Reviews with content warning for Animal death - The Girls Are Never Gone

The book started out a bit on the slow side but by the time I reached 40 or so pages I was invested.

I loved the overall mystery and how the story developed. The main three characters were enjoyable even though I was aggravated at how long it took Dare to realize there were in facts ghosts in the house.

I love any type of story to have to do with old haunted houses so this was right up my alley. I loved the final conclusion and thought it wrapped up nicely.

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hannahpings's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

if i had a nickel for every time i consumed a sapphic love story about a vindictive lake ghost who trapped other souls on the grounds with her i'd have two nickels. which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice

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p_izag's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed reading this book. Maybe half way in I started to feel scared and a little sad reading it. I hope to continue reading about Dare's adventures

and I really hope she and Quinn end up together

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thereadedit's review

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.75
Unsettling: 😬😬
SCARY: 👻👻
DEATH: 💀💀💀
INTRIGUE: 🧠🧠🧠🧠🧠

TW: Drowning, Death, Gore

Sapphic Romance Meets The House on Haunted Hill on a Lake

The girls are never gone was definitely a journey through time and circumstances much different than our own. It explored the 1800s all the way through today. With time comes people and conflict. And people choose conflict over resolving what issues may lie.

We all know that teenage girls can have a mind of their own. It's a time when you feel as if you may never come across a time and space where you aren't safe or could fathom the worst happening to you. But also exploring who you are to find you and what makes you feel happy. Until you are thrust into such a situation, you have no way of knowing unless you follow the history of people before us.

I'm this instance there is a beautiful home that is being restored to become a museum to show how much of a time capsule it is. You have a very wealthy family with 10 kids who lived there and while there were many there was one who perished. She built the strength and power over the years and chose to take a girl her age each time one moved into the home. The town refused to do anything about it so they just pretended it didn't happen. Until it made it impossible for the girls coming there to have a dream summer of working in the house. Three girls are there to be in an internship to help restore the home into a museum. All three go through this time to find who they are in life. A sapphic romance between two of the girls begins just when things start happening in the home.

Vengeful spirits always wants the last say in everything yet they can't even speak. The girls in this book go through so much and yet are stronger for everything in the end.

I would highly recommend reading this book if you want to go on a ghost filled haunted house tour!

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leontiy's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Great book, loved the rep, the story was creepy and 👌🏻

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shelvesofivy's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I'm not generally a horror fan, but I couldn't pass up a sapphic mystery with a diabetic mc. Also, her service dog is the true star of the whole book ♡

The dog does Not die!!

Even though the romance wasn't the most profound or anything, there were definitely tender moments that had my heart in a chokehold. More than the romance though, the mystery aspect is what got me through the book. I'd probably reread, if only to catch more specific clues.
This wasn't a perfect book, with some underdeveloped areas, but it was still a fun and interesting read! I have mixed feelings about the ending, because

there were unanswered questions about Holly's fate, and I don't really like vague endings. However, I do appreciate Dare and Quinn's maturity to give themselves time to recover from the events of the book before going into a full relationship with each other. I'd love to see them reunite eventually and tie up some loose ends though.

With those things said, I could definitely see there being a sequel, and would love to read it if that happens!

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aspring's review

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adventurous dark mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

i ADORED this. it was creepy and sapphic and all around a whirlwind of emotions. also waffles the service dog??? owns my heart. what an angel.

but also, i found this ending really disappointing and abrupt, the book was going so well and this ending just didn’t fit the narrative that was set up for it. i would’ve liked to see a bit more closure and more of a final ‘boss battle’ at the end.

also also! the plot twists! i did not see any of them coming! (if you actually think about it, you probably will but i didn’t and i loved it) <3

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collinsd's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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