Thrillers are my favorite genre ever, and this debut novel did not disappoint!! In Snakebite, OR, teenagers are disappearing at a mysterious rate. Logan Ortiz-Woodley decides to visit the town to see what going on! This book has a good mix of thrill, darkness and a splash of romance! I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to read something dark and twisted!

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book being pitched as a f/f paranormal thriller with enemies to lovers, monsters, ghosts, and a killer on the loose was enough to make me add it to my list of highly anticipated reads and request an arc. The author’s note points out that Gould’s editor said it is “like Riverdale, but good” while others have compared it to having Supernatural vibes.

Courtney Gould’s The Dead and the Dark opens with something called the Dark that has been lurking in a small town in Oregon called Snakebite. When a local boy named Tristian goes missing, tv’s beloved ghost hunting duo from ParaSpectors, Brandon and Alejo Ortiz-Woodley, return to town and bring their daughter Logan along for the ride. The townspeople think the Ortiz-Woodleys are somehow connected to what has been happening, and even Logan thinks there is more to the story than what her fathers are letting on. She eventually meets Ashley Barton, Tristian’s girlfriend, who reveals that she has been seeing his ghost. Since the two are not getting answers from their parents, they decide to team up to investigate Snakebite’s dark secrets and find out the truth once and for all.

I was immediately pulled into this story because of how it opens. The start of the book and the interludes throughout definitely have that spooky factor. In the beginning before the story has really even started to develop, readers are introduced to the Dark, a mysterious monster-like entity. I found this to be an intriguing opening because it set up the mystery and made me feel like I had to keep reading in order to make sense of the Dark. It was very weird but very cool.

I love how there felt like there was a balance to Gould’s writing. I thought she did a great job at setting up the whole insider versus outsider views in Snakebite. I appreciated how the chapters switched between these characters to explore what they were thinking and feeling. It set up different struggles as well. There were these tense, scary, dark, and heavy moments all throughout the story, but Gould pairs them well with lighthearted and funny moments. This is what I mean where I say there is a balance. There were a few jokes that I audibly laughed at, and I really loved seeing snippets of the ParaSpectors show. I thought Gould did a great job with writing character and relationship development too. Seeing Logan and Ashley navigate their feelings was really interesting. I also liked how Alejo and Brandon were given space for their relationship to be explained and explored. Something that I have not encountered a lot in books is a good portrayal of father-daughter relationships. It was fun and heartwarming to see how close Alejo and Logan were. On the other side of that, I am glad that the story expanded on the tense or awkward relationship between Brandon and Logan.

When it comes to thrillers or horror novels, I am the type of person who never stops trying to guess who the killer is, where a monster came from, or what will happen in the end. I really appreciate that this book was not predictable. I had a lot of guesses and nearly all were wrong. At times, the pacing felt a bit slower than I was expecting, but overall it was pretty solid. I have seen some people say the ending is kind of cliché, but I do think it is a very fitting ending and it made me happy.

This book tackles some heavy topics like grief, loneliness, family, and belonging. Sometimes these things can weigh on a person, so it was nice to see how Ashley and Logan could relate to one another. These conversations felt honest and relatable. This story also shows what can happen when a small town is full of hate and bigotry. I appreciated how Gould criticized the kind of views that tend to dominate small rural towns because it is something I can completely relate to and understand. I grew up around people who acted very similar to some of the characters in Snakebite. It is exhausting and frustrating to say the least, so I am also glad to see social commentary that challenges these kinds of beliefs.

I have seen nothing but good things about The Dead and the Dark so far, and I am so glad it lived up to its hype and the expectations I had for it! I have been feeling like I needed a break from reading every day, but this book was one I have definitely been in the mood for. Courtney Gould’s debut was very impressive, and I am very excited to see what she does next!

*Content warning: underage drinking, child death and endangerment, murder, violence including strangulation and drowning, homophobia and homophobic slurs, claustrophobia (buried alive), hate crimes, death, blood*

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book before its release on August 3, 2021.

For roughly the first quarter of this book I wasn’t convinced I would like it. It got off to a bit of a confusing start, presenting me with so many questions right off the bat. Questions about what happened to Ashley’s boyfriend, Tristan, who went missing; questions about Logan’s relationship with her dads, Brandon and Alejo; questions about Brandon and Alejo’s past in the small town of Snakebite, Oregon and why they’ve returned after thirteen years. There were too many unknowns and I found it disorienting.

