Official Review: Upon the Altar of Roots and Rocks

[mlh6fn]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Upon the Altar of Roots and Rocks" by Christine Ayer.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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When Ella Cassidy receives the news of her estranged grandmother’s passing, she decides to move to Scotland to run her late grandmother’s tea shop and, hopefully, discover more about herself and her family history. Upon arriving in this small Scottish village, Ella meets the locals who seem to know more about her past than she does, especially the mysterious Scotsman Trond Murray. Upon the Altar of Roots and Rocks by Christine Ayer is a tale of loss and love with an idyllic Scottish backdrop that focuses on the hope found in new beginnings.

I like the themes of loss and growth that this story emphasizes, but they are often left without being fully realized by the characters. For example, there are recurring themes set to bring together narratives about breaking the generational cycle of addiction and about the connection Trond has to two characters with addictions in his past and present. However, the numerous accounts of addiction and abuse in this story are used as props for the main characters’ tragic backstories rather than as a catalyst for meaningful dialogue on the lasting impact addiction has had on their lives.

When Trond discovers that Ella is a recovering alcoholic after she has just relapsed, he doesn’t react in a way that reflects his experience of having a loved one who succumbed to addiction. We never see Trond reflect on those parallels and what it means for him to pursue a relationship with someone with a history of addiction. This disconnect is an example of the struggle with characterization found in this novel. The main characters don’t feel like real people because the growth and change we see in them over time is minimal. What changes they do undergo are told to us rather than shown, which makes the conclusions the characters come to less believable.

My biggest issue with this story revolves around Trond’s disability. At first, I was excited to see that the main romantic interest appeared to have a disability. However, in the beginning, the descriptions of his disability are used to dehumanize and villainize Trond. As Ella interacts with him and learns more about his history, Trond’s injuries appear to come and go based on what is convenient for the scene. When Ella sees him more as a hero and less as a villain, his disability becomes less apparent in or completely disappears from his descriptions and actions. There is never any reflection or discussion around his disability except when it represents his tragic past and current isolation.

There was a lot of potential in this story to discuss grief and finding yourself and love after loss, but this novel needs to undergo more rounds of editing before it can fully realize those concepts. There were many errors and some narrative inconsistencies, some of which affected my comprehension. Because of this, I rate Upon the Altar of Roots and Rocks 1 out of 4 stars. It feels disrespectful to rate this book any higher while it perpetuates the harmful characterization of disabilities as dehumanizing that is so common in media. I see a lot of inspiration for this story come from "Beauty and the Beast", so if that’s a narrative that you enjoy, this book may be of interest to you. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough development in this story and its characters to win me over.

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Upon the Altar of Roots and Rocks
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[kandscreeley]

Well, you had me at Scotland and a tea shop, but then you lost me. I hope the author cleans this up because it's something I would eventually like to read. Thanks.

[mlh6fn]

Well, you had me at Scotland and a tea shop, but then you lost me. I hope the author cleans this up because it's something I would eventually like to read. Thanks.

The potential was definitely there! I could never say no to a romance set in a Scottish tea shop, so I hope this story goes through some revisions and has a second chance. Thanks!

[ElisaCr]

The setting and characters sounded like they had potential it's unfortunate that the book didn't live up to it. Would definitely be interested in a book with a similar setting/characters that was better handled.

[mlh6fn]

The setting and characters sounded like they had potential it's unfortunate that the book didn't live up to it. Would definitely be interested in a book with a similar setting/characters that was better handled.

Agreed! I'm still on the look out for a cute Scottish tea shop romance to scratch the itch this book left. Thanks!

[Naaya123]

It’s sad to come across a book that has potential to be a great one, but isn’t. I do really enjoy these types of themes, so I might give it a chance one day. Thank you for the wonderful review!