I received a copy of Root, Petal, Thorn as an eARC from the publisher, Kensington Books, and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Root, Petal, Thorn follows the stories of five women who lived in the same house on Downington Avenue in Salt Lake City over the years since it was built, telling the stories that the walls held within them – Emmeline, the young Mormon torn between her heart and anti-polygamist beliefs; Bitsy, a young girl whose family falls apart; Eris, the Greek immigrant during World War II; Lainey, a troubled single mother in the 1960s; and modern-day Ivy Bagren, whose husband has just passed away, leaving her and her children to finish the renovations of this beautiful house. As Ivy works through her grief, she finds little things throughout the house from its previous inhabitants, and begins earnestly researching the history of her home.

The project helps Ivy to work through the loss of her husband, as well as show her that there is still light left in her life. Each of the ladies of the house had their own distinct personalities, and their own losses, but all of them were wonderful characters. My favorite of the characters was probably Lainey, even though her story broke my heart.

Read the full review here!