Verity Thaumas is now 17 with no memory of the terrible night when a fire swept through their grand Highmoor home of generations, when she was only 5. She also doesn’t remember the loss of some of her 11 sisters when she was young, or the terrible grief of that time.

What she has brought throughout her life from that time is her skill at drawing and now, painting. Now back in a rebuilt Highmoor and living with her eldest sister Camille (the Duchess of the Salaan islands) Verity spends her time looking after her nieces and nephews. The older she gets the more she yearns for a life her elder sisters have had. Balls and parties, meeting people and finally beaus and suitors and hopefully marriage.

But Camille seems to be set on keeping her youngest sister at Highmoor, making excuses every year for not attending the events that would introduce Verity to Society.

There is a reason, and Camille is finally forced into admitting it. Verity is shocked and can scarcely believe it, and when an opportunity to finally leave arises, she flees her family home.

She has been offered a place in the home of Duchess Bloem, while she paints the Duchess’ son’s portrait. His father the Duke of Bloem is an accomplished botanist, producing flowers unique to the world, and in Bloem, flowers and plants rule as much as the sea and salt rule in Verity’s world.

The son (Alexander) is charming, handsome and thoughtful, and Verity warms to him quickly. Spending time with him helps push aside her worries about what Camille must think after she ran away. The Duchess is incredibly generous with her time and wealth, and Verity begins to love her time in their grand home.

The only thing Verity struggles with is her broken sleep almost every night. Peacocks are said to roam the grounds, and their screams constantly pull Verity from her dreams. Soon, the very thing she fled from shows itself at her new surroundings. Was her sister Camille right? Is she going mad?

The preliminary sketches of the portrait are going well, and she’s enjoying Alexander’s easy ways immensely. In fact she believes he might have feelings for her. But the deeper their romance develops, the more eerie Alexander’s home becomes. There’s something not right at the Bloem estate. In fact, there might be something truly terrible behind the facade of flowers and fragrances…

A gripping sequel to House of Salt and Sorrows!

Although a key character in House of Salt and Sorrows, Verity was only 5 years old. Now she is 17 and in charge of her own destiny – whether her sisters like it or not. It does take some time to get into the thick of things in House of Roots and Ruin, but the world building behind this new way of life away from the sea is an enjoyable journey.

It is a rich world of flowers, fragrances, herbs, gods, customs, practices and foods that Verity must learn while she stays with her employer, to complete a portrait of their son. It certainly helps that he’s handsome, kind and funny, and Verity feels she may have found what she’s been yearning for for years.

The gradual getting to know this family sets up the shocking reveals that are to come for Verity and the reader, and the fallout becomes more gruesome the deeper and further you read.

Learning of a third book in the Sisters of the Salt series (2027?) is incredibly exciting! Can’t wait!

Author – Erin A Craig

Age – 15+

Publisher – Bloomsbury

Set – Highmoor Estate on Fictional Selkirk Island

Viewpoint – 3rd person

Violence – Yes

Sex – No

Real Life – Historical

Fantasy – Fantasy

Blend – Fantasy / Romance / Fairytale Retelling sequel

(2023, Bloomsbury, Series, Fantasy, Love, Romance, Historical, Sibling Rivalry, Revenge, Murder, Ghost, Family, Betrayal, Flowers, Experiments, Secrets, Reveals, Mistresses)