3 stars. Very spooky, love the representation and enjoyed the story as a whole, but the slow pacing didn't work for me in this one.

A TV ghosthunting family show up in the creepy town of Snakebite to investigate missing teenagers, inexplicable weather, and reports of paranormal activity. The daughter of the TV hosts befriends a girl who is haunted by her missing boyfriend. It's a little bit of a weird setup for a romance and involved far too much telling rather than showing for their growing feelings for each other, and it wasn't as believable as I wanted it to be.

The main character's ghost hunting dads though? I ADORED their relationship. I also loved the chapters that focused on "the dark." The family dynamics and exploration of loneliness were fantastic. Ultimately though, these excellent aspects weren't enough to bring this above 3 stars for me.

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

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

When I first heard The Dead and the Dark described as “like Riverdale, but good,” I was intrigued. When I found out it was a sapphic love story, I was hooked. Then I actually read it, and it was all I dreamed and more.

This story opens on the small town of Snakebite, and introduces the Dark-a mysterious supernatural force that seems to be connected to a series of misfortunes befalling the town. Logan’s fathers, who are professional ghost hunters, go to Snakebite to investigate the local tragedies, but she soon finds out they might be a lot closer to the mystery than it originally seemed.

Like any good mystery novel, The Dead and The Dark is very hard to review without spoiling it. The plot is intricately weaved, and seemingly insignificant details end up being pivotal later in the book as the truth is unraveled. As someone who loves to try and guess “whodunit,” I was pleased that the plot was in no way predictable, and it was actually quite difficult to piece together what is really going on in Snakebite. In a way, it feels like you are dropped right into the mystery with the main characters.

A good mystery thriller is nothing without a chilling atmosphere, and this book has it in spades. Anyone who grew up in a small town knows what it’s like to have everyone know each other’s secrets, and has probably fallen victim to the “us versus them” mentality a time or two. From the moment we enter Snakebite with Logan and the ParaSpectors, there is an inherent feeling of wrongness that permeates. It is tempting to blame this all on the Dark, but the truth is that hateful prejudices can be just as terrifying as a supernatural creature, and are often just as deadly. This duality of threats really adds to the atmosphere of the book, and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout.

To be totally transparent, I was initially not a fan of the budding relationship between Logan and Ashley. Individually their characters are excellent, but I was worried we were going to see Ashley use Logan as a rebound for her missing boyfriend, or try to keep her a secret from her homophobic town. However, their story was treated with nuance and grace, and I promise by the end you will be rooting for them as much as I was.

My biggest drawback with this book was the pacing. While the mystery was captivating, it sometimes felt like it moved in stops and starts, which could be jarring as the reader. This was especially true when we say the Dark’s POV, which felt overly chaotic in an attempt to keep us in the dark (pun absolutely intended).

Overall I really enjoyed this book, and would definitely recommend it to someone looking for a good young adult thriller with a fresh perspective on the genre. Fans of Buzzfeed Unsolved, Supernatural, and One of Us Is Lying will find a lot to love in The Dead and The Dark, coming out August 3rd, 2021!

I couldn't put this one down. The setting and the idea of ghost hunting dads was so fun and I was very drawn into the mystery. I also loved the LGBTQ+ themes throughout the book and the idea that that kind of hatred can fester and grow roots and become something tangible if left unchecked. Ultimately, I didn't love the explanation for the dark and wanted a little more from the resolution, but I thoroughly enjoyed the ride which is the most important part of a book and I think this is a great book for teens looking to dip their toe into horror.

Steamy & creepy all in one story! I loved the slow burn romance & creep factor! Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read & review early!

4.5/5

This was seriously spooky!!

Things are not right in Snakebite, Oregon. Teens are disappearing, some turning up dead, the weather is weird and everyone suspects TV's most popular ghost hunters. Logan Ortiz-Woodley has never been to Snakebite, but her dads grew up there and she can't help but feel like they've buried secrets here. Ashley Barton's boyfriend was the first to go missing, and ever since, she's been feeling his presence. But when the Ortiz-Woodley family arrives, she begins to see his ghost. Ashley and Logan don't know who to trust, but they reluctantly team up to figure out what exactly is happening in Snakebite.

The Dead and the Dark was a wild tale of ghosts, murder, and things that go bump in the night. This book really digs into the creepy and eerie side of thrillers with lots of late night and creepy forest scenes. I loved every second of it!

