House Of Roots And Ruin By: Erin A. Craig

 

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A modern masterpiece, this is a classic Gothic thriller-fantasy from 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. . . .

 I finally got my hands on this baby. And it is a beautiful baby at that haha. I wound up with the B&N copy with the gorgeous purple sprayed edges. And between that and the beautiful inside cover and flower printed chapter headers. I loved flipping through the pages.

I went back and did a re-read of House of Salt and Sorrow before starting this one. It had been an age since I had gotten my hands on the ARC of it (Back in 2019) and I really wanted to refresh myself before I tried to jump back into this world. And I'm delighted I did. There were so many small details I forgot. (I think, in theory, you could read each of these as a stand-alone. But I think they are better when read together)

And going back to remember things that may or may not play a part in this new story was something I was glad I did. Plus I just really enjoyed just seeing all the things I missed my first read-through.

The world that both books are set in, is such a creepy and dark one at times. And as Craig did in HOSAS, this book left me guessing until the very last page. It had so many twists and turns, and even when I thought I had one figured out... She would hit me with a whole different twist. Or spin things from that point in a way I didn't expect it to continue going.

Verity was an interesting character. One that I found myself immediately loving. (Shocker I know, me, actually liking a FMC haha)

But I really did like her. She was complex and fierce when she wanted to be. And seeing her discover herself and find that inner strength after so much tragedy in her life. It made for a very intricate and interesting arc as her story progressed.

And then let's talk about Alex. I adored this boy from the start. He was the sweetest and kindest person. And treated Verity in a way that helped her grow and find herself, but also was sweet and romantic. And gave me all the good fuzzy feelings. And oh man. The rest of his story is so interesting and absolutely crazy. But I won't go into details so I don't ruin that part of the story for anyone.

But let's talk about the craziness that happens in this book in general. There are some absolutely insane moments and some characters that may actually be crazy. And Craig did a spectacular job of riding the line between creepy and just plain dark.

I cannot suggest this more to anyone who likes a little sinister and eerie.

I give HOUSE OF ROOTS AND RUIN

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5 STARS⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard By: Megan Clawson

I need to give Avon a huge thank you for sending out the ARC for this one. They are always so accommodating to bloggers and really show us so much support and love.

And I need to apologize that this review came out as late as it did. I was not in a good place when I tried to read this book the first time. And all of that has changed. And I am so glad I jumped into this one now.

Love is in the heir in this royally good rom com debut releasing in Spring 2023 – perfect for anyone who likes relatable heroines (with great hair), hot and aloof book boyfriends (with great hats), near misses, almost kisses and a corgi or two.

Despite living in an actual castle, happily ever after is evading Margaret ‘Maggie’ Moore.

From her bedroom in the Tower of London, twenty-six-year-old Maggie has always dreamed of her own fairy-tale ending.

Yet this is twenty-first century London, so instead of knights on white horses, she has catfish on Tinder. And with her last relationship ending in spectacular fashion, she swears off men for good.

And then a chance encounter with Royal Guard Freddie forces Maggie to admit that she isn’t ready to give up on love just yet… But how do you catch the attention of someone who is trained to ignore all distractions?

Can she snare that true love’s first kiss… or is she royally screwed?

A right royal rom com, perfect for fans of Red, White and Royal Blue and The Royal We.
 

I'm so sad it took me so long to finally pick this beauty up. I had received a review copy of it back a few months ago. And could just never get in the right head space to pick it up. Sadly I struggled so much that I blew past the publication date. And now 2 months after release I'm finally able to pick it up and enjoy it. And man. I honestly adored this book.

It was so fluffing cute.

The story was had a good mix of lightheartedness while also not afraid to get into some deeper more complex emotions too. And just overall made for this adorable rollercoaster ride. These characters got up to so many fun antics that had me giggling the whole story. But also many times I was ready to want to smack a few of them haha. I loved the slow burn romance, and the date of the week style set up that got going. And how they could go epically wrong or right so quickly. There was such quick whit and comedy through the whole story.

And I can't explain how happy it made me to have a book I didn't want to put down. And literally didn't until I was done.

My new work schedule means I've been staying up a little later then usual part of the week. And with me finally after so long having the urge to pick up books, I picked this baby up at like 10PM yesterday. I didn't set it down until about 8Am this morning. And it seems so silly to be excited about pulling an all nighter reading a book smack in the middle of the week at 30. But it has literally been 3 years since I have wanted to hardly even touch a book (Especially a physical book and not just an audio). And I almost cried I was so happy that I fell into this one so fast and wholeheartedly. It really was the perfect mix of romance, comedy, and silliness.

So obviously. This book also had the best characters! I mean like every single one of them. They were funny and dynamic, even the despicable ones were written in such a way you truly despised them and their antics. And the moments of romantic tension between characters gave me all the warm fuzzies.

I wasn't sure what to think of Maggie at the start of the book. She was definitely quirky and funny. But I feel like Clawson may have tried to go a  little too hard with that personality at the beginning. I already have such a rough track record with female characters. I either love them or hate them with not  a lot of gray space between. And I was preparing myself to suck it up and deal with a lot of eye rolling. But then by the second or third chapter all those reservations were gone. And I absolutely loved her and her crazy antics. And even found myself relating to her, especially when she would have these moments dealing with anxiety and dating fear. Because lord is that, and was that me haha.

I also really liked Maggie's relationship with all of the people at the Tower. She gave me all the feels with her interactions with the Ravenmaster and the Beefeaters. Especially with her dad and his close friends. It really warmed my heart all the interactions they had, and how much love and respect they all had for each other. I would want those old men on my side any day.

And I can't forget all the laughs when her and her newfound rowdy King's Guard brood got together. I loved the fast friendship and comradery they had. Like the craziest batch of older brothers a girl could ask for.

She just has such good chemistry between so many of these characters.

And then there's Freddie... Such an infuriating man! 😡😡

I wanted to just reach into this book and give him a good smack haha. He was so sweet and kind. And so protective and caring. But he was so secretive, and worried to be himself. And just UHGGG!! So infuriating haha.

I understood his reasons. But that building tension did nothing for my poor little heart.

Even as infuriating as he was, I immediately was drawn to him. He had spunk and sass. And it was his little moments of support but goofiness that made me love him so much. That and the ghosts (IYKYK)

I really truly loved this book though. It was a light easy read that had me laughing so many times. And had some very very good characters that made feel all the feels. I would suggest anyone that likes a good British Romance to grab this one. You will love it!!!

💗💗

I give FALLING HARD FOR THE ROYAL GUARD

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5 STARS⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