Scan barcode
A review by jenpaul13
House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig
4.0
Seizing an opportunity to experience life away from the tragic, haunting past of her family, one young woman learns that all families seem to have unpleasant things lurking beneath the surface in House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
The youngest daughter of the cursed Thaumas family, Verity lives at the family estate under the protective care of her older sister Camille and spends her time sketching and painting, but she’s eager to experience the world beyond Highmoor, daydreaming of adventure. When an invitation arrives from the Duchess of Bloem for Verity to paint a portrait of her son, Alexander Laurent, Verity is excited for the opportunity, but Camille quickly dismisses the notion. After her heated exchange with Camille about her confinement to Highmoor, Verity has an unsettling encounter with two of her dead sisters, an experience that’s unique to her that her remaining sisters have kept secret from her, which forces Verity to confront an uncomfortable realization about herself. Shocked by the revelation, Verity flees toward adventure, heading to Bloem to begin the commissioned painting. Captivated by the lush landscape and the charms of the Laurent family, especially those of Alexander, Verity is quickly drawn in by the wonders of this life and the potential of a blossoming romance. But not all is as wonderous as it appears when Verity is plagued with nightmares, kept awake by screams in the night, and repeated warnings from ghostly beings to leave the Laurent estate. With the dark secrets and plots of the Laurent family stemming from the Duke of Bloem’s botanical experiments surfacing, Verity faces the reality and consequences of the situation she’s in as she makes her decision of who to trust with her future.
Depicting the life of the youngest daughter of the Thaumas family twelve years after the events of The House of Salt and Sorrow, this tale presents a slowly building plot devised by meticulous and manipulative cultivating characters whose actions contribute to an ominous, yet enticing, atmosphere. As this story focuses on a different sister than the first novel of the series, there’s relevant information provided in the text on an as-needed basis to flesh out and connect the stories and the world the characters reside in, but the story can stand on its own well. There was interesting representation of disability and the accommodations for Alexander as a wheelchair user to function independently were inventive and fittingly within the scope of technology of the established world. The prose of the novel was highly descriptive with floral imagery and an added layer through the language of flowers featured prominently throughout the narrative; those details and other abundant clues offered foreshadowed what’s to come during the more slowly moving middle portion of the story, though the clues presented shine clearly and brightly as Chekov’s guns, leaving readers to ponder just when they’ll finally come into play. Similar to the structure of the first in the Sisters of Salt series, the supernatural elements were gradually introduced, ramping up in presence and involvement for driving the narrative forward to a wild, rapid series of events constituting the ending, which teasingly raises some unanswered questions to pique interest in what Verity’s future might hold.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
The youngest daughter of the cursed Thaumas family, Verity lives at the family estate under the protective care of her older sister Camille and spends her time sketching and painting, but she’s eager to experience the world beyond Highmoor, daydreaming of adventure. When an invitation arrives from the Duchess of Bloem for Verity to paint a portrait of her son, Alexander Laurent, Verity is excited for the opportunity, but Camille quickly dismisses the notion. After her heated exchange with Camille about her confinement to Highmoor, Verity has an unsettling encounter with two of her dead sisters, an experience that’s unique to her that her remaining sisters have kept secret from her, which forces Verity to confront an uncomfortable realization about herself. Shocked by the revelation, Verity flees toward adventure, heading to Bloem to begin the commissioned painting. Captivated by the lush landscape and the charms of the Laurent family, especially those of Alexander, Verity is quickly drawn in by the wonders of this life and the potential of a blossoming romance. But not all is as wonderous as it appears when Verity is plagued with nightmares, kept awake by screams in the night, and repeated warnings from ghostly beings to leave the Laurent estate. With the dark secrets and plots of the Laurent family stemming from the Duke of Bloem’s botanical experiments surfacing, Verity faces the reality and consequences of the situation she’s in as she makes her decision of who to trust with her future.
Depicting the life of the youngest daughter of the Thaumas family twelve years after the events of The House of Salt and Sorrow, this tale presents a slowly building plot devised by meticulous and manipulative cultivating characters whose actions contribute to an ominous, yet enticing, atmosphere. As this story focuses on a different sister than the first novel of the series, there’s relevant information provided in the text on an as-needed basis to flesh out and connect the stories and the world the characters reside in, but the story can stand on its own well. There was interesting representation of disability and the accommodations for Alexander as a wheelchair user to function independently were inventive and fittingly within the scope of technology of the established world. The prose of the novel was highly descriptive with floral imagery and an added layer through the language of flowers featured prominently throughout the narrative; those details and other abundant clues offered foreshadowed what’s to come during the more slowly moving middle portion of the story, though the clues presented shine clearly and brightly as Chekov’s guns, leaving readers to ponder just when they’ll finally come into play. Similar to the structure of the first in the Sisters of Salt series, the supernatural elements were gradually introduced, ramping up in presence and involvement for driving the narrative forward to a wild, rapid series of events constituting the ending, which teasingly raises some unanswered questions to pique interest in what Verity’s future might hold.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.