However, the rest of the book more than made up for any problems I had with the beginning. I love small-town mystery and horror and Snakebite was the perfect setting: a dusty, isolated town where everyone knows everyone else, where a single family owns everything, where people who are different get shunned and chased out of town. I’d compare it to Rory Power’s Burn Our Bodies Down, although unlike Burn Our Bodies Down, where the creepy small-town setting is the main source of horror and unease, I’d say Courtney Gould relies more on her characters to build the growing sense of dread that I felt reading this book.

And speaking of characters, Gould’s characters were fantastic. Logan and Ashley were both very realistic teenagers, as were their similarly aged friends. Few authors thread the needle of writing teenage characters as well as Gould did here; often they’re either written too mature and come across as unrealistic, or they’re not mature enough and come across as annoying. Logan’s feelings of isolation and her complicated relationship with her parents and Ashley’s feelings of grief and process of self-discovery were well-written enough that I think readers of all ages could relate to them.

The adult characters were well-written too, though they weren’t the focus of the story. In particular, I was fascinated by Brandon, who has so many mysteries surrounding him. And the main relationships in the book were compelling. I thought Logan and Ashley’s relationship was well-developed from both sides. There were a few points where I think things progressed just a bit too quickly, and I think Gould could have dedicated more page time to Ashley realizing she’s attracted to girls (and to Logan specifically), but overall it didn’t feel rushed. And I loved Logan and Alejo’s father-daughter relationship.

The relationships in the background that got less development – including Ashley’s relationship with her mother, Logan’s relationship with Brandon, and Ashley’s relationships with her friends – were somewhat flat. Because of this, and because I would have liked Logan and Ashley’s relationship to have more of a slow burn to it, I think Gould could have easily added another fifty or more pages to this book, but I also understand the benefits of keeping things tight and focusing on the plot. There were just so many themes in this book that are meaningful to me and that I would have loved for Gould to explore in greater depth.

Finally, the plot of a book is almost always to the characters for me, but the plot of The Dead and the Dark was very strong so I have to give credit. I guessed some aspects of the ending, but others took me completely by surprise. There was just the right amount of twists and turns to keep me reading without being overwhelming. And I was feeling so much of what the characters were feeling along the way. These days I don’t often find myself enjoying young adult fiction, but after Burn Our Bodies Down and now this I’m starting to think YA lesbian mystery-slash-horror is the subgenre for me.

I loved the Dead and the Dark. The characters were great with believable flaws, an engaging mystery, a good romance, and a spooky and unique antagonist. Highly recommend!

The Dead and the Dark is such an awesome blend of horror and thriller! I loved the small-town mystery with its secrets as well as the spine-tingling paranormal elements. The book started off perfectly creepy, and I couldn’t stop flipping the pages until I got to the shocking reveal!

The Dead and the Dark is a Paranormal spine chilling ya that freaked me out in a really good way You are interested in the characters And the mystery I wasn't expecting it to be a dark was it was
Especially for a ya I wish more Young adult Authors wrote mysteries/Supernatural thriller like this Just because it's for teens doesn't mean it shouldn't be Intense and Thought provoking I can't wait for other peoples thoughts when this is released thank you netgally for this arc!

A haunting, well crafted mystery set within an isolated small town. Two reluctant allies—one, the daughter of reality TV ghosthunters turned murder suspects; the other, the town's heiress—team up to find who (or what) has been kidnapping kids in Snakebite. An inter-generational tale of love and home.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an eARC of “The Dead and the Dark” by Courtney Gould through NetGalley for me to read and give an honest review!

This book had me hooked from the beginning and I could not put it down. Gould introduces us to Snakebite, Oregon with her great easy-to-read but extremely descriptive writing that has you wanting more as the main characters, Logan and Ashley, begin to uncover family secrets and small-town mysteries that have you wondering who you can trust if you can even trust anyone at all. The book brings up some really important themes while at the same time giving us a genuinely great, captivating story as we join these girls in their joint search to find out what darkness is connecting Logan and her fathers to what are unusual deadly occurrences for the small town. It truly hit all the marks for me: an increasingly interesting story, queer and POC representation, a sapphic love story that is well developed but doesn’t take away from the main plot, and even the occasional POV from the mysterious “Dark”. I honestly would not be surprised at all if this were to be adapted into a show someday soon in the future. And the cover is absolutely beautiful-- I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy!

This book checked all the boxes for me.

