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A review by caelestiore
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
3.0
A horror retelling of the 12 dancing princesses? Colour me intrigued! The Barbie movie left me dazzled and dreamy as a child, and even more so beautiful in my nostalgia. This was a trippy, weird and wild experience I didn’t expect, and the eerie atmosphere actually got to me, 3.5!
This book executed the gothic, horror vibes very well, almost perfect in my opinion. Safe to say that this was the first time I genuinely felt spooked while reading a book. The writing was spectacular, I felt it was ideal for the atmosphere and genre of the book.
The twists in the second half of the book made me feel like I was a madwoman. I actually felt fucking insane. I did not know what to believe, who to believe and if that actually happened??? My heart was pounding so hard and I practically flipped through the pages because I couldn’t handle the mystery and feeling of not knowing. Which is even weirder because it was my first time experiencing such a thrill.
Now, while the last parts of the book left me stunned, I cannot remain biassed. There were a lot of things that felt awkward and some things unexplained.
I’m the minority here, it was only after 100 pages that I became interested. I considered to DNF it but decided to give this book a little push (didn’t regret it!). While I sort of expected it, I was still disappointed when the sisters barely had any personality. While important figures for the story, I feel like they didn’t serve any purpose other than targets for death.
I was a sucker for Fisher, in the same way I am a sucker for childhood friends trope. Until It took me halfway into the book to like Cassius. He was fine, the romance was decent. I wish him and Annaleigh had more chemistry. I could tell why people did not particularly enjoy the romance.
For the last quarter of the book: I didn’t NOT like the plot, but it could’ve soooo much better.
I also wish they elaborated more on the sister’s deaths. Again, there are a lot of things left unexplained. Maybe it’ll be revealed in the second book, but I’d have to think if I should read it or not. Not to say I didn’t like this book, it had its promises. The problem is that some of them were not fulfilled.
Anyways, a good and crazy experience! But it could’ve been better.
This book executed the gothic, horror vibes very well, almost perfect in my opinion. Safe to say that this was the first time I genuinely felt spooked while reading a book. The writing was spectacular, I felt it was ideal for the atmosphere and genre of the book.
The twists in the second half of the book made me feel like I was a madwoman. I actually felt fucking insane. I did not know what to believe, who to believe and if that actually happened??? My heart was pounding so hard and I practically flipped through the pages because I couldn’t handle the mystery and feeling of not knowing. Which is even weirder because it was my first time experiencing such a thrill.
Now, while the last parts of the book left me stunned, I cannot remain biassed. There were a lot of things that felt awkward and some things unexplained.
I’m the minority here, it was only after 100 pages that I became interested. I considered to DNF it but decided to give this book a little push (didn’t regret it!). While I sort of expected it, I was still disappointed when the sisters barely had any personality. While important figures for the story, I feel like they didn’t serve any purpose other than targets for death.
I was a sucker for Fisher, in the same way I am a sucker for childhood friends trope. Until
Spoiler
he said, “All my life I thought of you as a sister…a sometimes exasperating but always beloved little sister. But when I came back to Salten and saw you so grown up and beautiful…I didn’t want you to feel like a sister any longer.” Yeesh. I was very disappointed. But later on we found out it was the god controlling him, and my boy didn’t need to die :(For the last quarter of the book: I didn’t NOT like the plot, but it could’ve soooo much better.
Spoiler
The Gods’ plot was so unexpected. Not in a twisted way but because we as readers didn’t get much information in the first place? So I was perplexed. The Weeping Woman was barely mentioned and now she’s a huge significant part of the book? Yikes. If only the author elaborated more on the lore, the storytelling would've been superior.I also wish they elaborated more on the sister’s deaths. Again, there are a lot of things left unexplained. Maybe it’ll be revealed in the second book, but I’d have to think if I should read it or not. Not to say I didn’t like this book, it had its promises. The problem is that some of them were not fulfilled.
Anyways, a good and crazy experience! But it could’ve been better.