A haunting story full of unease, Small Favors mixes M. Night Shyalaman, “The Village” with the Stanford Prison Experiment. The results are carefully written layers of story that drove me to not want to put the book down while also peaking over my shoulder to remind myself of my own comforting surroundings. Erin A. Craig is a master at the small shifts that create the atmosphere of dread.

Characters feel real with motivations that make sense, even at their worst. Ellerie, our protagonist, is a voice of reason but has her own moments of unreliability as the tensions around her mount.
If I had read this book alone I would have only praise. Having read, “House of Salt and Sorrows” though allowed me to compare the romance of the two stories by Craig and see just how similar they were. With that said, Craig has created a worthy enough “type” that most readers will likely have no complaints over the repeated nature of the romantic interest.

Thank you NetGalley for another one of Erin Craig's books!!! I got her first book, House of Salt and Sorrows also as a netgalley and was instantly obsessed. I jumped at the chance to read another book of hers. Erin is a masterful writer and I don't know how but she perfectly blends together fairytale retellings with horror and I can't get enough. I read in her authors bio that she is a big embroiderer and I feel like she's embroidering these worlds together stitch by stitch and in the end it creates a masterpiece. This book starts off pretty idyllic as we read about Ellerie and her family and their quaint little secluded town, Amity Falls. (What a perfect name right?) Everything seems perfect and things start to slowly fall apart and then all at once. I could feel the dread curling up in my stomach as I read and I couldn't make myself stop. The characters were wonderful, the writing was great and the suspense was killing me. Some things were slightly predictable and I do feel like the final confrontation with the big baddie wasn't quite what I wanted. This also isn't the perfect ending where everything gets fixed which I appreciated. I feel like she left it open to where it could be a sequel but it could also be just a standalone. Erin has become one of my favorite authors and I recommend her books to everyone.

This book will have you stockpiling your pantry and compulsively looking over your shoulder. Small Favors was a delight to read, and a shining edition to the YA genre.

I first became aware of the author, Erin Craig, when I read her debut novel, A House of Salt and Sorrows. Like her first book, this one did not disappoint. The originality and thought behind her novels is truly astonishing. Once again, the main antagonists are cleverly introduced throughout the book, bit by bit, and constantly keep the reader hooked to find out more. The main protagonist, Ellerie, was also extraordinary brave and strong. After being thrust into a leadership position she didn’t want, Ellerie stoically protected her sisters and rose to solve the problems they faced. The bond between the three main siblings was also incredibly well developed, and all of the characters were fleshed out with distinct personalities. I’d recommend the book based off of the characters alone.

There was a small romantic subplot that could have been better developed, but overall it definitely added to the tense setting. The plot was fast-paced, and the hectic climax was cleverly integrated into the storyline.

There is something lyrical and beautiful about Craig’s writing, and it really went a long way in bringing the landscape and characters to life. It also made the book compulsively readable, and I wouldn’t recommend starting it if you don’t have the time to finish it. Once you start reading Small Favors, you won’t be able to put it down.

I received an ARC of this novel from Random House and Netgalley, opinions are my own.

I'll admit it, I was sucked in by the cover. I am a sucker for a gorgeous cover. In this case, Small Favors can absolutely be judged by its cover. Beautiful prose and an amazing story.

Ellerie and her family live life filled with happiness and love. When a stranger arrives in town and horrible accidents follow soon after, Ellerie is forced to make decisions for her family that no 18 year old should have to make. Erin A. Craig’s second novel is a winner and will have you watching over your shoulder. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my review.

*Spoiler free*

After reading and loving House Of Salt And Sorrows, I was really looking forward to anything else this author was going to write. Small Favors seemed like it was going to be extremely different than House, but I have to say, the bright yellow cover for a horror novel is certainty intriguing. And the process of small favors spiraling into something bigger and even deadly? Yes, I definitely wanted to know more. Trigger warnings: burns, vomit, blood

This book was really good. It had a few frustrations with it, which is honestly a bummer because the rest of the book really was amazing.

I'm going to start off with the things I did like. First off, the writing. Craig has TALENT. The way she weaves words together to create such beautiful scenery and such vivid stories is incredible. Her words seem to sink into my brain with such a soothing affect. Which is odd, considering how creepy this book got. Though, beautifully written horror books does seem like something that would hit the nail on the head.

The setting was another thing that I fell in love with. This book takes place in a secluded town, surrounded by forest. It's seeped in legends, and even superstitions to extent. There's a set of rules to live by, and they even rhyme! I love creepy forest books, and this is another one added onto the list. Plus, the way darkness creeps around the edges, looking for cracks to crawl through, is just stunning. It's a wonderful setting that's wonderfully written, which makes it wonderful all around.

