I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Delacorte Press.

I loved this book! It is so atmospheric and creepy! It's sold as a mashup of The Village and Needful Things but I feel the material is elevated to a breathtaking degree.

I have thoughts on how a certain character arc doesn't seem to track with what we're told but this is such a good read!

The author's previous novel, House of Salt and Sorrows, was good, but this book knocks it out of the park. Creepy in a "The Village" way - monsters in the woods, a small, cultish community, and the isolation of being surrounded by almost impassable mountains. Then there were the bees, which make me think of "The Wicker Man". The mood is dark and oppressive, in spite of the story beginning in the summer. Already, there are signs that this community is going to collapse. As the seasons change, the community becomes more distrustful and claustrophobic - the people aren't able to leave because of the monsters in the woods, and the citizens of the village begin to turn on one another, even within families. The author builds suspense as the months go by and unusual and disastrous things begin to happen.

My main issues were with Sam, the brother. I felt like the changes he goes through in the book are out of character based on how Ellerie describes him and their relationship, especially as the mysteries are uncovered and we learn more about the monsters. I also felt Ellerie was too quick to trust, not just Whitaker, but "Uncle Ezra" and "Cousin Thomas" as well. Overall, however, this book was hard to put down and is one I will definitely recommend to my students.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.

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.

Ellerie Downing is a young woman living in Amity Falls, a village that’s nestled within the Blackspire Mountain Range, isolated by the mountain range and a seemingly impenetrable forest. It’s said that the early settlers of the village battled devils in the woods, and when a supply crew goes missing, the villagers worry that the monster’s might have returned. As winter arrives, more strange things begin occurring, and all signs point to a devilish group that can fulfil the villagers deepest desires for a small favour. Unfortunately, their true intentions harbour some sinister intent. Ellerie will find herself racing to try to save her family, Amity Falls, and the boy she loves, before everything goes up in flames.

This story will reel you in from the start. It’s told in seasons, beginning at the height of the summer. Ellerie is learning beekeeping from her father, something she longs to be in charge of, but is facing the reality that she’s expected to marry and have kids, while her brother takes over everything. However, her brother has been missing most of the summer, and seems to be keeping secrets. Though they’re twins, they couldn’t be more different. Where Sam seems to be a little weak-willed, Ellerie is determined and follows through with her choices despite the consequences. Their personalities become more apparent as the seasons go on and devilish things begin happening.

I loved the worldbuilding taking place in this story because you truly get to know the village and the key players. The elders, the founding families, and the parson all play key roles in this story. Everyone knows each other, and helps contrive an incredible sense of community, but also makes betrayals sting that much more when they happen. Ellerie’s sense of duty to her family is strong, but with the failed supply run and the possibility of monsters, she’s weary of sending anymore men to their deaths. Her choice puts her at odds with her father, but she stands by her decision, supported by her mother. What stood out most strongly to me was that despite their disagreement, her father still sees her strength and ability to sustain the family farm when disaster strikes.

As the story progresses, it almost feels cinematic. We go from a peaceful-ish beginning to an ever-building chaos in the further seasons. Craig manages to write in this palpable tension that propels you to turn the page. Everyone starts to have issues, and the village folk seem to be making enemies of each other. The elders seem to be losing their ability to keep the peace, and the parson is using this to further his religious agenda. There’s no doubt that things are going to continue to get even worse before they get better. At one point, I found myself hunched over the book as if to brace myself for what was to come. The characters are being affected both psychologically and physically, and it’s a wonder what may be causing it all.

The monsters in this story are terribly wicked creatures, and I think readers will find them as fascinating as I did. The small favours seem so insignificant, but make such a huge impact both to the story and to the villagers.

Of course, my favourite aspect of this book was the romance. Much like the story, it starts off very subtly and then as the story intensifies, so does the romance between Ellerie and her stranger. I loved their interactions so much, particularly their beginning banter. His easy manner and Ellerie’s inherent distrust of him make for a great start to a romance. She finds herself seeking him out despite her better judgement.

