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. . . .
Title: House of Roots and Ruin (Sisters of the Salt, #2)
Author: Erin A. Craig
Publication Date: July 25, 2023
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling
Returning to the world of Salt and Sorrows was so exciting! And the fact that book two gave me a new perspective from a new sister was thrilling. In this new book, we explore a new gothic fairytale as Verity tries to figure out what ghosts are still haunting her from her past and future.
I loved learning more about Verity and all the secrets this world still holds. She was an interesting character to hear this story through because she was eager to live her life while still living with so much fear. It was very relatable in a lot of ways, especially when people in her life tried to hold her back.
As always, Craig wrote a fairytale with all the twisted and dark aspects I’ve come to love from her writing. This book is in the gothic vein of Belladonna and The Foxglove King. This series is a must for all gothic fairytale and horror lovers in need of a bittersweet adventure.
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New York Times bestselling author 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, decent quilter, rabid basketball fan, and collector of typewriters, brass figurines, and sparkly shoes, Erin makes her home in West Michigan with her husband and daughter.
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I remember really enjoying HoSaS but I was not ready for how creepy it would be! I didn’t realise the author put out a second book in the series but I’m intrigued! Great review 🙂
Yeah this series definitely has those gothic, horror themes which makes it a little darker than a typical fantasy.