Mystery in a small town? Check
Teens realizing a romantic connection and growing as individuals? Double the checks!
LGBT + BIPOC rep? Uh YEAH.

Then you add on the premise of a ghost hunting television series and creepy dialogue from the perpetrator's perspective? It's sheer perfection and I'll be singing its praises for a good long while.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

The Dead and the Dark is an interesting paranormal YA book. It tells the story of a teenager who ends up in her dad's hometown scouting out locations for a paranormal TV shoot. Things are not right in the town and people have gone missing. Unfortunately, the dads are the main suspects in the stuff going on in town. The story was really captivating and kept me interested pretty much through to the end. The characters were not very likable but that is really not important. The best part was the atmosphere. There is a really creepy vibe about the town they are staying in. As for the story, well, it was good but left me with a lot of but why and but how questions.

The Dead and the Dark follows Logan as she returns to her fathers' hometown of Snakebite. Alejo and Brandon are former Snakebite residents and a current ghosthunting couple with their own show. While Logan has always been close with her dad Alejo, Brandon has remained distant with her.

When they arrive in Snakebite and find that the town assumes Brandon is responsible for a local teen going missing, Logan can't understand why her dads refuse to leave- or tell her about their mysterious past. The story gets darker as eerie feelings and old tensions rise, and Logan finds herself teaming up with the girlfriend of the missing teen, Ashley, to prove her fathers' innocence and find out what happened.

I expect this to be optioned for a series in like, two years max. It's phenomenally written! Trying to find out what Alejo and Brandon were hiding from Logan was so eerie. I really liked the generational storylines that were set up, and trying to find out why Snakebite was so against the Ortiz-Woodley family made for a real page-turner.

I'm not hugely into paranormal works, but this was the perfect balance for me of interesting but understandable and not overwhelming to the personal relationships that made the story so interesting.

The only things I found a bit iffy were the lack of character development for other teens in Snakebite aside from the mains and some choppy transitions between scenes. Even still, I didn't mind that much because the main characters and storyline were so captivating. This was a real page-turner, I can't wait to read what comes next from Courtney Gould!

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am in love with this story. Rarely do I ever think a debut is flawless, but THE DEAD AND THE DARK is a flawless story about family secrets, small town ignorance, and grief that will consume everything in its path if you let it. Logan and Ashley are perfect protagonists and I really enjoyed how both of them are seeking their own truths while growing closer. Super enjoyed that there are trigger warnings at the beginning of the book!

Wow! Loved it! To me, this story is like “Stranger Things” meets Nancy Drew. I was thrilled to snag an ARC from NetGalley and this story didn’t disappoint at all! Pacing was on point and the deep 3rd person POV was well done! I tried to guess what was happening and I could not, then twist, surprise! Courtney is a fab storyteller and I can’t wait for more!

First off, a small town setting for a horror novel is just perfect. I don’t know why. There’s just something about it. Snakebite is the definition of an insignificant small town, and there’s just something creepy about the center of paranormal activity happening in a place so small and insignificant. The rusty, dilapidated motel is even called, wait for it, Bates Motel. Super subtle, I know. Even the supermarket in this town was dingy and creepy. NO THANKS

The reason I gave this 3 stars instead of 4 is because we learn from page one who/what is behind what’s going on. We basically go through the entire book knowing a good deal about the paranormal force wreaking havoc, and that takes away the curiosity factor. There is a bit of a mystery over who is behind it all, but not enough to make me want to race towards the end for answers. I think the book gave away too much too fast and needed to conceal more of the mystery, and that is it’s flaw. That being said, I loved at the ending where the root of everything was explained. With all the hate and prejudice going on in the world today, a story like this is extremely relevant.

If you’re looking for scares, this probably isn’t the book for you because no part of this book is remotely scary. But if you’re looking for a light, supernatural mystery involving ghosts, you would enjoy this read! 3/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy in return for an honest review.

The Dead and the Dark is spine-chilling scary with some really intriguing twists and turns, I definitely do not recommend reading it at night. I am not into paranormal mystery books and I only picked up this book because of the sapphic aspect and I am so glad I did because it ended up being of the best books I’ve read in quite some time. It was totally addicting and so gripping, I slept at 3 in the morning.

As the main reason I was interested in this book was the sapphic romance so it was disappointing in the beginning that I didn't feel sparks between the couple and thought it was gonna be mediocre. But then like everything else in Dead and the Dark, it surprised me greatly and became one of the best things about the book. It turned into a chemistry filled slowburn that I couldn't get enough of.