The ending of this story seems a bit ambiguous, a little ominous, and will definitely make you wonder. I’m not usually a fan of ambiguous endings, but it works in this story. Overall, Craig has created a creepy masterpiece that is going to look lovely sitting next to my copy of A House of Salt and Sorrows. I can’t wait to see what creepy things she writes about next!

The Village meets Needful things in this story about one small village and the monsters in it. Ellerie Downing has lived an isolated life in Amity Falls, surrounded by forests, and working on tending to her family’s beehives and taking care of her sisters. She dreams of bigger things yet her twin brother remains careless and free to do as he pleases. Life in Amity Falls is not like many others, early town settlers have fought off monstrous creatures in the woods....and suddenly rumors have started again that they are back. Throw in people dying in mysterious and gruesome ways, missing storage, sabotage, and resentments brewing and secrets coming to light and soon Amity Falls is beginning to fall apart. It does not help that there is a mysterious new boy in town who claims to be visiting with his trapper companions... and has taken a liking to Ellerie but remains tight lip about his secrets. Soon Ellerie begins to realizes that the residents’ desires are coming true, and the creatures are indeed real and back. Now Ellerie must figure out what is going on and how to protect her sisters before its too late.

This was such a fun read! I adored The Village and Needful Things so this was just a great time for me. The mystery was a fun one to try and unravel and the magical element just worked so well. I really enjoyed getting to know Ellerie and Whitaker. Their chemistry was sweet and I loved that we got to go through the seasons in this story. I am a sucker for any kind of murder mystery set in a small community where secrets start coming to life and everyone is suspect. This one was particularly interesting with the whole creature aspect! I highly recommend this chilling yet magical read that has a dash of romance!

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Anyone else feel like reading a book in the woods can make it even more creepy?

Small Favors felt like a mass up of The Village with The Quiet Place. A remote, small town is suddenly plagued with odd occurances and horrible deaths of towns people.

Small Favors was an interesting read but it hung on the edge of evolving for me. I wanted a bigger bang at the end of the story and was left a bit disappointed and wanting more.

Let me start by saying that I really enjoyed House of Salt and Sorrows. It was such a fantastic debut and I said then that this author could only go up from there. After finishing Small Favors, I do believe that I was right because Erin A, Craig has done it again! I absolutely loved this book. It was so atmospheric, eerie and always kept me guessing.

The small town setting was perfect. Amity Falls seemed like such a friendly yet haunting place. Being that it was so secluded made the stakes seem a little higher. I loved getting to know the people and learning how the town functioned. As the story unfolds we see the Falls fall apart little by little. You are left wondering what is happening and who or what is causing it!

The main character Ellerie was so brave. When certain events happened, she stepped up to the plate. She took on a lot of responsibility and I admired her for that. Ellerie loved her family so much and she would do almost anything to keep them safe. The relationship between Ellerie and her sisters was super sweet. I can’t help but love that one of her sisters was named Sadie! It’s always fun to see your name in a book!

There is a bit of a romance and it was cute. The love interest was definitely the mysterious & charming kind. Just like Ellerie, you don’t really know if he can be trusted.

Overall, Small Favors was everything I hoped it would be. I was constantly worried for the characters and I had to know how things would end up. This book is a page turner for sure. Erin A. Craig is quickly become one of my favorite authors. I cannot wait to see what she writes in the future!

⭐⭐⭐⭐!

Small Favors is an upper YA fantasy set back in time where a close-knit community sits far away from the hustle and bustle of city life, surrounded by deep forests that hold their own secrets—and terrors.

What a pleasant surprise this turned out to be overall. The contents really don't match the bright, fairytale-esque cover it comes wrapped in, but that made it all the more fun. It's highly reminiscent of M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village"; small, idyllic appearing town governed by Rules and religion in general peace, whispers of creatures in the surrounding woods from ages past that keep the town wary and far away. But here they had been reduced only to whispers, and the townspeople didn't live in such abject fear as they did in The Village, though, that quickly changes.

