Book Review: House of Salt and Sorrows

When I tell you that this book had me gripped from the first page, I'm being totally serious. I read a lot, and there are many books that I read the first chapters of and just put down forever. I was so in love with the characters, the fantasy aspect, the murder! The banter between characters, the hopeless romantics that all the sisters are, and the charm and brazenness of the family. It had my attention for an entire week. I can crack through a book in a few hours if I want to, but this one I decided to savor. I read a chapter every night and had to will myself to wait.

So this book is written by Erin A. Craig and it is the first of two books written by her in her series Sisters of the Salt. The book itself takes place at Highmoor, a manor by the sea and the story follows twelve sisters and their curse.

There have been mysterious deaths in the family, but no one knows why they are dying, and the town thinks the girls are cursed. Annaleigh is the main protagonist, and she has been having eerie visions of her ghostly sisters who have passed. She becomes suspicious that their deaths were not accidents, and after discovering a mysterious door in a beach cave that leads to another land the sisters decide to go through the door to a series of late-night balls. Its pretty much the only way they can have any fun dancing and meeting young men as marriage prospects. Especially since the whole town kinda thinks they are cursed. After attending a few balls Annaleigh isn't sure if they should keep going. Things are starting to get out of hand, with one sister attending balls every single night and their Father is starting to question how hey are wearing out their shoes. Of course its because they have been dancing every single night, and ont top of that, they are borrowing and wearing old gowns from their mother who passed quite awhile ago. Annaleigh meets a strange young man, who I was suspicious of at first, and after that, it all started going off the rails.

This is a fairly short book at 403 pages. It's from 2019 and I received it in a owlcrate box. It has a beautiful cover when Hard Bound.

The banter between Annaleigh and Cassius is so sweet, caring, and wonderful. He is a true gentleman with secrets of his own. Annaleigh thinks she's going crazy by the end of the book and you won't believe who the Antagonist is because I didn't. It's like being smacked with a sour lemon. My sadness when one of the characters died and how long he had been dead was so sad, my little heart just hurt. The plot isn't clear when first reading it either, and the mystery you're watching Annaleigh desperately try to solve leaves you wondering about her family, servants, and townsfolk just as much.

What was really nice about the book was just the back story and the actual land this story takes place in. The traditions, rituals, and celebrations mentioned really give it an in-depth feel. This book is not super detailed like Tolkien's style, but there is enough for you to get a feel for the world.

The sisters and the way they treat each other, their desires, demands, and wants all influence each other and the roles they are destined to play.

It definitely has a more "period piece" feel and is a very old-school courtship but I really loved that about the book. It gave a very Jane Austen feel, especially with the wit and cheek in the banter.

The romance between Annaleigh and Cassius moves at such a nice rate, and his genuine care for Annaleigh and her sisters is really touching. I don't like super mushy romances, but this one had a little bit of everything and it was wonderful.

The book is technically Young Adult, but it is scary. Not Hannibal scary, but I jumped a couple of times. It's also got some gross bits in it, which I just loved.

You have to give this book a read, you'll pick it up and won't want to put it down. I'll be reading the second book for sure, and I can't wait to review it.

Happy reading, and may you walk the road less traveled!