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avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
You may not like this book if you are a fundamentalist Christian, as it deals with some of the hypocrisy of a fictional pastor, I'm sure modeled after some real ones. It also deals with an incorrectly labeled fictional Wiccan sect which was much more Satanist than true Wicca.
That being said it was an excellent book, in my opinion, very dark, but a good romantic thriller. However, the end left me unsatisfied. I'd have liked an epilogue of what happened to the town after, and if the MCs made it through.
I found the journey enjoyable, and it had some unpredictable twists. Overall, an excellent book.
Narrator Rating: 4.25 stars
Well the narrator did a good job, she didn't do enough tonal shifts for different characters' voices.
That being said it was an excellent book, in my opinion, very dark, but a good romantic thriller. However, the end left me unsatisfied. I'd have liked an epilogue of what happened to the town after, and if the MCs made it through.
I found the journey enjoyable, and it had some unpredictable twists. Overall, an excellent book.
Narrator Rating: 4.25 stars
Well the narrator did a good job, she didn't do enough tonal shifts for different characters' voices.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Gaslighting, Violence, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Grief, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Misogyny, Murder, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Racism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Body horror, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Vomit, Addiction, Abortion, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, and Medical trauma
The graphic animal cruelty & animal death were not too drawn out and at the start of the book. The other animal death wasn't on the page, just some parts with talk or one of the characters having a dead animal (snake and deer).teganbeesebooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Classism, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Abortion, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry
rustlngpages's review against another edition
a myriad of reasons but i have a specific trigger for fundamentalists that makes me physically agitated & anxious, and the twilight undercurrent was ridiculous. i was just too stressed to keep reading. it was written just fine but if you have issues with fundamentalism and extreme misogyny… maybe give it a pass.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Drug use, and Bullying
Minor: Addiction and Sexual violence
alindeman's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Wow. Just wow. It’s only January but this may just be the best book of 2024.
Every aspect of this book is so fucking compelling. The investigation, the cult that is Christianity, the impact of patriarchy, Ruth’s war within herself, Ruth & Ever’s relationship, and most importantly, the discussion around morality.
This is executed with *immense* skill and thoughtfulness. Ashley Winstead is an incredible writer and storyteller. I especially liked her responses to the q&a at the end of the book, it’s a great reflection on the overall message and themes of this book. This book reflects on the chains of patriarchy, the control religion wields, and the hypocrisy and cruelty and selfishness of men.
I think this book is so special to me because it reflects the development of my own worldview- that morality is not synonymous with legality and certainly not synonymous with holiness. I loved getting to see Ruth come to this conclusion and the battle that occurs within herself to arrive here- all she has to reject and unlearn. I also loved Everett. The quintessential morally grey antihero. (I hardly consider him an antihero personally tho) He sees himself as this monster the town has painted him to be, this force of evil, when in reality he is removing evil from the world. He talks of the voice in his head, this voice for violence, that is truly a voice for justice. The great criminals of this story are truly the great heroes.
Incredibly powerful, compelling, and inspiring book that I would recommend to anyone and everyone.
I can’t wait to read the rest of her works!
Plot summary (spoilers) for when I forget:
This story takes place in an ultra religious, ultraconservative backwards ass miserable ass town in Louisiana. The story follows Ruth, daughter of the town’s pastor. Naturally, he is an awful, awful man who rules his house (and town) with an iron fist- and wooden cane. Ruth is never good enough, never holy enough for her father. Why? She has dreams. Aspirations. Emotions. She finds refuge in a stolen hidden copy of Twilight. God- what it would be like to be loved like that!
Well she *is* loved like that, not that she knows it. Ruth & Everett’s relationship begins when he saves her from an awful evil man trying to rape Ruth. He attacks him, but the man overpowers him and begins choking him to death. Ruth hits him in the head with a rock to save her savior. He is still alive, but Everett finishes the job, citing a mercy kill. (Was that really the motivation?) they chop his body up and dump him in the swamp for the gators.
Since then, Ever has moved away and returns every summer.
This summer that he returns, a skull has been found in the swap. Ruth is terrified their crime is going to be uncovered. But it turns out the skull does not belong to the man they killed, but the owner of the massive fishing company that employs half the town, that went missing a while back. There are also weird witchy symbols on trees in the swamp.
Then they find the skull of the rapist.
Everett tells Ruth of a local gang called Sons of Liberty that runs drugs, a scheme that Ever’s dead father was a part of. They go into Ever’s dad’s mechanic garage and break into his safe and find a deed to the rapist’s mom’s house, collateral he left to prevent him from stealing the drugs they were running. Ever comes up with a plan to plant this deed at the Sons of Liberty’s den, call in an anonymous tip, and hope the cops would piece together that the gang killed him and they would be off the hook.
They succeed with the plan but no arrests are made. Clearly the cops are covering for the gang.
Ruth goes on a quest to discover the truth of the town. It turns out- everyone is fucking evil, especially her dad. All the men of the town had a little witchy ritualistic thing going on, which involved beating the shit out of Ever. So fucking holy are they. All of this is because there was a big drug scheme. They funneled drugs from the local hospital and the fishing company trafficked them. The rituals were to promote success with this “business endeavor”. All so the reverend could have money for him and his church- something he is “entitled” to as a messenger of god. Puke.