We follow Ellerie Downing, the eldest daughter of the town's renowned beekeeper as she navigates the descent of everything she knew and loved into madness. I wish that was hyperbole, but the fact is that thing implodes like nothing else.

Strange animals roam into town, broken and twisted and wrong, and with their appearance comes suspicion and fear, brought on even stronger when a supply party disappears into the woods and never returns—with the exception of Ellerie's own twin brother, Sam, who claims there are monsters hunting for them and that he barely escaped with his life. But Sam returns different, and his odd and often violent behavior is only the start.

I truly loved so much about this book. There was beautiful symbolism and reference brought with the bees themselves and the Downing's keeping of them. The relationships were complex and real, something I deeply appreciated as a reader and writer both. Family dynamics are not all "ma and pa and baby sis" this: there are insecurities, fears, prejudices, and just regular old human folly that should be acknowledged and studied when talking about families. Ellerie both adores and feels disconnected from her father at times, though he is a loving man, he is biased and flawed. She struggles as her relationship with her twin, Sam, seems to fray and twist at the edges, secrets have already been working their way between them all summer. I was just as interested in them as I was in anything else in the story.

Which meant that the creatures themselves, the mystery of the woods, were captivating and a lot of the time just plain creepy. There were a couple of nights I had to set this book down and shiver at the imagery of long, eerie fingers waving out from the dark. Coupled with Ellerie's growing resentment for her sibling, the (hopefully temporary) loss of her parents to the big city after a tragedy concerning her mother, her growing fondness for a mysterious trapper who she deems "Whitaker", and the slow, crippling grasp of winter—there was a lot of ways this could go wrong.

For the most part, I feel like all of the elements were handled well. I really loved Ellerie and Whitaker. Their story was slow-moving, sincere, something I could believe in. It was refreshing to not have a love story rushed through the pacing.

The finale had good and not-so-good aspects. I love when the world goes up in flames, so to speak, and the culmination of all the suspicion and growing resentment in the town was terrifying. But the thing about monsters is that it's hard to keep them monsters once you start applying human logic to them and that took a little bit away for me at the end. (I won't say how or in what context, but really this is just a personal preference thing). And I was shocked to find myself at 99% when I was sure there at least had to be another 10% left of the book. The ending was so abrupt I was scrolling back to see where I had missed something. I wish we'd gotten a little more closure in that respect.

Overall this was a lovely read and definitely did its job at freaking me out more than once!

*My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.*

This was a clever and unique story that captures the reader's attention right away. I stayed intrigued by both the town of Amity Falls's isolated feel and by the horrifying and thrilling events of the plot as town slowly unravels. The time setting for the story is left open and as a result gives the story vibes of "The Village". Could this be similar, I wondered? I won't say yes or no because, you know, spoilers are real. The pacing didn't seem rushed at any point in the story, as some books tend to get towards the final parts of their books. I also enjoyed the intelligence and empathy of the main character, Ellerie. She's a well developed, likeable, and believable protagonist for this thrilling book. Worth reading if you like unique takes on thrillers/mysteries.

Dark and twisty with a lot of spookiness and a current of romance. The charming, mysterious love interest and unbreakable sister bonds will pull you in and keep you hooked.

Amazing. Erin A. Craig is quickly becoming a fav author. House of Salt and Sorrow was a fav book of all time when I read that. When I read the synopsis of this story, I was intrigued but at first disappointed that the setting wasn't by the sea, because Craig did such an amazing job creating a creepy sea setting. However, Needful things meat The Village is definitely an amazing combo and soooo accurate. I could not put this book down. I love stories were there is just a slow unraveling of a town and this odd growing tension that we don't know much about. The reveals of this were interesting and done well. I loved the MC and how the town was created and written. Craig is just so good at creating settings and towns and implementing subtle horror elements that just grow and grow.

