A review by pomegranite
The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould

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

2.5

Sometimes when you read something, you can tell it's the authors first real work. The Dead and The Dark screams debut novel, from bad pacing, short chapters, straight to the point sentences, and telling instead of showing... I felt it could really use some work. The first 25 chapters or so really bored me and I had a hard time caring for the characters. I also couldn't really tell how the two characters were ment to end up together, as there was no chemistry or reason for them to even be near eachother. But as time went on and the more I read, the more I enjoyed. Once the book got to where it needed to be I didn't really put down the book, I zipped through the chapters and began to enjoy what I was reading. But then again bad pacing struck, and it really put a damper on things. But I'm not cruel, I didn't hate this book. I thought the author had a good idea with this story, and I enjoyed the family dynamic between Logan and her dad's... and I wish we saw more of it actually. I also really love how queer this story was. One of the main characters is a lesbian with two dad's and the other main is sapphic, and they end up together as a cute couple. All in all? I didn't love this book, I wish it was longer and had more builf but I didn't hate it either. It was a solid read that I don't regret, and it didn't put a bad taste in my mouth when I was finished. It did what it was supposed to as a young adult novel, and if I read this when I was younger? I probably would have loved it.
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