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grasonwood's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I absolutely adore this book! Once I picked it up, I could not put it down. I would have given it 5 stars however the cast was not very diverse and I if that was included the book would be even better than it already is. Over all loved the characters and I was really invested in their growth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence
betweentheshelves's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte for an advanced copy of this to review! House of Salt and Sorrows was such a creepy, atmospheric retelling, and I couldn't wait to read it. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. Which makes me sad, because look at that cover! It is gorgeous!
The strongest aspect of this book is the way Craig creates this creepy atmosphere in the book. You can feel that something sinister is happening, but you don't really know what it is. You're drawn into this town that's extremely isolated, with these people that aren't quite what they seem. It feels a horror movie atmosphere and this was my favorite thing about the book.
As far as character goes, they're well fleshed out and interact well with the setting. I just didn't necessarily like any of them. Ellerie is probably the most likeable, but even then, there was just something that made it difficult to connect with her. Maybe it was the setting, maybe it was something else. I can't really put my finger on it, but it made the book hard to get into for me.
Also the plot. I'm not necessarily a plot reader, but I had a really difficult time seeing where this was going. Or seeing the point, really. By the end, I didn't really see the motivation behind the monstrous creatures. I wanted this to be expanded more, because this aspect of the plot fell flat for me.
Overall, I don't think this book was necessarily for me. If you like novels that really focus on creating a creepy, spooky atmosphere, this one might be for you! Keep an eye out for it when it comes out on July 27th.
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Oh I wanted to like this more than I did. Review to come on Thursday!
Oh I wanted to like this more than I did. Review to come on Thursday!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"I wasn't a man. My place in the world was nebulous, a malleable concept only given definition by the space I occupied. When I was in the classroom, I was a schoolgirl. At home, I was a daughter. When someone eventually courted me, I'd be a wife, a mother. But until then, what was I? Who was I?"
Again, Erin A. Craig slays me with her immersive world-building and atmosphere-- homey and creepy by turn, veering steadily towards the latter as the story slinks onwards. As the bizarre, catastrophic events striking the town of Amity Falls multiply and worsen, hysteria creeps in, neighbor turning on neighbor, friend betraying friend. Everything is covered in a film of suspicion. There's that ominous teeling that you don't have all the puzzle pieces to understand the horrific events unfolding, and you're just as mystified and nervous as the characters. It's DARK on all kinds of fronts: psychological, gore, social critique. I found myself eating it up.
Our protagonist, Ellerie, is a stalwart guide through all the dark chaos. She's a dutiful, big-hearted, tough-as-nails heroine who cares for everyone around her, especially her family. She carries the weight of others' needs and wants on her back while holding their secrets safely locked away. Ellerie wants recognition from her father and her community, but she is in the awkward position of being a girl, leaving her with limited opportunity. On the flipside, I wasn't sure for most of the book if her twin brother was actually evil or just a terrible, obnoxious person, but he fueled my hate fire singlehandedly.
God, this book was good. It defies a single genre with historical homesteader elements, creepy thriller vibes, a dash of fairy tale inspiration, and lurking supernatural presence. It's a slow, consuming build and I highly recommend it.
Again, Erin A. Craig slays me with her immersive world-building and atmosphere-- homey and creepy by turn, veering steadily towards the latter as the story slinks onwards. As the bizarre, catastrophic events striking the town of Amity Falls multiply and worsen, hysteria creeps in, neighbor turning on neighbor, friend betraying friend. Everything is covered in a film of suspicion. There's that ominous teeling that you don't have all the puzzle pieces to understand the horrific events unfolding, and you're just as mystified and nervous as the characters. It's DARK on all kinds of fronts: psychological, gore, social critique. I found myself eating it up.
Our protagonist, Ellerie, is a stalwart guide through all the dark chaos. She's a dutiful, big-hearted, tough-as-nails heroine who cares for everyone around her, especially her family. She carries the weight of others' needs and wants on her back while holding their secrets safely locked away. Ellerie wants recognition from her father and her community, but she is in the awkward position of being a girl, leaving her with limited opportunity. On the flipside, I wasn't sure for most of the book if her twin brother was actually evil or just a terrible, obnoxious person, but he fueled my hate fire singlehandedly.
God, this book was good. It defies a single genre with historical homesteader elements, creepy thriller vibes, a dash of fairy tale inspiration, and lurking supernatural presence. It's a slow, consuming build and I highly recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny and Pregnancy
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley and Delacorte in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I sat down to read a couple of chapters of Small Favors and ended up reading the entire book.
Erin A. Craig has a way of doing that, a way of weaving her spell around her readers so throughly with her compelling worlds and duplicitous characters that one more chapter becomes two, then ten, and then you’re reading the acknowledgements and wondering where the day went. The same thing happened to me when reading House of Salt and Sorrows and I’m not sorry to see she’s done it again.
If you enjoyed her debut, Small Favors takes the storytelling up a notch. Craig still paints the world with a fairytale feeling, but it’s far more Grimm Brothers than Disney. She knows when to focus on the details and she knows when it’s time to jump forward. I adore her storytelling because I fall into it effortlessly. There were shades of The Grace Year in Small Favors, but it’s also Rumpelstiltskin and Little House on the Prairie gone awry, with just a pinch of The Crucible. I love, love, loved it.
The characters as well are interesting and … shadowed. I spent most the book trying to figure out who the true villain was. Sometimes I was right, at least a little, but I certainly didn’t guess the whole thing. Siblings Ellerie, Samuel, Merry, and Sadie paint an interesting quartet – each one compelling but each one flawed. Small Favors is more than the story of a family – it’s the story of a town. Be prepared to meet a lot of people and learn a lot of names. This may be off-putting for some, but for me it made the game more interesting. Some characters are developed better than others, but the ones we need to know the best… we do. Then there’s the mythology, the edge of Van Helsing… ah. You must read this. You simply must.
I know this may be controversial, but I so very much loved the ending. It’s the sort of ending I think a lot of readers will be annoyed with – I’m sorry! But I think it made perfect sense and was clever and honest. Too may YA books wrap everything up with a lovely ribbon tied in a bow and that was not the case with Small Favors. I’ve probably said too much already, but know that this is the sort of ending you have to appreciate and rage over all at once.
Would I recommend Small Favors? Absolutely. With her sophomore novel coming hot on the heels of her first, not only would I recommend Erin A. Criag’s books, but she’s become an insta-buy author for me. Small Favors is compelling and leaves you guessing about the darkness in everyone’s hearts. I eagerly await her next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Vomit
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