I absolutely fell into this book and couldn't put it down. There was a slow build to the creepy, which I absolutely loved and Gould is amazing at writing family and relationship dynamics.

5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In the small town of Snakebite, OR, teens are going missing and oppressive darkness has encompassed the townspeople. When Logan and her dads arrive to Snakebite, many folks are suspicious as the first teen who disappeared coincided with their arrival. They are snubbed by the townspeople, but Logan and local darling, Ashley Barton, team up to figure out what's going on. The darkness is in Snakebite, but is it the town or the people it wants?

Such a good, creepy, and suspenseful book! Logan is such an angsty teen, which is understandable when you have two dads who are famous paranormal investigators. Nevertheless, she was easy to root for as a protagonist. This book mixes paranormal fiction akin to magical realism as Ashley and Logan figure out why teens are disappearing. As they delve deeper into the mystery of the Darkness, they uncover things about the town's collective past, Logan's dads, Ashley's mom, and what possessed the killer (or killers?). I was definitely thrown through a loop in this novel and was surprised with the ending. There are some points where communication could have solved a lot of problems and I had instances of "where are their parents? Where are the adults?" that tends to happen in teen-led YA novels. Overall, the plot and premise were interesting and required a suspension of disbelief. A great read for fans of TV show Supernatural.

They would have more nights under the stars.
They had skies left to see.
I was immediately captivated by the cover of The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould and once I read the blurb it was a done deal, I needed to read this book! I am fairly new to the mystery genre, but The LitBuzz has given me the opportunity to discover books that otherwise would have missed my radar.

Our first main character Logan Ortiz leaves L.A. to move to Snakebite, Oregon, the hometown of her two dads. Since leaving the small town they’ve become ghost-hunting TV personalities who return to the to conduct an investigation inconveniently around the same time that a teenage boy has gone missing and the town people have not missed the coincidence.



Our co-star Ashley’s boyfriend has gone missing, and even 6 months later she refuses to believe that he isn’t somewhere waiting to be found. When a new family comes arrives their intentions and involvement in his disappearance are uncertain and she, along with the rest of her town are understandably weary.

Ashley and Logan may not trust each other, but they have the same goal, to find Ashley’s missing boyfriend and clear Logan’s dad of any wrongdoing. As they get deeper into the investigation dark secrets are revealed while danger grows by the minute… but so does their connection.

The first thing I have to mention is how successful Coutney Gould was in creating a setting that you could literally feel as you read. Maybe it was divine intervention that I was reading this during a record-breaking heatwave in my state but I could feel the suffocating dryness as the dark force that covered Snakebite grew. Creating a story that is creepy in broad daylight is an impressive feat that Courtney Gould was able to achieve effortlessly.

Each different relationship within the Dead and the Dark worked to amplify the tension during an already dangerous and unknown situation. Logan’s relationship with each of her fathers was unique as she clings to one while she struggles to remain close with the other. They know things she shouldn’t be exposed to, but without it, she has no way of understanding why there is a distance between her and one of her dads that didn’t used to be there, leaving her feeling rejected by someone that is supposed to put her above all else.

Logan and Ashley’s relationship began out of desperation as they try to move on from the loss of love from someone they cared deeply for. The progression of their feelings towards each other felt natural as they went from strangers, to enemies, to teammates and finally to love interests. The thing about their relationship that moved me the most was the mutual respect that grew from a dangerous situation and the tentative affection that slowly developed as time passed. The dramatics were left to the paranormal, and the love story was kept subtle, but powerful.

This was an amazing debut by Courtney Gould and I am convinced that even those who do not gravitate towards the mystery/suspense drama would find it enjoyable. I will anxiously wait for her future releases and encourage everyone to pick up The Dead and The Dark!

How could I turn down an opportunity to read Riverdale crossed with Stephen King? I absolutely could not. Logan and Ashley team up to solve the mysterious disappearances of teens in Snakebite, Oregon. Logan is the daughter of two paranormal investigators, and Ashley is the girlfriend of the first boy who disappeared. A dark and twisty thirller, it's a young adult novel that lives up to it's promise.

The Dead and the Dark follows the perspectives of two girls in Snakebite, Oregon: Ashley, a girl whose boyfriend has gone missing and Logan, the daughter of two television ghost hunters who have decided to return to Snakebite with her to research the area for their next season. As you read, the town's history and players become puzzle pieces for the question everyone is asking: why are kids going missing and what does it have to do with Logan's family?

