House of Salt and Sorrow

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.

--Goodreads

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House of Salt and Sorrows
Erin A. Craig
Delacorte, 2019
​Source: My Own Bookshelf, advance copy

House of Salt and Sorrows was a ​Twelve Dancing Princesses/Edgar Allen Poe mashup. It did well, but at times, including both was too much. Everything happened really quickly at the end - almost too quickly. However, it was still spooky and enjoyable.

I had a gut feeling about the two boys in the book - Fisher and Cassius. I was mostly right about them, but didn't exactly have them figured out. It was nice to have the justification of being right without having the story spoiled for me. Also, I appreciated that the sisters were easy to keep straight - with so many, it could have been extremely easy to confuse them. However, all of them, or each group of them, were distinct enough that I never got confused.

​Over all, this was a delightful mix of fairy tale, mystery, and horror. It's a perfect October read!