Logan knows her dad Alejo loves her, but her relationship with Bradon has been strange since their stop in Tulsa, where Logan made her first and only appearance on her dads' TV show ParaSpectors. Being in Snakebite only makes things worse, Brandon is continuing to pull away and Logan doesn't understand why. She's missed the sense of family she used to have and desperately craves it from somewhere.

Ashley feels that Snakebite is changing and she doesn't know whether she stills belongs there, though she's never imagined being anywhere else. I loved seeing how differently people reacted to Ashley compared to Logan. But then we get Logan and Ashley together and I knew I was a goner. Logan is very edgy and blunt. She doesn't give a shit about what Ashley's friends think and it was just so badass.

The way the mystery was crafted was amazing. I always had so many questions, and when part of one would be answered, I'd only end up with more. The ending was such a surprise. It takes paranormal to another level for me. I absolutely loved all the dark and creepy vibes of this one. Plus the "will they won't they" between Ashley and Logan was so well done. I had major squinty eyes the whole time.

Rep: Adopted lesbian MC with two dads, questioning sapphic MC medium, latine/x (possibly Mexican) bisexual man medium and white gay depressed man.

CWs: Alcohol consumption/underage drinking, biphobia, bullying, death, gun violence, grief, hate crime, homophobia, lesbophobia, murder, violence, possession by ghostly entity, kidnapping, stalking, mental illness (depression), self harm (emotional), suicidal thoughts, police brutality/abuse of power by police officer.

The Dead and the Dark is a slow, creeping mystery that will have you hooked. Led by two lesbian main charcters, this book perfectly combines romance, intrigue and horror to create a story that will haunt you long after the final page.

As this is a thriller I won’t get into too much detail with the plot and mystery beyond saying I really enjoyed it. The background on how the darkness eating away at this small town, Snakebite, came to be and developed throughout the novel was really interesting and felt plausible. This book is definitely a slow build but by the end I just couldn’t put it down. The sheer emotion towards the end and exploration of grief and pain throughout was heart wrenching and beautifully written.

I loved how the author used different perspectives in this book, particularly the haunting, creeping prose of the antagonist. This built so much tension and was written in such a distinct style from the rest of the novel that I adored. I really enjoyed reading from both of our main characters, Logan and Ashley, and watching their relationship develop. The setting was gorgeously described to create a blistering, tense atmosphere which worked to make the isolated town all the more spooky.

As much as I did overall enjoy this novel, I did find it perhaps a bit too slow to begin with and could feel myself getting bored. I also didn’t connect with either of the main characters as much as I would like to, which meant that the tricky situations and danger they found themselves in during their investigations didn’t scare me as much as they could have. I just didn’t feel like I got to know them well enough and that they didn’t have any significant development. Of course, I prefer character focused novels and this is more plot based so the issue is more with my taste than the book itself.

I overall enjoyed reading The Dead and the Dark but just wished for more of a connection to the characters to completely love it. However, the slow, creeping nature of this book combined with gorgeous, atmospheric writing drew me in and wouldn’t let me go until I’d uncovered all its mysteries. If lesbian ghost hunters in a spooky small town and explorations of grief sounds good to you, then I recommend you pick this book up.

hi, my name’s tas, I’m nineteen, and “sapphic ghost hunters” will never not make me immediately smash that want-to-read button.

The Dead and the Dark takes place in Snakebite, a small, arguably haunted town in Oregon where two girls become wrapped up in a series of eerie murder cases: Logan, the daughter of two ghost hunting dads, and Ashley, the town’s golden girl, who is grieving the disappearance of her boyfriend, Tristan. A disappearance ​​for which everyone seems convinced that Brandon, Logan’s dad, is responsible. After the dark entity making its way through Snakebite causes more kids to go missing, Logan and Ashley reluctantly team up to find out who, or what, is terrorizing their town, whilst maybe, possibly, falling just a little bit in love.

What I truly adored about this book was the characters-- Logan, the daughter of a dad who has all but shut her out completely, feels an enveloping sense of loneliness that she is desperate to conceal with sarcasm and cynicism. Her relationship to both Alejo and Brandon made me periodically tear up, and their family dynamic was among the things I enjoyed reading about the most. Ashley, on the other hand, is slowly becoming enveloped by her grief, while also struggling to come to terms with her own sense of identity. The way that Gould tackled comphet in relation to Ashley was intricately done, and I found myself both heavily relating to her internal conflict and also just wanting to hug her and scream that IT’S OKAY. In the author’s note, Courtney Gould calls The Dead and the Dark a “story about two girls looking for love in a world of hate”, which is exactly what it felt like. That being said, their romance was definitely less of a focus than I’d initially thought (& hoped!), but I really loved the friendship the two of them grew, the slow buildup of mutual trust, and the eventual payoff (the motel scene made me SCREAM).

