A Guide to the Dark is a YA thriller with some ghostly aspects. In the end, I did enjoy the story, however, a few things did not work for me. First, I did not like the photographs, they just changed how I thought the characters would look. I did not think any of them looked the way I had envisioned them in my head. I guess in works of fiction, illustrations work for me, actual photographs do not. So that became really weird. The second thing that I had an issue with was the dual chapters. Usually, this works for me, but in this case, the voice of the characters was so similar that I could not tell them apart. If they were not labeled I would have had no idea who was saying what. Anyway, two minor annoyances but all in all it is a solid YA book.

I really, really wanted to like this book. It has everything I should like - haunted hotel, diverse characters, creepy plot.

I did not love this book.

I though the photos were unnecessary and they kept a) pulling me out of the book and b) messing with how the characters looked in my head.

The plot was interesting, but sluggishly told. And I really didn't feel like the explanations made perfect sense.

I did finish the book and I think that there were definitely the seeds of something good there, but I ended it feeling meh and eager to move on to something different.

* ARC via Publisher

Thanks to Colored Pages Blog Tours and Fierce Reads for the physical book in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.

A Guide to the Dark follows best friends Layla and Mira on their spring break college tour trip. But when their car breakdowns, they’re stuck in nowhere Indiana at the Wildwood Motel. Mira is haunted by her dead brother the longer they stay at the motel and it’s made worse when the girls find out eight people have died in their room in the past.

I absolutely loved this story!! Layla and Mira were the perfect pair to narrate this story and I really enjoyed seeing their relationship deepen into something new. Both girls are holding onto secrets that they want to tell each other and we see them try to find the courage to do so. This story speaks a lot about grief and guilt and how these feelings can drown us if we let them.

Overall, an extremely well down paranormal thriller/murder mystery with an ending that left me with chills. I hope we get to see more from Metoui in the future!

Rep: bisexual Arab Muslim MC with PTSD, sapphic Arab Muslim MC, Black cis female side character, various white side characters.
CWs: general queerphobia/queermisia, death of a sibling/child, death of a parent, death, grief, recurring visions of drowning, fire, injury/injury detail, car accident, mention of past deaths and suicides.

Mira and Layla are on a road trip when a minor car accident leaves them stranded in a small town. When they check in to Room 9, mysterious things start happening to Mira.

I really enjoyed this one. This young adult horror has a mixture of unique elements that blend together to create a creepy yet meaningful story at it's heart...

▫️It's Sapphic
▫️Muslim MCs
▫️Grief as a Palpable Entity
▫️POV of the Entity
▫️Creepy photos

I read approximately 50% before I was graciously approved for the audiobook. The digital copy has photographs that connect to the plot. I personally enjoyed these touches and would have missed out of I didn't have the ebook. They added depth to the characters and created an added layer of suspense. There's a specific pool shot that was creepy as hell. Loved it!

The audiobook is narrated by three talented voices: Vaneh Assadourian, Ariana Delawari, Ramiz Monsef. I enjoyed each voice and the life they brought to the characters. I don't have many YA horrors with Muslim representation. This stood out to me. The different cultural acceptances the girls are juggling with their parents felt like an integral part to their secret feelings for each other. It ties in really well. I would've enjoyed more in this area.

The part that resonated with me the most was the focus on grief and how it sits with people in different ways. Festering inside when it's not acknowledged. A well placed concept that made the horror elements more fleshed out.

This was a light horror read that mixes a bit of mystery and lesson at its core. I fully enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those who enjoy elements like this. Thank you Henry Holt and Recorded Books for the gifted copies in exchange for an honest review!

I thought a lot about this book was interesting—the characters, the creepy mystery death room, the mixed media photography inclusion. It had a lot of strengths! Ultimately, I was left unsatisfied by the conclusion, particularly the lack of any sort of reason or explanation for what and why the room was. I'm sure many readers don't require this, but for me it was the main thing I was reading to find out!

