Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

39 reviews

anielabooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

This book was such a rollercoaster for me. I came in with little knowledge of horror books and only the Barbie’s version of a 12 dancing princesses under my belt. Thankfully, the horror wasn’t very intense. I was so invested in the story the entire time and was very satisfied with the ending. I also loved the romance aspect of the book as I found myself falling in love at the same time as Annaleigh. I honestly did not predict the ending, which I liked. I particularly loved the motif of the sea turtles throughout the book; it really made the last few chapters that much more heart-wrenching. I’m so glad one of my followers recommended this book to me.

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nutmegandpumpkin's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.75

It took me a while to get into (it only started really picking up for me around pg 123). But once I did get into it, I really did enjoy it. 
At first it was hard to keep track of all the names because there were 12 sisters plus more characters (though four of the sisters are dead from the beginning). Although I liked having a large cast of characters, it was a bit confusing for a while. 
There were also some cliché romance moments and a bit of instalove which isn’t my favorite but didn’t ruin the whole thing.
It felt like it was trying to be a little too much all at once: a psychological thriller, horror, fairy tale retelling, fantasy, romance, family drama, mystery. I think this might be why it felt a little all over the place and rushed in some areas.
HOWEVER, I really just loved the ~vibes~ of the whole book and I did NOT expect it to get so dark and unsettling but I enjoyed that (despite it being a shock). I had also totally thought I guessed the twists but BOY was I WRONG lol. 
The description was lovely and the tension, suspense, and mystery definitely kept me intrigued.

would recommend!


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thereaderfriend's review against another edition

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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

3.0

I wanted to love this book, one bc it’s a 12 dancing princesses retelling, and two bc the romance was good. Also really loved the atmosphere and spookiness. Truly a horror fantasy YA novel. 

But there were a few problems that were great enough to knock this rating from a 4 star down to 3. 

Without spoilers, this mc has little going for her. She’s rich and pretty and entitled and does care about the people she loves.. but she doesn’t do much except figure out the problems and even then she was told the problems. Seemed like she wasn’t trying to find the villain/murderer and just was exasperated from the grief ensued upon her—which I can understand but to an extent.
But the outcomes would’ve happened even if she had done nothing.

Now here for the main reasons with spoilers.
<Why did Cassius come to her and await Annaleigh? Never brought that up besides the fact that he was looking after his father. And why were the 3 sisters deaths not explained? That seems to be a stupid plot point because it didn’t even shine light on a lesson. And also, I thought the point of this was that the dancing was supposed to kill people? It hasn’t killed the first five people! Their deaths were substantial but not enough to give in my opinion. Also, I’m conflicted with Cassius bc he could’ve killed those five people but he didn’t. I think that would’ve enticed me more if it was him rather the step mom. But I knew it’d be her from that first moment she was peeved that her son wouldn’t be heir. I do like that he loved Annaleigh though and was kinda sweet.

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robin_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Not at all what I expected but the gothic horror fantasy novel of my dreams. 

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missmollyreads's review

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0


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knhend's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

This is not your mama’s ‘Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses’. Craig seamlessly weaves a beloved fairytale with mythology. Though the characters could be one sided at times, it was truly an unputdownable tale. It was delightfully creepy, with just enough twists and turns. Some of the plot twists were easy to guess, others not so much. I do wish we had spent more time at the balls, and with her other book ‘Small Favors’, I felt the ending was rushed, but neither of these points ruined the integrity of the book. 

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queenrivanni's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5


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tkatt20's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

3.5-4 stars

I have very conflicted feelings about this book. On one hand I loved it, on the other hand, there were some very random things that happened that caught me off guard. For the most part I did love this book and I was so excited to read it when I found out it was a retelling of the twelve dancing princesses. The story is extremely dark and gothic, bordering on demonic, and the writing style really made the characters come alive as they were all very interesting with each one having their own personality and quirks.  The last 1/4 of the book became very fantasy heavy which I found could have been executed better if there was more of that element mentioned throughout the first part of the book, but that was my biggest issue and I got over it fairly quickly. This book had the perfect setup for a series but since it isn't the world-building as a little lacking and the ending seemed fairly rushed. There are some unanswered questions but with the story being first person I feel like it fits well with the narrator and I don't feel dissatisfied with the ending. All in all, I can definitely see myself coming back and rereading this book in the future.


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dadimabookernow's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Hands down the best read of the year!

This book is so so good. It's so dark and twisty but so good. Very much reminds me of The haunting of hill house vibes.



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bluebleeder2001's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5


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