House of Salt and Sorrows
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Get swept away by this “haunting” (Bustle) novel about twelve beautiful sisters living on an isolated island estate who begin to mysteriously die one by one.
"Step inside a fairy tale." —Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Caraval
In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.
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.
Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that her sister's deaths were no accidents. The girls have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who--or what--are they really dancing with?
When Annaleigh's involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family--before it claims her next. House of Salt and Sorrows is a spellbinding novel filled with magic and the rustle of gossamer skirts down long, dark hallways. Be careful who you dance with...
And don't miss Erin A. Craig's newest novel, The Thirteenth Child, a haunting and romantic novel about the impossible choices we make in the name of love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Evocative details and lyrical, moody prose distinguish this tale with strong allusions to "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" of 12 sisters who seemingly fall under a curse, resulting in their deaths under tragic and violent circumstances over the course of several years. Debut author Craig stages the narrative in an enigmatic island realm set apart from the outside world and governed by a mythology that is connected to the ocean. The sisters (only seven remain when the story begins) live with their father and his significantly younger new wife at seaside manor Highmoor. Fearful of meeting fates similar to their siblings', all but one sister, Annaleigh, seek refuge through pageantry and nights spent dancing until dawn (fairy tale like details abound: velvet-draped ballrooms, extravagant "fairy shoes"). Craig offers a well-placed element of grotesquerie as the sisters become puppetlike pawns controlled by a malevolent force. Certain elements including a duplicitous central character's arc and the story's budding romance carry a degree of predictability, but these are minor distractions in an otherwise richly conceived story that blends mythic and Gothic storytelling. Ages 12 up.
Customer Reviews
A wonderful read!
This book was a very suspenseful read that constantly had me itching for more. It was a great mystery with a fantastic end that you’ll never see coming. A perfect balance between creepy and mysterious with just the right amount of romance.
Beautiful and haunting
I loved this book because it repeatedly surprised and delighted me while also making it too scary to go to sleep.