Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould

91 reviews

ezwolf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Blood

Minor: Child death and Alcohol

msteasam's review against another edition

4.0

Lots of thoughts about this! I loved the mystery aspect and thought it was done very well. Wanting to understand what the hell was going on in the town, with our characters, who was attacking people, and what was buried in the past drove me through the book. It was definitely horror-lite, but the dark tone was engaging and the writing was really solid for a debut novel. This also avoided falling to most of the YA tropes that bother me and draw me out of a story.
I thought the pacing was a bit rushed towards the end but the book built up enough with foreshadowing that it still worked. I would love to have spent a little bit more time with the characters, who were interesting but didn't have very strong characterisation at times. The romance also developed very quickly but not very deeply. The author should write a prequel book about Alejo, who was by far the best character and was very lovable!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Hate crime, and Homophobia

maaxi17's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

A really cool book with a plot on point 👌🏻

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Lesbophobia

amris's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Child death, Death, Homophobia, and Grief

sn8man's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Murder, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Kidnapping

megelizabeth's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

"This was how it was going to be - she didn’t deserve the truth. She could get close enough to taste it, but she could never have the real thing."

This was SO good. It's so trippy and compelling and I just HAD to know what the frick was going on in Snakebite. The atmosphere and sense of place are incredible, the characters are excellently fleshed-out, and the overall vibes are just brilliant. The story is both terrifying as fuck and completely and utterly devastating and there are so many important conversations and observations in here. I was just so, so impressed by it! It's definitely one that will stay with me, and I can't wait to read more from Courtney Gould.

(Also it has a content warning at the beginning and we love to see that <333)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Violence, and Murder

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This was an intense read, and I was very into it. The whole character of The Dark could have been confusing and contrived, but I thought it was written so so well. All of the characters were really well-developed, and I can't wait to read more from this author. Plus,

f yeah the girlies getting together!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Grief, Stalking, and Abandonment

Moderate: Biphobia, Child death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Minor: Police brutality and Alcohol

djmysteryflavor's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Homophobia

veggiestrawenjoyer13's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I really enjoyed this book. I did not expect any of the plot twists or reveals, and it was super exciting to find out the truth about everything! The characters felt raw and realistic, not overdone or underdeveloped. Their emotions felt authentic, I could really connect with them. The writing was great, especially with descriptions and things like that. Very intriguing  vocabulary/writing style. The end was bittersweet in a way but it felt just right. One specific thing I noticed that I loved was that the modern media references and gay jokes did not feel forced. Usually in books that dialogue would make me cringe and give a lower rating. However, I found the humor to be very tasteful and Logan was relatable to me as a teen lesbian. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes horror, mystery, and exploring who you are in difficult times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Child death and Death

Minor: Homophobia

deepcurvesahead's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Hate crime, and Homophobia