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A review by abby_gail_noel
House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig
3.0
3.5 stars
This is the third book I’ve read by this author and I was not disappointed. It wasn’t my favorite thing ever, but I did enjoy it and I definitely plan on reading the sequel.
My expectations were a little too high going into this book. I was so excited that I preordered months in advance and it didn’t necessarily live up to the hype in my own head.
There were a lot of good things about this book. I think the story and the worldbuilding were fantastic, and the writing was great for the most part. However…
The Plot
The overarching idea and story for this book were amazing. I love a good gothic book mixed with some supernatural or fantastical element, and this certainly fit the brief. On the other hand, I see it as a good story that wasn’t told as well as it could’ve been.
1. The romance was extremely flat for me. As another reviewer put it: “it was either lackluster or lusty.”
2. The characters were not fleshed out enough for me to feel anything for them, but it was clear the author did (this leads to my next point)
3. The ending was too predictable. The ending could have been really shocking but I felt like the author got too attached to the characters and the idea of a happy ending for it to really be able to pack a punch (also, the majority of major plot points and shockers should not be packed in the last 5% of a book)
The Writing
1. The pacing was extremely off. The first half of the book was so slow, but it was like a race to the finish at the end
2. The worldbuilding was amazing, but overwhelming (goes w/ the pacing problem, the whole first half felt like worldbuilding instead of plot)
3. The romance (again) was just unbelievable. The dialogue made me cringe and I just couldn’t wrap my head around it (and that was a biiiiggg part of the book)
All in all, this was a good book that I thoroughly enjoyed… but it had some issues. Somehow, it was both fantastical and lackluster at the same time.
This is the third book I’ve read by this author and I was not disappointed. It wasn’t my favorite thing ever, but I did enjoy it and I definitely plan on reading the sequel.
My expectations were a little too high going into this book. I was so excited that I preordered months in advance and it didn’t necessarily live up to the hype in my own head.
There were a lot of good things about this book. I think the story and the worldbuilding were fantastic, and the writing was great for the most part. However…
The Plot
The overarching idea and story for this book were amazing. I love a good gothic book mixed with some supernatural or fantastical element, and this certainly fit the brief. On the other hand, I see it as a good story that wasn’t told as well as it could’ve been.
1. The romance was extremely flat for me. As another reviewer put it: “it was either lackluster or lusty.”
2. The characters were not fleshed out enough for me to feel anything for them, but it was clear the author did (this leads to my next point)
3. The ending was too predictable. The ending could have been really shocking but I felt like the author got too attached to the characters and the idea of a happy ending for it to really be able to pack a punch (also, the majority of major plot points and shockers should not be packed in the last 5% of a book)
The Writing
1. The pacing was extremely off. The first half of the book was so slow, but it was like a race to the finish at the end
2. The worldbuilding was amazing, but overwhelming (goes w/ the pacing problem, the whole first half felt like worldbuilding instead of plot)
3. The romance (again) was just unbelievable. The dialogue made me cringe and I just couldn’t wrap my head around it (and that was a biiiiggg part of the book)
All in all, this was a good book that I thoroughly enjoyed… but it had some issues. Somehow, it was both fantastical and lackluster at the same time.