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shaybrawner's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
"A shooting star danced across the opening, but before I could point it out, Cassius's lips descended on mine, and I forgot all about the sky."
This book is for you if... you want a darker fairytale that's also a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses.
This was soooo good! I think this will definitely be a book that's rating could raise with a reread of it. The story of The 12 Dancing Princesses was always one of my favorite as a child, I would beg my mom or grandma to put on the barbie movie or read it from the story book we had, so I wasn't sure how I would feel about one of my childhood favorites being retold in a dark way. But I loved it, it was done so well and I didn't want to put it down except when my eyes needed a short break.
The romance in this book was perfect. And I'm not usually a crazy fan of romance in my books like leave me with my fantasy and keep the romance, but this pairing, just made sense to me. I will say it has a bit of an insta love feeling so if you aren't into that you might not like it as much as I do(I usually don't like insta love but I liked this one).
My main issue with this book, was the pacing in the first half, it just felt so slow and like things were happening but not happening. That probably make absolutely no sense. Is this book perfect? Not in my opinion no. Is it a damn good book that I would recommend? Absolutely. I felt like I was pulled into this beautiful seaside world, filled with ghosts and gods.
CAWPILE Rating: 7.43/10
Stars: 4/5 Stars
Felt like living a fairytale.
This book is for you if... you want a darker fairytale that's also a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses.
This was soooo good! I think this will definitely be a book that's rating could raise with a reread of it. The story of The 12 Dancing Princesses was always one of my favorite as a child, I would beg my mom or grandma to put on the barbie movie or read it from the story book we had, so I wasn't sure how I would feel about one of my childhood favorites being retold in a dark way. But I loved it, it was done so well and I didn't want to put it down except when my eyes needed a short break.
The romance in this book was perfect. And I'm not usually a crazy fan of romance in my books like leave me with my fantasy and keep the romance, but this pairing, just made sense to me. I will say it has a bit of an insta love feeling so if you aren't into that you might not like it as much as I do(I usually don't like insta love but I liked this one).
My main issue with this book, was the pacing in the first half, it just felt so slow and like things were happening but not happening. That probably make absolutely no sense. Is this book perfect? Not in my opinion no. Is it a damn good book that I would recommend? Absolutely. I felt like I was pulled into this beautiful seaside world, filled with ghosts and gods.
CAWPILE Rating: 7.43/10
Stars: 4/5 Stars
Felt like living a fairytale.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Blood, Suicide, and Miscarriage
Minor: Gore and Body horror
emma16701's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I was so excited to read a twist on the fairytale of The 12 Dancing Princesses and while this mostly kept me interested, I wish it leaned into the fairytale more. The twists were good but it felt like there was nothing going on from page 100 until the last 20 pages. The romance felt unnecessary and I found myself skimming those parts so that I could get on with the rest of this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity
thecatconstellation's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This is a creepy story with a decent pace. There is some character development and a wide variety of character personalities. Some fantasy elements and some plot twists. Kept me engaged.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Body horror and Grief
Minor: Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
dazzling_aurora's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Vomit, and Child death
Minor: Alcohol
amandaamanda's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Blood and Body horror
spookynerd00's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
There were enough good elements to keep me reading. The horror was nice and creepy, and I found the mystery enticing. Plus I loved the overall concept.
But there were too many things I didn’t love. Annaleigh was such a flat character. Apparently character development is more important to me than I thought, but the plot was good enough for me to forgive that after the first section of the book. But it was a slow start, and Annaleigh’s lack of depth made it slower.
The romance was also... unnecessary? Too quick? I don’t know, I just didn’t like it.
And the big reveal at the end, it all happened so quick, and I found it a little unbelievable and a bit unsatisfying.
Finally, I have mixed feelings about the world building. There were so many different elements to explore, which was very cool, but it all felt... too convenient? I’m not sure how to elaborate on this. I will say that there does seem to be potential for more stories written in this world, and I wouldn’t be against trying them out.
But there were too many things I didn’t love. Annaleigh was such a flat character. Apparently character development is more important to me than I thought, but the plot was good enough for me to forgive that after the first section of the book. But it was a slow start, and Annaleigh’s lack of depth made it slower.
The romance was also... unnecessary? Too quick? I don’t know, I just didn’t like it.
And the big reveal at the end, it all happened so quick, and I found it a little unbelievable and a bit unsatisfying.
Finally, I have mixed feelings about the world building. There were so many different elements to explore, which was very cool, but it all felt... too convenient? I’m not sure how to elaborate on this. I will say that there does seem to be potential for more stories written in this world, and I wouldn’t be against trying them out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Pregnancy
Minor: Blood, Body horror, and Gore
grunkle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
One of my favorite reads in a LONG time
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Miscarriage, Body horror, Child death, and Gore
Moderate: Miscarriage
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I think House of Salt and Sorrows might be my most unexpected favorite read of 2020.
