A review by sarasoleil
A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad 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

3.5

I wanted to love this book so so much. A horror book with queer Arab girls who fall in love? I thought this book was going to be THE BOOK for me. But it wasn't.

I don't think this book is bad but I don't think it's great either. I found myself a little bored through parts of it and I couldn't connect very well to the characters despite seeing parts of myself in them. The romance is definitely not the main plotline, which I am fine with, but it was hard to me to even see it happening when the connection just didn't seem there.

I still think this is a perfectly good YA horror book, and the representation is wonderful. Not to mention the photography aspect in it is really cool. It just didn't hit where I hoped it would.

Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for access to this book.