by Erin A. Craig
Published on August 6, 2019 by Delacorte Press
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 416
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
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.
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That moment when a book kills it with the horror-esque fantasy atmosphere but can’t sell me on the protagonist. . .
House of Salt and Sorrows was definitely not what I expected for a re-telling of the 12 Dancing Princesses. I was warned prior to reading that it wasn’t as much a fantasy as it was a creepy paranormal story that reminded me quite a bit of Crimson Peak in that regard. The mystery, the haunting vibes, unsolved deaths, and a romance flung in the middle? Definitely an excellent choice if you’re fond of the gothic romance movie.
Craig sold me on the whole world and general concept of the book, but I wasn’t really on board with how everything played out. A lot of that came down to the protagonist, Annaleigh.
First, there are a lot of characters in this book, which I expected since it’s a re-telling and there needed to be the 12 sisters at least, not counting other supporting characters. But Annaleigh blended in with the rest. She didn’t have a strong enough voice to stand out against the other characters. Nor did I ever really connect with her as the point of view perspective. Any of the older sisters would have worked and it wouldn’t have made a difference to the story.
Second, as I was already disconnected from Annaleigh, I couldn’t buy into the romance subplot. There’s a hint of a love triangle (which I’m glad didn’t happen) but the rival love interest bit played out for too long. And the romance that did happen felt like major insta-lust to insta-love. I didn’t believe it for a second and, to be perfectly honest, it ruined the story for me. I don’t think it was necessary.
But I did really enjoy the writing style. There were times I was sucked into the mystery and needed to figure out what happened next. Granted, I also put the book down just as many times because I wasn’t engaged with Annaleigh’s character on her own. I preferred the scenes where the other characters were more involved.
The story moved at a decent pace and I didn’t feel like there were too many lulls in the plot itself. While the twists weren’t terribly unpredictable, I still enjoyed them as they happened, and I really liked the overall concept for a 12 Dancing Princesses re-telling.
But I hated the ending.
If House of Salt and Sorrows had just ended with that last chapter, I would have been perfectly happy (or at least mostly happy). But then Craig tacked on a mushy ending that felt unnecessary and so. . . off from the rest of the book that it felt more like wish fulfillment than necessary to the story. I’d have rather seen some of the epilogue woven into the last chapter, if anything, and the rest cut off. But that’s neither here nor there.
I liked this book well enough, and probably would have liked it even more without the romance subplot and epilogue. House of Salt and Sorrows is definitely a solid book and I look forward to more from this author in the future.
About Austine
I'm a 20-something research proposal developer with a background in the life sciences and education. Reviewer of books since 2011, amateur photographer by day, and aspiring author by night. I believe animals (and books) are better than people.
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