Reviews

3 ⭐
I really wanted to love this one, the main character Dare (what an awesome name!) is a bisexual, diabetic and has a spooky podcast. I heard it was pitched/compared to The Conjuring and that's one of my favorite horror films but this one didn't slap quite as hard.

Waffles was the real star of the show

jessyhayward's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

2.25

The Girls Are Never Gone had a promising blurb and a reasonable amount of hype, touted as similar to Sadie and The Conjuring.

The story takes place at Arrington Estate, where a series of gruesome drownings have occurred. Strangely, all victims have been young women of a certain age. The protagonist, Dare Chase, is a skeptic who happens to run a supernatural investigation podcast. When she is invited to the estate to solve the supposed hauntings, mysterious and horrific events challenge her beliefs and open the door to a world of danger.

I was really excited to read this. A queer ghost story? Yes please! The writing was simple but engaging. As soon as I began reading, I couldn’t put it down. I loved the brewing romance between Dare and Quinn, as well as the bisexuality and diabetes representation. What really stood out to me about that was how Dare’s diabetes was shown — as a severe disease impacting her daily life, while also only being a snippet of her life. All too often, characters with diabetes (when there are any) will mention the disease once and move on, which obviously doesn’t make much sense when it is chronic and requires constant management. It felt really realistic.

Unfortunately, the plot lacked the usual excitement, twists, and suspense of the horror genre. While it was cool to see the mystery unravel, none of it was particularly surprising. I feel like it would be predicted by anyone who read the blurb. Maybe that’s just because I read a lot of horror, but either way, it wasn’t anything new. It’s the kind of story you enjoy reading but almost immediately forget. Sorry!