This is a pretty standard book for me - I didn't fall in love with anything but it kept my interest, flowed well, and delivered on everything it promised it would. If I was rating based on enjoyment alone, I think I'd settle more on three stars because I was hoping for more of a Courtney Summers punch in the throat at the climax, but I've bumped this up purely because this is Courtney Gould's first book. The fact that it's a debut makes a lot of the book's strengths stand out, and it gives me hopes that I'll like books from this author even more in the future.

YA mysteries that don't center around high school students are surprisingly rare, and I appreciated that the POV characters in this are freshly graduated and on that precipice of going forward into "the real world" but halted by what's happening in Snakebite. It adds to the tension for me, and if all the seriousness of the plot was interrupted by homecoming details I think it would have ruined the book for me.

I liked Logan a lot - she's blunt and a bit crass but she clearly cares about everyone around her and she has a reason for everything she says. She wants answers for herself at first, something to explain away the fear in her that everyone in the town is right about her dad. But as the book goes on you see her care about the entire picture, even as the answers swirl ever closer to coming from her home. Ashley needed time to grow on me - the sympathy I felt for her initially was easily erased by her mindset when Logan's family comes to town and how complicit she was with her shitty friends being awful. I tend to get just as angry at characters who excuse bigotry as I would for the bigots themselves, so I would have liked a bit more growth there, or a scene where she rises against it (other than the obvious scene we have towards the end).

This is a queer book, like I mentioned above, and it plays out with some expected homophobia. There is a mention of a slur but the author chose to not have the word on the page, which I really appreciated. I'm not one to get too upset by word choice, but I respect the choice to keep people safe from that word even in a scene where it's clear it was used.

The dads and their show didn't work for me, and I don't really know why. It felt off the whole time, and I don't know if that's because of the intentional direction of the plot or because I just didn't buy the characterization of them, particularly Brandon. I liked Garcia a lot, and I would have taken more time with her over the transcripts from the show.

Spoilers below.

Onto the mystery. I figured it out pretty early on, but that's not a demerit against the book - I do think the book tries to be leading with a pronoun usage when "the host" is mentioned, attempting to have the reader think of the likelihood of one outcome more than others, but it might have been more effective to avoid pronouns, since it just had me look for named characters other than the red herring character, and then it was obvious. Credit should be given for how the mystery played out, though, especially for a debut. The added aspects of Logan's past and the real reasons for leaving Snakebite were great additions and well thought out (even if they require further suspension of disbelief than I thought I needed for this book).

All in all, I don't know how memorable this book will be for me, but it was worth my time and I had no real complaints that aren't easily written off by knowing this is Gould's first book. I'm looking forward to reading whatever she comes up with next.

Wow, this was such an engrossing book!! A little bit scary, a little bit weird, and a lot of real characters dealing with their past and their present in believable ways despite the fantasy elements.

I'm not usually into ghost stories but all my friends were reading and really loved this book so I moved it up on my TBR. I'm really glad I did! Though the horror elements were almost too much for me (POV chapters from the killer creep me out so much!) but it just skirted the line of too scary for me.

The author does such an amazing job of creating a small town that feels real and becomes a near-aggressive entity in and of itself. The monster/fantasy bits just enhance the atmosphere without taking away from the realism of the issues facing the outcasts in the town. The killer and the mystery of their identity is gripping and scary and the most real of it all. Great, great juxtaposition by the author of the horrors that can be lurking in even the seemingly simplest of places.

This book was everything I could hope for in a spooky book. This is at the top of my list for October recommendations for sure. I love how I could just feel the helplessness and loss of joy emanate from the characters. I have been missing my Supernatural fix and this is just what I needed. A must read this fall!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. The Dead and the Dark is a creepys story that follows Logan, the daughter of the two stars of ParaSpectors. Her dads star on a ghost hunting kind of show and they claim that their next big shoot is going to be in Snakebite, Oregon where her dads grew up. But when Logan and her Pop arrive, they are anything but welcomed by the towns people. This story was suspenseful and mysterious. It was an excellent read for spooky season. I’m still not writing reviews that I’m super happy with, so, I’m going to change up the format again for this one.

Things I Liked:

I really liked the diversity. Logan is a lesbian. She has two dads. There’s also a character that’s unsure about their sexuality.

I liked the family dynamic. Logan gets along with her Pop way more than she does with her dad. There were reasons behind this, but I think Gould did a great job showing the love that this family has for each other.

The setting. I love books that have small town settings and this one absolutely didn’t disappoint in that regard. The setting of Snakebite really made this story what it was.

The mystery that this story is trying to solve was a fascinating one. We see a bad thing happen at the beginning, but the person’s identity isn’t revealed so I spent the whole book guessing who this ‘big bad’ was. I never did figure it out until the big reveal.