I didn’t find the book particularly scary, but the atmosphere was definitely underscored by a continuous, tangible sense of dread. Snakebite (a town perhaps best summed up by its creepy landscape and its consistently shitty citizens) felt vividly unsettling, and I spent the majority of the novel yelling at Logan and Ashley to just leave (who cares about moral integrity !!!! just get out !!!! abandon everyone !!!! the sapphics deserve to survive this one !!!!).

Something I did struggle a bit with was the pacing; it was rather slow, which meshed well with the atmosphere-heavy writing, but also meant I found myself getting frustrated at times, wondering when everything would start unraveling already. But it did, indeed, unravel, and the plot twists, while most I found predictable, eventually led to an ending that I LOVED.

All this to say that sapphic horror has once again proven to be a top tier genre, and I can’t wait for Gould’s sophomore novel, Echo Sunset !

I was granted complimentary ARC access to The Dead and the Dark via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to all involved in affording me this opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest. Note that I requested the eARC before the audio ARC, but I prefer audiobooks so I requested it after anyway and was approved for both. I won't be writing two separate reviews, so in regards to the print/ebook just ignore my paragraph on narration.

The Dead and the Dark is a fascinating thriller set in Snakebite, Oregon, which is every little backwater town that hasn't embraced 21st-century views on diversity and human rights yet. Logan's fathers are every ghost hunting TV show's hosts, and she's over it. When the show brings them to Snakebite, a past Logan can't remember threatens to swallow her future.

Oh my gosh, I loved this book! I love paranormal stories, especially when there's a mystery element. I love thrillers. I love both positive and boldly realistic LGBTQIA+ representation. I love tragic twists and turns in sweet romance. This book? This book has all of that and more!

This book has a very cinematic feel to it and I feel like I've already watched a screen adaptation. These are definitely main characters and deserve this full length story they got, but they would make perfect guests and plot drivers in a Supernatural episode (maybe a 2-parter?)

The Dead and the Dark is an amazing debut and I'll be watching for Courtney Gould's name coming through NetGalley from now on. Wow! Seriously, if you like any of the genres and categories this book fits into, you really need to read it.

In terms of the audiobook performance, the narratiion was perfect. I didn't have any trouble at all telling the characters apart, the pacing of the performance was comfortable, and the narrator's voice is pleasant to listen to.

The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould is a delicious and savory tale of the things that lurk with in ourselves as well as in the dark. She weaves a fantastic story of two girls on the search for answers and end up finding themselves along the way.

The characters are whole and well developed. The setting and stage for the story is described and laid out beautifully. The twist at the end was shocking and worth each page of this book. If I could have asked for anything from this book it would have been to have less of a tidy ending and a little more real ness to how our leading ladies ended their story in Snakebite.

Overall, if you love YA you will love this book. If you are in for a slightly Freddy and thrilling but not scary journey in the wilderness this book is also for you. Enjoy!

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Wow talk about keeping you on the edge of your seat while you're reading! Best of cattle dog especially the entrance is exceptional and I love lgbtq element.

4.5 stars

Are you afraid of the Dark?
Not the kind of dark that occurs when the sun goes down, but the kind that consumes souls and guides them to do bad things.
Well, that Dark has returned to the small town of Snakebite and the citizens of this town should definitely be afraid.

When a popular teen, Tristan Granger, goes missing, the town is quick to point fingers at Brandon Woodley, a former resident of the town who reappeared one week prior to Tristan's disappearance. Rather than leave town, Brandon and his husband, Alejo Ortiz, who happen to have a ghost hunting show called ParaSpectors, decide to set up shop, along with their adopted daughter, Logan. While the obvious reason for doing so would be to host a show in the town, they are very secretive about their actual reasons for a good part of the book. Logan, left to her own devices, decides to befriend Tristan's girlfriend, Ashley, and the two work together to try and discover what happened to him.

It is apparent early on that not only is something very wrong in this town, but that Ashley may be the key to getting answers. When the bodies of teens that Ashley and Logan know begin turning up, the urgency to solve the mystery of this town becomes that much greater.

While I liked Logan, my thoughts on Ashley waived depending on her loyalty to the case. I think at times, she was a huge asset, with her special abilities, yet she made some impulsive decisions that didn't make sense to me and put more people at risk.

