A review by luosymekawa
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

adventurous dark hopeful sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

This book is gothic horror meets fairy tale meets the Greyjoys. As with any gothic horror is full of spooky vibes and creepy descriptions. I wish I had read this book in the fall! As I get older I seem to become more and more annoyed by first person, but this book is an exception. Annaleigh, our narrator, keeps the story moving at a good pace and we never get sucked too far down into her subconscious (tldr I get lost in the story rather than feeling like I’m receiving a lecture by the character).

This book was SO CLOSE to being a five-star for me. There was something missing in the buildup for the third act. Without giving spoilers, I felt that there wasn’t enough mention of each piece that fit together to solve the mystery. Act 3 would have been more dramatic and alluring if there had been more set up for the twist. I was left feeling a bit blindsided by the solution to the mystery. The metaphorical gun definitely went off in the third act, but I somehow missed the placement of it in acts one and two.

Overall this book was an incredible retelling of an age-old tale!
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