Reviews

Casa de sare și amărăciuni by Erin A. Craig

dpearson5257's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

escapingreality101's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

shanallubis's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-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

3.75

I really loved the writing. The atmosphere and mood were perfectly captured and the prose was really lovely. The mystery was intriguing right from the start, and I loved that the world building was minimal and didn’t go into deep lengthy explanation. I was able to just jump right into the story without the magical/world rules being too complicated. I really loved the few horror scenes. I thought they were perfectly done and I was properly scared in the middle of the night! So descriptive and eerie. The twist had me guessing and I had lots of theories, but I wasn’t even close!
I liked the characters and the dialogue, but the romance was so rushed. I think there could have been a lot more work to make the romance feel even slightly believable. It was pretty much insta-romance after a few small conversations and glances. It almost should have been left out, because it was so underdone. There was a lot more potential in expanding on the sister characters as well, I felt like they all blended into one another except for verity and Camille. I felt like all the others were just unnecessary background noise. 
What I didn’t like, was that the ending was so, so rushed, and it went into almost no explanation.

Cassius was suddenly invisible (?) as was Verity? And then he died, and disappeared with no explanation. Then comes back 7 months later? What happened to their father? It could have at least been mentioned that he perished in the fire or something, but no, just “he went back for Marilla” and nothing else. No mention of Marilla or the aftermath of all of that? No confronting their father about his cheating/mistress for YEARS? He ended up being the biggest villain of all to me and he didn’t even have a revenge/explanation scene.. also where did the girls get all this money to rebuild? I know it’s a fantasy but I need it to feel somewhat believable!!

katwhiskerz's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

3.25

Many good things about this book! It was super atmospheric and I enjoyed reading about all the balls and pretty dresses. I loved Cassius's character and thought the romance was cute! (We love a supportive, smitten male lead). Also point to Verity for being a creepy younger sister, love her. However, I thought there many points in the book where the world/backstory were kind of info-dumped for plot armor. Like Sterland's backstory with Highmoor, the presence of certain gods and Tricksters (wtf even is a trickster, I didn't remember that lore being dropped in the beginning and I couldn't find it anywhere), and the final reveal at the end.

And the sisters didn't even have to do anything at the end, everything was sort of just revealed to them and then they got their shit rocked.

I just felt like this book was trying to be too many things at a time. Murder mystery, gothic horror, magical realism...and because of that, neither aspect got their time to shine. In reality, I think this book wanted to be romance cuz that was the best part lol. Also, I would've liked more explanations of what happened to the three eldest sisters. Also also, some foreshadowing of certain characters being bad people/making poor decisions would have been welcome.

Kind of disappointed Camille didn't have a bigger role in this and was just a petty older sister. She could have had so much redeemable villain potential!

jjauregui's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.25

charlie_1983's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

scorttarius's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

flamingostrikes's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.25

skynet666's review against another edition

2.0

Not really bad, but felt like a bunch of other stories thrown together.

aj_1984's review against another edition

2.0

The mysterious gothic vibes was a very interesting combination given the fairytale this novel is based off of. Craig did a fantastic job of keeping readers on their toes with twists, turns, and unexpected jumps. Much of it was thrilling and even chilling, leaving my heart racing after the chapters. I definitely finished it faster than I thought I would.

While there was little world building done, it did not hinder my understanding of the character's home and the setting. My only wish was that the explanations and ending was not so rushed. Otherwise, this is a good, fast paced read and fun... if you like the creepy and the mysterious!