Master of Salt & Bones

De: Keri Lake

Narrado por: Stefanie Kay, Ryan West

Meet the Devil of Blackthorne Manor.

When I was a little girl, I dreamed a handsome knight would come and rescue me from my wretched mother. He'd ride up on his white steed and break the curse I've been fated to carry since the day I was born.

Funny how things changed over time, how the fairytale twisted into something far more crooked—and darker—than I ever imagined.

In reality, my knight is scarred and broken, living alone in a castle of bones that overlooks the sea. He isn’t searching for me. He never was.

Lucian Blackthorne is as cursed as I am, and equally shunned by the locals, the fishers of men, who believe him to be the devil in the flesh.

Perhaps he is, with the way his amber eyes draw me in, ignite me like an infernal blaze. And the sins he whispers in my ear are as wickedly intoxicating as the man himself.

Yet, his touch is heaven and his will is my weakness.

He calls us forbidden, an unsalvageable tragedy, with no happy end. Maybe we are. But in this story, he’s the one who needs saving.

Master of Salt & Bones is a dark, modern gothic contemporary standalone romance.

©2020 Keri Lake (P)2023 Podium Audio

Needs trigger warnings

To be honest, I did not know what I was getting into with this book. I had read dark romances before but apparently, they were on the lighter side of dark.

At first, I found it difficult to get into. I did not see any trigger warnings for the book when I downloaded the audiobook. I have reread the description and still do not see any. I would have been more prepared if there had been some. I found a lot of it disturbing and depressing. I am not sure if I would have chosen to listen to this book if there had been appropriate trigger warnings.

That said, after I finally got into it, I really got into it. Can someone tell me why these broken, damaged, usually cruel, and domineering men are so attractive in these tales? At first, I was put off by the main male character but, by the time someone's tongue was being cut out in the story, I was hooked. He is a possessive, controlling, and jealous individual. It works well in this story.

The main female character is interesting to me. Her personality was a bit dark and sarcastic, which I love. She was young and the author wrote her as a bit mature for her age but not unbelievably so. I found many of her actions to be something that someone with her background and personality would believably choose to do. If that makes sense.

I read a review that said this is a disgusting story. I didn't think so. It has graphic sex scenes and some non-vanilla scenes. If that makes it disgusting to someone, then they shouldn't be reading dark romance!

All in all, I enjoyed the book. It had triggering events and made me tear up a time or two. I found myself rooting for the relationship, even if the main male character is a bit of an a**h*le. There was enough action and twists that it kept me interested all the way to the end.

Would I recommend it? Only to those who enjoy a bit of depravity and darkness in their romances. Oh, and lewd language and graphic sex scenes! To people who enjoy books like that, I definitely recommend this. To those that don't, I would say stay away or read it knowing what you are getting into and not leave bad reviews because it isn't the type of book you enjoy. That's just silly.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I don’t know what I was expecting when I started this audiobook, but it wasn’t THAT!

THE MASTER OF SALT & BONES by Keri Lake is such a well-written book that keeps you guessing until the very end.

This dark, slow burn romance is beautifully intertwined with mystery & suspense.

Isadora is such a bad@ss, Lucian steals your soul, both have backstories that break your heart 💔

Phantom of the Opera in a Gothic Mansion

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶

This book gave me all the vibes that I didn't know I was looking for. Phantom of the Opera meets Jane Eyre, set in a modern gothic mansion by the sea.

* Age Gap
* Forbidden Romance
* Boss/Employee
* Secret Society
* Hidden Pasts

I had to sit with this one for a while before posting a review, and I still can't seem to get my thoughts in order. Almost nothing is what it seems. When I thought I had things all figured out, something unexpected showed me I hadn't thought of everything.

The darkness, the trauma, the undeniable chemistry and passion between Isadora and Lucien = 🤌🏻💋

There is a grocery list of potentially triggering themes and topics that should be taken seriously before heading into the book. CSA among them, so be aware.

It was angsty, it was dark, it was spicy, it was a RIDE. I can't wait to read more from this author.

* I read this via audio and the narration was SO good, especially for Lucien. 🔥

Great Readers!

the readers both did a great job with this. Sometimes I find the voices of the readers annoying when they try to do different characters/ genders but both of these readers did a great job. The story is fun, a little dark and thrilling.

Everything about this was amazing

Love absolutely everything about this book!! Can’t wait to listen to more from this author!

uff da!

you will not want to turn this one off and shocking plot twist all the way. great listen

So good

I absolutely loved the passion and dark obsession of this book! for myself it was a little out of my normal however it will most definitely be my new normal.

This was a crazy ride!

So this was a crazy read! I have never read a psychological thriller mixed with a romance before but I really loved it! I honestly think this is what I have been looking for in my thrillers!

This is a dark dark book though so please read the TWs that I will list below. That being said, there were so many amazing twists and turns, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I also really enjoyed the love story and that people are not what they seem both good and bad.

My only complaint was that it was a little slow in the middle and I don’t always love dual timelines.

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
TW: Child death, child abuse, rape, torture, breath play (there might be more but I can’t remember 😬)

Read this if you like:
👺 A Morally grey hero
👺 Dual POV and timelines
👺 Secret Societies

Absolutely amazing

This novel is extremely well written! The plot and the ups and downs and twists are incredible! The narrators did an amazing job at bringing the story to life!

Love Keri lake

This was better than infernium but not as good as nokticadia I love her writing style and the 🌶️