This is crazy! This is disturbing! This is really scary! I want to put in the freezer! I want to hide myself in the closet and count to 5 million to get rid of the damage the book gave me. I’m going to chuck because I’m chicken and deserved to be fried and served at fancy Soul Food places (I’m coward but still five stared fancy coward!)

I’m giving four stars and praying loudly (already I organized my own congregation circling me because of my usage of so many holly words) the spirits of Ada and her father won’t follow and curse me as a punishment of cutting one of their stars.

This creepy as hell book will give you nightmares, will make you forget your own name so you gotta read “Call me by your name” to recover, okay it was so bad but I’m really shaking in terror and losing my ability to write something simple and funny.

BEWARE YOUR CHILDREN from this book by positioning it at the top of your bookshelves (Don’t put in the freezer like me! This will be their first place to check.) Stop screaming, stop crying, be a mature human and deal with your feelings responsibly and please don’t read them at the public places not to be shunned because of your uncontrollable reactions. Didn’t I say: stop crying! Oh, that’s me. Okay I should stop it and resume writing my review.

So: Ada and her father are healers who help their local people with very un-Grey’s Anatomy’s doctors’ methods which are literally cracking open the damaged bodies like random damaged goods, temporarily burying them in some kind of eerie, mega spooky and dangerous ground. Oh stop screaming! ( That’s not me, this time. My husband read my words on the computer and gave this childish reaction! What a momma’s boy!)

But one day, Ada heals one of the village people named Samson (Ada and her father called them “cure” which is also my 80’s favorite band and it is not relevant so I’m zipping my mouth right now!)and they start a romantic affair. As you may see the father of the probable bride is not happy about this progress. You may sense that after Ada’s romantic involvement, all the hell breaks loose and nothing will be the same forever. I’m not gonna say anything because I’m still trembling and afraid of moving for at least five hours. I wish somebody could carry me to my bed and I hide myself under my duvet!

This is unconventional, stunning, shocking, different, original work. I’m so happy to read this rarely talented author’s works and I’m so excited to read her upcoming books.

So much thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for sharing this innovative masterpiece with me in exchange my honest review. And I’d like to congratulate Sue Rainsford for her original work.

This was such a strange little book, however, it is one that I think I want to read at least one more time, as I think there is a lot to unpack here.

This novel centers around Ada and Father. They are very different, in fact, Ada calls themselves “The Cures”. People come to them to heal them, but they use very unconventional methods, including burying them in the ground on the property.

Where the story starts to take a turn is when Ada meets Samson, who comes for a cure. After that Ada and Samson start an affair. Ada begins to question whether to leave with him or stay and continue to help people. But, nothing is what it seems. There are whispers of Samson, from a sister and people around town.

The journey the author takes you on is twisty and at the end you will definitely be thinking, “What?”. The only book that I could possible compare this to is The Need by Helen Phillips. Extremely strange but yet so intriguing that you cannot put it down.

If you are looking for something different, then give this very slim book a chance. I think you will talking and thinking about this for a while.

Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another reader called this debut novel "gorgeously strange"--which is the perfect description for this ornately written (sometimes overly ornately) novel which audaciously and intriguingly bridges categories.

3.5 stars

This was a very strange and unique book that was a bit fantasy, a bit romance, and a bit suspense all rolled into one.

I found the book to be, at times, both enthralling and confusing. The style of writing immediately drew me, and I enjoyed that story went back and forth from Ada’s POV and that of the “Cures”, a name given to the sick locals.

But there were scenes that I felt weren’t given enough details. I think in some instances it was intended for the reader to infer what was happening or that the author was alluding to certain things transpiring, which is fine and I actually prefer when authors do this to build suspense and not give away the entire story. But there were some parts that even by the end of the book were still left very much unclear, and it sort of took away from the overall enjoyment of it.

I would still recommend this book and I‘m interested in reading more from Sue Rainsford.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3070701911

This was a gorgeously strange book, about beings that live on the edges of a small town, tending their eerie garden called "The Ground," helping those who come to them with ailments - normal people called "Cures." The writing is poetic and eerie, and the story winds along slowly and purposefully like a crawling vine. I loved the strangeness and the poetry of the story and writing so much, that the plot itself is almost an unnecessary element, though of course still similarly pleasantly strange. I'm not sure what I just read, but I loved it.

