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. Be careful who you dance with...
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In a manor by the sea, one sister is still cursed.
Despite dreams of adventures far beyond the Salann shores, seventeen-year-old Verity Thaumas has remained at her family’s estate, Highmoor, with her older sister Camille, while their sisters have scattered across Arcannia.
When their sister Mercy sends word that the Duchess of Bloem—wife of a celebrated botanist—is interested in having Verity paint a portrait of her son, Alexander, Verity jumps at the chance, but Camille won’t allow it. Forced to reveal the secret she’s kept for years, Camille tells Verity the truth one day: Verity is still seeing ghosts, she just doesn’t know it.
Stunned, Verity flees Highmoor that night and—with nowhere else to turn—makes her way to Bloem. At first, she is captivated by the lush, luxurious landscape and is quickly drawn to charming, witty, and impossibly handsome Alexander Laurent. And soon, to her surprise, a romance . . . blossoms.
But it’s not long before Verity is plagued with nightmares, and the darker side of Bloem begins to show through its sickly-sweet facade...
This review contains the first two books of the Sisters of the Salt series. Spoilers might occur.
HOUSE OF SALT AND SORROWS
If you are a millennial, like me, born at the end of it, so 1995-1996, you may have seen the first version of the Twelve Dancing Princesses in a Barbie movie. Let me tell you that I wasn't prepared to go from dancing Barbie with cute pink sparkly dresses to this retelling. But I have to give it : it was amazing. It was extremely original, nicely done, perfectly represented. I have nothing bad to say on the retelling.
I really loved that book. It wasn't a horror novel, but it had a dark vibe. And, please, understand this. When I say dark, it's dark. Dark Academia vibe. Dark shivers down your spine. Dark fog with paranormal activity. However, if you know me well, you know I'm the kind of person who get frighten easily with ghost stories and, surprisingly, I wasn't with this one. Well, a bit, but I could still enjoy my reading without fearing for my life and not sleep for days. Maybe it was because there was an explanation with the immortals and the Gods. Anyways, I loved it and I was totally in the vibe for it. If you want a dark kinda witchy vibe for Halloween, this book is for you.
The characters made me love the story. Even if you miss some sisters, because they are dead, you can still feel them. Not exactly in the way the sisters are cursed, but the love that family has for each other help to sense and perceive how those dead sisters were. Annaleigh has a big heart, she's not the oldest, but she plays a big role in the family. Even with her step-mother. She's curious and kind. She tries to protect everyone, especially when things go south and the curse reveals some dark side. Yes, Dark is really the theme. I was terrified when Annaleigh was in front of her family, getting mad, afraid of what was real and what was not. My arms shivered because of the anxiety of that scene. I was even questioning my own mental state. That tells a lot.
The answers of some twist were excellent and I didn't expect the Gods being involved and the conclusion of the dramatic event was gut-wrenching. I had tears because I couldn't believe it. I was angry and sad at the same time. My pages are torn in some places because I was holding my book too tight.
But I have to admit, some moments in the book were a bit too long, slow paced and hard to follow. Even a few questions were, for me, not answered. I had a bit of trouble in understanding some passages, but it might only be because English isn't my mother's tongue.
HOUSE OF ROOTS AND RUINS
When I started the sequel, I thought I would have liked it less than the first one, since the vibe was a bit less dark, even less gothic. It wasn't exactly what I felt in HOSAS. But I loved Verity more than Annaleigh. I was even fairly sad we don't see the sisters in that book, except Camille. I felt like the retelling was officially done and we were in another chapter. So, everything that I liked from HOSAS was gone. But I saw that it didn't mean the book would be less good.
Verity's story is twelve years (twelve sisters, twelve years, you get it ?) after the first book. When you met her in HOSAS, she's a little kid who's painting her dead sister that she can see. Now, she's a teenager, a bit naive and the kind of one that wouldn't always listen to her instinct. She wants liberty, autonomy, freedom. She feels imprisoned by her oldest sister, Camille, in their childhood home. Where six of her sisters died, good to remember that information, you know. For a long time, Verity thought she was normal, but she was not. The curse ended at the end of HOSAS, but not for the youngest who can still see ghosts. It was hard for her to accept that part of her and she entered her questioning era. So, of course, she goes to a place where she will meet a boy one of her sisters told her about and felt deeply in love. Yes, she's that kind of teenager. Nonetheless, I loved her. Why ? Because she was also fierce, loyal and brave. She was afraid in that house she didn't know about. Those strangers were acting strangely. She was poisoned, attached and still, she tried her best for Alex and his damn family. After, THEY are the one that says SHE has the cursed family. I let out a loud "lol".
Alex and Verity relationship felt right and wrong at the same time. If you compare with the romance in HOSAS that was really in the background and slow burn, this one was almost instant love or the kind of love you think you deserve because you don't think anyone else will love you. Teenagers. The problem is that she doesn't like to kiss him and he's extremely pushy toward her. She's living her first "love" and doesn't know how to act, what to do. Especially when, plot twists, Viktor arrives. Why not have a love triangle. The thing is... Viktor is awful, BUT the chemistry was better with him than with Alex. In the end, I didn't trust either of them and I was telling Verity to pack her things and just run for her life. She doesn't, obviously, because characters never listen to us.
The ghost, the suspense, the creepy romance, the macabre family, yes, gives us a dark vibe, but mostly an extremely interesting story. The secrets and the experiments that comes to light were morbid. When the Gods come back in the storyline, you know shit is going down. That's why I can't wait to see what is going to happen in the third book, because that ending killed me twice. I gasp so loud on ONE. SINGLE. SENTENCE. A few words said a lot. And I wasn't prepared for that. I'm legitimately afraid of what is to come. I guess it's a good thing with those books.
It's a perfect series for autumn and if you like dark, ghostly, bit of a witchy story.
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