Title: House of Salt and Sorrows
Author: Erin A. Craig
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Edition/Pages: Hardcover (BOTM edition), 403 pages
Goodreads page

Summary

Annaleigh was one of 12 sisters. But four of her sisters and her mother have passed away and now everyone believes the family to be cursed. After the death of Eulalie, Annaleigh starts seeing ghosts and suspects that her sisters deaths weren’t accidents at all.
When the sisters find a secret door that lets them travel across the country to balls, they are swept into a world of fun and dancing. But Annaleigh doesn’t think these dances are as innocent as they seem.

When a handsome, mysterious stranger appears in Annaleigh’s life, she’s sent down a dark path to discover the hidden secrets surrounding her family.

Overview

➸ POV – 1st person from Annaleight’s POV

➸Annaleigh Thaumas: Daughter of the Duke, One of 12 sisters – sixth born, Plays piano, Always wanted to take care of the lighthouse

➸ Content Warnings: Still birth, Abuse (physical & mental), Death, Murder, Suicide, Grief, Gore

My Thoughts

This book was SO much darker than what I was expecting! Definitely make sure you’re comfortable with dark, hard-hitting, intense topics before getting into this one. I was definitely surprised by the intense discussions and grotesque scenes. But I absolutely loved where this book went and how dark it took things.

The first 1/3 of this book was a little slow (which is why I settled on 4.5 rather than 5 stars). There are tons of characters and a massive world/religion you’re introduced to and it definitely dragged a little for me. But I will say the last half – and especially the last 100 pages – was 100% worth the build up!

This is one of my favorite endings of the year. It was so intense and dark and gripping. I was frantically flipping pages for the last 100 or so pages. The climax and reveals were absolute perfection in my eyes.

I was completely invested in this romance. Cassius and Annaleigh had such good chemistry and their relationship was so adorable. I loved them together.

I also loved the sister relationships! All of their relationships were so different and so realistic. But Camille was absolute terrible and I couldn’t stand her haha. In contract Verity was gem and one of my favorite side characters ever.

Overall, this story blew me away. I loved where this story went and the adorable romance and family relationships depicted. I can’t wait to check out more from this author in the future!

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