House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Synopsis (via Goodreads): In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they 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 the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters 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 was a haunting story that I'll likely never forget. I loved the seaside setting and the rituals the townspeople followed. They believed in and prayed to gods I'd never heard of before, and I enjoyed learning about them. Annaleigh shared a few stories that her mother told her as a child, and they were easily some of my favorite parts of the book. I only wish we'd gotten to learn more about the various deities that existed in their world.

This book was delightfully eerie, and I honestly had no idea what was actually happening most of the time. I started to second guess what was real and what was imagined. It reminded me of the movie Inception, because it really messes with your head! Are they dreaming? Are they dancing? Are they dead? Are they dangerous? Annaleigh is thrown into the middle of something inescapable, because it's her mind and memories she can no longer trust.

My one quibble would be the romance and how quickly they fell in love with each other. It wasn't overtly an insta-love, but their relationship did progress quickly and with some intensity. They didn't really know each other and both had secrets they were unwilling to share. Eventually those came out and they started working together, but they still fell hard and fast for someone they barely knew (and in a situation most people would've wanted to avoid). The lies were explained and understandable, but the YOU'RE MY ONE TRUE LOVE FOREVER was a tad too much for my liking. I don't think Annaleigh would have survived without him though, since he had information she needed and was willing to risk everything to keep her safe and alive.

I really loved how the author messed with my head, despite guessing who the real culprit was before the characters had figured it out. The explanation was unexpected, so the author still managed to surprise me at the end. It was also a lot more gruesome than I was expecting. People were left bloody, broken, mangled, and some of the descriptions were gross. Maggots crawling through carcasses, and the body parts of old fish being unknowingly consumed, nearly made me vomit.

If you're looking for a story that will make you second guess yourself and the characters you're reading about, then House of Salt and Sorrows might be a good fit for you! However, if you have a sensitive stomach, or an unwillingness to be disgusted by a book's content, you might want to look elsewhere. Craig delivers a mind-bending story that focuses on family and what they'll do to survive, whether they're battling grief, ghosts, or gods. (★★★★☆)