Reviews with content warning for Gore - Small Favors

I love the way Erin A. Craig writes creepy atmospheres. In this book, like in A House of Salt and Sorrows, there’s this soft, almost lazy overtone with just an undercurrent of… wrongness. I would describe the book as a gentle horror, if such a thing exists. There’s a quiet solemnity, calmness, and feeling of isolation throughout - but also some MESSED UP mutant animals that come out of the forest, and several gruesome violent deaths 🤷🏻‍♀️

It showcases the idea that the monsters hiding in the dark may not be as destructive as the monsters within ourselves. There’s an aspect of the macabre in the mutated creatures that feature as the initial ‘villains’, but the real horror of this story is found in humanity itself, and in what happens when the dark parts of ourselves are magnified and unrestrained.

The book is told in seasons, with the plot building pretty slowly. I didn’t have a problem with the slow progression because the tension remained… tense… throughout, however it did make the final 100 pages or so seem quite rushed, and a little messy. To be honest though, everyone knows I love a good ‘descent into madness’ storyline, and sometimes that kind of chaos can’t be presented calmly and orderly. ACCEPT THE MESS!

The setting was fantastic, the characters were well rounded, and while the twist was pretty obvious, experiencing it from the perspective of the MC still felt new and devastating, so kudos to Craig and her beautiful writing.

I do prefer A House of Salt and Sorrows to Small Favors, but I still enjoyed this read a lot!

Content Warnings

lizgriffinwords's review

Go to review page

dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A chilling tale perfect for fans of The Village, but with an even more gruesome twist. This is not one to listen to at night!! As an oldest daughter, I found Ellorie’s stress and burdens remarkably plausible.

Be aware of potentially triggering content including religious trauma, gore, blood, fire injury, hangings, hallucinations, animal death, and prominent character death. THIS IS A HORROR NOVEL.

Sadly I found the open ending to be dissatisfying; otherwise this would have been a 5 star read for me. I would have preferred either more confirmed closure OR an all-out horror ending.

Content Warnings

ashlikes's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

mpurdy's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I was utterly enthralled in this story. It gave me a rumpelstiltskin retelling feel. It was a page turning favorite. I fell in love with so many characters and felt there pain but at the same time grew to despise others. I gave it 4.5 because I had two unanswered questions.

Spoiler

are her parents alive? I mean I figure they are because of how it ended but I would have liked to get the confirmation. My other question I guess is I wanted to see how Sam really grew so dark? Or was he always that way? I wanted a replay more of when he made
his bargain with the "queen". And how absolutely messed up that he was so readily to offer his twin like wtf. Like was he just mad that his dad respected Ellerie more and that set him off?!
This isn't a spoiler but if you have read this wouldnt it have been kinda cool if Ezra the real Ezra had joined the Kindred to spare the town a little longer? I enjoyed the backstory on the first hanging in Amnity Falls not the hanging itself but how famlies have been at eachother at the start. Looping back to what the "Queen" said about how the violence was here they just kinda helped it along.

All in all it was a great book and has become a favorite that I will cherish in my collection. I am looking forward to reading her debut novel. I really enjoyed her writing. It was the perfect amount of flowery imagery, loveable characters that were soooooo easy to connect to, and a dark fairytalk/folklore that I cannot get enough of.

Content Warnings

annierose's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Content Warnings

magellen's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Hooray for a sophomore success! This book is much more cohesive than House of Salt and Sorrows- that said, it still takes a *long long* time to set things up. 3/8ths of the way in felt like the inciting moments, the plot finally showing up to the party.

Once it's in motion, the plot carries along on its own. The nebulous setting flounders through the front half, making it hard to tell just when and where we are, which winds up making it feel like The Village for a stretch. Though it lacks much flavor for voice, the moments of tension/horror are well built and sustained on a razor wire, satisfying to squirm over - there is a lot of blood in this book and talk of the smell of blood so heads up.

Overall, it's a stellar follow up that leans into the fear and reality more than the frothy illusion of S&S. It runs long, or slow, depending how you consider the word count load but it does eventually find uses for most of those words. With yet again a large cast, there's a lot of threads to tie at the end and only a handful of them stay knotted.

Content Warnings

More...