His father even protected a pedophile who was actively abusing children so he could stay in the good graces of his rich ass super powerful father, the owner of the hospital. Who, upon his death, willed the entire hospital to the reverend. SUS.
Ok what else.
The deputy Barry, her supposed to be fiancé, tells Ruth that Ever killed his father, Fred the fishing dude, and the rapist. He’s a serial killer. Well first of all Ruth knows he didn’t kill his dad bc -surprise- Ruth killed his dad to save Ever from his relentless and brutal bearings. Good for her. Unfortunately she’s been bearing this secret and living swamped with guilt, chaining herself to her miserable life in this evil swamp as penance.
She runs to ever and tells him this secret, in exchange for his own. He tells her he knew and he could never hate her for it, she was protecting him. She suspects his secret is that he’s a vampire. Lol. I kinda thought that too ngl. He’s kind of hurt that she put this fantasy onto him. While he isn’t a vampire, he tells her that he is a monster in his own right.
Ever tells her he did kill Fred and the “accidental” death of the pedo wasn’t an accident after all. He is actually the serial killer they’ve been saying he is. Ruth decides this does not make him a monster. The real monster is her father, and justice will be served.
The town is a mob waiting to hang Ever without trial. They make a plan. They walk to the church, where they spot Ever and he leads the mob on a chase into the swamp. Ruth enters the church, where her parents and the fisherman’s wives are. She carries a torch and, as one last test of her fathers goodness, tells him to answer her questions truthfully or she’ll start a fire. She starts questioning him about everything. The drugs. The pedophile. The rituals. The child abuse. He denies it all, tho the fisherman’s wives are scandalized and the damage is probably already been done. With each denial he lights something on fire. She lets the woman go because she decides they shouldn’t be collateral damage. With her last move, she lights the will to the hospital on fire. He begins to choke her and she lights him on fire. She tosses the burning will over the bannister (they’re on a second floor) and he jumps to rescue it, falling to his death. Her and her mom leave the church. The mom lives or whatever but she fucking sucked too. She was a victim but she let her child be abused so fuck her. Anyways- the church is burning to the ground. “The Holy Fire” Baptist Church. How wonderfully symbolic. She escapes to a meeting point where Ever arrives in his car. They are going to escape and be in love and maybe every once in a while kill some bad guys. A few hours outside of town they are pursued by cops attempting to arrest them for arson and murder. They approach a bridge on the Texas border and the cops are raising the bridge. Ruth and Ever decide to brave the jump and hope the car lands on the other side. I like to think it did.
that’s how it ends! So abrupt I was shook.
Every aspect of this book is so fucking compelling. The investigation, the cult that is Christianity, the impact of patriarchy, Ruth’s war within herself, Ruth & Ever’s relationship, and most importantly, the discussion around morality.
This is executed with *immense* skill and thoughtfulness. Ashley Winstead is an incredible writer and storyteller. I especially liked her responses to the q&a at the end of the book, it’s a great reflection on the overall message and themes of this book. This book reflects on the chains of patriarchy, the control religion wields, and the hypocrisy and cruelty and selfishness of men.
I think this book is so special to me because it reflects the development of my own worldview- that morality is not synonymous with legality and certainly not synonymous with holiness. I loved getting to see Ruth come to this conclusion and the battle that occurs within herself to arrive here- all she has to reject and unlearn. I also loved Everett. The quintessential morally grey antihero. (I hardly consider him an antihero personally tho) He sees himself as this monster the town has painted him to be, this force of evil, when in reality he is removing evil from the world. He talks of the voice in his head, this voice for violence, that is truly a voice for justice. The great criminals of this story are truly the great heroes.
Incredibly powerful, compelling, and inspiring book that I would recommend to anyone and everyone.
I can’t wait to read the rest of her works!
Plot summary (spoilers) for when I forget:
Well she *is* loved like that, not that she knows it. Ruth & Everett’s relationship begins when he saves her from an awful evil man trying to rape Ruth. He attacks him, but the man overpowers him and begins choking him to death. Ruth hits him in the head with a rock to save her savior. He is still alive, but Everett finishes the job, citing a mercy kill. (Was that really the motivation?) they chop his body up and dump him in the swamp for the gators.
Since then, Ever has moved away and returns every summer.
This summer that he returns, a skull has been found in the swap. Ruth is terrified their crime is going to be uncovered. But it turns out the skull does not belong to the man they killed, but the owner of the massive fishing company that employs half the town, that went missing a while back. There are also weird witchy symbols on trees in the swamp.
Then they find the skull of the rapist.
Everett tells Ruth of a local gang called Sons of Liberty that runs drugs, a scheme that Ever’s dead father was a part of. They go into Ever’s dad’s mechanic garage and break into his safe and find a deed to the rapist’s mom’s house, collateral he left to prevent him from stealing the drugs they were running. Ever comes up with a plan to plant this deed at the Sons of Liberty’s den, call in an anonymous tip, and hope the cops would piece together that the gang killed him and they would be off the hook.
