Something isn’t right in Snakebite, Oregon. Things haven’t been normal since the return of Brandon Woodley, co-host of ParaSpectors and former Snakebite resident. When his husband, Alejo Ortiz, and daughter, Logan, join him in Oregon, it’s under the guise of location scouting for their television show. But Logan isn’t convinced, and the second she steps into town she has a feeling secrets are buried there. Ashley Barton’s boyfriend, Tristan, disappeared without a trace six months ago, just a week after Brandon arrived in town. Since the family reunion, more teenagers have gone missing, and some have even turned up dead. Logan is convinced something far more sinister is behind these disappearances, and teams up with Ashley to uncover the truths about Snakebite and unravel the dark forces at play.

I thought this was such an incredible debut. It was dark, sinister, atmospheric, full of characters you may want to hit over the head with a shovel (I mean, I’m not condoning violence perse, I’m just saying…) and at the heart of it all there is Logan, a girl who knows she doesn’t belong and isn’t accepted in the unforgiving town but is forced to find the force behind the madness. Then enters Ashley, a girl living in a small town her entire life, surrounded by like-minded people who aren’t as loving to outsiders as they are to each other. She is conflicted about associating with Logan because the entire town thinks her dads are behind the murders, and additionally they don’t approve of a relationship that may form between the two of them. The mystery itself, especially interludes from the Dark’s point of view, had me itching to know what would happen next, wanting to warn the characters before they met their untimely fate, and overall kept me guessing as to who or what exactly I was dealing with here. The force itself became such a metaphor for the hatred and discrimination that can fester for generations in a place where people just aren’t open to the idea that people can be different than them. This book showed how a place filled with that hatred was able to push Alejo and Brandon, two men who loved each other and just wanted to raise a family, fully outside its bound, and did not welcome them back. This book was tough to read at times, because I could see how the adults’ world view of people who are different rubbed off on their children, who tried to incite violence upon Logan and her dads any chance they could, and in turn people who associated with them. I found it to be excellently crafted, and I will say I did not guess then ending, nor was I even confident about how the book was going to end 90% of the way through. I’d say that’s good thriller storytelling right there.

If you haven’t already surmised this, I thought The Dead and the Dark was an excellent paranormal mystery/thriller debut that will have people guessing what is amiss in Snakebite, Oregon the entire way through. I am will certainly be keeping a lookout for future works from this author, as I’m sure they will be just as spooky (and, in turn, just as gay) as this one. *Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Wednesday Books, for the e-copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*

I would love to read this book. This book looked really interesting to me and I was super excited to read it and enjoy the book. But the book will not let me download it and so I am not able to read it and give a proper review. But I did contact NetGalley to ask if they could fix it and they said that they did and it never got fixed; and I told them that and they never said anything else. So, I do not know what to do other than put a review...they said they would contact the publisher?? But so, anyways this is a ARC copy from NetGalley for exchange for a honest review. I did really thought it would be a good book, but wasn’t able to read it because it would not let me download the book on NetGalley.

This is the biggest disappointment of a book I have ever read. Perhaps i went in with a high expectation, but it is still no excuse for this story being what it is. Thanks for Netgalley for providing an arc for this.

Firstly, the writing is very dry and monotone. I felt like I was kept ata distance from the story and had no emotional attachment to anything that was happening. Multiple people died in this story yet all I can manage was "oh, they died? Okay". Because the writing just feels in a very strong lack of impact.

Secondly, the characters are very strange and hard to sympathize with. The only character I actually liked is Logan. I find Ashley to be extremely self-centered and hypocritical. Also The other characters also felt underdeveloped or just one dimensional. Almost NO single character in this remote town isn't a homophobic asshole, with the majority of them very ready to cross the line to murder like it's no biggy. It's just, almost cartoonish? Yet despite establishing all the characters in the town are trash people, the story at the end still had to force some sort of glorification and "nuance" into the utterly unsympathetic characters - including repeatedly stating an attempted murderer's motivation is pain so he can't be AS BAD AS THE SERIAL KILLER. Also the homophobic and guilt tripping woman becomes one of the "strength" of the little town Snakebite spirit. Plz, if she is the best this town has to offer, it's probably best for everyone if the town just burn down in the end.

The pacing in this book is also just weird. There was a bunch of flashbacks that slowed down the story dramatically in the middle of the climax. It really disrupted the flow of the story.

Honestly I wanted to burn the town to the ground myself in the end. Frustration is the only emotion this story invoked in me.

We follow sceptic (and unabashedly queer) Logan after her ghost hunting (also queer) 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. We also follow Ashley - a 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. While some of the paranormal aspects were lost on me, the overarching theme of what created the darkness in the book was unique. It didn’t stray away from the harshness of homophobia, the confusion of being a teenager, all while being spooky and downright wonderful.

Reads like an episode of Supernatural, but with WAY more LGBTQ rep.

Intriguing and addictive story with:
ghosts
ghost hunters!
grief
AND
a strange, small town riddled with secrets, missing teens, changes in the weather, and more secrets (and also a lot of homophobia/bigotry which I thought was handled/addressed well by the author. ( I acknowledge that ingrained and internalized homophobia/bigotry cannot be rectified over night and the treatment some characters were given were absolutely realistic.)

