House of Salt and Sorrows is a beautiful, nautical-themed fantasy with hints of underlying horror. It is an intriguing, thrilling and creative retelling of the fairy tale, The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Annaleigh Thaumas and her eleven other sisters live in a manor near the ocean. Or at least they did. Ever since the three oldest sisters died, each a violent death, a heavy grief has fallen upon the remaining. And since the most recent sister, Eulalie, died from falling off a cliff near their manor, Annaleigh has wondered if the deaths are connected… or perhaps even murders. And to add even more to Annaleigh’s plate, her youngest sister Verity, believes she is seeing ghosts of their dead siblings. Things are looking grim for the Thaumases, until their father, the Duke of the People of the Salt, decides that they are no longer going to mourn, but instead celebrate the remaining life in the family. It is proposed they throw a party in honour of the triplets’, Lenore, Ligeia, and Rosalie’s, 16th birthday. While in town buying fancy dancing shoes for the ball, Annaleigh comes across a mysterious stranger, the son of a celebrated sailor, named Cassius, who immediately seems taken with her. Even after leaving town, the encounter remains in Annaleigh’s mind for days to come. The night of the party, nobody will so much as dance with the sisters due to the rumour that their family is cursed has reached the commoners. People are even wary of the sisters’ fairly new, young step-mother, Morella. Determined to prove there is no curse and the older sisters Ava, Octavia, Elizabeth, and Eulalie were murdered, Annaleigh sets out to find evidence… and finds instead a secret door that will take the user wherever they want. Using the door the sisters find themselves at a magnificent ball, one where no one seems to know about them or the supposed curse. Attending these balls becomes a nightly occurrence for the sisters. Meanwhile, Annaleigh believes she is getting closer to solving the mystery of her sisters’ death. She is suspicious of the apprentice clockmaker, Edgar, who matched all evidence she has found of the suspected killer. Annaleigh has all but deemed him guilty of murder, until Edgar himself is killed. The house is caught up in a whirlwind of ghost sightings, phantom dances, sisters disappearing, and a weeping face that quite literally is the thing of nightmares. Together, Annaleigh, Cassius, and the remaining sisters must solve this mystery before something else drastic happens. The conclusion to this novel is dark, shocking, and full of breath-taking twists that will ensure you keep turning the pages. Family tragedy, budding romance, a catastrophic fire, malicious demons, and benevolent gods fill this sensational conclusion to an epic story, where nothing is as it seems.
This book is perfect for anyone who is a fan of nautical-themed stories or a thrilling, fast-paced plot that will leave you a bit frightened but not too terrified to be in a dark room alone. I loved the gothic elements of this novel, and how just when you think you are beginning to unravel the mystery, the author throws you another curveball. I had a great time reading about the exploits of Annaleigh and her sisters Camille, Rosalie, Lenore, Ligeia, Honor, Mercy, and the youngest and most adorable, little Verity. I especially love Cassius’ cryptic presence throughout the book. Overall, this book was exciting, and would definitely merit a re-read in the close future.