They succeed with the plan but no arrests are made. Clearly the cops are covering for the gang.
Ruth goes on a quest to discover the truth of the town. It turns out- everyone is fucking evil, especially her dad. All the men of the town had a little witchy ritualistic thing going on, which involved beating the shit out of Ever. So fucking holy are they. All of this is because there was a big drug scheme. They funneled drugs from the local hospital and the fishing company trafficked them. The rituals were to promote success with this “business endeavor”. All so the reverend could have money for him and his church- something he is “entitled” to as a messenger of god. Puke.
His father even protected a pedophile who was actively abusing children so he could stay in the good graces of his rich ass super powerful father, the owner of the hospital. Who, upon his death, willed the entire hospital to the reverend. SUS.
Ok what else.
The deputy Barry, her supposed to be fiancé, tells Ruth that Ever killed his father, Fred the fishing dude, and the rapist. He’s a serial killer. Well first of all Ruth knows he didn’t kill his dad bc -surprise- Ruth killed his dad to save Ever from his relentless and brutal bearings. Good for her. Unfortunately she’s been bearing this secret and living swamped with guilt, chaining herself to her miserable life in this evil swamp as penance.
She runs to ever and tells him this secret, in exchange for his own. He tells her he knew and he could never hate her for it, she was protecting him. She suspects his secret is that he’s a vampire. Lol. I kinda thought that too ngl. He’s kind of hurt that she put this fantasy onto him. While he isn’t a vampire, he tells her that he is a monster in his own right.
Ever tells her he did kill Fred and the “accidental” death of the pedo wasn’t an accident after all. He is actually the serial killer they’ve been saying he is. Ruth decides this does not make him a monster. The real monster is her father, and justice will be served.
The town is a mob waiting to hang Ever without trial. They make a plan. They walk to the church, where they spot Ever and he leads the mob on a chase into the swamp. Ruth enters the church, where her parents and the fisherman’s wives are. She carries a torch and, as one last test of her fathers goodness, tells him to answer her questions truthfully or she’ll start a fire. She starts questioning him about everything. The drugs. The pedophile. The rituals. The child abuse. He denies it all, tho the fisherman’s wives are scandalized and the damage is probably already been done. With each denial he lights something on fire. She lets the woman go because she decides they shouldn’t be collateral damage. With her last move, she lights the will to the hospital on fire. He begins to choke her and she lights him on fire. She tosses the burning will over the bannister (they’re on a second floor) and he jumps to rescue it, falling to his death. Her and her mom leave the church. The mom lives or whatever but she fucking sucked too. She was a victim but she let her child be abused so fuck her. Anyways- the church is burning to the ground. “The Holy Fire” Baptist Church. How wonderfully symbolic. She escapes to a meeting point where Ever arrives in his car. They are going to escape and be in love and maybe every once in a while kill some bad guys. A few hours outside of town they are pursued by cops attempting to arrest them for arson and murder. They approach a bridge on the Texas border and the cops are raising the bridge. Ruth and Ever decide to brave the jump and hope the car lands on the other side. I like to think it did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, and Sexism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Murder, Violence, Trafficking, Child abuse, and Rape
Minor: Abortion, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy
rtruscot's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Addiction, Mental illness, Abandonment, Death, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Fire/Fire injury
cuddlygryphon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Cursing, Rape, Sexual content, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, and Death of parent
tbrplaylist's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
amanda_reads13's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
In the small town of Bottom Springs, religion and the local pastor run everything. When a skull is found in the swamp and "pagan" symbols are carved in trees nearby, the town panics thinking that a supernatural being is responsible. Everyone in the town turns to the Pastor for guidance. That is, everyone except his own daughter, Ruth, and her outcast BFF, Everett.
This one just didn't live up to my expectations. The plot seemed extremely interesting, but it just didn't come together for me. There was too much going on in this book. The romance, plus supernatural beliefs, cults, murder, coverups, drug running, investigations... It was a lot. The cult angle could have been so interesting, it just fell flat and felt very surface level. Why not delve more into that? Why bring up this supernatural element too? I think overall it was pretty predictable and didn't pull me in.
It was pretty easy to figure out that these men were in on the drug running. The whole cult aspect seemed to be an afterthought. I mean, they weren't really in a cult, they were just a group of abusive, greedy misogynistic, and superstitious men who were running drugs out of the local hospital. It also wasn't very surprising that Ruth killed his dad or that Everett was the killer. I mean they both have some serious issues from their fucked up childhood.
This one just didn't live up to my expectations. The plot seemed extremely interesting, but it just didn't come together for me. There was too much going on in this book. The romance, plus supernatural beliefs, cults, murder, coverups, drug running, investigations... It was a lot. The cult angle could have been so interesting, it just fell flat and felt very surface level. Why not delve more into that? Why bring up this supernatural element too? I think overall it was pretty predictable and didn't pull me in.
The back and forth between Ruth and Everett was very frustrating. Her obsession with Twilight was really weird, like she couldn't distinguish reality from a book. They weren't very well developed characters and I just didn't really care about what happened to them.
Tropes: friends to lovers, cult, small town
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Misogyny
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