House of Salt and Sorrow Review

Very Atmospheric!

In this book we are following the perspective of Annaleigh who lives in a manor by the sea with her father the Duke and her 7 sisters. The mainlanders believe that Annaleigh and her family are cursed because four of her sisters have recently died under mysterious circumstances.

I liked Annaleigh though at times I found her to be a little naïve and I felt she read a lot younger than what her age really is. I’m guessing because they are so sheltered at Highmoor and haven’t had a lot of interaction with boys her age, the whole blushing routine whenever she has a conversation with someone of the opposite sex got a little tedious for me. We do see her evolve and take more of a stand throughout the course of the book and I liked that she showed her stepmother a little empathy even though she definitely didn’t deserve it!

I thought the atmosphere of the book was fantastic. It was definitely eerie and mysterious. I enjoyed how what I would assume the origin and the lore of the original story was woven into this adaptation. I have heard of the twelve dancing princesses before but I haven’t actually read it.

The mystery aspect at first I thought was very well done but when it actually got down to the wire about who was responsible it was pretty obvious to me. It didn’t really take any of my enjoyment out of the experience but all of the predictions I made throughout my read by and large came true.

The pacing was a little bit off at times. The beginning I thought really captured my attention and was very engaging and then there were a few sections in the middle of the story that was a little harder to get through and then the ending felt a little rushed to me. It felt like everything was kind of exposed suddenly and then wrapped up equally suddenly.

However, I really enjoyed this book. It ebbed and flowed and had me intrigued enough to finish it quite quickly!

⭐️3.5/5 Dark, trippy, twisted!