House Of Salt And Sorrows (Sisters of the Salt)

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This small town dynamic did come with a very big cast of characters. There was a list of townspeople and families at the beginning of the book which was helpful but some things did get confusing when there were big town gatherings and trying to remember how everyone is connected. Having this larger group did bring a lot of drama with it though, and I enjoyed following the various storylines between characters. this book DRAGGED like DRAGGED maybe the author wanted to really draw out the peculiar stuff happening but at LEAST have ambiance then😩 (ex. of some REALLY good ambiance for me was House of Salt and Sorrow- the plot moved a little slow but it had such an eerie and sinister atmosphere the pacing was compensated for-it was REALLY well done in my opinion) i feel like in this book, everything was rushed- all the ideas were half developed and nothing truly looked into And ending was also not quite satisfying for me! There are some haphazard, abrupt conclusions and unanswered questions . I think I loved House of Salt and Sorrow more. But this book was still quite fascinating reading with riveting writing style, mysterious, dark, bleak premise, disturbing world building and great character portraits! Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor with her sisters and their father and stepmother. Once there 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. and even though the books are technically connected, it makes much more sense to me to call this a companion novel set in the same world rather than a true sequel, as they are quite separate stories. but the one thing that definitely ties the two together is the atmosphere.

What an interesting combination to add the Salem witch trials-esque Americana spirit to the folkloric eldritch horrors of the older worlds. You'd think this would have been done before and therefore boring in its familiarity, but the author took those familiar concepts and really tangled them up into something fresh on the market (or at least it was fresh for me, a fan of folklore horror). In this setup of isolation and crowd-based community, Ellerie Downing is learning to care for the bees. And trying to find her place in the community as a young woman of seventeen with dreams and goals that don't *quite* align with the patriarchal lifestyle of her town. The weather is terrible the entirety of the book, with storms, fog, and other atmospheric and perfectly timed phenomenon such as howling winds and eerie noises that can’t be explained. There were some things I liked about this book as well. The description in this book is pretty amazing, I never had trouble picturing characters or settings. There are strong horror elements throughout, enough that the story is very creepy and at points the description is a bit naseauting. I liked how this horror was woven into a classic fairy tale. I also liked that this blended elements of madness and almost Lovecraft/Cthulhu-like themes into the fairy tale as well. When their sister Mercy sends word that the Duchess of Bloem—wife of a celebrated botanist—is interested in having Verity paint a portrait of her son, Alexander, Verity jumps at the chance, but Camille won’t allow it. Forced to reveal the secret she’s kept for years, Camille tells Verity the truth one day: Verity is still seeing ghosts, she just doesn’t know it.An eerie, lovely Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling full of ghosts and gods and a fascinating waterfront world and I’m reading it from behind my fingers.”—Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood Thankfully new mysterious trapper Whitaker (that’s the name Ellerie gave him because he insists not to tell his real name to her) are helpful enough to ride with her parents to the out own town: so her mother may get medical assistance she needs to get healed! Despite dreams of adventures far beyond the Salann shores, seventeen-year-old Verity Thaumas has remained at her family’s estate, Highmoor, with her older sister Camille, while their sisters have scattered across Arcannia.

I have much stuff and probably nonsense to say, just not atm because I need to assemble my five brain cells together before I can write a full-length review. House of Roots and Ruin is the second book in Erin A. Craig's tremendous YA-Fantasy series, Sisters of the Salt. It’s not a secret that I’m complete and utter trash for fairy tale retellings, especially lesser known ones such as The Twelve Dancing Princesses. So when I saw that House of Salt and Sorrows was exactly that… welp, I couldn’t reserve a copy at my library fast enough.

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Emily Lawrence was an excellent narrator, and she had her work cut out for her voicing the many Thaumas girls as well as a smattering of other characters. I think she did a great job of making the sisters feel distinct from each other - something which may not have come across quite as well in the print version. Overall, I thought this was really enjoyable and I will certainly keep reading Craig’s work. The romances tend to be very YA, so maybe I’m just growing out of those a bit. I guess I’ll find out when I read the next HOSAS book, House of Roots and Ruin. It’s a fairy tale, a young-adult romance (though gothic enough for adult readers) and a whodunit too.” —The Wall Street Journal i loved her, she's smart, honest, and a new favorite fmc. however, she could be a tad bit naive at times. (spoiler alert »--►) like cmon not believing that gerard would take a life? especially after you seeing him at unholy hours with an apron covered in blood? but you stupidly believed him saying it was just beetroot juice??? and instead thought it was dauphine? like no, i cannot see dauphine doing it, but gerard? 100% the book was a blur of Ellerie and her bees, Ellerie and love interest, Ellerie making food and going to town meetings- LIKE DO SOMETHING 😤