Following a strong debut Erin A. Craig hits another home run in her sophomore novel forever cementing her in the top tier of my favorite authors list.

“Small Favors” sounds simple enough when striking a deal but when it comes time for the debts to be paid the town of Amity Falls finds that the cost may be too high.

I’m curious to find out when the creation of this book began as there are notes that speak the the isolation and confinement many of us felt during quarantine as well as the sense of foreboding as the seasons changed and the level of threat increased. The wrongness that overtakes Amity Falls starts small almost innocent to where you don’t notice it at first but quickly find that it is a spark that leads to a much greater blaze that cares not for who may lie in its path.

There’s a lot I wish to discuss but first and foremost it’s not lost on me the timing in which I find this book and how the main villain within its pages is simply a whisper from one who stands back to watch. There is power in words and when one is at their most vulnerable you can make them do just about anything especially if they think they have been wronged and the promise of justice is tempting enough to break a few rules to get it.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Ellerie and those around her whether it be her sisters or the boy with no name and I rooted for her from beginning to end as she did her best to provide and remain strong despite the world falling apart around her. There’s a few things and additions that didn’t quite work but overall it didn’t affect my love for the story and it’s almost fairytale like quality pulling from at least two that I can guess but I don’t want to name them and risk giving anything away.

I really loved this story and I am beyond excited for everyone to read it when it comes out but maybe a little more excited to see what comes next for Craig!

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

Small Favors by Erin A Craig
Review

I'll be honest, when I had requested a review copy of Small Favors I really had no idea what I was getting into.
All I knew was that Craig's previous book, "House of Salt and Sorrows" was a stand out debut novel and I was excited to see what else she could come out with.

After completing Small Favors my very first thought was "wow! Erin A Craig has really outdone herself with this new novel!"

Her books are darker then the typical YA book. She isn't afraid to shy away from death, betrayal, and gruesome depictions. And despite the bright sunny cover, this book was DARK! There is a lot of death, both human and animal, deformities, and the monsters are TERRIFYING!

There were many points while reading I had to put the book down for a second and check the darkness behind me for Craig's monsters.

But besides her horrifying creatures, Craig wrote about the scariest thing of all- The human mind/human nature, how all it can take is an idea, a little push and the minds paranoia can cause a chain reaction that destroys everything.

Plot: Ellerie lives the simple life in a secluded village with her parents, 2 sisters, and twin brother. This happy little town prides itself on its faith and neighbor helps neighbor community. But when a supply run gets attacked, with no survivors, they start to believe the stories of monsters in the wood may have been based on fact. Malformed animals are spotted, crops start to rot, and private stores looted, discord sets into this happy little town. With winter just around the corner, what lengths will Ellerie go to keep her family alive? What if she was given an offer? Salvation for just one small favor?

There is so much I'd like to say about this book, but I fear spoilers.

Ellerie is a phenomenal protagonist. She's strong, smart, loving. The bond she shares with her sisters is a main focus, while the bond with her twin brother dwindles. Which is interesting because normally in books, the bond between twins is stronger than anything.

I think that Erin A Craig is an upcoming author to watch. I could easily see her work evolving into bestselling Adult fiction. I look forward to what she comes up with in the future and I'll certainly be purchasing myself a copy of Small Favors in hard copy when its released!

Thank you netgalley, Erin A Craig, and Delacorte Press for the gifted E-ARC

And be sure to pick up your copy of this delightful horror on July 27, 2021!!

SPOILERS.

I liked this book but didn’t love it. I felt the pacing was very slow and it wasn’t as spooky as I was expecting. Rather than creepy, it felt like a slowly unraveling puzzle. I think I would have enjoyed the story more if it hadn’t been touted as a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, because I kept looking for that angle, and it doesn’t reveal itself until around the 90-percent mark. I was completely mistaken in who Rumpelstiltskin was in the story. For me this was a lot more Little House on the Prairie and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman than a fairy tale. I like those things in small measure but don’t intentionally seek them out. The day-to-day life of the main character’s family seemed dull at times, and those scenes of domestic chores dragged. I enjoyed the overall plot, but it just felt like it took the story ages to actually get anywhere.

The writing is so, so good and you can see the meticulous detail that went into weaving the plot by the time you reach the end. But a large portion of the book is taken up by neighbors arguing over who killed whose chickens, who stole whose tools, and who ransacked whose pantry. I understand the place those events held in the overall scheme of things, but they took up the bulk of the story so the romance was a little bit of a letdown. I wish more time had been devoted to the main character and her love interest. He disappears for months at a time, and while I do enjoy the air of mystery, Whitaker and Ellerie spend so little time together that I can’t even remember how they went from suspicious strangers to being completely in love. I think Whitaker’s absence throughout much of the Spring section of the book hurt the story because by then I had kind of stopped caring about his relationship with Ellerie.