Book Review
Title: A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui
Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Queer
Rating: 3 Stars
The opening to A Guide to the Dark was definitely interesting and the only thing I can compare it to is the movie 1408, based on a Stephen King short story features a haunted/possessed motel room. We are introduced to best friends, Mira and Layla as they are exploring college options when their car breaks down and they head to the Wildwood motel. They are initially told that there are no rooms but the owner, Elena convinces her son, Ellis to put the girls in room 9 which seems to be the room that likes killing people. From the moment they enter, Mira feels a heaviness and is plagued by nightmare of her brother, Khalil who died the previous year while Layla experiences nothing like this. I really liked the opening and the dynamic between the girls and can’t wait to see where the horror elements come in.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Mira and Layla spend the night in the motel but Mira feels something is off about the place while Layla doesn’t. Mira ends up seeing the ghost of her dead brother several times and she can’t decide if she is going crazy due to grief or whether there is something more paranormal happening at the motel. The town itself also seems to back up the paranormal element since the mechanic fixing her car tells Mira a little about the motel’s bloody past but nothing specific. Due to the car taking several days to fix, they are planning to stay at the motel but Mira wants more information about what is going on. So, when they are out with Ellis and Layla asks him directly why everyone is staring at him, he explains that the town seems to believe his mother killed his father which was a huge bombshell. I found it interesting that the only unusual thing Layla has experienced is her photos of Mira warping when they don’t for other but she thinks it is due to the lens meaning the room seems to have attached itself to Mira.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Ellis comes into the story properly as we learn that his father committed suicide in room 9 and he wasn’t the first. Mira ends up talking to him and learns about the death that have happened because she initially opened up about her brother because he understands what she is going through in a way that Layla doesn’t. After he shows Mira his research, she knows she needs to bring Layla in and does that. Together, the three look at the deaths and realises that there seems to be nothing connecting these people apart from the room. None of them share the same backgrounds, job etc. but from the interlude chapters we are introduced to the Pull. The Pull seems to be the entity in room 9 and we know it attaches itself to people who are experiencing strong negative emotions like depression or grief which explains why Mira has been able to feel it from the moment she stepped in whereas Layla didn’t.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, the trio decides to perform an experiment since Mira is the only one experiencing these hallucinations and knows what the room feels like since Ellis has never entered the room. This night is when things begin to pick up pace as Mira hears her brother’s voice coming from the TV underneath the static but Layla doesn’t hear it at all. After this they decide to sleep and use Layla’s camera to record anything else but Mira wakes up after another nightmare unable to move. Layla believes this was sleep paralysis but Mira is sceptical, even the next day when they meet up with Ellis, none of them can hear a voice but they do witness someone breaking into the girl’s room and this happens to be the same man trying to get in early and claimed he had the wrong room. He also happens to be the same man that Mira ran into on the first day they stayed at the motel. This is making me question whether this is going to be paranormal horror or serial killer horror As the premise made me believe that it would be paranormal horror and the writing does as well so for it to turn into a serial killer horror would be very disappointing for me.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, we return to the paranormal element as it turns out the man who broke into their room, Devlin, who looking for information on the room and what happened to his wife. His wife, stayed in the motel after the death of their son and after leaving she got worse to the point where he had to send her to a mental hospital. With Devlin and Izzy helping they begin looking into guests who stayed in room 9 but didn’t die there to try and find a pattern and what they discover isn’t encouraging. Mira is coming to realise that the room’s reach is extending the longer she is close to it and many of the guests that left eventually ended up dying through freak accidents, suicide and other causes. It seems almost like a Pennywise situation but Mira has noticed the warping around her in the photos and in glass, she has also connected that this entity seems to avoid Izzy and Layla but she is also drawn to Devlin and Ellis. However, they haven’t made the connection that the only thing those three have in common is the death of a loved one.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Mira voices her thoughts on how the room influences people and attaches to people and it makes completely sense. Mira is also the one that realises that the warping on pictures doesn’t just affect her, it also affects Devlin and Ellis to be to a lesser degree. Now they know the connection to the people affected by the room is death, they just need to understand how to stop the room and I think it is going to come back to something Izzy said. We know Elena isn’t affected by the room or the warping and Izzy says she has forgiven herself for her husband’s death. I think this forgiveness and absolving yourself of guilt is what breaks the rooms hold on you and therefore each person affected will need to confront the death in their life and forgive themselves in order to release themselves from the room for good and I think Mira is about to test this head on.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, we do get the answers to some questions but definitely not the resolution I was hoping for considering this is a standalone novel. I also didn’t appreciate what Metoui did with the ending as I felt there was a lot more that could have been done with it. I also don’t agree with the horror tag on this book since there is barely anything scary in the book and nothing horrific in my opinion. I would class this as barely a paranormal thriller but the way I would describe this is a contemporary romance with a hint of the paranormal which definitely wasn’t what I signed on for. Despite that, this book did have some interesting concepts and good diversity with both Arab and queer characters so it does get points for that. If you enjoy movies like 1408, then give this a try but expect less suspense and definitely less horror than the movie.