Another thing I really loved was the creepy factor. The subtle way it's slipped in at the beginning, to how it blooms into something bigger later, was terrifying and so well done. Craig knows how to write horror, and I loved being terrifying by what she wrote.

Sibling relationships was another big part of this book that I really enjoyed. Positive and not positive both, all of them were so well written and I loved Ellerie's whole family.

There were a few things that I didn't particularly love, and I think it was because of one thing: the romance. It just seemed to kind of cheapen the whole thing. It felt like it moved way too fast and was tinged with an ounce of oversweetness because of it. It wasn't completely unnecessary, I just think more development could have been beneficial here or there. I think this also lead me to not like Ellerie's character as much as I would have. I think I just didn't get her on a more fundamental level. She seems to be driven by a mishmash of things, so I feel like I could've gotten to know her better than I did. I still loved her, but I felt like I could have loved her more.

The ending was also something that I didn't particularly love. First off, I felt like it was very abrupt. I wanted at least another chapter wrapping up a couple of loose ends. I just wanted to know more. I did read an ARC, so perhaps the ending in the final copy will be slightly different!

I also felt like there was an opportunity for this book to go extremely dark. I respect that fact that it didn't, and even like the way it went, but with my feelings towards the ending, I almost wish that it had gone extremely dark.

All in all, I came out of this book enjoying it immensely. There were a few frustrations here and there, but that didn't diminish the fact that I wanted to devour this book. It's bright, but it's dark, and it's really, really good.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

This is a really difficult book to rate, and glancing back on my review of the author's debut novel, I can see I had similar problems with both. I guess my problem is with the consistency. It seems like there was always talk of monsters in the woods but later on characters say it started only a few years ago. Amity Falls gives off a very Village-type vibe with their way of life yet they are aware of bigger cities with better medicine, so it makes me wonder why they don't modernize in any way. There's also Abigail, whom Sadie has apparently been speaking with for a long time now. There also doesn't seem to be any reason why Sam lies about certain things or why he's constantly doing stuff that hurts his family, other than because he's a horrible person. I don't know, it didn't all seem to fit together properly.

I'm going to also pick on the romance a little, as always. I feel like some of it was just the corrupting influence of these demons, but it also has YA all over it with how quick it is and how little Ellerie knows about Whitaker before thinking of marrying him. In this case it's because Whitaker keeps stuff from her and she knows it, yet she still trusts him. I just didn't feel any sort of chemistry or connection between them. Whitaker just loves her... for reasons. And he decides to help her and her family... for reasons. And the big bad calls Ellerie "special"... for reasons. That one had me groaning.

I don't know how to feel about the ending. Everything goes to Hell and people start killing each other and the conclusion definitely doesn't feel like a happy one. There's a huge emphasis on "watching" that seems to grow more and more as the book goes on, but there's very little action, and when action is taken it ends badly. It just feels like the book is saying these creatures have been doing this for years, will continue doing this, and nothing can be done about it. Which is definitely not a typical ending for a YA book, but it feels unsatisfying with a lot of unanswered questions and unknown fates of characters. I get the whole idea that people have this underlying nastiness inside them, but what about all the mutated animals and the blighted crops and the weird weather? And why is it all escalating now if these demons have been around town for years?

I like leaving on a positive note, so I will say that the writing is good. The mutated animals are horrifying to picture and the various talks about beekeeping shows that the author did some research on that subject. The one time I really got emotional was when Ellerie had to say goodbye to her bees. I also think the small town vibe was done pretty well. I'm not sure I ever fully understood what the Our Ladies or the Bells were for, but I got a pretty good picture of town life.

So overall it wasn't a bad book, I just think maybe it was a little cluttered with stuff or just not consistent with its ideas or taken to an extreme too quickly. Just... something was off about it.

I read a digital ARC from Netgally. Erin A Craig did a wonderful job on this book. Like House of Salt and Sorrows, there is lots of creepy imagery and twists. Ellerie Downing is the main character. She and her family live in Amity Falls, where they are beekeepers. Not long after the book starts strange things start to occur. The villagers think that the monsters from the years the community was founded have returned. Winter settles in and the community is cut off from the city with no new supplies and mistrust between members runs rampant. The mysterious creatures, some questionable characters, and a few small favors set this community up for its problems. This book was a page-turner. It had lots of great imagery. It was creepy and even sinister in places. You won't want to put it down!