#in a dark dark wood

[azazel-dreams]

In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

#In a Dark Dark Wood #Ruth Ware #books #book recommendations #book reviews

[a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit]

Book Review: In A Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

I have mixed feelings about this one.

On the one hand, I liked the locked room mystery (more like mansion) of it all, with all the characters stuck together in an isolated, dark forest-enveloped house made of glass for a weekend as part of a hen party. For my own part, I've always thought there was something delicious about embedding an entire plot around friends with complicated history, especially if they're forced into close proximity. There's something intensely gripping (and often times problematic) about friends who have petty hang ups or jealousies, who are still reeling with past insecurities or secrets, people who only reveal their real selves in sly, selective fragments by mistake or calculation. I particularly like this in mysteries and thrillers. I like it because it creates a bloated tension between the main characters that must be popped at some point. Or, in this case, will build between them until it dies in one way or another.

In this story, Nora gets invited to a hen party out of the blue, even though she hasn't seen or heard from, Clare, her ex-friend from high school, who is also the bride-to-be, in ten years. There's serious hesitancy on Nora's part about going, but also a desperate curiosity to see what's become of Clare, too. It makes for weighty friction from the outset. A web of conflicting emotion, action, and reflection that grows all the more tangled as the plot continues to progress, which I enjoyed.

I also liked that Nora was a bit of an insipid heroine. Is she frustrating as hell? Absolutely. Do you want to rip out your hair at her lack of self-awareness or insight? Without a doubt. Yet, I think it's this quality to her character - her marked oblivion, her complete and utter unreliability - which is actually the driving force behind the novel. That's what keeps you invested.

As a reader, it doesn't take long to connect the dots, to figure out who the nefarious one is in the house, or why, so the suspenseful irony of the book comes not from finally unmasking the murderer ourselves but from wondering why the hell it takes Nora so long to arrive at the obvious conclusion herself.

(It's fine if others disagree with me on this point, but that was my takeaway.)

I was disappointed in a few areas while reading this, though. For one, I thought the author could have leaned into the dark and woodsy environment more. I feel like an opportunity was lost to make the story feel more remote, more atmospheric. Like something insidious was lingering just outside of plain sight. (Because, for Nora, it was. In more ways than one.) I also didn't care for the beginning much. It was slow, the character interactions one-note, grating, immature, and catty--even for characters in their mid-20's. Things picked up midway, but I think I would've enjoyed this more had the suspense started to unspool earlier on.

All in all, a mixed bag read for me but worth a gander! I will say it was easy to see some It Girl seeds taking root here because Clare radiates that pick-me, I'm-always-the-center-of-everything It Girl aura, so that was a fun catch.

3/5 stars

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#ashlee bree's book reviews #in a dark dark wood #ruth ware #mystery #thriller #recs: ashlee approved! #read july 2023 #book recs #bookblr #booklr #book reviews

[gdzie-rosna-poziomki]

Ruth Ware- In a Dark, Dark Wood

Definitely my favorite part of this book 😅

#ruth ware #in a dark dark wood #book quote #florence and the machine #Florence Welch #my boy builds coffins #lungs

[desdasiwrites]

I am running. I am running through moonlit woods, with branches ripping at my clothes and my feet catching in the snow-bowed bracken.

– Ruth Ware, In a Dark, Dark Wood

#book quote of the day #ruth ware #in a dark dark wood #gothic #mystery #thriller #book recommendations #book quotes #october reads

[ademella]

currently reading

#in a dark dark wood #ruth ware #reading #books #book cover #october #book club

[ombwarrior47]

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

Title: In a Dark, Dark Wood Author: Ruth Ware Series: N/A Number of Pages: 308 Genre:  Psychological Thriller Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press Date of Original Publication: April 19, 2016 ISBN:  978-1501112331

In a Dark, Dark Wood is the first psychological thriller written by British author Ruth Ware. It is about a woman who is invited to a bachelorette party for an ex friend of hers. She arrives out of curiosity as she has not seen this friend in a decade and a murder ensues.

I like Ware’s writing style, it is easy to read and flows nicely. The story overall is a quick, action packed thriller. The main character is likeable and the other characters are well rounded and she does a good job of expressing each individual personality.

I was a little disappointed by this one as I previously read It Girl and that one was much better. I will give her credit as this was her first in the genre. In It Girl I didn’t see the murderer coming…in this one I figured it out right away. There are also scenarios at the end that were not realistic.

