Reviews with content warning for Drug use - House of Roots and Ruin

We have the sheltered, hidden away MC who automatically latches onto the character she's meant to paint. Of course with all good books we expect growth from the MC, don't expect that here.

The story is about a sister who sees ghosts but the plot is loosely based around this premise. It causes the character to question her judgement most of the time and she's usually wrong.

Without giving anything away, a struggle ensues, injuries are had death occurs. And our MC questions none of the weird things that happen after that battle and takes everything at face value like she's learned nothing from this experience.

There's a hopeful epilogue but who knows if this will be a trilogy and what can be done now?!

It's cool that we learn a bit about the Victorian flower language, that I was down for.

I'd like to know what was actually happening with the "peacocks", that we never actually see in the daylight I might add. And for some other things like the moans from the other home to be cleared up? What did her sisters actually respond to her letters with?

And girl Verity I'm glad you weren't in the movie signs bc they hit you in the face and you still asked for water and had no idea what hit you.

Due to some of the topics discussed I'm not sure I'd recommend this as YA, at least not the younger spectrum when talking about the true young adult demographic. There are a couple of graphic sexual things discussed in this book.

I'd give it 3.75 ⭐⭐⭐ the plot wasn't awful but didn't stick to the trueness of the character as I was expecting. The sisters were very minimally involved which was sad. And Verity didn't grow in any way.

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danaslitlist's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.75

Once again Erin A. Craig has written a book inspired by gothic literature and nails every marker of that. Unnerving warnings from ghosts? Check. A mysterious manor with dark secrets around every corner? Check. A family full of weird traditions and skeletons in their closets? Double check. Every moment of this book was like watching Rebecca (1940) crossed with Crimson Peak. And as a fan of both, I was in heaven the entire time.

Though I hadn't reread House of Salt and Sorrow I fell right back into the world and the setting that had been established with ease. This is made possible by the fact that this story occurs years after the events of the first novel and follows Verity, the youngest of the twelve Thaumus sisters as she finally flees her island home and towards the the mysterious and famous home of The Duchess of Bloem against the wishes of her sister. What follows next is a series of plots and discoveries that show that the legacy of the Duchess and her family might not be what it appears to be.

I think all the characters were so fascinating and even the ones that fell into tropes were enjoyable. I was pleasantly surprised that we have a disabled male love interest who is so complex and also proud to be disabled. I was a bit nervous at the beginning but Erin A. Craig did a great job of writing him well and remaining respectful of disabled bodies and agency.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and despite trying to slow down the reading experience, I couldn't bring myself to put the book down. Each chapter just captured my attention more and more! The only reason this isn't a five star read is that I wish the ending had unraveled a bit slower or had happened earlier in the novel instead of everything coming to a rushing ending in the last thirty pages. Though this definitely invoked a sense of frenzy and confusion that was most certainly intended on part of the author and I don't feel like this is necessarily a flaw that would bother most readers.

And that epilogue....leaves a bit of a tease that I both like and dislike. But then again, in true fashion of most gothic literature and media, it fits perfectly.

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