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A review by annettebooksofhopeanddreams
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
5.0
I'm still catching my breath. There are tears rolling down my cheeks and my heart is hammering in my chest like it's attempting to break out, or at the very least shatter my ribs. But, before we get to all those feels I have now, a few minutes after closing the book, let's start at the very beginning.
This year has been the year of fairytale retellings. I'm reading a lot of them and when I saw the blurb for this one, I just knew I had to have it. Right now. Especially because the twelve dancing princes is very rarely done. And it takes some time before the story truly picks up speed. The author takes the time to introduce her characters, her world, the castle and the key players in this story. We learn a lot about their lives, about their routines and about their festivities and history.
This helps to connect with the characters, with some more than others, and that eventually helps when the story really reaches its finale. As the pages pass by more and more mystery seeps in and more and more questions arise and then, when answers start coming, the book becomes a rollercoaster that just goes faster and faster and faster.
It's clever, it's spooky, it's haunting and nasty and scary. The more answers we get, the scarier everything becomes (and that means something!) and it's not just the mystery that reaches an epic height, the emotional arc, both for the characters and the readers, reaches that same epic height too. Until you forget to breath. Until your heart hammers in your chest as a deafening drum. Until tears stream down your face.
It's a masterpiece of a book and I love love love it!
This year has been the year of fairytale retellings. I'm reading a lot of them and when I saw the blurb for this one, I just knew I had to have it. Right now. Especially because the twelve dancing princes is very rarely done. And it takes some time before the story truly picks up speed. The author takes the time to introduce her characters, her world, the castle and the key players in this story. We learn a lot about their lives, about their routines and about their festivities and history.
This helps to connect with the characters, with some more than others, and that eventually helps when the story really reaches its finale. As the pages pass by more and more mystery seeps in and more and more questions arise and then, when answers start coming, the book becomes a rollercoaster that just goes faster and faster and faster.
It's clever, it's spooky, it's haunting and nasty and scary. The more answers we get, the scarier everything becomes (and that means something!) and it's not just the mystery that reaches an epic height, the emotional arc, both for the characters and the readers, reaches that same epic height too. Until you forget to breath. Until your heart hammers in your chest as a deafening drum. Until tears stream down your face.
It's a masterpiece of a book and I love love love it!