This book also has taught me not to trust Reese Witherspoon’s choice in books. As her quote on the front of the book states that she was really scared during this story…literally nothing is scary about it…..

★★★ I’d recommend It Girl over this one…

~

Up Next:  

-Dark World by Zak Bagans

-Cherish by Tracy Wolff – (Crave #6)

-I'm Thinking of Ending Things - Iain Reid

Yearly Goal Markers:

Book Goal: 9/75  = 12%

Page Goal:  2.99/15k = 19.9%

Follow me on LibraryThing, Goodreads, and Amazon. Same handle: OMBWarrior47

#Ruth Ware #In a Dark Dark Wood #Crime #Book Review #Murder Mystery #Ruth Witherspoon #Scary

[maureen2musings]

@michaelkagerer

#forest #dark woods #rainy day #portugal #germany #woodlands #enchanted #curators on tumblr

[cafalla]

2024 READING - COMPLETED BOOK 5/12

I finished in a dark, dark wood last night (308 pages).

Despite having read half of this book at the end of January, I finished reading it in February, so I'm counting this as my first February book.

This is the most "modern times" book I've read since starting this reading resolution challenge. Because of this, I found it quite a speedy read. The mystery kept me hooked, and I found all the characters interesting and engaging, especially the character of Nina. I couldn't help but imagine Karlach from Baldur's Gate 3 when reading her lol.

I will say, the final confrontation and motive reveal felt a little lacking to me.

I also was a bit annoyed with how the MC still believed the orchestrator was "not like this" when they have been blatantly expressing the whole book that they were, in fact, "like that".

This isn't even touching on the fact that the conflict between the MC and the boyfriend could've been easily resolved from the very beginning if they...idk, just gave each other a phone call?

Either way, I enjoyed this one! I am very excited for the next book I have lined up to read. But after that, I have nothing on deck, so I'm going to need to go thrifting again here soon for another pile of books. x

—

Total books read: 5 Total pages read: 1,432

#txt #2024 reading #in a dark dark wood #ruth ware #reading

[abby-30]

dark academia 🍂🌙

#dark aesthetic #dark academia #light academia #cats #nature #deer #aesthetic #dark esthetic #statues #woods #books and reading #leaves #classic academia #dark academia moodboard #light academia moodboard #moodboard #books & libraries #statue #wildlife #source: pinterest #paintings #muesum #museums

[mistysolitude]

my mom said we can hide in the woods, cast ancient spells, be embraced by moss and befriend eldritch creatures if it's ok with your mom

#dark naturalism #forestcore #dark cottagecore #naturalism #naturecore #forest aesthetic #aesthetics #forest #woodland #woods #green witch #witchcore #pagancore #pagan wicca #mosscore #treecore #green academia #fairy cottage #cottage goth #cottage witch

[accidentalslayer]

#its always october in my brain #cryptid #creature #the thing in the woods #cryptidcore #creaturecore #dark forest #surrealcore #scp #unreality #octobercore #october aesthetic #october blog #horrorcore #horror aesthetic

[lauramakabresku]

Two souls amidst the winter night

#laura makabresku #photography #dark #darkness #love #mystic #women #couple #minimalism #woods

[franz-bauch-foto]

Morning light

#photography #wanderlust #nature #moodygrams #landscape #forest #dark forest #tumblr photographer #tumblr photo blog #dark #dark moodboard #moody #moodyphotography #moodboard #trees and forests #foggy nature #woodland #woods #naturecore #nature photography #nature hikes #photographers on tumblr #photoblog

[lionfloss]

Mushrooms releasing spores into the wind. Captured by Paul Stamets

#nature #photography #mushrooms #spores #wind #fungus #fungi #mycology #science #woods #forest #dark #video #videos

[expressions-of-nature]

by t*tomorrow

#fireflies #woods #forest #glow #nature #landscape #dark #naturecore #trees #curators on tumblr #uploads #japan

[dullroarofspace42]

Ordered this after reading the description and thinking it sounded pretty good. For the life of me I can't fucking remember what's it about, there's no description anywhere on the cover, and of course I'm too damn lazy to look it up. So I guess I'm in for a surprise. Also gotta listen to something while I read, need that background noise or I get jumpy.

#music #spotify #book #thriftbooks #in a dark dark wood #ruth ware