Reviews

The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould

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ember_is_gay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I felt confused for a lot of this book; not by what was happening, more to do with why it was happening. It didn’t feel like any motives were really discussed, and people were doing things just because they needed to so the storyline could be moved on.

The ending also felt weirdly rushed and off, kind of like the writer suddenly realised that they needed to wrap things up but had no plan. I also felt like characters were completely forgotten about at times and weren’t even mentioned for long period of times, like they ceased to exist the second they were not vital to moving the story along. One of the characters best (and really only) friend is killed but no one checks on him, he isn’t mentioned, no one discuses if he is okay, and then he comes back randomly when he is needed.

I really liked the development of Ashley and Logan's relationship.

cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition

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3.0

This is very intriguing YA thriller with a twist of teen sapphic romance thrown into the mix. The suspense in this book was done great and Logan and Ashley were for me scene stealers.s
It ended abruptly but still solid debut nevertheless, if you love Supernatural and The Haunting of Bly Manor then this book will definitely be up your alley!

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

misspinkcoconut's review against another edition

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dark mysterious

4.0

mccullah's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

2.5

really disappointed in this book, it’s been on my TBR for a couple years now and it was just kind of a let down. the writing felt flat almost, and it was just kind of annoying.

furlowsu's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful 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

3.75

jess_mango's review against another edition

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4.0

The Dead and the Dark is an LGBTQ+ ghost story for the YA set.

Teenagers have been going missing in Snakebite, Oregon and some have even turned up dead. Many in town start pointing fingers at the ParaSpectors, a famous pair who hunt ghosts on TV. They are from Snakebite and have recently returned. Logan, the daughter of the two men who are the ParaSpectors, knows that her dads aren't responsible for the missing and dead teens so she sets out to redeem them. She connects with local teen Ashley, whose boyfriend was one of the first missing teens. Together, the two girls investigate the mystery of the missing teens in a quest that seems like it could involve a touch of the paranormal.

This was a creepy adventure. I loved the inclusion of LGBTQ characters in this story. I also like the uncertainty as to whether this was a straight-up mystery or a ghost story. Ashley and Logan make a great pair and I loved following their progress as they uncovered dark secrets in Snakebite.

I listened to this on audiobook and it was a good listen, with a full cast. A full cast really does a lot to make a book come alive especially when the book is told from multiple perspectives like this one.

Thank you to the publisher for the audiobook!