If the sapphic and the top notch horror-mystery element isn't enough then read it for the father-daughter relationship. It was my most favourite thing in the book (and reminded me of Walter-Peter from Fringe) It didn't seem like much in the beginning but by the end it had me sobbing.

I did have a few little issue like <spoiler>If someone's drowning the girl you love right in front of you, would you just go and call the police, instead of trying to stop him? How could she not realize it'd be too late? ..And in the end where was John's punishment? Instead we got Ashley sympathizing with with that homophobic garbage can.</spoiler>

Overall, I pretty much loved everything in this book the eerie atmosphere, the relationships and the horror-mystery and now I am even more excited to read Echo Sunset by Courtney Gould.

Copy provided by the publisher, Bold Strokes Books, via NetGalley.

SO GOOD!!! I absolutely loved the heartbreaking dynamic between logan and brandon it made me ache. Logan and ashley were cute too but GODDD they deserved more pining and development

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of The Dead and the Dark in exchange for an honest review!

The Dead and the Dark follows sceptic Logan after her ghost hunting fathers drag her back to the town they grew up with where she has to battle social ostracism, murder allegations, and a potentially paranormal murderer that's somehow linked to her family's past. Our other main perspective follows Ashley: a decently popular, influential member of that town who also happens to be the girlfriend of the first teenager to go missing in a string of disappearances and deaths.

I liked a lot of things here. A lot of the Ashley/Logan scenes were really cute and I think at its core, the mystery was well done, but this just had so many excess details that I don't think were needed. Everything included definitely fleshed out the world and characters, but it was often done in a way that wasn't necessary to or even hindered the plot. Paranormal mysteries like this one need to be snappy and fast-paced and while I enjoyed this, I think it could have been a lot better were a few more subplots trimmed down or removed entirely.

Courtney Gould’s thrilling YA debut The Dead and the Dark is about the things that lurk in dark corners, the parts of you that can’t remain hidden, and about finding home in places—and people—you didn’t expect.

𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 - 𝙽𝚘 𝚂𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚜

𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌 by Courtney Gould

☞︎Thank you to the Publisher, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an eARC of this book. All review and ratings reflect my personal views without bias from this generosity.

𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎
YA Paranormal (Romance)

𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜
352

𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎
~2.5 hrs total

𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢
Darkness lurks in the shadows it creates, but it is leaking out and searching for a new place to cast into the shadows.

Logan and her reality show ghostbusting dads show up in Snakebite just as kids start disappearing. Secrets of their past hide and relationships of their present blossom. While some mourn the lost other deny they are gone and claim they still linger.

Logan goes searching for answers to her own questions and others. What she discovers is far bigger than she could have imagined.

𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍
-The romantic relationships represented are diverse and not just for tokenism’s sake. Characters grapple with contempt and acceptance of their relationships, but it isn’t done in a way that is disrespectful and a write off.
-The story had me on edge every moment I was reading it. I finished the book in two sittings and I didn’t even want to stop reading the first sitting.
-There is a trigger warning at the beginning. This books deals with triggering topics, so I think that was important to mention.

𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍
-Honestly not really anything.
-I was at times like actually scared when reading this, but given the genre, I think that’s the point at times. But, if that’s not you’re thing, then take it into consideration.

𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐
★★★★★/5
I very very rarely give a full five stars to anything. This one blew me away.

𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜
☞︎ Please note that some of these could be considered spoilers, so only read if you need to know possible triggers. These are listed on the website and the dedication.

Homophobia (verbal and physical)
Death of a child
Murder
Claustrophobia
Drowning
Slurs
Physical abuse (non-domestic)

Oh my goodness did I want to love this one!

Ugh, I'm not surprised but am in the minority of this one since all I have been seeing for this one has high praise and stars.

I am a HUGE horror and supernatural aspect... and this one in my opinion was lacking BIG time in that aspect. The book is marketed as a paranormal plot and it just fell super flat.

In this small town of Snakebite, I was gripped initially with the story but as the chapters wore on my confusion continued to grow and was wondering what was going on. I was skimming a lot of the book and there was too much unnecessary parts in the book that just weren't important to the story.

I was sadly left disappointed and was wanting so much more with this story.

Overall, 3 stars.

Thank you to Wednesday/St Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 8/3/21
Published to GR: 2/16/21.