This book will be published on August 6, 2019. I read the advance reader's copy. There will undoubtedly be differences between the version I read and the published edition.
When I first read the summary for this book, not going to lie, I heavily rolled my eyes thinking it would be another retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Much to my delight, it was and was not.
An amazon summary, "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." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE
Annaleigh is one sister of 12, and four of her sisters have died in the past few years, under different circumstances. The town believes their family is cursed, and it's only a matter of time before the rest of the sisters fall victim to the curse. Their mother died giving birth to the last sister, and their father remarried. The younger sisters adore the step mother as they're the only mother they really remember or know, but the older sisters remember their mother and have contempt for their stepmother. Camilla and Annaleigh are very close in age, but Camilla has had it with being in mourning for their sisters for so long (according to their customs they have to mourn for a year after each death). She worries about never finding a husband and inheriting the house of Highmoor without any suitors.
The girls are reunited with a childhood friend, Farley who tells them of a mysterious tale of a way gods are able to travel far distances through hidden doors. The sisters go on a quest to find the hidden door, as they find it, they're brought into a world that offers balls with handsome gentlemen.
Annaleigh has reservations. She suspects that her sisters were actually murdered, but she can't find enough clues to prove it. As the sisters go dancing every night, they become more exhausted and wear out their shoes.
That's enough summary.
So, from what I've described the mythology sounds a lot like the original story. However, there is a lot more that plays into it. The world building sets up a lot of different rituals and customs within their world surrounding their gods, which means unique festivals, and a reverence for the sea. The gods are also real, so there's a significance to the pride and respect they show to their customs.
I really liked Annaleigh a lot. She felt very realistic, and she fought within her means to start solving the mystery of their alleged curse. How the mystery itself unfolded was fascinating, as it felt like an exploration of not only the sisters, but the dancing, the island, and the lore of the world itself.
The details of the world were really rich too, and the story was really just well woven. There seem to be a lot of side details that came together and formed a more coherent story.
So, they used the baseline of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, but turned it into so, SO much more. With also sinister elements to it. It felt like reading an old fairy tale where terrible things happened and served as a warning rather than a story of entertainment. It was good.
I really, really liked it.
Happy reading!
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