A review by books_by_the_bottle
Midnight Is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead
5.0
Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider in her small hometown. As the daughter of the town’s preacher, she has spent her whole life under pressure to behave a certain way. That includes hiding the books she enjoys reading, because according to her father, they are full of sin. The only person she can be herself with is the town’s outcast, Everett, who she met when she was in high school. Everett has long ago left their little town but he returns home every summer to visit her. When a skull is discovered in the swamp, along with strange symbols carved into trees, Ruth and Everett set out for the truth about what secrets lie in their town.
How is possible that every book Ashley Winstead writes is better than the last?! “Midnight is the Darkest Hour” is deliciously spooky, with the eerieness of the woods radiating off the pages. The people in Bottom Springs considered themselves God-fearing Christians, while tiptoeing around the folklore of “the low man” who haunted the woods. Winstead took a unique approach in fusing the themes of Christianity and the Occult throughout this story. Each belief system was presented respectfully, with Ruth drawing certain parallels between the two and forging her own path as she and Everett searched for truth. The twists in what they uncovered just kept coming, and I was on the edge of my seat by the end! I related a lot to Ruth, in how she was quiet and found such joy in books! In particular, she loved Twilight and that took me back to my college days. Everett was like a boy from a fairy tale, a loner who didn’t care what people thought of him and would do anything for Ruth; he may possibly be my new favorite book boyfriend!
Thank you to Edelweiss and Celadon for the ARC! “Midnight Is the Darkest Hour” releases October 3, 2023!!
How is possible that every book Ashley Winstead writes is better than the last?! “Midnight is the Darkest Hour” is deliciously spooky, with the eerieness of the woods radiating off the pages. The people in Bottom Springs considered themselves God-fearing Christians, while tiptoeing around the folklore of “the low man” who haunted the woods. Winstead took a unique approach in fusing the themes of Christianity and the Occult throughout this story. Each belief system was presented respectfully, with Ruth drawing certain parallels between the two and forging her own path as she and Everett searched for truth. The twists in what they uncovered just kept coming, and I was on the edge of my seat by the end! I related a lot to Ruth, in how she was quiet and found such joy in books! In particular, she loved Twilight and that took me back to my college days. Everett was like a boy from a fairy tale, a loner who didn’t care what people thought of him and would do anything for Ruth; he may possibly be my new favorite book boyfriend!
Thank you to Edelweiss and Celadon for the ARC! “Midnight Is the Darkest Hour” releases October 3, 2023!!