'There is something Cures don’t know about their curing. The sickness isn’t gone. It just goes elsewhere.'

Ada and her father are some sort of creature that is both human and not. Of course, her father is wilder than her, hunting in the night on all fours, but not Ada. She has her own desires. Their purpose is to heal the “Cures”, the local humans who come to them for help for all their maladies. Sometimes its requires rooting around through the body, a singing and for others it’s to the ground they go, never remembering quite any of it but always feeling refreshed, cured! This mysterious ground where both Ada and her father come from, a hungry ground, opening and closing as it will, where it will is all they know of their origins, they are not meant to be a part of the people so it serves them well that the locals remain weary of them. Beyond the healing, no one gets close to them, which is a lonely existence but doesn’t much bother Ada, until Samson.

Ada is tired of the healing, of her father’s control and adherence to the ‘tradition’ they have been born for. Ada has yearnings of her own, like any ‘human’ child does and through Samson she feels she can be different, life can go another way, she can be more human than creature. She has heard a lifetime of warnings about the ground from her father, it is an entity of it’s own, it has a dangerous power, but must she always heed his warnings? Does father really know what’s best? They’ve been chasing away the sickness inside of people’s bodies, but some sickness can’t be seen, understood, healed. The healing can feel so good, too good maybe for some Cures. Love can be trouble, but Samson becomes so much a part of her days, a pattern, the poetry of her heart. What troubles him most is his sister, the widow Olivia. Samson’s sister Olivia is a schemer, but his loyalty is always with her, as orphans they have only had each other. Samson and Ada have many secrets between them, but as Ada abandons the ways of her father everything begins to sour. Just what will she do, to protect her love? She can’t hide what’s between she and Samson, and she cannot, will not give him up. Desperation darkens the mind. Regret has no place here, what’s done is done, then comes the crush of years, the waiting.

What happens has far reaching consequences, that lead to more creepy secrets. This tale feels like a love story but how it bends and exposes horror, both human and creature. It is about sickness, disturbances in humans and ‘monsters’ alike. It is a fascinating blend of magical realism, family dysfunction, love and horror. Need is greedy, and a starving heart can attend to all sorts of horror, in the name of desire. Yes, read this! A nod to the beautiful cover too.

Publication Date: January 21, 2020

Scribner

This was another title that I grabbed because of this amazing cover. The story was haunting and enchanting. I think it could have felt a little more real for the magical realism but for the most part this book was fabulous. The characters were all there and the blend of writing styles worked well.


Go Into This One Knowing: Biblical Imagery, Blended Writing Styles

I was captivated by the beautiful writing in Follow Me To Ground, which offers a glimpse into the mind of a childlike woman who was birthed from the ground and heals the humans around her. We also get to hear what the townspeople think of this mysterious father-daughter duo that is unbothered by human concerns. I wish there was less attempt at a plot, because I didn't care for the whole Samson plot or the ending, which I don't think had quite the impact that the author intended.
I still really enjoyed it and the writing style.

So different and strange, loved it

The story was very disorienting at first but once the words and concept sank in I plowed through. The characters don’t exactly fit into a cookie cutter supernatural cast but it did seem like werewolf (Father) and witch/fairy (Ada) were where my mind kept going. Burying people and having them rise and be reborn - vampires/zombies.

That’s me, the Twilight generation, sorry.

That’s probably taking away from all the deep philosophical and biblical references I’m seeing scattered in these reviews and I do get some of that but I don’t feel like overthinking it. But also realize I mean no offense.

It was beautifully written. The mood was so surreal. I understood what the transgression was that took place and how Ada dealt with it. The ending was a bit open ended for me and then it was over. Perhaps for the best in this strange fairy tale.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Scribner for a copy in exchange for a review.

