[Book Review] House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Description:

In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls’ lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.

Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn’t sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with?

When Annaleigh’s involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it’s a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next.

from GoodReads

My thoughts

“House of Salt and Sorrows” by Erin A. Craig is a retelling of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” fairytale but with a darker spin. I am in love!

You’ve seen multiple retellings of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and other stories. But The Twelve Dancing Princesses is a story that I have yet to read being retold. This version has mystery, romance, horror, gothic, supernatural… and salt. It has a lot of elements of water, it reminds me a bit of The Wicked Deep, but the world building is much more immersive. It reminds me a lot of Edgar Allan Poe’s work. A quiet psychological thriller, horror story.

The pace is quite fast, especially from the middle onwards. Like a nightmare unfolding that you cannot escape… Exhilarating.

‼️ Warning: I would NOT recommend it for those who cannot carry darkness right now. There’s elements of suicide, murder, gore, psychological manipulation, mental health issues, and more.

I gave it 5 stars on GoodReads.