I grew to like the romance. Logan ends up having feelings for a girl that we’re led to believe is straight. She’s also kind of shitty in the sense that she spends all this time with Logan, but she doesn’t defend her to her local friends. But I think she grew enough that I did really end up liking her and Logan together.
I really liked the family history that we learned about. Both of Logan’s fathers grew up in Snakebite, so there’s so much that she doesn’t know about their childhood. We get to learn bits and pieces about what things were like for them as the story goes along.

Things I Didn’t Like:

At times, I didn’t like Logan. She was rude as hell to her dad but so nice to her Pop. There were reasons for the things her dad did and the was that he acted and she never took the time to even ask about it. She just let her negative feelings fester and I really didn’t like that.

I think the story was a bit slow at times. I’m not sure how to explain it other than that. I don’t think that I was expecting creepy things to jump out at me, but there was just something about it that couldn’t hold my focus.

The ending felt like it was a bit rushed compared to the slower pace of the rest of the story. There were so many plotlines that needed to be tied together in order to wrap up the story and I think it all happened really quickly and neatly and I didn’t love that. This story was messy, but the ending wrapped up in a nice neat bow.

Overall, this was a suspenseful and atmospheric story about a family that returns to a small town full of secrets. I really loved the ‘small town full of secrets’ aspect of the story. I would definitely recommend this book for spooky season.

The Dead and the Dark is a creepy and suspenseful story of young love, family secrets, and dark magic. The story is engaging with fully developed and interesting characters. Courtney Gould has given us an atmospheric and chilling novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

This book was great. Scary enough but not too scary. LGBT, but not "in your face". It could be a little slow-paced at times, but I think that just added to the suspense. I found myself just not able to put it down because I just kept wanting to know what happens. I also found that it was not predictable. It was lacking a little history behind the dark, but maybe that could be a second novel. All in all, I wouldn't have a problem recommending it to 7th & 8th grade readers as well as high school.

The book was interesting. I have a few students who really like mystery and paranormal stories. I would recommend this one for those students.

I was totally enthralled and enraptured. The authors writing is excellent and really allows character development. I found it hatd to put the book down for even a moment,its one you cant wait to finish but are dissapointed when it does. I loved the attention to detail in the book,the general flow was good and an easy read. I have since purchased a hard copy for my personal libary as this is one i will reread. Definately a fan of the author afyer this book.in my book club all 15 members loved it and are recommending to others. For me i knew 10 pages in that i was hooked.

The Dead and the Dark follows Logan, a queer teen who moves to a small town with her paranormal investigator fathers. After local teens start showing up dead, the town turns on her family and she pairs up with a popular local to try and solve the mystery and prove her family is innocent. This is one of those books that you kind of just have to accept the world it takes place in. If you start asking too many questions you’re not going to enjoy it, but overall I liked this book. I would say the strongest aspects are atmosphere and the central father/daughter dynamic and the evolution of that relationship. I wasn’t wild on the main romance, but I love queer rep in horror so I’m happy it existed. The pacing was great, albeit on the slower side, but I read this pretty quickly and it amps up enough by the end that I blazed through the last ten chapters. Of course, the cover is absolutely gorgeous. This is a solid YA horror debut and I would definitely read more from this author.
I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating 5
This book had been on my shelf waiting to be read for months before I finally picked it up (not the book's fault but my own). I requested it on Netgalley after seeing the intriguing cover and reading the synopsis. I’m a mood reader and I never found myself in the mood for this one. After reading it, I am so upset with myself for waiting so long! I switched between the audiobook and the e-book and both versions were enjoyable.
The story had a nice flow to it and the pacing was on point. I never felt bored and even when listening to the audiobook my mind never wandered from the story. It definitely helps that the story follows multiple people because a lot gets missed when only following one. The author did a great job of describing the settings and surroundings. I could imagine the small judgemental town and I could easily picture the creepy cabin due to her descriptions. When listening to the audiobook I could feel the emotion that the narrator was conveying. The overall plot was definitely intriguing because I love watching paranormal shows on tv. So, reading a book about two ghost hunters and their daughter who couldn’t be interested sounded amazing. I wish I could go into more detail about the plot but this story is one that you should go into knowing as little as possible. That’s how I went into it and I loved it. I was questioning what would happen until the very last minute.
I really loved both Logan and Ashley’s characters. They were both strong, independent young women that can be seen as role models. Ashley was more quiet and soft spoken before she started hanging out with Logan. While Logan was always outspoken and would stick up for herself no matter who was picking on her. Logan had this fire in her that I loved reading about. She had a troubled past due to being adopted and having trouble connecting with one of her dad’s. She felt alone and misunderstood by the people she interacted with. Ashley grew up with her mom and lived a very sheltered life. This is why Logan seemed extreme to her because she was not used to that in her small town. Luckily, being forced to work with one another they were both able to broaden their way of thinking. The side characters were good but besides the dad’s none of them really stood out to me. Ashley’s childhood friends were your typical bully kids who did not want to accept the unknown. I would consider the dark a main character and what a great main character! I can’t say too much due to spoilers but I will say the dark had more depth then I thought it would.

