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A review by aurumia
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I went in to this book, expecting a traditional fairy tale retelling, and was glad to expect a light hearted book.
Boy, I could not have been more off-base.
From scene one, this book was sad, then a little scary, then maddening, then frightening, before reaching the happily ever after epilogue (after a fashion).
The retelling of Twelve Dancing Princesses was absolutely expert. There were details woven in that I recalled from the original fairy tale and made my heart happy, which is why it was so incredible the author was able to work in such darkness. There are horror movie tropes which made me have to stay up to finish the book, just to make sure I wouldn't have nightmares.
Annaleigh as a main character was fantastic. I could follow her line of thinking, her emotions were mild to others, but as we didn't much time in her head, you could learn and grow with her as those emotions became increasingly important to share and show.
The happily ever after was woven in beautifully and did not even remotely feel like a deus ex machina, even if it maybe was just a little bit.</spoiler haunting>
Despite having a lot of things I didn't enjoy (just in mood), it was expertly written and I really did like it in spite of myself, and it will definitely be a book I remember. I look forward to more!
Boy, I could not have been more off-base.
From scene one, this book was sad, then a little scary, then maddening, then frightening, before reaching the happily ever after epilogue (after a fashion).
The retelling of Twelve Dancing Princesses was absolutely expert. There were details woven in that I recalled from the original fairy tale and made my heart happy, which is why it was so incredible the author was able to work in such darkness. There are horror movie tropes which made me have to stay up to finish the book, just to make sure I wouldn't have nightmares.
Annaleigh as a main character was fantastic. I could follow her line of thinking, her emotions were mild to others, but as we didn't much time in her head, you could learn and grow with her as those emotions became increasingly important to share and show.
Despite having a lot of things I didn't enjoy (just in mood), it was expertly written and I really did like it in spite of myself, and it will definitely be a book I remember. I look forward to more!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Body horror, Blood, Violence, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Grief, Death, Alcoholism, and Gore