Oooooh- this book was good. Thank you to NetGalley & Erin Craig for the ARC copy!

I truly enjoyed this one way more than I thought I would. The book follows Ellerie and her heroism when her mother is sick and her father goes to the city with her. I was constantly kept guessing and of course, I love that there was a small romance interest as well. I can only imagine how *dreamy* Whitaker was.

Anyways- I gave it 4 stars because I just didn't really like the ending. Everything just ended a bit too abruptly for me. I feel it could truly use a sequel!

In the small mountain town where Ellerie lives it is an idyllic life, until slowly things start to change. Suddenly neighbors aren't speaking, things go missing, and accidents start happening all around town. A dark Rumpelstiltskin retelling. Fans of Craig's first book will surely be delighted. I liked how the book highlighted that everyone can be a little greedy and selfish at times and that it doesn't take much to flip over to paranoid and protective. A great read for fans of fairytale retellings that are a little creepy.

A house of Salt and Sorrow is one of my favorite books so when I saw this book appear on netgalley I had to get it! It was good, but not as good as the latter.

I struggled to get into this book but once I was hooked I couldn’t put it down. This is one I have already begun recommending to fellow fantasy fans.

Craig has done it again. Small Favors seems to be cut from the same cloth as House of Salt and Sorrows (one of my favorite 2019 reads!). The writing is lyrical and absolutely gorgeous. I found myself wrapped up in the characters, the town, and the unseen mystery lurking around every turn. Craig has easily become one of my favorite authors, thanks to her atmospheric writing and the fresh and ingenious stories she winds. I cannot wait to read more from this author. Please pick up this book as soon as it is released-- you will not be disappointed!

Erin Craig did it again with this book! She mixes creepy and happy fantasy so damn well. I loved our mc so frickin much her arc with dealing with her family, the town that was slowly going crazy, bee keeping which I've always loved so seeing it featured in a book has me so excited! plus the mysterious man that we want to love, but are also cautious of. This plot twists in this book kept you guessing until the end like I simply cannot recommend this book enough for fans of thriller, mystery, or fantasy!

This YA horror has everything I love: The Village vibes, talk of monsters in the woods, and a mysterious love interest we can’t quite trust. I knew it was a fairy tale retelling going into it, so I enjoyed trying to guess how that would all factor in. The prose is gorgeous, the atmosphere is fantastically creepy, and the protagonist’s predicament is thoroughly engaging. I read it all in a weekend because I had to find out what was going on! Can’t wait for the next Erin Craig book! Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader.

Are you ready for a dark fairy-tale retelling with M. Night Shyamalan and Twilight Xone vibes because that is totally what you're getting when you read SMALL FAVORS, at least in my humble opinion. You might be thinking, what, does she LIKE Shyamalan and Twilight Zone or she is being facetious? The answer is, I LOVE Shymalan and old school TZ and if you throw in a bit of retelling, family drama, creepy-arse woods, and an isolated town that holds so many secrets that it's bound to implode on itself, you've got a fan for life.

Amity Falls has had its own set of rules for as long as Ellerie can remember. She lives on a farm with her mom, dad, and two sisters, and brother. When sudden sightings of strange creatures and a lost supply party begin circulating around town, things start to get a little weird. Amidst all of this is a drama within the family. Sam, Ellerie's brother, ends things with his girlfriend, Rebecca, when he suspects her of cheating and conceiving a child, which is clearly his. In the meantime, a strange boy shows up that intrigues Ellerie. The culmination of all these things comes to a head when a tragedy befalls Ellerie's mother and her father is forced to take her to the city for medical attention. Now left with the farm and the oncoming winter, Ellerie, and her sisters navigate a shortage of food and a town that's side-eyeing everyone else.

But the strangeness doesn't stop there.

