Author: Erin A. Craig
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Released: July 27^th, 2021
Received: Own
Warnings: Animal death, abuse, graphic violence

Yes! Erin A. Craig (author of House of Salt and Sorrows) is back with another fantastical tale – Small Favors. I knew right away that this latest world was going to thrill and chill me – much like its predecessor.

Ellerie Downing has spent her entire life in a town village called Amity Falls. It’s an isolated town, with supply caravans taking days to get to and from. The isolation had once been a treasure, but now it appears to be fatal.

It all starts when one supply party goes missing. Then, tales of monsters crop up within the town and very alarmingly valid stories. With winter coming, the town can’t afford to go without supplies. But they can’t keep sacrificing people to the woods, either. Not for a journey they certainly won’t survive.

“Enter not the forest deep. Beyond the bells, the dark fiends keep.”

Guys, I think I’m in love. There is something so beautiful and enchanting about Erin A. Craig’s writing. I first fell in love during House of Salt and Sorrows and fell once again here with Small Favors.

Small Favors felt like a darker remix of Little Red Riding Hood and Rumpelstiltskin. That sentence is evoking a lot in my head, but I’m worried that this is because I read the book. The Little Red Riding Hood comparison is more about the isolated location and vibes.

The slow-building of tension is just… chef’s kiss! It’s perfect and left me utterly unable to put the book down, even for a second. I had to see what was happening to Ellerie and her family. I was so worried that they wouldn’t make the winter or that the monsters would come for them.

The truth of what was actually happening is so much darker, and I loved every minute of it. In that sense, this story feels very much like a fairytale in that it has an important lesson to teach the readers.

That lesson hits hard, and it hits home. I’m noticing a trend here with Craig’s writing. She gets us attached to these characters and then puts them through hell and back to further force our emotions into these tiny little knots. And we thank her for it!

In case it wasn’t obvious, I really enjoyed Small Favors, and I am seriously looking forward to seeing whatever world Erin A. Craig designs next, as I know I will be diving headfirst into it.