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House of Salt and Sorrows (Sisters of the Salt, #1)

Erin A. Craig

Start date: February 1, 2020

Finish date: February 29, 2020

Discussion: Stand Alone

Why we're reading this: Won the poll for the stand alone BOTM
[close] Won the poll for the stand alone BOTM

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* Stand Alone- Maybe Meant to Be
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What Members Thought

Oct 28, 2019 Rachel rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This was the perfect, spooky Halloween read. House of Salt an Sorrows is a dark retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, and it was giving me major Sleepy Hollow vibes, with a murder mystery entangled with supernatural elements.

Annaleigh, our heroine, is the 2nd eldest Falmuth heir after her sister, Ulalee's body is found at the bottom of the cliffs. (please forgive any name misspelling, I listened to this as an audiobook.)

This isn't the first of Annaleigh's sisters to die. Ulalee is the fourth, after their mother, leaving the Falmuth sisters at eight, and Annaleigh is convinced Ulalee's death was no accident. As she works to find out what happened that night, she uncovers more frights, along with a magic door that brings the girls to enchanted nighttime balls that might not be as jovial as they seem.

I will say, one of my favorite parts about this was the world-building. Craig did an amazing job of creating this seafaring, island society that worships the water God, Pontas, and carries an octopus for its family crest. The rest of the country is split into different territories, each worshiping a different God or Goddess that felt very Greek mythology to me in a good way.

Overall, this was a very rich world, even down to the smallest details. Craig does an AMAZING job setting the scene. When Annaleigh walks into a room, she describes everything from the floor tiles, to the trinkets on the tables, the paintings on the wall, to the smell, and I think because of this excellent world-building and description, the book had somewhat of a slow start.

I will say, though, that the slow-building tension was worth the wait because all the SHIT GOES DOWN about 2/3 of the way through, and it is one of those twisty stories where you have idea what is really happening or who to trust.

This was part fairy-tale, part family story, part mystery, and part ghost story and it all came together beautifully. I can't wait to read the author's next work and hopes she takes a chance on a more daring and questionable heroine next time. ...more

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