PLUS that cover is to DIE for.

I did find the ending a bit abrupt and would liked to have more of The Dark explored.

Gould is an OBVIOUS writer and I look forward to more of their work.

All in all a quick, enjoyable, SOLID read for a rainy Friday.

I might've been guided here by the gimmick of ghosthunting gays...but what I got was so much more than I was gunning for, and I'm so glad about it. The Dead and the Dark starts off as a seemingly standard story about supernatural sleuths slinging their ghoul-tracking gear across a tiny, traditionally tight-knit town where something sinister scuttles, but it soon slips into a thoughtful and touching synecdoche on the shadows of our grief and what we'll grit our teeth and give up for those we love. Gould's spin on the symbolism and literalness of the spectres of loss, loathing and loneliness that lurk within ourselves, our communities, and those we care about is spot-on, and the clever corollaries of the connect-the-dots plot convolutions are as compelling in their phantasmal curveballs as in their commentary about prejudice and pariahism. Both pairs of protagonists - undauntingly determined teen detectives and dog-tired TV dads - are spiritedly three-dimensional takes on tried-and-true tropes, and the town's traits and Snakebite's other denizens are developed deftly with significant depth and detail too, realized through a range of realistically rendered relationships and tender, down-to-earth romances. The small snag for me (though I'm acutely aware that this is an ARC) was that some snippets of the story appeared a little scattered or skipped altogether, but by the unfolding of the second act this seems solved, and the spine-tingling slippery slopes and absorbing sequences of the falling action - which alternate between achingly sad and absorbingly adrenaline-charged - segue soothingly to the semi-sweet, semi-forlorn and fully satisfying finale of this soul-searching scramble of spooks versus sapphics (and friends).

basically, the raven cycle with dilfs and sapphics<3

This book really is the ultimate vibe check tbh. ghosthunter sapphics? check. grumpy/sunshine dads trying their best? check. eerie and atmospheric imagery? check. delicious descriptions and setting porn? check.

An intricate and beautifully layered book perfect for fans of the raven cycle, The Dead and the Dark kept me on the edge of my seat anxious and griped me.
The premise involves Logan and her dads arriving to Snakebite for filming their tv show on ghosthunting, only to find that the disappearance of Tristan, a teenager coincides with their arrival and now the townspeople suspect that these two are connected.

I was really excited to read it for the sapphic ghosthunters and it didn't disappoint! I really don't like the whole *assumes love interest is straight multiple times* which happens disproportionately high in ya for some reason.

While the romance isn't at focus, their budding relationship in the background till the tension finally peaks is fun to behold.

It's fast paced and reads like a blend of mystery/thriller and urban fantasy.The paranormal aspects are strewn across a bit lazily in my opinion, some things aren't really made clear but it doesn't take away from the main plot and I recommend reading this!

rep: lesbian mc, bi/pan li, side mlm relationship

content warnings: homophobia(major theme), homophobic hate crimes

Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion in any way.

I wasn't sure I'd like this book because paranormal horror is kind of hit or miss with me, but it was gay so I decided to give it a chance and I'm glad I did. This book was pretty good. I really liked Logan's relationship with her dads, I thought that the family dynamics were really sweet. Ashley had good character development and I was happy with her endgame. She and Logan had a really sweet relationship. I really just have two problems; one, the reality show element was underused. And two, we don't really get to know the characters who die (also I thought who the killer was was too obvious).

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

While this was something I had noticed, this was also pointed out by another reviewer before me in a much better way— there’s a strong dark/evil and light/good correlation that leans into a moralizing black-bad/white-good dichotomy throughput the book. This is not at any point subverted— at one point, when a character fights the dark, she gives off light. There’s near- frustratingly little on how the paranormal phenomenon works, or if it had only been around since Oregon was colonized— what of the Indigenous population(s) who might have had the area?

That being said, the description of how the entity chose victims was beautiful, and truthfully one of my favored part of the book. Descriptive, quiet, and lush, it steadily built images in my head, until I could almost visualize the scene as it might have been. The writing was certainly atmospheric and character development certainly grew.

While I have some dissatisfaction with some characteristics of the relationship (namely, after a non-main character ends up imprisoned), as well as some great reveals, I feel as if there might have also been some time better spent on the impact of the reveals, especially as many had been caused by a refusal to communicate.

This being said, I feel as much of being a teen felt real— or at least, accurate to my memory of being one. The teens felt believable, with their uncertainty, stubbornness, and impulsiveness, which rounded out the story nicely.
3.5 out of 5 stars!

The Dead and the Dark is a thrilling mystery with two heartfelt romances, ghost hunting as well as spooky supernatural aspects. When I first saw the blurb for this book, I knew I was going to have fun with it as it hits all many of my favorite things: mystery, small towns, supernatural and romance (a new F/F and established M/M in this case) and set on my state!

I opened this book a few hours before bed thinking I could get away with just a few chapters; boy was I wrong! I read through the night and was beyond surprised and excited throughout the story. The Dead and the Dark has many issues woven in and the reader cannot help but feel like they are a part of the story.

