Staff Pick
This is a fabulously creepy, dark, and Gothic retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" wrapped up in curses and gods. Full of death and mystery: Can you really believe what you see? Dance if you dare. I cannot recommend this book enough! Recommended By Mecca A., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Get swept away by the New York Times bestseller that Melissa Albert, author of The Hazel Wood, calls "eerie" and "lovely." As one by one her beautiful sisters mysteriously die on their isolated island estate, Annaleigh must unravel the curse that haunts her family. Be careful who you dance with...
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. Get ready to be swept away.
Review
"An eerie, lovely Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling full of ghosts and gods and a fascinating waterfront world and I'm reading it from behind my fingers." Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood
Review
"Equal parts gothic fairy tale and romance . . . compulsively readable." School Library Journal
Review
"Evocative details and lyrical, moody prose . . . a richly conceived story that blends mythic and Gothic storytelling." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Haunting, atmospheric, and immersive." Bustle
About the Author
Erin A. Craig has always loved telling stories. After getting her BFA in Theatre Design and Production from the University of Michigan, she stage managed tragic operas filled with hunchbacks, séances, and murderous clowns, then decided she wanted to write books that were just as spooky. An avid reader, decent quilter, rabid basketball fan, and collector of typewriters, Erin makes her home in Memphis with her husband and daughter.