I didn’t like that the story got more religious as it went on. I understand that Christianity is often portrayed as one of the most important things to small town people, since their social lives basically revolved around church, especially in a certain era, but I honestly did not like reading about it one bit. The high and mighty attitudes, the guilt trips, the way the whole town was bullied into attending a revival rubbed me the wrong way. I’m not sure I was really sorry when the whole town went up in flames because everything just felt totally out of control, none of the characters was likable outside of Ellerie’s family, and there were just so many side characters that I couldn’t keep anyone straight or remember who was who unless their title (parson) appeared beside their names. I understand why there was a list of characters in the beginning of the book, but it was tedious to flip back and forth to reference, so I just didn’t.

I think I was more interested in the monster main plot and romantic subplot than what I really got: bickering, faceless townsfolk. Again, I understand the purpose of all the in-fighting and domesticity but I feel like those scenes needed to be padded with a lot more. I didn’t really feel scared or threatened by the supposed monsters, and I lost interest in the romance because there just wasn’t a lot of meat to those scenes. The book felt long but I don’t think it would be hurt by the addition of more scare and swoon.

I have mixed feelings about the ending. There was no way I could have guessed what Rumpelstiltskin’s real name was, but I think its reveal was written in a very clever manner. I liked the happily-ever-after ending for Ellerie and Whitaker, even if it wasn’t as exciting I wish it had been. But I didn’t like how open the ending was. Where are they even going? Are they going to the city to meet up with their parents? How are they going to pay the medical bills for their mother? What occupation will their father have, now that his land and hives have been laid to waste? I feel like I need an epilogue. I’m not really satisfied with the conclusion.

On the whole, I did enjoy reading the book, but I feel like I kept hoping it would be more than it ultimately was.

Thank you to Random House Children's publishing and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I LOVED Small Favors! I had the pleasure of reviewing House of Salt and Sorrows last spring as one of my very first reviews so I was excited to read another book by Erin A. Craig. It didn't disappoint. There's bees and wild things in the woods and things are just not what they seem. There's a strong main character named Ellerie who readers are going to love and all the weirdness of the book takes place in a town so deep in the middle of nowhere it sets everything into perfect motion. A stranger comes to visit in Amity Falls and nothing will ever be the same again. If you like weird stories with evil mythical creatures and backwoods settings with strong female leads don't miss Small Favors next July!

This was a super slow burn with lovely writing and a fun story! I really liked Whitaker and the mystery behind him and the bee aspect was pretty unique!

5/5 stars

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Small town that has creepy legends about when it was founded? A woods full of deadly monsters? A witty and mysterious love interest? Mysterious happenings, death, and it's a Rumplestiltskin re-telling? What more could I ask for in a book?

Ellerie Downing lives a rather quiet and peaceful life in Amity Falls, a small town bordered by a mysterious and dangerous woods. The early founders claimed that monsters lived within the woods and left rules for the town meant to protect them. The current residents stopped believing in the monsters a while ago, but when a supply run ends very badly, the old fears start to resurface. As the winter comes and supplies start to run low, the residents start to turn on each other. As the town heads toward its demise, Ellerie is determined to find a way to save her family from the evil forces.

Eerie, ominous, and haunting--I devoured this book in less than 24 hours. The book had me hooked from the first page. The creepy things happening in the town and the mysterious creatures had me desperate to figure out what was going on. I loved that the book was told in different seasons to follow the progression of the weird occurrences happening in town. It was also interesting to see how the high tensions of trying to survive the winter led the residents to prioritize their own wellbeing over the town as a whole. The monsters aren't the only sources of evil and darkness in this book...

This book had so many things that I loved. The creepiness of the story, setting, and characters was definitely the highlight, but there were so many other great things. The romance is pretty much an insta-love, but this is one of those cases where it was incredibly well-done. Ellerie is too preoccupied with taking care of her family and her own survival to worry about love; she's not one of those heroines who gets all lovey-dovey and puts the love interest above everything else happening in the book. Ellerie was one of the best things about the book in general. She's determined to take care of her family, but she's still just a young girl burdened with responsibility. She struggles a lot, and she's terrified. But she just keeps going and doesn't let love or fear stop her from doing what needs to be done.

This book had me spooked, swooning, and cheering all at once. It was not your traditional scary story--this was so unique in so many ways. Also, I was not aware this was supposed to be a Rumplestiltskin re-telling until I finished it, but it's woven into the story so well. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a spooky read with a bit of romance.

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.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book missed the mark for me. I truly enjoyed "House of Salt and Sorrows' and had high hopes for this spin on Rumpelstiltskin, however, it ultimately is not one that I enjoyed.

What Worked for Me-
1. The setting in this story is well developed and interesting. The town, the woods, the rules. I found this engrossing.
2. I love Craig's work with reimagining fairy tales in dark ways. There are some scary images throughout, and she knows how to write up a good scare.
3. Beekeeping! There is so much work done with beekeeping that is interesting and a good pair with the fear of the story.


What Did Not Work for Me-
1. I felt that our characters were all underdeveloped. It was hard to truly root for too many of our characters.
2. The love story fell flat for me and this impacted my investment in the story.
3. It felt that the book had a lot of rising action, minimal climax, falling action, and resolution. I felt set up at the beginning of the book for what was going to happen, kept going along to wait to see what would happen, then something finally happened but the story was over. It felt unevenly paced for me, and this made parts drag.

Overall, this began with an interesting premise but left me feeling that so much was set up and very little happened.

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.