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A review by hereiskyra
Master of Salt & Bones by Keri Lake
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
I tend to love or hate stories that go back and forth in time. It took a while but this one was worth it! Going back and getting Lucians story was really half of the plot but it was also integral to seeing why he is the way he is and piecing together the mystery that is his life.
But honestly, all I could think for a while was that this story was going to be a whole lot of “well my daddy is a sadist so now I’m a sadist… it’s genetic 🤷🏻♀️” but it really wasn’t that type of vibe. His reputation was earned but he wasn’t quite the devil everyone thought. The circumstances of his life and every relationship he had were things that would’ve driven most people mad.
Isadora wasn’t my favorite character who ever existed, but she was brave and somewhat relateable (minus the musical prodigy thing). She came from not so great circumstances and she was thrown in to some pretty bad situations and had to make tough choices at a young age. I really appreciated how mature she was since we had such a large age gap. Nothing like trauma to age you!
The angst and the tension between these two was fantastic. And the forbidden aspect and his particular… tastes? were something completely out of the ordinary.
This still had a gothic, dark vibe and it enhanced the book so much. The description for this beautiful home and cove are forever going to be some of my favorites, too.
Tropes:
Age gap
Tortured Hero
Forbidden
Morally Grey MMC
Gothic
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
But honestly, all I could think for a while was that this story was going to be a whole lot of “well my daddy is a sadist so now I’m a sadist… it’s genetic 🤷🏻♀️” but it really wasn’t that type of vibe. His reputation was earned but he wasn’t quite the devil everyone thought. The circumstances of his life and every relationship he had were things that would’ve driven most people mad.
Isadora wasn’t my favorite character who ever existed, but she was brave and somewhat relateable (minus the musical prodigy thing). She came from not so great circumstances and she was thrown in to some pretty bad situations and had to make tough choices at a young age. I really appreciated how mature she was since we had such a large age gap. Nothing like trauma to age you!
The angst and the tension between these two was fantastic. And the forbidden aspect and his particular… tastes? were something completely out of the ordinary.
This still had a gothic, dark vibe and it enhanced the book so much. The description for this beautiful home and cove are forever going to be some of my favorites, too.
Tropes:
Age gap
Tortured Hero
Forbidden
Morally Grey MMC
Gothic
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail