There was this whooole plotline with this secret society of super powerful men, who studied sadism and how it's apparently genetic and it can be artificially imbeded into one's DNA, and then passed down to their children. Now, I ain't no scientist but this sounds like a whole load of bullshit to me. The slow-burn and build-up towards the culmination of the romance makes it so good that it kept me invested. If at any point while reading this book you think you’ve figured it out, let me tell you that you’re wrong. I don’t think I’ve read a book since Sharp Objects that left me guessing like that to the end. I wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re similar since the main focus of this book is a dark romance, but the suspense and edgy feel I got from this book abound here. The breath of new life. The steady pulse in my veins. The long-awaited beat of a heart that's been dead too long. My kindred flame." I do have one regret about Izzy’s character, and it’s that she didn’t have as much progression as I would have liked to see. Actually, she had a lot of growth overall. What I’m really trying to say is that she didn’t embrace part of herself as much as I hoped she would. Because if she had: dark phoenix rising. My god, did want. So maybe that says more about me than anything else, lol.

The potential in this book was huge, but there was so many wrong things, that just made me lower my rating. Two stars are for the plot, because I finished this book in two days. I only read it because I wanted to know all the secrets from Lucien and his family. Isadora Quinn was a music virtuoso, raised by her aunt after having been abandoned by her drug-addicted mother - her father wasn't in the picture, and Isa didn't know who he was. There was a mystery surrounding her father's identity. While life was better with her aunt, it still wasn't great. The two barely scraped by most days. Isa may have been musically gifted, but she was too poor to leave the lazy seaside town in which she grew up to pursue a career in music. So when a job became available working at the town's only castle, Isa saw it as a way out, even though the town's rumors warned against it. But as soon as she takes her first step to this haunted place, she realizes her life will never be the same. Especially meeting with the dark lord of the mansion and being enchanted by his charismatic power. There was a romantic subplot in there but it was sooo under-developed that I just couldn't feel anything between the characters. ffs the first time they say they love each other is in the epilogue They had no reason for being together, besides the fact that they found the other attractive. I just felt annoyed while reading their scenes together, not that there were many of them. The heart is a dangerous organ that isn’t meant to be free. Why else would God have built a cage for it?”Two broken, secluded, distinguished MCs and their extremely emotional, tragic, heart breaking, angsty, pant melting story!

When you feel dead inside, you inevitably reach for things that make you feel alive. Pain. Adrenaline. Drugs. That’s how vices are born. That’s how you became my obsession. You are what makes me feel alive. Like a breath of air after drowning.” So while I loved this book, I can’t gushingly recommend it like I would with any other five-star read. But if you might be okay with those triggers, then my god do you have one hell of a book to look forward to.What was appealing about this one is it gave me a compelling story that radiated between the past and the present, a cast of complex characters and a delicious slow-burn romance that kept my heart racing. Isadora, or Izzy, our female lead, is from a small fishing village on an island off the Massachusetts coast, much like Martha’s Vineyard, and thanks to her lineage, she’s something of a pariah. Lord, did I relate to her. There were also a lot of other things in this book that I just can't place in the above-mentioned categories. About a week ago, I wrote an article devoted to Gothic Romance because I think it’s a very underrated and undersaturated subgenre right now, and I’d like to see that change. After drafting it, I bought nearly every title on the list, and now I plan to work my way through them.

This book is most definitely not for everyone, WARNING very strong topics of abusive of every kind and could be triggering for some. Very graphic, I had to skim some parts. So go in with caution. As characters both Lucian and Isa were quite interesting. But like I mentioned above, there were so many unnecessary scenes that ate from their character development. Also the plot got so dramatic so fast, and while some of the revelations had me wowed, most of them were simply too much, too dramatic.

There are dangerous secrets lurking in every dark corner. And the man that warns her off with every sharp bite of his temper holds the darkest secrets of all. He pushes when she pulls, and then he pulls when she pushes. Theirs is an intricate seductive dance of forbidden and dangerously alluring. Isa is everything that Lucian doesn't deserve and can't have, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't temp him beyond reason. She's too young, but only in years. Hers is an old soul that has survived too much in her young life. But there's something more that binds them. Something more dangerous. Something darker. Something that Lucian already knows he craves and Isa is only figuring out. Honestly, the writing style was so captivating. Seeing Lucian’s past and the things that led him to the man he is now gave her a glimpse of the rugged and uncompromising personality he portrays. Master of Salt & Bones was a book that I thought I would like.. but then ended hating. Loathing. Honestly, if I never saw this book ever again - I would be extremely happy. In it, you will meet two horrible people: Lucian and Isadora. He is the typical alpha asshole and she is something special. I guess?