Cover Image: House of Roots and Ruin

House of Roots and Ruin

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This second book picks up a few years after the first book ended.

Some sisters are off living their lives. Camille is running the estate. Things seem realtivly normal again.

Except when Verity introduces Camille to someone who isnt there and the truth is revealed to her.

In a haste, Verity leaves home in the night and goes to paint this portrait. It's all new to her. Leaving abruptly, going away from home, seeing a new town.

It's a lot at first, but Verity is welcomed with such kindness (minus grannys tude). She quickly becomes fond of Alex and they explore the home for hours finding the right place to sketch and learning about eachother.

Things seem good, too good at that. As the end nears, things change quickly.

Siblings revealed, experiments were more than just on plants. Truth of Verity coming besides painting a portrait. In the end leaving a handful of people lost, a marriage and a whole new start you didn't see coming.

Compared to the first book, this one was better and held my attention more. Did I love this? No, its still just okay for a series. I didnt hate it, but I didnt love it either. Overall an okay series worth reading if you have the time.

Was this review helpful?

Erin Craig has easily become one of my favorite authors of contemporary gothic literature. House of Root and Ruin is a fantastic sequel to Craig's first novel, House of Salt and Sorrow. With a massive house haunted by as many secrets as it has ghosts, our main character, Verity, must tread carefully if she wants to survive the strange happenings at Chauntilalie Manor.

I read House of Salt and Sorrow four years prior to picking up this sequel, and thankfully no refresher was needed. Craig was able to easily bring me back to the world of the Thaumas sisters without feeling like I'm drowning in missed information. Traveling to a new part of the world definitely helped with not feeling lost by giving readers a whole new place to explore.

Was this review helpful?

This book was an interesting read. It kept me entertained and did a good job building upon the first book. The tone and setting were great, and the character work was interesting.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of House of Roots and Ruin.

This is the third book I’ve read by Craig and while I absolutely loved the first two, I’m torn on my feelings about this one. The first half moved dreadfully slow, the last half was amazingly suspenseful, and the ending was predictable but enjoyable. She creates a wonderfully gothic atmosphere as usual, but I really struggled to become interested in Verity’s story as she makes terribly rash and naive choices throughout the entirety of the book.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed both House of Salt and Sorrows and House of Roots and Ruin, but I’m left wanting more - please tell me we can expect another book in this series!!

Was this review helpful?

<i>ARC provided by NetGalley for an Honest Review</i>
I was pretty excited for this book as I remember enjoying the first book a lot. Sadly this one was not as enjoyable for a whole slew of reasons. I found the beginning to be a little boring and then Verity’s subsequent fighting with her sister which leads to her running away didn’t leave a good look for either of them. Once Verity arrives at the Bloem estate the book turned more into a gothic soap opera than anything else. The writing style is easy to get sucked into as is the slow build of tension. Nothing went the way I expected and some of the revelations are a bit mind boggling. The ending though is what really has me stuck. I don’t like it and it’s mostly because I have more questions and I feel like I need some concrete information that my mind can actually understand. I can’t even say for sure there’s a happy ending because again, I'm not sure I'm fully grasping how it all wrapped up and that’s a huge bummer for me.

Was this review helpful?

After reading House of Salt and Sorrow, I was content. I thought that the story was over, but when I found out that this book was going to exist, I could not contain my excitement. YA gothic horror is such an underserved genre, and I am so excited that this book was such an excellent entry.
Verity Thaumas, feeling stifled by her much older sister, accepts a painting commission from Duchess Dauphine Laurent of Bloem where she is to create a portrait of her son, Alexander. But despite Bloem's lush, luxurious landscapes, it is also dark, gothic, and has the atmosphere of a garden, beautiful, but dependent on rot for its sustenance.
Verity is an excellent protagonist, because she is genuinely deeply flawed and develops and grows up over the course of the novel. Her romance is Alexander is lovely and develops so organically, even if it felt a bit rushed. The overall vibes of the book support the plot excellently, constantly hinting at false facades and underlying decay. And beyond this, the twist at the end is slightly predictable, but still quite enjoyable. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I would not be upset to find out that there is a third part to this story that has yet to come to realization.

Was this review helpful?

I liked the dark and creepy atmosphere of this book. The ending was fantastic. I think it could have been tightened up in the editing process.

Was this review helpful?

I have been dying to revisit the world of House of Salt and Sorrows since the shocking ending and I'm thankful that House of Roots and Ruin didn't disappoint. Taking place 12 years later we revisit some familiar characters in what feels like an even darker fantasy tale woven with mystery. I was so impressed with this one I will be recommending it to everyone!

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this gothic and chilling fantasy mystery!

I think the strongest aspects of this book are the consistently eerie atmosphere and all of the parallels to gothic manor romances like Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, Mexican Gothic, or Jane Eyre. House of Roots and Ruin fits in perfectly with these classics!

The other aspect that I loved was Alex. I loved him from the very beginning and yay for more fantasy novels with disability representation!

I found the early middle of the book to be a little slow and dragged out a bit. The plot is great - exciting and mysterious, so I never lost interest.

But about halfway through, the plot really sped up! That’s when some really exciting events unfold! And while I wanted things to progress a bit faster early on, I think the slower pace did compliment the chilling atmosphere.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t crazy about Verity as an MC. Sometimes I felt like she was too naive and didn’t take enough precautions. Other times, she felt stubbornly blind about events in the story, refusing to consider what was in front of her. She is a bit quick to her own conclusions. These aspects made it a little hard to relate to her.

All in all, this was a great read - super creepy and thrilling - a perfect book for spooky autumn reading!

Was this review helpful?

Dark and twisting, I never knew what to expect from this story. I thought I knew where the plot was going, and I did guess at several of the main twists. But that ending! An excellent sequel to House of Salt and Sorrows.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of House of Roots and Ruin! I love stepping into a complex, dark fantasy, and this novel did not disappoint. This is a sequel, the follow up to House of Salt and Sorrows, and takes place twelve years after those events, which still have an effect on the characters. I love that this book took on a darker, more mysterious and Gothic feel. If you haven't read Erin Craig's other novels, definitely get started so you can read her latest, which I think is her best yet!

Was this review helpful?

Set twelve years after the House of Salt and Sorrows, this sequel follows youngest Thaumus sister, Verity, now a young woman living a sheltered life in her sister's household at Highmoor. Verity wants to have an adventurous life, but her sister wants to protect her because Verity is still being haunted, only she doesn't know it. After an early reveal of this information, Verity runs off to accept a job as an artist in Bloem, painting a portrait of a young man. The house she finds herself in is even more creepy than the one in the first book, and she isn't sure who to trust.

This story was so atmospheric! A creepy gothic fantasy that kept me guessing until the very end. I genuinely gasped at the ending, and I hope the author writes more in this series.

Was this review helpful?

Erin Craig has done it again! There's nothing she can't do. She's easily one of my very favorite YA authors, and horror authors in general. There's nobody else that can do what she can do in terms of creating the claustrophobic atmosphere, incredible worldbuilding, complex characters, and a plot that just won't quit in terms of twists and turns. She kept me on my toes the entire time.

I think this book works well as a stand-alone, but it means even more to those of us who have loved House of Salt and Sea so much that they still think about it every day, even though they read it several years ago. (I recommend that book to everybody that I think will love it).

This book takes a darker spin than her other two, in my opinion. While there isn't anything a mature eighth grader couldn't handle, it does feature a scene or two where a few of the characters get hot-and-heavy (nothing beyond intense kissing), but where the darkness lies is in the world-building Craig creates. There are descriptions of ghastly creatures that could turn stomachs of squeamish readers, and there are some gory moments as well. But overall, her use of plants and science was fascinating, her created world was so intricate and beautiful, and I wanted to wrap Verity in my arms and giver her a big hug several times throughout the book.

The world she has created here is dark and scary, but her characters are full of love and light. It's a rare and special thing Craig is able to do, but she does it with glorious perfection that isn't done nearly as well by anybody else. Everything about this book was pure, luscious magic, and the darkness was perfectly done. There was mystery, ghosts, scary moments, but all of it felt done just right.

Let me also just say that the very last sentence of the epilogue has me hoping for another book in this world, which is just fine with me, because the way Erin Craig writes makes me never want to leave it.

Was this review helpful?

I loved how Verity took control of her life and knew what she wanted to do and go where she wanted. However events from book one still have an effect and I loved the mystery and the immersion that Erin Craig weaved.

Was this review helpful?

Erin A. Craig does it again. She has become an auto request for me. I loved House of Salt and Sorrows and was super excited to get a sequel. Can’t wait to read her next book!

Was this review helpful?

Book 2 of the Sisters of Salt and other than the same sweeping gothic setting and the sisters (of course) this book is drastically different than book one.
This time around does involve some more intense psychology and gaslighting. Saying there are trust issues doesn't even cover it! And there is also some "sensuality" and "awakening" in this one in case you are on the fence if thinking this age appropriate for the YA readers in your life. sixteen? yes, thirteen? parental discretion.
Then there is reading it just for sweeping and epic way the author integrates all the readers sense. The smell of the salty sea, hard to see in the dimly lit rooms, your skin damp from the weather, the ache in your bones. Beautiful gothic tale for all ages.

Was this review helpful?

Content warning: body horror, murder, drugging, poisoning, suggestion of sexual assault

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

It's been a few years since I read HOUSE OF SALT AND SORROWS, so I was curious to see how easy it would be to step back into this world, and if I was going to be lost since I didn't remember much about the plot. Craig does an excellent job of subtly recapping readers with the important information they'll need in order to understand this older version of Verity. I do wish more of the Thaumas sisters were featured in this novel, though understand why the focus was on Verity.

Craig excels as building the level of creepy as the plot progresses and while this one started off a little slow for me, once things started happening in Bloem, it was hard to put down... and things get bonkers in Bloem. Just when I thought I knew where the plot twists would end, Craig would throw another one in. There were a handful of times when I was internally screaming at Verity and Alex how it was frustrating that they couldn't see what was happening, but it was fun in this type of novel to know something the characters don't as they try to work things out. And while I saw the ending coming... HOW DARE YOU ERIN A. CRAIG leave readers with THAT ending. I'm sincerely hoping there will be a third novel in this series that starts off where this one leaves off because... I have QUESTIONS.

Honestly, I LOVED the first book in this series so I was very excited for this one and while it's good... for me it just didn't have the quite the same gothic magic of the first. This one was more disturbing and unsettling given Gerard’s experiments.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Atmospheric and oh so spooky!!! Wonderful sequel, waiting with bated breath for any info on the third, there HAS to be a third! Fa-reaking out!!!!!!

Was this review helpful?

The grip this story had on me was insane. I don’t read a whole lot of horror/suspense, but I absolutely adored the taste in this book. At first I tried so hard to figure out the plot twists, but failed so badly I gave up about half way through and just let myself be immersed into the world. Comparatively (to Salt & Sorrow), this book was a little less “creepy” and quite a bit more sad. I really enjoyed the setting especially, I kept picturing the house from Crimson Peak.

Was this review helpful?