Thank you to Delacorte Press and Netgalley for sharing a copy in exchange for my honest review. I apologize for my lateness!
In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed. Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods. Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with? When Annaleigh's involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next. I love reading books based on lesser-known fairytales. Think The Twelve Dancing Princesses, but more creepy and romantic. I loved it. Now, I’ve never actually read the original tale, but I don’t think that had much bearing on my enjoyment of House of Salt and Sorrows. This book was always going to have my heart because of its atmosphere and world. Annaleigh's life is filled with gorgeous dresses and silk shoes, but also tinged with grief after the death of her sisters. She balances her mourning with her family's desire to move forward and her own budding romance. However! There is also an element of mystery (which will always, always get me) because Annaleigh’s sisters have all died dramatically, and she wonders if they might have been murdered. The mystery aspect of the novel is as sweeping as the glamour. I was deeply invested in finding out what happened to Annaleigh’s family, and found myself easily carried away by various aspects of the story. The plot grows more and more intense towards the end, and Craig brought the novel to a solid conclusion. Of course, I never wanted the book to end at all! I was trying to unravel the mystery as Annaleigh put the clues together, but a few twists had me gasping in surprise. House of Salt and Sorrows seems like a magical book from the very beginning, what with the rituals of Salten and the Thaumas’s glittering lifestyle, but the magic becomes more real towards the end of the novel. Despite the late introduction, I found everything completely believable, and didn’t hesitate to let myself fall into Highmoor. No fairytale fantasy would be complete without a romance either, and especially one with a mysterious stranger! Cassius, Annaleigh’s new beau, has some secrets of his own, but oh my wow! What a stunning and romantic relationship these two had! I’d put this one in the books with Feyre and Rhysand of A Court of Thorns and Roses and Harper and Rhen from A Heart so Fierce and Broken. Overall, House of Salt and Sorrows earns 5/5 stars from me! It was one of my favorite reads of 2019, and I hope you all will pick it up as well.
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The BaronessHey, I'm Shreya! I love to read, write, travel, and drink tea. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of bookshop.org and I will earn a small commission if you click the above link and make a purchase.
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