Ellerie begins to see a strange woman, and her brother Sam starts acting out of sorts, even more than before. The newcomer, Whitaker, helps her keep her bees alive by losing her sugar during the winter after Sam hoards the honey, but his help comes with a price Ellerie could ever imagine. Soon, the entire town is distrusting of one another, pointing fingers and doling out judgments without proof. Their fear of the things in the woods makes them act out like cornered animals.

The tension throughout the book explodes in a climax fit for such a thrill ride. It was like watching a movie; unsure of who to trust. Ellerie is the perfect heroine: determined, resourceful, brave. Her love for her family overshadowed everything. She'd do whatever it takes to see them safe.

I loved every second of this book. I went to "bed" early a few times just so I could have more time to read before I fell asleep. I soooooo want to pick the author's brain about her inspiration and process in writing this book. It's pure and utter genius the way she weaved the mystery and the creepiness in with the themes of love and family. I cannot wait for this book to release because I know it's going to EXPLODE.

Love, love, loved it. Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher!


SPOILERS AHEAD




My only gripe was the ending. It felt...strange. After the confrontation with the Dark Watchers, Ellerie's last word is, "Wait." But then it cuts to her at home (if memory serves me correctly. I might be wrong, but my kindle is in my car and I'm not getting up :p) But anyway, the abrupt scene change jarred me a bit, and then we have Ellerie running through town trying to find her sisters and Sam who returned and is now in jail? I don't know. It was all so rushed and gave me a bit of whiplash.

Such a delightfully creepy story! Craig knows how to make character's descriptions so creepy and relatable, but not overly ghoulish. Another amazing read! You definitely wouldn't guess the creep factor from the front cover & I think that's what gave the book its charm!

Review to be published on my blog on 6/24/21 **
**3.5 STARS**

Likes:
*This book cover is so absolutely beautiful and oh so deceptive! I like that about it.

*World Building ~ This author knows how to write books that are tinged with creepiness and loaded with suspicion. I suspected everyone, I couldn’t trust anyone – not even our main character, Ellerie! The story had me hooked with the setting, the tone, the silver eyes in the woods and I just imagined if I lived there, I’d die right away. Haha…of fear! The story is set in a historical atmosphere, during the time of settlers in America. People settled in a valley surrounded by pine trees and wilderness, they farm for their livelihood and live far from the city. They ride horses and make their own clothes, so you can imagine the kind of life they live.

*Characters ~ Ellerie and her twin Sam are the eldest of four children but certain events come to pass in their village of Amity Falls and they are left without parents. It’s a hard life in Amity Falls but a good one. The neighbors are friendly and help each other out until mysterious deaths and incidents take place around the village. Then we see everyone get suspicious of one another and their tight community start to unwind. We meet a lot of characters in this book, but Ellerie is our main storyteller.

*Plot ~ Ellerie and the townspeople need to survive the winter without a ration run because of the creatures in the woods. But they start turning on one another. What are these fast creatures with silver eyes in the woods? For most of the books I guessed they were werewolves, because what else could they be? But it was something else preying on the people of Amity Falls. It’s a mystery.

Random Notes:

*Triggers: Violence, blood

*I was impatient with the lack of information we got about the creatures by the middle of the story but most of our information about the creatures in the woods come at the latter part of the book. The story builds slowly and then really picks up as the situation in Amity Falls gets worse but the ending feels a little bit rushed, like that’s it ~ the problem is neatly solved.

*Creep factor ~ there is blood, gore, deformities, eyes play tricks on people, and what every horror novel needs, a doll.

*There is a romance but one that left me suspicious of Ellerie’s love interest, Whitaker. So I wasn’t too invested because there were too many red flags.

Final Thoughts:
Overall, I was on the edge reading this book as the mystery surrounded me like the wilderness and pines in Amity Falls. I love the beautiful writing, the atmospheric setting, the creepiness that edges into the story as tempers flare and blood flows in Amity Falls and everything seems…wrong. The ending was a little abrupt for me but this one is perfect for mystery, paranormal and suspense lovers.