When I was younger, I loved the Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses movie. My nostalgic feelings for that movie combined with the realization that I’d never read a retelling of 12 Dancing Princesses led to me picking up this book, which I figured would be a bit spooky. I didn’t realize how much it would creep me out until I was too invested in the story to stop reading, and decided I’d only read during the day with the lights on, maybe music in the background. Not everyone will find this scary, but I did.
Craig put so much into so few pages, and did a phenomenal job of it. The story is set on a small set of islands, but the world beyond is immense, the mythology intricate. There are numerous characters—the twelve sisters and their father, their stepmother, friends and lovers and household staff and island citizens—but Craig developed all of them well enough to make it easy for me to differentiate between them.
I really enjoyed the dynamics between the sisters. Annaleigh was a bit plain, I won’t lie, but she was still compelling in a way I’m not sure I can explain. I liked all of the sisters still living at the time of the story, and given the way they were written, I’m sure I would’ve loved the dead ones if I’d been able to get
to know them. I loved little Verity. 10 out of 10, would hug, possibly my favorite Thaumas sibling. (I almost always love the baby beans. Not sure why.)
While on the subject of character dynamics, I enjoyed the sisters’ interactions with Hanna and her son Fisher. Though the former was somewhat swept aside as the story progressed, seeing her step in as a maternal figure after their mother died was quite sweet. She was technically their nurse—maybe their maid, I can’t recall which—but she cared for all of the girls as if they were hers, and I loved to see it. Her son Fisher was a friend to the whole family, dancing with the sisters at their parties when no one else would. He was just so sweet. Pretty sure sweetness is genetic in this case. Like mother, like son, or whatever the saying is.
You know who else was really sweet? The love interest Cassius. I won’t say anything about whether or not he’s trustworthy, because that would ruin the fun, but I loved his relationship with Annaleigh. Absolutely loved it. I ship it so much, I can’t even express. They! Are! Adorable!
Lastly, I want to address how freaking WILD this book’s story is. I marathoned 75% of the book this afternoon in a matter of hours. The horror elements were a surprise, but even more surprising was the way the second half of the novel resembled a psychological thriller. I had no idea what to expect or who to trust or even who actually existed. I can’t specify due to spoilers, but once again, it was WILD. Please read this.
I enjoyed House of Salt and Sorrows way more than I ever thought I would. I look forward to buying my own copy, recommending this to everyone, and eventually reading Craig’s next release.
When I was younger, I loved the Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses movie. My nostalgic feelings for that movie combined with the realization that I’d never read a retelling of 12 Dancing Princesses led to me picking up this book, which I figured would be a bit spooky. I didn’t realize how much it would creep me out until I was too invested in the story to stop reading, and decided I’d only read during the day with the lights on, maybe music in the background. Not everyone will find this scary, but I did.
Craig put so much into so few pages, and did a phenomenal job of it. The story is set on a small set of islands, but the world beyond is immense, the mythology intricate. There are numerous characters—the twelve sisters and their father, their stepmother, friends and lovers and household staff and island citizens—but Craig developed all of them well enough to make it easy for me to differentiate between them.
I really enjoyed the dynamics between the sisters. Annaleigh was a bit plain, I won’t lie, but she was still compelling in a way I’m not sure I can explain. I liked all of the sisters still living at the time of the story, and given the way they were written, I’m sure I would’ve loved the dead ones if I’d been able to get
to know them. I loved little Verity. 10 out of 10, would hug, possibly my favorite Thaumas sibling. (I almost always love the baby beans. Not sure why.)
While on the subject of character dynamics, I enjoyed the sisters’ interactions with Hanna and her son Fisher. Though the former was somewhat swept aside as the story progressed, seeing her step in as a maternal figure after their mother died was quite sweet. She was technically their nurse—maybe their maid, I can’t recall which—but she cared for all of the girls as if they were hers, and I loved to see it. Her son Fisher was a friend to the whole family, dancing with the sisters at their parties when no one else would. He was just so sweet. Pretty sure sweetness is genetic in this case. Like mother, like son, or whatever the saying is.
You know who else was really sweet? The love interest Cassius. I won’t say anything about whether or not he’s trustworthy, because that would ruin the fun, but I loved his relationship with Annaleigh. Absolutely loved it. I ship it so much, I can’t even express. They! Are! Adorable!
Lastly, I want to address how freaking WILD this book’s story is. I marathoned 75% of the book this afternoon in a matter of hours. The horror elements were a surprise, but even more surprising was the way the second half of the novel resembled a psychological thriller. I had no idea what to expect or who to trust or even who actually existed. I can’t specify due to spoilers, but once again, it was WILD. Please read this.
I enjoyed House of Salt and Sorrows way more than I ever thought I would. I look forward to buying my own copy, recommending this to everyone, and eventually reading Craig’s next release.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Body horror, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Suicide
In the second half of the book, one of the remaining sisters experiences serious depression.stayshomeandreads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
this gave me everything I wanted. from an interview with the author, I found out that she was originally going to make a book out of edgar allen poe's annabelle lee. that made complete sense to me. this book is such a vibe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Suicide, and Violence
noelanig's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Miscarriage, and Suicide
Minor: Vomit and Body horror
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