raincorbyn's review
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.5
Incredible folk horror, that captures grief and the longing for answers, context, and control, like little else I've read. Devastating from beginning to end.
priscillabettis's review
dark
sad
slow-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
Abel is a grave digger. He’s careful to follow the rules surrounding death. You must cover the mirrors, for example. But when grief strikes his own life, the pain is so intense the rules are hard to follow. The story is horror, but it’s not scary or slasher horror; it’s full of dread and existential terror.
I loved that the book took a turn I didn’t see coming. (Looking back, I should have seen it coming, but I was just too lost in Abel’s story.) I thought everything was going to stay in the folk horror genre, especially surrounding the Festival of Stones. I was wonderfully wrong.
Almost Ruth is actually two novellas. The second one, Wake Up, is connected to the first, and acts as a backstory to Almost Ruth. Don’t skip it. It makes the characters’ stories more meaningful.
As for any negatives, a couple of awkwardly worded sentences made me stumble, but only a couple, seriously, as in two. No stars off.
I enjoyed reading Almost Ruth both for the story and the prose. Jones’ prose is slow but intense, like an explosion in slow motion. It’s impossible not to be mesmerized.
I read Almost Ruth through Kindle Unlimited.
kirstycarson1's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jonnymagnum's review
dark
emotional
sad
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
5.0
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