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A review by slimy
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
I feel like this book is just so close to being a great YA fantasy that I would have loved at 12/13. There’s one scene that I talk about below that is SERIOUSLY out of place, but mostly this book felt unfocused and scattered.
There’s a romance that’s supposed to grab your interest in the early chapters that just disappears halfway into the book when a new romantic interest is introduced. There’s no explanation to this world’s government structure and thusly the MC’s family’s place in it. It’s an underdeveloped mystery that doesn’t really get resolved or avenged. The bad stuff happens, and then the people who did the bad things just… go back to where they came from… with no punishment, accountability, or remorse.
There are some really cute parts that I think reflect the sweeter, lighter side of YA, like innocent romances and the relationships between sisters. The MC is very relatable and reflects her age well.
I would place this book firmly in YA, with the exception of one seriously out of place scene that I don’t believe is age appropriate or fits the book.
* TW r@p£ and SA*
There’s one scene at the end, which marks the final climactic push before we wind into falling action. The stepmother (uncharacteristically and unconvincingly) has a change of heart and tries to undo a deal she’s wagered with a demon/devil (he’s confusing, I don’t know). The way that she makes this deal is by offering up herself to be pretty brutally raped in front of her two eldest step-daughters. The demon/devil then LITERALLY rapes her into a pile of bones. When I read this scene I literally had to take like 10 minutes to understand what was actually happening. Literally no precedence for this sort of content within this book or with its intended audience. Really really out of place. That should have been caught by content editors, beta readers, etc. It does not have a place in the book and only serves to shock/alarm the reader without furthering the plot or providing resolution.
There’s a romance that’s supposed to grab your interest in the early chapters that just disappears halfway into the book when a new romantic interest is introduced. There’s no explanation to this world’s government structure and thusly the MC’s family’s place in it. It’s an underdeveloped mystery that doesn’t really get resolved or avenged. The bad stuff happens, and then the people who did the bad things just… go back to where they came from… with no punishment, accountability, or remorse.
There are some really cute parts that I think reflect the sweeter, lighter side of YA, like innocent romances and the relationships between sisters. The MC is very relatable and reflects her age well.
I would place this book firmly in YA, with the exception of one seriously out of place scene that I don’t believe is age appropriate or fits the book.
* TW r@p£ and SA*
There’s one scene at the end, which marks the final climactic push before we wind into falling action. The stepmother (uncharacteristically and unconvincingly) has a change of heart and tries to undo a deal she’s wagered with a demon/devil (he’s confusing, I don’t know). The way that she makes this deal is by offering up herself to be pretty brutally raped in front of her two eldest step-daughters. The demon/devil then LITERALLY rapes her into a pile of bones. When I read this scene I literally had to take like 10 minutes to understand what was actually happening. Literally no precedence for this sort of content within this book or with its intended audience. Really really out of place. That should have been caught by content editors, beta readers, etc. It does not have a place in the book and only serves to shock/alarm the reader without furthering the plot or providing resolution.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Rape, and Murder