Erin A. Craig is the queen of dark fantasy and her work was my introduction to the genre. I have been addicted ever since reading Small Favors (my review) and I was terribly excited to start House of Salt and Sorrows. Turns out I was right to be so!

House of Salt and Sorrows

House of Salt and Sorrows tells the tale of twelve sisters who appear to be cursed. One after the other, the family members of the Thaumas family die in increasingly strange circumstances. Protagonist Annaleigh has spent years in mourning, as first her mother and then four of her sisters met a tragic end. As if that isn’t bad enough, the villagers are spreading rumours about a curse, ruining any chance the surviving sisters might have at a good match. Things take an even darker turn when ghosts start to plague Annaleigh and she soon realises that the deaths might not have been accidents after all. Her sisters on the other hand are far more focused on finally getting out in society. They have been sneaking out every night to attend glamorous balls in their new, beautiful dancing slippers. But who – or what – are they dancing with?

An amazing dark fantasy

I have greatly enjoyed reading House of Salt and Sorrows. It’s haunting, mysterious, and fascinating in equal measures. Its pace is rather slow, with the darkness leaking in calmly, until it has filled every corner of the page. It took me a bit to get really into the story, but once I was in, I couldn’t get out anymore. There are several interesting plot turns and I loved getting into the mind of Annaleigh as she’s quite a unique character. I also liked that it is a loose retelling of a fairytale I was not yet familiar with before: The Twelve Dancing Princesses (collected by the Brothers Grimm).

Highly recommended to all dark fantasy fans out there! Four out of five gemstones.

Age Category: For a broad audience

Trigger Warnings (click here, may contain spoilers)

Warnings for parental death, murder, suicide, stillbirth.

Do you want to discover more?

If my review inspired you to pick up the book, don’t hesitate to check it out at Goodreads or at the below online stores.

Amazon.nl: Hardcover Edition

Amazon.nl: Paperback Edition

Amazon.nl: eBook Edition

I am only aware of one special edition of this book, namely the Owlcrate one. This book was the featured book in their Storms & Seas box of August 2019. This edition is signed, and comes with a letter from the author and a bookmark. Its cover is also slightly different than the normal hardback, and I really mean slightly. I hadn’t even noticed it until it was pointed out to me (the title is silver instead of gold and there are some other minor colour changes). It’s available in the second hand market for around € 20 – 30.

Meer zoals dit?

If you loved this book as much as I did, you are in luck. Even though this was originally meant as a stand-alone, a second book will be published as part of the Sisters of the Salt Series, called House of Roots and Ruin. The protagonist of this book will be one of the surviving Thaumas sisters. It is set to be published in July 2023. I, for one, cannot wait!

I would also recommend another dark fantasy stand-alone novel by the same author, namely Small Favors. As mentioned, this was my introduction to the genre and I loved it. More information can be found in my review.

Furthermore, I would invite you to check out House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland, which is another dark fantasy jewel. My review can be found here.