I loved the way the author created the small-town vibes (it read true and haunting) as well as the many characters. Each character has a life, a substance and creates a feeling that just adds to the story. I could imagine them, I have seen then, I have known them. Oh! And the atmosphere is a character in and of itself within these pages. It is grey and dense, foggy, and heavy but it adds too much to the mystery that I felt like I was there, that I was feeling this story along with the characters!

The story covers more than just a small-town mystery, however. It covers small town life, homophobia, coming of age, family tensions, secrets, and love. The story is engaging and interesting (I have not read many like it), easy to read and addictive. I loved they it is a story for most readers and while it does read a bit young, the story like is so powerful that I did not even notice.

I did not notice any major triggers and think this would be a great story for younger YA readers all the way to adults.

I could rant about how wonderful this book is all day, but I will leave it here: this is such a fun and heartfelt story and I hope others enjoy it as much as I have! I received an ARC via Wednesday Books and NetGalley and I am leaving my honest review.

As a black reader, I would be remiss to mention that there are too many connections between evil and black for my liking. Though the tale of light vs. dark is as old as time, it doesn't mean the way we've categorized who falls into the light and dark categories isn't extremely harmful. I understand that this is something we believe is inherent, that you always have to walk towards the light/the dark is something to fear, but if readers aren't discerning, having so many associations between black and evil can be dangerous.

With that being said, I enjoyed the characters, the action, and the suspense in this story. An unknown murderer is stalking the small town of Snakebite in rural Oregon. London, newcomer and the daughter of Alejo and Brandon, wants nothing more than to get out of the hometown of the two men. But the men are determined to rid the town of a mysterious and threatening unknown and as more secrets and missing teens pop up around them, the town refuses to let them go.

Among haunting lines such as:
"It was a sadness that breathed. It wasn't final."
"It wasn't anyone's fault. It was just time. Maybe that was worse."
"Ever since they'd arrived, the shadows had teeth."
"The truth was in front of her now, if she could just be brave enough to see it."

Gould creates a world that sucks you in from the very first chapter. Filled with gay, bi, and lesbian characters, I was tentatively excited to find them front and center in this story (thankfully this isn't a story that adds more gays to the burial site) and felt extremely seen in that regard. I had no idea who the murderer was and stayed up all night trying to figure it out. Somehow Gould has plucked the hope and desperation of the characters out of their chests and put them directly into mine. I went to bed thinking over and over again how Gould had done this and settled on this: There is above all else a beating heart at the center of this story, making it inevitable for the characters, the horror, the deep down questions you don't want to answer in the middle of the night, stick with you long after the book is done.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Tw: death of a child, buried alive, drowning, homophobia, gun violence

Logan Ortiz-Woodley is the daughter of the famous TV couple and ghost hunters Alejo and Brandon. When they return to their hometown, Snakebite, to investigate the missing teens and unresolved death, all fingers start pointing in their direction.

Furthermore, Logan has never been to Snakebite but she keeps getting visions and memories she shouldn't have. It will be up to her and Snakebite's golden girl Ashley, to solve the mysteries surrounding the town.

I loved how Courtney Gould wrote her characters and I immediately fell in love with Logan and Ashley, and of course the golden couple Brandon and Alejo.

The atmosphere was eerie and creepy and the small town setting contributed to setting the tone of the novel.

Gould's writing was fluid and entertaining and I definitely found the book to be page-turner.

I highly recommend this to thriller and horror fans who're also looking for a queer story!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an early copy.

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.

i was provided an earc via netgalley in exchange for an honest review! //

one of the problems i have with a lot of mysteries and thrillers is that i feel like i’ve just seen too many episodes of psych to be surprised by anything anymore. then, once in a while, a book like this comes along and is something akin to a beam of light that i’m sure shined down on someone in the bible- engrossing and completely unforeseen.

i picked this one up because i am a simple person: i see the words “sapphic” and “paranormal thriller” and immediately make a reminder in my phone calendar for its release date. and trust me- the “sapphic” and “paranormal thriller” aspects of the book were phenomenal. but the characters? the world building? the way that i totally didn’t see the end coming until it happened? ghost busting gay dads? 100% worth it.

i’m definitely keeping an eye on this author- i’m excited to see what comes next!!

A thriller with the added bonus of some paranormal horror. I always love when authors aren't afraid to get spooky in their mystery stories, and this one is no exception. Plus, in this case, the ones doing the investigating are the kids, which gives a nice mix of darkness and light-heartedness.

There's a fun bit of enemies to lovers happening here. As well as family dynamics that go beyond the typical. We also get a bit of insight into the sinister nature of small towns; insiders versus outsiders and deeply rooted bigotry.

Sometimes I struggle to enjoy thrillers that feel predictable, but this one truly kept me guessing.

I'll absolutely be recommending this one to friends, and honestly might even read it again in the near future.

The Dead and the Dark is a book I had wanted to read for a while, so when I got approved I was ecstatic! This is a paranormal horror/thriller with a wlw enemies to lovers romance. If that doesn’t intrigue you, then I don’t know what will. Courtney Gould’s writing style was very good. I can’t wait to read more from this author!

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!