ARC Review--House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig

 

A modern masterpiece, this is a classic Gothic thriller-fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Erin A. Craig, about doomed love, menacing ambition, and the ghosts that haunt us forever.

In a manor by the sea, one sister is still cursed.

Despite dreams of adventures far beyond the Salann shores, seventeen-year-old Verity Thaumas has remained at her family’s estate, Highmoor, with her older sister Camille, while their sisters have scattered across Arcannia.

When their sister Mercy sends word that the Duchess of Bloem—wife of a celebrated botanist—is interested in having Verity paint a portrait of her son, Alexander, Verity jumps at the chance, but Camille won’t allow it. Forced to reveal the secret she’s kept for years, Camille tells Verity the truth one day: Verity is still seeing ghosts, she just doesn’t know it.

Stunned, Verity flees Highmoor that night and—with nowhere else to turn—makes her way to Bloem. At first, she is captivated by the lush, luxurious landscape and is quickly drawn to charming, witty, and impossibly handsome Alexander Laurent. And soon, to her surprise, a romance . . . blossoms.

But it’s not long before Verity is plagued with nightmares, and the darker side of Bloem begins to show through its sickly-sweet façade...

 

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review. 

Erin A. Craig returns to the world of Sisters of the Salt with a new installment in her Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling, House of Roots and Ruin, but this time a new sister will take the helm and a new story will unfold! We are long past the days of worn out dancing shoes, but it seems the meddling gods are still very much present!

First, one quick disclaimer, you do not have to have read House of Salt and Sorrow before reading this one. This one will follow a completely different sister many years after those events. You get brief mentions of those past events but it won't be anything to confuse you from the story at hand.

I was super excited to dive into this story! It takes place a magical and important twelve years later. All of Verity living sisters have married and moved on, while she remained at Highmoor with her oldest sister Camille. Though Verity longs for something more, she wants to leave Highmoor and have her own adventure, find her own chance at true love, though her sister is strictly against the idea. But when Verity receives a letter from the Duchess of Bloem asking her to come to the manor to pain a portrait of her son, Alexander, there's no telling Verity no. But when her sister does in fact say no, Verity does what any princess would do, she runs away and does it anyway!

Upon arriving at Bloem we see gardens filled with gorgeous flowers, as the Duke of Bloem is very much a man of the flower! Verity quickly learns that Alexander is a boy around her age who, after a terrible childhood accident has been reduced to life in a wheelchair. I mention this only because it is here we get the strong vibes of the next to be seen retelling, and that is The Secret Garden. But the garden here is going to end up being a very dangerous and deadly sort as we soon will learn.

Things start off well enough in the story, things are simple enough, but Verity does learn one terrifying secret before she leaves home, and that is she can see ghosts! The problem with that is she can't always tell when she's speaking with someone who is alive or with someone who is dead. Ghosts pretty much look like living people to her. She soon learns that the mansion of Bloem is hiding its own secrets and its own ghosts. Before she knows it, she's pulled into a very twisted and intricate mystery and if she's not careful, she might find herself more entwined than she's ever wanted to be.

This book...oh this book! I remember my feelings over Craig's debut were much of the same! I was loving the fairy tale vibes, and while I don't really consider The Secret Garden a fairy tale, you get a more sinister version of that story here, mixed in with ghosts, mystery, and secrets...so many secrets! It was definitely a page turner of a read with all its 500+ pages! I will admit that there were occasional moments where I felt like the story was dragging a bit, pacing wise, but it never lasted long before the next intriguing or shocking thing would happen!

Honestly, the fact that Verity could see ghosts really had me intrigued! I love a good ghost story! That Verity had trouble determining who was alive and who was not, made for decadent reading!

The mystery and secrets started to unravel themselves in bits and pieces! I mean, I'd say maybe around the halfway mark or just past it the story takes on a game-changing turn and from there it's chaos! Blissfully, delicious chaos! Oh, how I wish I could dive into this part more, but alas, I will not spoil it for you! Just be aware that, though the pacing may be a little slow in the beginning, things will pick up and you better hold on when they do because it becomes a whirlwind of a read after that!

Romance, because you know I have to touch on that! Verity and Alex definitely have a bit of chemistry going between them! They have that sweet first love kind of romance going on between them. Alex has never really ever been able to leave his house and go places, and Verity was always confined to her manor, they have a lot in common...and yet, I was a bit surprise they never seemed to want to make plans for traveling. I get that Alex was in a wheelchair and travel might prove difficult, but they never really said, "we'll find a way!" They both just seemed content to stay in a house of their own for the foreseeable future until it was time for Alex to become the Duke of Bloem. Weird, but just one of those tiny nuisances you think of after the fact.

The ending of this book was unbelievable! Just as one shocking moment came to a conclusion it's followed by a series of jaw dropping moments! I don't think I've ever been so shocked before in my reading lifetime! Lol! Although, I will admit, I did have questions at the end, like so many questions! None that I can voice because of spoiler reasons but then that last sentence! Oh that last sentence kind of ruined me! Lol! Only in the sense that I was right! Which then presents the problem of is this THEN END?! I rather think it is...but I never say never to a sequel. I mean the author might...but then I've seen them go back to a "finished" series before and create a new story to add onto things. Will this be the end of the Thaumus sisters or will there be another story for perhaps another one of the girls? Who's to say, really?

House of Roots and Ruin was without a doubt one of the most jaw-dropping reads I've read this year! It was such a perfect blend of fantasy and thriller and I am in love with this new genre idea! The joys of "fairytale" like settings blended with the absolute chilling! It's a genre I feel like that needs to be greatly expanded up in depth! Luckily for us, Craig seems to have this genre down pat! If you want something fantastical and chilling, look no further than Erin A. Craig! 

Overall Rating 5/5 stars

House of Roots and Ruin releases July 25, 2023