House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig My rating: 4/5 Wow. This was so much better than I expected it to be. This book is a blend of magic, mystery, fairy tale, retelling, and I'd even say horror (at least that's how my mind played it out like a movie in my head). At first I thought the magic was kind of dropped in (à la Narnia but not quite the same), but then I became okay with it as the story progressed and it just became part of the mystery. Considering there were so many characters (12 Dancing Princesses after all), Craig does a great job of making them unique enough to keep straight or at least grouped into a small cluster (The Graces, the triplets) that helps the reader. There are
Stain by AG Howard 5/5 Wow. This book is unlike anything I've ever read. This is my first book by AG Howard, although I collected the Splintered books long ago. I was so attracted to this cover. It's loosely based on the Princess and the Pea (a story I haven't visited since childhood). The writing is descriptive, imaginative and highly detailed. It took me nearly two months to read it because for the longest time I could only read small chunks. It's just so dense!! In order to take it my overworked brain could only handle a chapter or two at a time. Near the end though (end of the second part and the third part as the book is divided into three sections), I was able to start reading more cha
