House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

House of Salt and Sorrows

by Erin A. Craig

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Our main character Annaleigh is one of 12 sisters who live at Highmoor, a manor by the sea. Things are relatively normal for the girls, except that they seem to always be in mourning. In this story, 4 of the sisters are deceased, now there are whispers around the town that their deaths aren't accidents but actually a curse set out to kill the 12 sisters. Upon seeing one of her younger sisters sketchbooks filled with haunting images of their dead sisters, Annaleigh finds out the sister has been seeing ghosts. When she hears testimony from a witness about a dark figure looming over the cliff from which her sister fell, Annaleigh knows something more sinister is at work. With the help of a new mysterious stranger, Annaleigh now races to figure out what is going on, who can she trust and what can she do to stop it before she loses anymore of her sisters or her own life. 

Annaleigh is the main character. I thought she was likable and I enjoyed her kind-hearted innocent nature. I liked how different she was from each of her sisters. They all had separate personalities, but Annaleigh was quite different. The other characters were not as fleshed out as she was, for example we know her favorite animal and hear some of her memories from her youth. With the remaining sisters we are given a face-value version of who they are. We don't get to know them, or any other characters, as intimately as Annaleigh. I can understand how this could be an issue for some readers, but for me personally I don't feel like we needed to know them on the same level because of the story being told through Annaleigh's perspective. To me, it was like being in her head and seeing and knowing what she saw and knew. I just found it worked really well for me. 

It didn't take long to be gripped into this dark fantastical tale. I loved the twists, turns and the uncertainty of what was real and what wasn't. I found the dark aspects of the story were written wonderfully. It was simply enchanting. I really enjoyed the way the story unfolded. I had a feeling about a certain aspect of the book, and I was right, but I wasn't able to figure out everything beforehand. The way the author finished off the book really worked for me. There was so much hidden beneath the surface and it was all unraveled wonderfully. 

I can't actually think of anything I didn't like about the story. There was a thing or two that I found a little weird or off but the whole story was messed up enough that I found it worked well. 

The House Of Salt and Sorrows has been described as a gothic retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses, I've never read that story so I can't comment on that aspect. However, now I really want to read it and see the similarities and how one was played off the other. 

Overall, I fell like it was a wonderful debut. I recommend this book for anyone into dark fairy-tale retellings. I can't wait to read more from this author.