Hello Gracious Readers
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publishing date: July 25th, 2023
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
Synopsis:
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. . . .
REVIEW
𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄: House of Roots and Ruin
𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑: Erin A. Craig @penchant4words
𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒: Sisters of Salt #2
𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐑: Delacorte Press @delacortepress @randomhousekids
𝐏𝐔𝐁 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: 7.25.23
{𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒}
If you haven’t read #houseofsaltandsorrows I highly recommend it! Erin A. Craig latest installment is a breathtaking gothic expansion on the much loved first book.
House of Roots and Ruin lived up to all my expectations with its captivating storyline and with lush detailed world building. It’s definitely a twisty read, one that once you start you absolutely cannot put down.
The story starts off in an intentionally slow, in an ambiguous way as the author sets the perfect tone. Now this is the genius of Erin A. Craig, who deliberately gives you each piece of the puzzle, chapter by chapter. A hauntingly twisty read here that had me pretty much-questioning everything that was happening within the pages of this book. The clever way that the details were revealed to the reader was excellent.
Craig’s writing is stellar, as we follow the books heroine the youngest of the twelve sisters, seventeen-year-old Verity Thaumas. Living a reclusive and sheltered existence with older sister Camille and her family, at their family estate of Highmoor.
When chance invitation through her other sister Mercy arrives in a letter, by the Duchess of Bloem. The Dutchess is intrigued by Varity’s artistic talents and offers her a commission to draw a portrait of her son Alex, who is wheelchair bond after a tragic childhood accident. In defiance of Camille’s stern warning not to except the job, she does so anyways. Only to find out the real reason she has been sequestered from people, it’s because she has the ability to see ghosts. Her ability is so strong she cannot tell ghost from the living.
Unperturbed she is ready to take her life for once in her own hands and leaves her family’s estate and travels beyond the Salann shores in the middle of the night.
Her destination is Bloem’s gothic mansion Chauntilalei. Upon arrival she meets the odd family and the Alex, who is the subject of her next portrait.
Craig has exceeded in her world building, and the twisty turns of this book will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat. I enjoyed Varity as the main MC, and I thought she was fleshed out and well developed. The house itself is a character in its own right. Ominous and unsettling, the rich imagery and wonderful details descriptions of the flowers and setting was stunning. A feeling of something just not right, follows reader as the storyline unfolds.
A lush, a dark gothic tale, with an ending that leaves you wanting more of Erin A. Craig’s inventive world building and spectacular characters.
I highly recommend this book 📖
AUTHOR
New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows and Small Favors, Erin A. Craig has always loved telling stories.
After getting her B.F.A. from the University of Michigan, in Theatre Design and Production, she stage managed tragic operas with hunchbacks, séances, and murderous clowns, then decided she wanted to write books that were just as spooky.
An avid reader, embroidery enthusiast, rabid basketball fan, and collector of typewriters, Erin makes her home in West Michigan with her husband and daughter.
Gwendalyn’s Books 
