I'm so impressed with the writing I can't remember a moment where I was bored out of my brains because the writing is so immersive and does an excellent job at keeping me engaged with the story. I love that there is a tinge of Beauty and the Beast and Phantom of the Opera dynamic in the romance. Lucian is a scarred hero while Isa is a a heroine thrust into his dark world and brings light to it despite both being broken souls. 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. I loved the cover (yes, I stared at it for five minutes straight before reading) and it didn't incite a single feeling in me that would have warned me what this story held. It was twisted, dark and not a usual fairy tale. I don't know why they didn't mention the warnings but they should have. There weren't any major particular details BUT it does mention (superficially) physical, sexual and substance abuse, and BDSM and sadism too but not between Lucian and Isadora (MCs).

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. Master of Salt & Bones' was a chilling, passionate, and consuming dark romance that will leave you believing there's good in everyone, and that even the darkest souls need love.Master of Salt And Bones is a story driven by mystery and suspicion, set in a world where its inhabitants are as calculating as they are cunning. 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. The first 30% of the book was the most disturbing part of the book for me, and I'm glad it took a different direction after it. 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.

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. His words dance around my head, the deep timbre of his voice titillating my senses. "I want to drown in you."

Ryan West

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 highly recommend it to the genre lovers. ( Thriller, psychological thriller, gothic, erotic romance)