It was totally weird and creepy, just like I was expecting. But I also found myself skimming a LOT. I was super excited to read it but it didn’t wow me as much as I’d hoped.

And honestly, the romance aspect felt forced and off. And coming from someone who NEEDS romance in her books, I wish that part wasn’t in there. Maybe that’s why I didn’t love it…

Would I recommend this story to friends looking for creepy stories? Sure will! Will I read it again? Sadly, no. But I am glad I took a chance with it.

I should say that I pretty much love all of Erin Craig's books, so I wasn't surprised when I loved this one, it was also a hit with my book club, and they can be a tough crowd to please at times. Similar to other books I have read by this author the first 1/3 or so of the book is slower paced as the ground work for the story is laid out, but it's worth it to have patience as the last 1/3 of the book pacts so much in. I loved our main characters and the side characters, with elements of the unknown, I think it's better going into the book with as little information as possible. Overall I really enjoyed this books and absolutely recommend it.

I really liked this book, although it felt a little too long. This books is so eloquently written that I didn't really mind how long it was. The characters were well thought out and I was rooting for Ellerie to solve the mystery and survive.

I was sent an ARC of this book by the publisher in return for an honest review, thank you publisher!!

Man, this book was awesome!!!

Ellorie Downing lives in a tiny town where everybody knows everybody, and everyone's business. In such a secluded place, with a nearly impenetrable forest, visitors are extremely rare. But then a few new trappers are noted to have come into town, and when a supply run turns into a gruesome scene with tales of old monsters roaming the woods again, the winter looks like it will be a nightmare.

This book was just so so atmospheric and spooky, I loved the entire vibe of the whole book! I loved the plot twists and characters, how close knit the main family was, and the way that the plot was not too strung out, not too heavy handed. This is definitely such a hidden treasure and more people should read it around spooky season. I don't know what took me so long to read it, but so happy I was able to. Absolutely loved it! 4/5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of Small Favors.

I absolutely devoured House of Salt and Sorrows, so when I saw that Erin A. Craig had a new story coming out, I knew I had to read it. She has such an ability to create haunting atmospheres, using fairy tales as inspiration, set in different worlds or time periods.

Small Favors takes place in the small village of Amity Falls, long ago (seemingly, we never find out the exact time period, and it has a bit of a “The Village” vibe at the beginning, making you wonder if the rest of the world is the same.) We meet Ellerie Downing and her family- her loving parents, twin brother Sam, sisters Merry and Sadie. We learn the rules of the town, which seem to work fairly well at keeping peace and harmony, until they don’t. Darkness and disaster soon fall on this small, isolated town, neighbors turning on neighbors, odd events escalating, suspicion abounds.

Broken up into seasons, starting at the end of Summer, we spend a year in Amity Falls, and see how quickly things can change, how broken people can become. We feel their hope and despair, how isolated and alone they truly are. While I didn’t particularly enjoy the ending to this story, I did savor the journey there.

Trigger Warnings: Murder, Fire, Arson, Gore, Religious Fervor, Monsters, Animal Death

I’ve had Small Favors in my TBR for well over a year. I actually own a signed hardcover copy of the book that I’d pre-ordered back before it came out. Now the book is out in paperback and I’m just now getting around to reading it. Go me.

Erin A. Craig likes to do fairy tale retellings and from what I can gather, this one is a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. At least that is what I’d guess from the favors – that was Rumpelstiltskin’s schtick after all. However, she does it in an unexpected way that makes you stop and think about it. It isn’t obvious at first.

I love the setting of Amity Falls – an idyllic little town that is mostly self-contained, but still requires a little bit of help from the outside world. I honestly wonder if perhaps Amity Falls isn’t one of those quaint towns frozen in the past – no electricity, no motor vehicles, none of the modern world’s trappings, while the city that lies beyond God’s Grasp is as modern as they come with all the normal things you’d find – cell phones, motor vehicles, electricity, solar panels, etc..

As part of this setting, I loved the aesthetic of the Downing Farm, where five bee hives and a field of flowers with which to provide them pollen were found. It’s funny that I loved the aesthetic of it so much when I’m not a fan of farms or countryside in real life.

Small Favors gives us a taste of what life is like in a small town when the darkness that is always present in the hearts of men is given a chance to fester. It seems by the end of the book nearly every family in town has turned against at least one other family. There is also the issue of Parson Briard, who seems to be taking his religious fervor a bit too far. Between Briard and the Lathetons, the religious fervor in town when it comes to what is going on makes a pretty big impact.

I enjoyed this book right up until the end of the book. The book ends in a way that many horror novels/movies do – with a smattering of survivors (no, I won’t tell you who) making their way away from the horrors of what they’ve just experienced. In all honesty, I’d have liked to have seen an epilogue to at least let us know if Ellerie, Merry, and Sadie ever saw their parents again, but I can also live without it.

If you’re looking for a fairy tale retelling that moves into dark fantasy/horror, I highly recommend Small Favors as a starting point.