Reviews with content warning for Violence - House of Salt And Sorrows

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

House of Salt And Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

40 reviews

hannahs_library__'s review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

So uh... this book gave me a nightmare... but like pop off 4 stars!

House of Salt and Sorrows is a dark retelling of the 12 dancing princesses story and when I say dark, I mean DARK. I was not prepared for how spooky it was. For a stand alone fantasy this was great. The writing was beautiful and the romance subplot was so perfect too. I teared up at the end

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njesenicka26's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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purplehulk713's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Macabre and enchanting, like a ballgown woven from spiderwebs. The world-building of Arcannia, especially of the gods and their canon was fascinating and clever. “We are the People of the Salt.” The motif of dancing was exquisite, both as a breathless art and a dangerous temptation, magical, even. The story’s mystery is incredible, always keeping you guessing, even if you do grasp some pieces of the puzzle you don’t have them all. Death surrounds Highmoor, but Annaleigh seeks to protect life, her cleverness and loyalty to her family (especially her sisters) makes her a lovable, formidable, and powerful protagonist. Believe me, you’ll have trouble figuring out who the antagonist is. The salty seaside atmosphere is the perfect setting for a horror retelling of a classic fairytale. There are also plenty of edge-of-your-seat reveals. The one thing about the climax that slightly disappointed me was that it didn’t let Annaleigh shine as much as I thought she would, taking on some bold protective battle against the evil invading her home. But I guess it still showcased her development in avoiding temptation. It also showed her strength even in the face of loss, perhaps her greatest challenge in the novel. A unique pantheon of gods with potent and wonderfully crafted abilities creates a mesmerizing lore. Erin A. Craig does an impeccable job at balancing and blending the opulent and the sinister. Do you wish to escape your grief? Rest from the bitter and wearisome struggles of the everyday? Do you long for the joy that makes your heart light and your soul sing? Can you hear the melody? Well then, dance with me?

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onthesamepage's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-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

The Thaumas family is cursed. Everyone says so. What else could explain the sudden deaths of four of the twelve daughters? But the last death feels suspicious to Annaleigh, and she's determined to find out if her sisters were murdered.

This is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, and it is pretty dark. The author's writing is very atmospheric, and I was easily sucked into the story. Thinking back on it, the pacing was probably a bit slower than it needed to be, but I barely noticed. I was invested and creeped out and curious to see how everything would play out.

That said, this book is not without flaws. The explanation at the end throws several incidents that happen earlier on into question, because in hindsight, they don't make much sense.

Why did we have a love triangle at all when Fisher was never real? What was Kosamaras's purpose in doing that?

There's also no way to really guess at the outcome; the foreshadowing is much to sparse for that, and I do think that's a drawback.

There's some really weird characterization of the father, and his personality seems to undergo a radical change out of nowhere. It mostly felt like a way to move the plot along. The main romance is also very insta-love. The world isn't explained much either--there are apparently deities, and they walk among humans at least part of the time, but we don't get much more information about them or about how religion and magic work in this world. Last but not least, the ending wraps up a bit too nicely and definitely makes the book lose a bit of impact.

I really enjoyed the writing however, and I appreciate this type of horror, so I'll definitely pick up more by the author.

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zoepagereader's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? Yes

3.0

This book was a wild time, and not in a good way. An author has to know when there are too many plot points in a book and I’m sorry, but a Twelve Dancing Princesses murder mystery retelling set in a newly created fictional world with many murders and ghosts as well as new gods and a (maybe) love triangle with a Monday’s Not Coming styled semi-twist at the end is too much. Way too much. 2.75⭐️

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