House of Salt and Sorrows – Erin A. Craig

Delacorte Press | Hardcover | August 6, 2019

​High society balls. Magic doors. Ghost encounters. Nightmarish visions. Sisterly bickering. First loves. Death—lots of death. Erin A. Craig has packed a lot into her debut novel. She’s reimagined a classic gothic fairytale and infused it with rich oceanic mythology where goddesses and tricksters mingle with mortals. ​

​Annaleigh and the Thaumas dozen have been living in a perpetual state of mourning since the untimely (and haunting) deaths of their mother and eldest sisters. So when they find a magic door that can transport them anywhere in the kingdom, it’s no surprise that the girls start sneaking out every night to go dancing with people who know nothing of their grief—or their family’s rumored curse. Of course, the novel’s leading lady, Annaleigh, doesn’t believe her family is cursed. But she does suspect that they may have been murdered.

It's awesome to see Craig diving into the grotesque and the weird. It gives the world a distinct flare. But while her island realm is vibrant and everything you want in a gothic novel, it’s slow to start. The book’s glorious madness (along with its momentum) doesn’t pick up until half-way through. This causes the latter half of the novel to feel a bit rushed and leaves many of Annaleigh’s discoveries and decisions at complete mercy of the plot instead of continuing to exist in a give-and-take relationship. As a result, it may be difficult at times to suspend disbelief and revel in this series of unfortunate events.