Did someone say Supernatural but make it sapphic?! That’s definitely the vibes that I got while reading A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui.

This story follows Mira and Layla, best friends that embark on a college road trip for spring break only to find themselves stranded at the Milwood Hotel in the middle of nowhere Indiana. After checking into room 9, they found out that eight guests have died in that room, and now Mira is seeing her dead brother…

More than anything, this story is an exploration of grief and how grief manifests differently for people. I really appreciated the way the author approached Mira’s grief because it mirrors so many of the emotions that I have felt when it comes to the death of a loved one…especially when it comes to closing yourself off from those closest to you.

I also really liked the exploration and contrast of queer identity from both Mira and Layla through the lens of brown Muslim girls, which looks vastly different than their white peers. I did want more insight into Layla’s character because for most of the book, she comes off as a superficial and an unsupportive friend, which drastically shifts in the last half of the book.

As far as the spooky story line goes, I am always here for haunted houses/buildings with dark pasts, so I was intrigued by the torrid past of the Milwood Hotel. I think the author did a fantastic job with those vibes.

One thing to note is that I wasn’t sold on two Muslim girls being alone in a small town in the middle of nowhere and running head on into danger since Mira and Layla do discuss how they’ve always felt like outsiders in their predominately white high school.

Huge thanks to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for allowing me the chance to read this story.

This is a perfect book for those of us who like scarier things, but don’t want to be up late at night with a nightlight. The dual POV throughout the book was a wonderful way to explore each character, and the photos add a unique touch that I felt helped immerse me, Though I am not typically a huge fan of friends to lovers, I ended up loving these two. This book is a such a beautiful blend of horror, acceptance, grief, love, and other nuanced and difficult themes that kept me interested and on the edge of my seat. Fantastic read!

Mira and Layla are stranded on their spring break college tour road trip. Stuck at the Wildwood Motel in the middle of nowhere, Mira is haunted by nightmares of her dead brother. He's still there when she wakes up, but Layla doesn't see him. Layla is preoccupied by taking pictures of the place and growing feelings for Mira. They learn eight people died in their room, indicating there must be a connection between the deaths and the eerie things inside it. They just have to find the connection before Mira becomes the ninth.

The novel comes complete with photos that reflect the text, as Layla is a photographer. The creepy feeling is heightened by the odd things Mira feels, altered parts of the photos, and the chapters told from the Pull's POV. We're introduced to people in town that might know something about the hotel or the people affected by it; we even see the murder wall of data in Layla's photos. The truth is bigger than they thought it was, with the Pull getting stronger over time. At the same time, Layla has her own guilt as she struggled with her love and the disapproval from her family. It was a story that sucked me in from the start and I had to keep reading until I was done. Fantastic story, with a hint of menace until the very end.

There's important representation happening with this book. How often do you see a book with two Muslim girls as the protagonists? I think that makes the book worth consideration. But I could have done without the photographs and unfortunately the plot did not hold my attention. I struggled to finish reading the book. The suspense/horror aspect just didn't do it for me.

Trigger Warning: Mentions of death and suicide, drowning, grief

While touring colleges around the east coast and the midwest during their spring break, best friends Mira and Layla get stranded at the Wildwood Motel in Indiana after their car breaks down in a rainstorm. But something is off about their Room 9 assignment. Mira begins having haunting nightmares and visions of her dead brother, but Layla doesn’t see anything. Sure, the place is a little run down, but it’s got that small town feel Layla can’t wait to capture on her camera.

When they learn that eight people have died in that exact same room, they realize there must be something sinister going on - they just need to find the connection before Mira becomes the next.

This was a page turner for me that though I kind of knew what was happening, it was intriguing to watch the characters connect the dots. I seemed to only be a few pages ahead of them when it came to that, so it was fun to see that I was almost always on the right path. I also enjoyed the deeper dive into grief and how everyone handles it differently.

I loved the pictures included in the novel, especially when I would find something in them. My only problem was, and it may have been just because I was reading a digital ARC and it wasn’t formatted correctly, was that sometimes the photos that would be mentioned or talked about you wouldn’t have access to until a few pages later. Wasn’t a big deal, but it would have been nice to have the comparison within a page flip.