Follow Me To Ground is a haunting strange wild ride of areas.A fantasy so well written hard to put down.Perfect for those who like twisted unusual books, The cover is amazing creative beautiful eye catching.#netgalley#scribner

I was lucky enough to win an advance copy of FOLLOW ME TO GROUND through a Shelf Awareness giveaway. I can't wait to devour it!

Haunting & nightmarish, and reminiscent of Brother’s Grimm. Other writers have attempted a similar Stephen King Pet Sematary theme — usually quite poorly. Follow Me To Ground is a wonderful exception.

3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4

What a unique novel. I've got such complicated feelings about it, which has led to my indecisiveness over how to rate it. On one hand, the novel's originality and its gorgeous language make it stand out from the other books I've read this past year, both on NetGalley and on my own. On the other hand, there are so many questions I have that I didn't find the answers to throughout the novel. That might be my own problem, which I fully accept, but I did peep a number of other Goodreads reviews and found people saying similar things. Maybe it's all our fault for not getting parts that remain murky in clarity, but I would have liked to see more of a solid ending. I also would have liked to see some more world building of this completely unorthodox universe where people can be born from trees (I think?), buried in the Earth to be healed, and have their aches sung away. There was very little explanation behind the rules of this universe, so I personally would have liked to see more of that.

Overall, it's a great read. Horror novel while not being a horror novel? I don't know. I'd certainly recommend it, especially for those who like a more poetic, lyrical writing style!

I love weird novels but this one seems to have out-weirded me. I was confused and slightly disturbed so gave up on it.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me this arc. I will be reviewing this book in the near future with an honest rating and review.

Well, that was quite different! First off the cover was stunning and I loved it, but it was an odd little story and not for everyone. The writing was wonderful and I liked the concept but I never got 100% on-board.

I was thrilled to be able to read this as an ARC through NetGalley.

What a strange little novel this is, and I mean that in the best possible way. Gorgeous, lyrical prose, expressed by a refreshingly no-nonsense narrator.

Ada was created by her father, to help him in his vocation of performing strange medical procedures on the people of the village. But when Ada becomes intertwined with an odd young man, she begins to question she life she has inherited, and things get even weirder.

My wheelhouse is very much “young female protagonist, in a small rural village, some underlying supernatural elements”. This absolutely checked all of those boxes. But please note, this is very much literary fiction, for while the content could be considered fantastical, it is all felt very real.

Sue Rainsford’s prose is concise but beautiful. A lot of things happened in this book, but Rainsford gives just enough detail to unsettled the reader, without ever being completely upfront about what the hell is going on. I’m a big fan of books where the author doesn’t try to justify or explain supernatural elements; they just ARE and the reader must accept this.

Shades of Shirley Jackson, Daisy Johnson, and Daphne duMaurier. Highly, highly recommended to fans of the dark and disturbing.

Wow. That happened...

Seriously - this was WEIRD. Even for me. I liked the beginning A LOT - then it just felt like it jumped the shark and shifted focus and from there on out it was different and weird and full of a lot of sex and randomness... I can't say that I liked it. It's original and odd and I liked the concept, but the read was bizarre and a bit all over the place, but not necessarily in a bad way. I know that makes NO SENSE, but that's how it felt reading it.

I'm not sorry I read it, as such, but wouldn't read it again - and think Rainsford may be a little conceptual and off-beat for my personal taste. But if you like a more free-flowing narrative, there's no denying she's a talented artist - she paints word-pictures that are like nothing I've read/visualized before, and that's saying something since I read a lot. It's only three stars by my taste-/preference-meter, but a (grudging, despite my ambivalence) solid four for originality/creativity.

This book is about beings who use unique powers to cure those seeking help for their ailments. I don’t think this is a book for everyone, myself included. It was a strange read and I couldn’t make sense of much of it. I think readers who are fans of trippy, fantasy type writing may enjoy. Thanks for the advanced review copy Scribner and Netgalley.

Dreamlike, strange, and compelling story about two static, otherworldly beings who have long lived on the outskirts of town and used strange powers to heal the ailments of those seeking help. This book is a trip, with an interestingly unreliable narrator. It's really well written.. and also very wtf. Right up my alley in other words!