Overall, I thought the author did a great job of keeping the truth about the Dark a mystery, which added to the book's creep factor. With the paranormal aspects of this story, this is one that Supernatural fans will enjoy, if only Dean and Sam Winchester were on the case, maybe the death count could have been reduced.

For a debut book, this was an impressive storyline that kept me both intrigued and anxious. If you enjoy the YA paranormal genre with a LGBTQ subplot, this is worth checking out.

Advanced Reader’s Copies (I ended up with an egalley and the audiobook) that were provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The audiobook is from Macmillan Audio/Macmillan Young Listeners and the egalley is from St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books.

Snakebite, Oregon is a perfect backwoods town to set up a storyline like this. They're remote from civilization, they're a town of people set in their ways, set in "this is how it's always been", who cannot accept change. They're sheltered from the world (in all meanings of that phrase). And it's a playground for anything sinister looking for a place to cause chaos.

We've got two men raising an orphan child as their own, we've got the paranormal (both what "happens" on their reality tv show and what happens in the real world), and we've got long buried secrets that will no longer stay hidden.

Not gonna lie, I REEEEEAAAAALLLLLYYYYY wanted to hurt the jerk teenage boys in Snakebite, especially after one of the biggest climatic scenes later in the novel. You'll know what I mean when you get there.

I wouldn't say THE DEAD AND THE DARK is scary, but there is definitely a level of creepiness to it. Once the story got going I was hooked and trying to put the pieces together before Gould revealed what was really going on. There were some twists that were REALLY good.

This has ghosts, a murder mystery, two teens trying to figure out who they are as they face adulthood, small town secrets, and malevolent forces (of both the paranormal and the bigoted human varieties), all wrapped up in a narrative that will be hard to put down once you start reading.

Logan is such a great character and I really enjoyed how her presence became a wakeup call for Ashley. I'm glad that Gould also gave page space to Ashley coming to terms with the fact that the people she's always been friends with might not be the people she thought they were and that maybe they were only friends due to proximity. Finding your own voice and opinions outside of your friend group is often a big life adjustment for teens.

Soneela Nankani does a great job with the audiobook too.

I received an arc in exchange for an honest review


This book was really good! It reminded me of ghost hunters meets Riverdale. The dark aspects of the story were very vague and kept me entertained for a long time, as I was constantly turning to pages to find out more. My only issue is that the romance felt a bit forced at times, but especially because that wasn't the main focus of the book, it was made up for by the rest of the novel.

I read The Dead and The Dark at the perfect time, when I was in the mood for an atmospheric, queer, spooky YA paranormal mystery set in a small town, and this wonderful debut hit all those boxes. The discussions of small town life were right up my ally, and the characters of Logan and Ashley were a delight to read, their dynamic being a bright spot amidst the darkness (pardon the pun) of their circumstances. I did have the thought that this would’ve been well served by being told in dual timelines, the one in the present and one to show Logan’s dads backstory interspersed. I know this is a weird thing to project onto a book, that’s not what is, that’s not what it ever claimed to be, but it would’ve solved the novel’s two biggest issues in my opinion. The first being that the only thing stopping Logan from knowing the truth is her dads straight up refusing to tell her. I’m not saying this is unrealistic, parents intentionally keep things from their kids all the time, only that, as a plot device, it’s kind of frustrating. This dual timeline idea also would’ve helped Brandon and Alejo to feel more present and developed, and make their ultimate involvement in the climax feel more earned, as well as helping avoid the inevitable info dump. And quite honestly, I have a bias for non linear storytelling. But like I said, this critique, or whatever it is, is pretty much irrelevant. And though my criticisms still apply, and i think they could’ve been solved in many ways, none of them have so severely impacted my reading experience as to take away from it. I would highly recommend this to fans of Sawkill Girls.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

THE DEAD AND THE DARK is a small town with secrets horror story with some sapphic and queer romance to boot, so of course I highly enjoyed it. Gould slowly reveals the horrors of Snakebite, Oregon, and how the real life horrors of a small town and its problems can feed into a darker, supernatural presence. Our main characters, Logan and Ashley, are teen girls who come from very different backgrounds, but are pulled together because of one mystery: what is happening to the teens in Snakebite. For Ashley, it's trying to find her missing friend Tristan, who disappeared months before and Ashley thinks she keeps seeing. For Logan, it's clearing her dads Brandon and Alejo, who both grew up in Snakebite and now have a successful, if not highly produced, ghost hunting show, and who are regarded with suspicion and hostility. I loved seeing both Ashley and Logan's POVs, and seeing how they slowly discover secrets about those they love, and slowly start to discover the other. And the horror elements, while not too over the top scary, have the right amount of creepiness and unease that make them very effective. As well as some emotional ties and origins that made me teary eyed. Gould does a very good job of showing how hate can create desperation and in turn create something dark and dangerous, and that's all I am going to say because you just have to read it yourself.

