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House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Young adult

House of Salt and Sorrows

Debut

We love supporting debut authors. Congrats, Erin A. Craig, on your first book!

by Erin A. Craig

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Quick take

A magical princess fairy tale, but much darker. Think: death, mystery, and creepy, Brothers Grimm vibes.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, 400

    400+ pages

  • Illustrated icon, Scary

    Scary

  • Illustrated icon, Magical

    Magical

  • Illustrated icon, Based_on_a_Classic

    Based on a classic

Synopsis

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.

Free sample

Check out a preview of House of Salt and Sorrows.

House of Salt and Sorrows

1

Candlelight reflected off the silver anchor etched onto my sister’s necklace. It was an ugly piece of jewelry and something Eulalie would never have picked out for herself. She loved simple strands of gold, extravagant collars of diamonds. Not . . . that. Papa must have selected it for her. I fumbled at my own necklace of black pearls, wanting to offer her something more stylish, but the battalion of pallbearers shut the coffin lid before I could undo the clasp.

“We, the People of the Salt, commit this body back to the sea,” the High Mariner intoned as the wooden box slid deep into the waiting crypt.

I tried not to notice the smattering of lichens growing inside the gaping mouth, drawn wide to swallow her whole. Tried not to think of my sister—who was alive, and warm, and breathing just days before—being laid to rest. Tried not to imagine the thin bottom of the coffin growing fat with condensation and salt water before splitting asunder and spilling Eulalie’s body into the watery depths beneath our family mausoleum.

I tried, instead, to cry.

I knew it would be expected of me, just as I knew the tears were unlikely to come. They would later on, probably this evening when I passed her bedroom and saw the black shrouds covering her wall of mirrors. Eulalie had had so many mirrors.

Eulalie.

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Why I love it

I'm convinced I was uniquely positioned to love this book—but I’m equally convinced that you'll love it too. “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” the Brothers Grimm fairy tale that House of Salt and Sorrows riffs on, is my favorite fairy tale, and this book is a retelling par excellence: There’s devoted sisters, strong women, and lush descriptions of period fabrics and clothing (I'm a sucker for an iridescent ball gown).

This is the story of Annaleigh Thaumas, who lives with her father, stepmother, and sisters in a beautiful but haunted island manor. Tragedy has claimed the lives of four of her twelve sisters, and it soon becomes clear that their deaths were not an accident. By turns spooky and romantic, the book follows Annaleigh to enchanted balls and beyond as she fights to protect her sisters—and brushes up against the cosmology of major and minor gods that populate the book and control her fate.

This book was a sheer pleasure to fall into. It’s beautifully detailed, gorgeously written, and completely unpredictable, with a strong-willed female character at its heart. I loved watching Annaleigh defend her family in the face of enchanting strangers and ghosts. If you love fairy tales, dark magic, and a touch of horror, I recommend picking up Erin Craig’s excellent debut.

Member ratings (938)

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Young adult
View all
The Wild Huntress
Ruthless Vows
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Dragonfruit
The Thirteenth Child
The Reappearance of Rachel Price
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love
Check & Mate
Divine Rivals
Foul Lady Fortune
Anna K Away
I Must Betray You
A Wilderness of Stars
Warrior Girl Unearthed
Bloodmarked
Instructions for Dancing
The Boy in the Red Dress
Color Me In
Not So Pure and Simple
Throw Like a Girl
Frankly in Love
Wayward Son
The Stars and the Blackness Between Them
Anna K
Patron Saints of Nothing
The Kingdom of Back
Yes No Maybe So
Permanent Record
Full Disclosure
Oasis
Where the World Ends
I Have No Secrets
Song of the Crimson Flower
When the Stars Lead to You
All the Bright Places
Saving Zoë
Symptoms of a Heartbreak
All of Us with Wings
The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World
Past Perfect Life
There's Something About Sweetie
Again, But Better
Sky Without Stars
How (Not) to Ask a Boy to Prom
Night Music
Shout
The Deceivers
Top Ten
A Million Junes
And We're Off
Salt to the Sea