Should you read “The Dead and the Dark”?
Yes! This is a great thriller, suspense, mystery read. I will warn you it is pretty dark but that just made me enjoy it even more. I love how diverse this book is and how real the characters come across.

**Received an advanced copy through NetGalley in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

Ashley Barton's boyfriend is missing, but she's seeing his ghost everywhere. Logan Ortiz-Woodley's dads are ghost hunters with a highly successful TV show. And Snakebite, Oregon is the small town full of darkness that brings them all together.

This is a stunningly written, haunting, heartbreaking, hopeful read. Gould creates such a frightening eerie atmosphere hanging over every word, and her characters are so compelling and complex. There are so many different kinds of relationships explored within the story: the hope of the deep developing feelings between Ashley and Logan, the established deep love between Logan's dads, the undying but complicated bond between parents and their children, the ties to childhood friends and the love we so desperately try to make ourselves feel.

I absolutely recommend getting a copy of this book and diving straight in. While it would be a great spooky October read, it's well worth reading right now. I know I couldn't wait.

An eerie, suspenseful, and haunting tale about finding love in a world full of hate.

This book follows the journey of two girls, Logan and Ashley. Logan, the daughter of the hosts of a paranormal reality TV series called ParaSpectors, is being forced to move to her dads’ hometown of Snakebite, Oregon, where something is terribly wrong. Ashley, our other protagonist, is a Snakebite local, and the girlfriend of the first teenager to go missing. Making matters even more complicated is the fact that despite the town’s acceptance of her boyfriend’s probable death, Ashley can feel his presence haunting her wherever she goes.

Logan and Ashley are a pair of opposing forces that make for a delicious air of tension in the book. Logan is prickly, outspoken, and an out and proud lesbian in a town that hates everything that she is. Ashley is the epitome of the so-called “good girl,” at least, until she and Logan join forces to uncover what’s actually going on in Snakebite, and Ashley slowly starts to show more and more of who she truly is. The relationship between the two steadily evolves from being an antagonistic but beneficial necessity to a genuine friendship and then changes to something even more. It’s a joy to watch their relationship develop alongside the plot and Courtney Gould has paced it beautifully. In other novels, I might have thought the relationship developed too quickly and with too much emotion for such a short period of time, but because of what Logan and Ashley go through together, it’s easy to understand how they come to feel about each other.

Alongside the development of Logan and Ashley, both as individual characters and as a couple, we uncover the mystery of a number of mysteries, all of which are interconnected in various ways. First is the mystery of Snakebite itself, and why it is the way it is. Second is the mystery of the disappearing teenagers. And third is the mystery of what is going on with one of Logan’s dads, Brandon. It’s hard to say much without giving away any spoilers, but I will say that Courtney Gold has crafted an oppressive and insular mystery that is eerie, haunting, and suspenseful.

While this is certainly a dark book with expectedly dark themes, the overall message is one of hope and love and the courage it takes to face and overcome darkness with both. If you enjoy Sharp Objects, British miniseries in the veins of Broadchurch or Unforgotten, or the general aesthetic/vibe of Twin Peaks, I think you’d really enjoy this book. In fact, I think anyone who has even a passing interest in the mystery or horror genre would enjoy this book and I want to recommend it to everyone.

<strong>Logan was a wonderful protagonist with an arc of finding home and healing. </strong>She's putting on a brave face and fighting back with her witty retorts and sarcasm, but deep down Logan is a lonely creature. She <strong>never had a place to call home, as her ghost hunting Dads have their own TV Show and therefore moved her around a lot.</strong> Generally, Logan feels like a <u>stranger in her own family, someone who isn't truly wanted and has no real place here</u>. It really touched me how the book discussed her feeling of isolation, especially as Logan is immediately shunned in Snakebite as well, since her fathers aren't really welcome there. She's tired of the lies she hears from her parents, so <strong>Logan sets out to find the truth Snakebite and why her fathers wanted to return to their childhood home</strong> in the first place. I appreciated the journey of <u>Logan trying to finally create a space that felt like home and in the end, starting the journey of healing from her trauma</u>. She goes through a lot in this book, but I was rooting for her all the time!