THE DEAD AND THE DARK is unsettling and emotional, an entertaining YA horror story to be sure!

The queer ghosthunting story you’ve been looking for!

Logan’s two dads are famous ghosthunters who travel all over the country to record for their paranormal show. When a young boy disappears from a little town in Oregon, Logan is forced to move to the middle of nowhere, and suddenly she’s in the middle of a paranormal investigation with a killer who’s just getting started.

I had high expectations for this book and not only did it manage to reach them, it went beyond them and I loved it more than I thought I would.

I adored the found family aspect. Logan’s relationship with her parents was the sweetest. And don’t even get me started on the sapphic romance. It was perfect.

Logan is a lesbian and she’s not afraid to call herself that. I absolutely love when authors are not afraid to use the word ‘lesbian’, and my love for this book only grew bigger because of that.

The book is full of secrets that slowly get uncovered, and a mystery thrilling enough so you won’t want to put the book down.

I can’t wait for this book to come out, so other people can read it and it’ll get the hype it clearly deserves!

This book was definitely one of my favorite reads of the year! It was incredibly dark and beautifully written. I was enraptured the whole time I was reading, I read it all in one sitting. Also the LGBTQ representation was amazing, I felt very seen.
Thank you so much to netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 Stars!

Content Warnings: blood, violence, murder, attempted murder, drowning, funeral, grief, death of a main character, homophobia, homophobic language, hate crimes, police, child death, claustrophobia (buried alive), mentions of adoption

This book was an absolute whirlwind, in the best way. Courtney Gould is a brilliant writer, and this is a very very strong debut. Gould manages to perfectly mix horror/thriller vibes with an interesting family dynamic, all set in a small town that felt too real to be fiction. We see the characters go on their own journey throughout the novel, and we see them develop and change as the story progresses.

The Dark is a haunting thing, which will remain on your mind even when you finish the book. I read this one at night, and oftentimes, I had to put it down due to just how unsettled I was feeling. The writing in this book chills you to the bone in the best way, and it'll make the perfect Halloween read. I love that this book is a fast-paced, edge-of-your seat paranormal thriller that will become a staple in people's Autumnal reads. Courtney Gould has excelled in this genre already, and I cannot wait to see what they write next.

I want to preface this review by saying that I do not normally gravitate toward thrillers or books with anything paranormal or "spooky." This is not a book I would have normally picked up, but I participated in a buddy read with my book club and I am so glad I did!

Logan travels with her dads Alejo and Brandon to Snakebite, Oregon to scout a location for their ghost hunting TV show. There, the family is immediately rejected by the town locals and ostracized, when they believe Brandon is to blame for the disappearance and potential death of a local teen. As more teens show up dead, Logan takes it upon herself, with the help of local teen Ashley, to solve the mystery of the deaths and to figure out what the dark is that is seeming to always be lurking around.

The Dead and the Dark had me invested in the story from the first chapter. I was captivated from the beginning and could not put it down. Many times, I can guess the twist or "who done it" in books, but this one kept me guessing until the very end. There were so many connections and twists that I just didn't see coming which had me floored.

The town of Snakebite felt incredibly real. The entangled relationships between the locals, plus the deep-seeded past of Logan's dads with the town slowly unfolded and left me shocked many times. I appreciated how the author explored many difficult topics, such as homophobia and sexuality. The author even included content warnings at the beginning of the book, which as a reader, I very much appreciated.

The Dark as a character made the book for me. The entire book was so intense. I felt like I was watching a scary movie and I was constantly on the edge of my seat. I had my theories about certain characters, but none came close to the actual plot, which made this book so fun to read.

I simply loved this book. I am going to recommend it to my students and all my friends. This is a book that needs to be read.

Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

The Dead and the Dark was not what I expected. I was expecting more of a thriller, but instead this book is a slow burn paranormal mystery. Paranormal subject matter is just not my thing, especially if it is not explainable, which it wasn't in the case of this book. I also got pretty frustrated with the lack of communication between Logan and her parents. This was an okay read for me.