The Dead and the Dark | An ARC Review

Hey everyone! I hope you’re doing well, and enjoying this lovely spooky season. Today I’ll be reviewing The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould. This book was definitely outside of my comfort zone, so I’m happy I received the opportunity to read it! Without further ado, here are my thoughts on it!

PS: Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Dark has been waiting for far too long, and it won’t stay hidden any longer.

Something is wrong in Snakebite, Oregon. Teenagers are disappearing, some turning up dead, the weather isn’t normal, and all fingers seem to point to TV’s most popular ghost hunters who have just returned to town. Logan Ortiz-Woodley, daughter of TV’s ParaSpectors, has never been to Snakebite before, but the moment she and her dads arrive, she starts to get the feeling that there’s more secrets buried here than they originally let on.

Ashley Barton’s boyfriend was the first teen to go missing, and she’s felt his presence ever since. But now that the Ortiz-Woodleys are in town, his ghost is following her and the only person Ashley can trust is the mysterious Logan. When Ashley and Logan team up to figure out who—or what—is haunting Snakebite, their investigation reveals truths about the town, their families, and themselves that neither of them are ready for. As the danger intensifies, they realize that their growing feelings for each other could be a light in the darkness.

(Synopsis from goodreads)

I’m not going to lie, it took a while for the book to fully grasp my attention. The book was very complicating and repetitive at times. However, as the story progressed, I found myself becoming more and more enthralled!

The main characters Logan and Ashley are quite peculiar characters. They’re both morally grey, and you can never truly tell if they’re friends or not. But this only adds to the excitement you feel while reading The Dead and the Dark. Readers will never know if they’ll become close, or betray one another. In addition, Logan and Ashley’s parents are incredibly mysterious. This only adds to the eerie vibe of the story. Every character in the book has a story to tell, and it was such an amazing experience to see it all unravel.

In addition, the dialogue didn’t stand out to me. Since The Dead and the Dark is a mystery, I expected there to be more suspicious or nail-biting dialogue. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. 

On a more positive note, I adored the writing. While many scenes felt repetitive, the author described each setting a bit differently every time Ashley or Logan returned to that specific place. This was such a unique way to showcase the change in perspectives! 

Overall, I really enjoyed The Dead and the Dark. It started off slow, but very quickly grasped my attention. I definitely recommend this novel for the fall season!

Age Rating: 15 and up

Trigger Warnings: Violence, death, drowning

Final Rating: 8/10 or 4 stars

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What’s a spooky book you adore? I’d love to know! Have an amazing day!

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