<strong>Her dynamic with Ashley was great, though this <em>very</em> slow-burn romance wasn't the focus of the book. </strong> Ashley is a Snakebite native and from a family of great influence in the small-town. <u>Ever since her boyfriend Tristan disappeared 6 months ago, she's determined to find him alive and bring him back home</u>. When the mysterious Logan and her shunned family appear, it seems like they are Ashley's only help when so many others have given up on Tristan. <strong>Ashley and Logan become reluctant allies</strong> in their search to find out the mysteries of Snakebite and quickly form an unlikely friendship, which slowly blossoms into more. It's<strong> more of subplot to the story</strong> (so be prepared for the mystery to take up way more space), <strong>but I enjoyed this very complicated slowburn romance</strong>! <u>Logan and Ashley are often at odds, because Logan's fathers are shunned in town and seen as responsible for the bad things happening</u>. Meanwhile, Ashley's family has a certain image that she is afraid to tarnish and her friends scorn Logan as well. She also deals with figuring out that she didn't have the same romantic feelings Tristan had for her - though she still loves him a lot as a best friend - and <strong>that she might like girls</strong>. The latter is a Taboo in her small town, so Ashley is caught between her family's expectations and what her heart truly wants.

<strong>I appreciated the depiction of complicated family dynamics so much! </strong>As I already mentioned, <u>Logan doesn't feel at home with her two Dads - Alejo and Brandon - and has an especially strained relationship with Brandon</u>. She feels like he doesn't love her and tries to stay away from her as much as possible, so Logan has given up trying to understand him or connect with him. Her relationship with Alejo is slightly better, as he's got her sense of humor and is really trying to be a good parent. However, he isn't perfect either and often hides things from her or ignores her hurt feelings over Brandon. <strong>I liked Brandon and Alejo as characters because they felt so flawed and realistic</strong>. We slowly find out why they act so secretive and distant, as they deal with their own trauma. Coming out in a homophobic small town wasn't easy on them and even now they experience the hatred of their town. <u>They are two people trying their best to keep Logan safe, while also not realizing how much their behavior hurts her</u>. I want more of these family dynamics that are difficult and yet full of hidden love. I especially appreciated how in the end <strong>they slowly begin the journey of healing and mending their family</strong>, though Logan knows there is still a lot to be done and that things won't be remotely okay for a long while. Apart from her dads, <u>I also loved to see Logan connect to Alejo's side of the family</u>, who still lives at Snakebite: Gracia and Elexis, her cousin!

<strong>The story was an addictive blend between mystery, paranormal and thriller.</strong>I read the <strong>first 50% in one sitting, because the story was so engaging and good</strong>. The author is masterful at slowly building up the mystery and exploring the character's relationships. I <u>especially liked the paranormal element of the story</u>, as an entity known as The Dark is involved in the mystery of Snakebite and Logan's Dads run a ghost-hunting show ... which might seem like a scam, but it turns out there are actually ghosts. Some people can even see the supernatural and it fits perfectly into the<strong> mystery of why people keep dying/disappearing in Snakebite and who is behind it all</strong>. The twists were good - though not mind-blowing - and I liked how the author build up all the tension and the subtle clues as to what was really happening 👀

<strong>IN CONCLUSION.</strong> ➽ <i>The Dead and the Dark </i>was a <strong>fantastic blend of mystery, paranormal and complicated family relationships</strong>. The characters were all wonderfully flawed and realistic, all trying their best but also ending up hurting others. I liked the nuance in the characters Arcs and relationships as well. If you're looking for a paranormal mystery, I'd highly recommend checking out this book.

Honestly... I was gripped at the start of the book with the setting of the scene of Snakebite and the background context. I was intrigued by the premise of the book. However, the book quickly lost my attention and enthusiasm. As a "crime junkie" who likes mysteries and cases, I thought that this would be the perfect book for me. I, unfortunately, am DNF'ing the book. It's too long and I tend to like my thriller/mysteries to be as straightforward as they can be. However, Gould has a great writing style, and perhaps I could try to read this book again in the future.

This book is not my typical genre. I was totally sucked in and devoured it. Really interesting premise and just enough info to provide some context for the past but keep the story moving forward.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Dead and the Dark

Author: Courtney Gould

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: mystery, thriller, LGBTQIA+

Publication Date: August 3, 2021

Genre: YA Mystery

Recommended Age: Can’t recommend, DNFed

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Pages: 352

Synopsis: 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.

Review: I had to DNF this read at about 34% in. The book just wasn’t keeping my interest, it seemed too predictable, and while I’d like to try it again, it will probably be awhile before I do.

Verdict: It’s good, just wasn’t keeping me interested.