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the_castle_library's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
What a great adventure this was to read! I wish there was more following this book, but it is an epic standalone! It was full of twists and turns: fun, romantic, thrilling, and sad.
Two best friends have a shared love for a book, "Moira". They have tried contacting the Author for book signings, meet and greets, or just for coffee to talk about the book and if there are plans for anything else from that world, but no one has been able to contact her and her address isn't listed anywhere, even though she lives in the same city, Boston.
Edelle is outgoing, a dreamer, and a romantic, whereas Connie plays it safe, a tomboy, and practical. Edelle has been hanging out at a local shop, Witch's Eye Emporium, more than usual lately and has become close with the proprietor. He has filled Adelle's dreamer head with promises that he can transport her into the world of "Moira" and she takes the bait hook, line, and sinker and drags Connie into it too.
Once they get there, everything is out of sorts. Nothing is blissful and romantic and the characters aren't who they appeared to be in the story either. They have to figure out what has happened to change their beloved book and try to set it right.
My rating for romance is 💖
Two best friends have a shared love for a book, "Moira". They have tried contacting the Author for book signings, meet and greets, or just for coffee to talk about the book and if there are plans for anything else from that world, but no one has been able to contact her and her address isn't listed anywhere, even though she lives in the same city, Boston.
Edelle is outgoing, a dreamer, and a romantic, whereas Connie plays it safe, a tomboy, and practical. Edelle has been hanging out at a local shop, Witch's Eye Emporium, more than usual lately and has become close with the proprietor. He has filled Adelle's dreamer head with promises that he can transport her into the world of "Moira" and she takes the bait hook, line, and sinker and drags Connie into it too.
Once they get there, everything is out of sorts. Nothing is blissful and romantic and the characters aren't who they appeared to be in the story either. They have to figure out what has happened to change their beloved book and try to set it right.
My rating for romance is 💖
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death
Minor: Death of parent
uhhlexiconic's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Although it ends rather abruptly and the themes of Moira's characters vs the counterparts the leads met doesn't entirely land, The Book of Living Secrets is an enjoyable adventure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
spinesinaline's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thanks to Frenzy Books for an ARC to review!
I am not often a reader of horror and this one gets very, very close to the uncomfortable. This book had been sitting on my shelves for some time before I finally worked up the nerve to read it. It follows two high school girls, Adelle and Connie, who are obsessed with their favourite book and when a strange man who runs the local magic shop offers to cast a spell that will transport them inside that very book, they tentatively accept. Only the characters and this beloved setting have had strange developments when left to their own devices.
Content warnings for death, grief, gore, blood, excrement, panic attacks. There are some extremely disturbing scenes that I mostly tried not to think too much about. If you enjoy creepy stories, this is sure to be up your alley.
I am not often a reader of horror and this one gets very, very close to the uncomfortable. This book had been sitting on my shelves for some time before I finally worked up the nerve to read it. It follows two high school girls, Adelle and Connie, who are obsessed with their favourite book and when a strange man who runs the local magic shop offers to cast a spell that will transport them inside that very book, they tentatively accept. Only the characters and this beloved setting have had strange developments when left to their own devices.
Content warnings for death, grief, gore, blood, excrement, panic attacks. There are some extremely disturbing scenes that I mostly tried not to think too much about. If you enjoy creepy stories, this is sure to be up your alley.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Excrement
pastelbanana1's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Classism
Minor: Grief and Death of parent
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Details:
Narrated by Kate Marcin
Unabridged
The Land of stories but make it YA, with a little sprinkling of 1000 doors of January.
This was a delight.
I went into this one with no sort of expectation, just off a random peruse on my library app, when this stood out with a cool sounding blurb and a pretty cover and I feel like I should do that more often because this was quite successful.
I loved the concept of going into your favourite book to relive the magic of the story in a more genuine way and I enjoyed how it got turned on its head with the age old warning of don't meet your heroes.
It got sinister and dangerous and not at all like what our MCs were expecting, but it was such a joy to read, albeit, from the comfort of my sofa and not actually living it, like our MCs managed to do...
I loved getting to meet the characters and seeing how they lived up (or didn't) to Connie and Adele's expectations and how the characters of Moira reacted to people from the future.
I was a bit let down by the ending. It felt a bit too neatly wrapped up for the chaos that they endured in their adventure, but despite that, this was an entertaining experience!
Narrated by Kate Marcin
Unabridged
The Land of stories but make it YA, with a little sprinkling of 1000 doors of January.
This was a delight.
I went into this one with no sort of expectation, just off a random peruse on my library app, when this stood out with a cool sounding blurb and a pretty cover and I feel like I should do that more often because this was quite successful.
I loved the concept of going into your favourite book to relive the magic of the story in a more genuine way and I enjoyed how it got turned on its head with the age old warning of don't meet your heroes.
It got sinister and dangerous and not at all like what our MCs were expecting, but it was such a joy to read, albeit, from the comfort of my sofa and not actually living it, like our MCs managed to do...
I loved getting to meet the characters and seeing how they lived up (or didn't) to Connie and Adele's expectations and how the characters of Moira reacted to people from the future.
I was a bit let down by the ending. It felt a bit too neatly wrapped up for the chaos that they endured in their adventure, but despite that, this was an entertaining experience!
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
isabelleroyall's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-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? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Violence