It was also nice to read about two Arabic Muslim teenage girls as the main characters. They talk about their different dialects, the differences between their parents, how they both practice their religion, and even the differences between the Arabic pronunciation of their name versus the English pronunciation.

Overall, this is a fun, keep me near the edge of my seat, YA horror read. I will definitely be recommending this to anyone who loves YA horror, as well as those who want a bit of a spooky read some closer to Halloween.

*Thank you Henry Holt and Co. and NetGalley for a digital advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

- haunted room vibes
- sapphic friends to lovers
- a bi mc (loved that)
- mutual pining
- grief
- jealousy (?)
- Arab mc

I think one of my favourite thing about this book was the third person chapters. The narration was top notch, it added so much to atmosphere of the book and the overall vibe of the haunted room.
The way grief was discussed and the way it connected to the story in the book felt heart wrenching and so well handled.

The characters personalities were well fleshed out and the dynamic between them with the other and them with the other characters was fun. It's fun to see a bunch of strangers find each other and work together to solve a deadly mystery.

It was a great book!

Unfortunately this one just didn't work for me and I gave up about halfway through. It was pretty boring, and there was a lot of whining and wondering if the other girl liked them, over and over and over. The pictures added were an interesting idea, but only one or two of them actually showed anything that I could tell was supposed to be off. Otherwise the pictures were just kind of there.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Meriam Metoui for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for A Guide to the Dark coming out July 18, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own. 

Room 9 is always watching. But best friends Mira and Layla don't know this yet. When the two high schoolers are stranded on their spring break college tour road trip, they find themselves at the Wildwood Motel. It’s in the middle of nowhere, Indiana. Mira can't get rid of the feeling that there is something off about their room. Inside, she's still haunted by nightmares of her dead brother. When she wakes up, he visits her. 

Layla doesn't see him. Or notice anything suspicious about Room 9. The motel may be a little run down, but it has a certain charm she can’t wait to capture on camera. If Layla is being honest, she’s too preoccupied with confusing feelings for Mira to see anything else. But then they find out eight people have died under mysterious circumstances in that same room. They realize there must be a connection between the deaths and the unexplainable things that keep happening inside it. They just have to find out before Mira becomes the ninth.

Normally I really love horror stories featuring ghosts. I was excited to check this out. This book didn’t really work for me though. I was a little surprised the two high school girls were allowed to go on a road trip alone, especially if their parents were on the strict side. I definitely wouldn’t have as a teen. Then it was a little difficult to tell their personalities apart. The voices seemed very similar besides one having a brother who died. It just wasn’t spooky enough for me. I did enjoy the photography though.

This is an intriguing horror mystery that weaves together elements of the paranormal, grief, and friendship in a captivating young adult book. Set during a college tour road trip, the story follows two Arab-American best friends, Mira and Layla, as they find themselves stranded at an eerie motel in Indiana. Mira senses something amiss in Room 9, haunted by nightmares of her deceased brother. On the other hand, Layla, preoccupied with her feelings for Mira, doesn't notice anything suspicious. As they uncover the motel's dark history and learn about the deaths that occurred in that exact room, Mira becomes increasingly at risk of becoming the next victim.

One of the strengths of the book is its portrayal of the complexities faced by Arab American teens with immigrant parents. The insight into their struggle to hold onto traditions in a foreign land while feeling disconnected from their mother country resonates deeply. The exploration of grief, stemming from the loss of a sibling and a parent, adds emotional depth to the narrative, although it may be challenging for some readers. It certainly was for me.

The use of black and white photos in the story enhances the eerie atmosphere and brings an artistic element to the book. The small-town setting contributes to the overall creep factor, adding to the mystery and suspense. It's important to note that A Guide to the Dark delves into darker themes and doesn't offer a happy ending. The horror elements and emotional depth make this a compelling yet unsettling read.

Overall, a thought-provoking and captivating tale that combines elements of ghostly mystery, horror, and coming-of-age struggles. It's a tough yet rewarding read that offers unique perspectives and leaves a lasting impact on the reader.

Mira and Layla are on a college tour, when their car goes off the road, stranding then in Room 9 at the Wildwood Motel. Room 9 has a history of death and misery, which Mira can feel deep in her bones. Picking up a team along the way, the two girls begin to dig into the history of Room 9 in hopes of pushing the past out of the present.

This book has a lot of good things going on. Mira and Layla are great best friends who are attempting to figure out their feelings for each other. The supporting cast of characters are interesting and had me rooting for them, Mira, and Layla hard. Room 9 is definitely creepy, and makes the stakes real and high.

But this book didn’t grab me the way I had hoped, and I can’t quite put my finger on why. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. I do know I didn’t really enjoy the chapters from the room’s “point of view”, and I wanted even more about the history of the room.

I would say give this book a try, it seems a lot of people have loved it more than me.

A creepy story with some nice LGBTQ+ and BIPOC representation. Definitely not scary though (more on par with Goosebumps chills-wise than the sapphic Shining I was anticipating).

The book took some bold risks by including photos and the room’s POV. I felt like both choices worked. As someone who doesn’t see imagery when I read, the photos were helpful in reminding me what the characters and places looked like, though readers who prefer to only use their imagination may feel otherwise.

I would have liked a bit more supernatural activity and an explanation for what caused Room 9 to be sentient and malevolent. It also seemed odd that no one attempted any well-known anti-ghost/anti-evil precautions (salt circles, burning sage, etc.). And while I don’t mind pining, the romantic subplot did stagnate for much of the book—I would have loved to see more of a one step forward, two steps backward dynamic or a steady progression towards love.

I’d recommend this for anyone craving something eerie who prefers their horror to be light on the scares.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

<i>A Guide to the Dark</i> follows two friends, Mira and Layla, on a spring break road trip to visit colleges. En route to Chicago, they get in an accident, leaving them stuck in a tiny town waiting for their car to be repaired. Here, they stay in a motel, only to find themselves in Room 9--where 8 people have died and Mira finds herself haunted by her deceased brother.

Unfortunately, not much about this book worked for me. I like the concept and the main story about these two girls being stuck in this haunted motel room, but everything else...didn't love. (I did like the conversation surrounding their identities as Muslims and how it was nuanced and complicated especially regarding the girls' queerness.)

Firstly, Mira and Layla are interchangeable in most ways. While I thought the author handled Mira's grief about her brother well, aside from that, the two perspectives were super repetitive and felt like the same voice. Both girls spend too much time yearning after the other in the exact same way and it got pretty old to read pretty quickly.

There are also characters in this book that really didn't need to be there. I wish they had been removed and more time had been spent crafting an atmosphere and more fast moving plot, because oh boy, nothing happens for about 75% of this book. It's so slow. There are some creepy moments, but not enough to justify the time it takes to get somewhere.

And then by the time we do get somewhere...the novel ends. No answers to be had. Every question about the room basically still present. <spoiler>I truly did not like or appreciate the POV chapters from whatever entity was in the room. It felt so cheesy and the writing was not great.</spoiler>

All in all, this book needed another round of edits--both in plot and writing. There's a good story to be had here, but unfortunately, it never reaches its full potential.

I enjoyed the storytelling of this story quite a bit.
The idea of a room that needs to feed is a favorite theme that I really love to read.
I found the characters to be well written and I did enjoy their interactions.

The photos helped explain the weird phenomenon but I found that I didn’t need them to imagine the static around Mira. They were almost distracting to the story but I can see why others would enjoy them.

Overall, I really did enjoy the story and would recommend it to any YA reader who loves a good horror mystery.

3.5 stars rounded up.

I'm not sure why this is labeled as "horror" when it's more "mystery/thriller" and "drama." So, set your expectations accordingly.

I liked this! It was a very quick read for me. I loved the creepy haunted motel vibes and the characters (both main and secondary). It's mostly a drama that deals with grief and how different people process it, with a lite mystery/thriller element that helped emphasize the former. It really worked for me.

I could find kinship with Mira and Layla since I grew up as a Muslim. Loved the representation, and I'm sure others in the same situation might also be able to relate. (Although there were some elements in this novel that my mom would definitely object to if I read this as a teen lol).

Layla's struggle with being queer and Mira's struggle with grief and guilt felt very realistic. The author did well with getting her point across with their POV chapters.

I actually liked the photographs included in the chapters (I'm a visual person), although I had to view them on my Kindle app on my phone instead of my actual Kindle. I think they should be included either in the beginning or end of the chapters. Most were in the middle of chapters, and it was slightly distracting to jump from words to photos and back to words.

I do agree with other reviewers that sometimes it was hard to distinguish between Mira and Layla's POVs. They're labeled in the beginning of the chapters, but their voices sounded too similar. You could only tell them apart because Mira was the one grieving over her brother, while Layla held a secret crush on Mira.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this as a quick summer mystery/thriller.

Thank you to Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) and NetGalley for this arc.