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3.16 AVERAGE
3.16 AVERAGE
I absolutely LOVED this book! Loved everything about it! Can't wait to read the next book in the series and all the books that come after that!!
Kylie is the quintessential "every woman" who suddenly finds herself forced into a word of crazy and has to figure out how to deal with that. She is likable and relatable and I really enjoyed going on her adventures with her.
The supporting characters - the good, the not-so-good, and the "we're not sure if they're good or not" - really help make this book more than just another paranormal action story. "The Wiccans" as Kylie takes to calling her group of helpers really add to both the drama and the humour in the book. They not only help Kylie to navigate the weird stuff she has to figure out, but they also help to offset the intensity with moments of normalcy and humour.
The world-building here is also really good, although because this is the first book, we don't get a ton of detail about the "other side" here and the motivations of the people - and non-people - involved are still pretty undefined. I'm hoping future books will flesh that out for readers.
There really wasn't anything about this book I didn't like. I really enjoyed every moment I spent with Kylie et al, and I am very much looking forward to continuing with this series!! Highly recommended for those who like paranormal fiction. I think this will be a new favourite series for me.
Kylie is the quintessential "every woman" who suddenly finds herself forced into a word of crazy and has to figure out how to deal with that. She is likable and relatable and I really enjoyed going on her adventures with her.
The supporting characters - the good, the not-so-good, and the "we're not sure if they're good or not" - really help make this book more than just another paranormal action story. "The Wiccans" as Kylie takes to calling her group of helpers really add to both the drama and the humour in the book. They not only help Kylie to navigate the weird stuff she has to figure out, but they also help to offset the intensity with moments of normalcy and humour.
The world-building here is also really good, although because this is the first book, we don't get a ton of detail about the "other side" here and the motivations of the people - and non-people - involved are still pretty undefined. I'm hoping future books will flesh that out for readers.
There really wasn't anything about this book I didn't like. I really enjoyed every moment I spent with Kylie et al, and I am very much looking forward to continuing with this series!! Highly recommended for those who like paranormal fiction. I think this will be a new favourite series for me.
There was a lot of push and pull with this book. A woman discovers a book hidden in a wall, opening said book releases demons or baddies she must hunt/capture, and there’s a demon that “helps” her though he seems fairly unhelpful. I struggled with this because the woman (and her friends that help in the fight) honestly seem to be bumbling around not sure what they are doing. I get that (demon hunting isn’t the norm), but they don’t get better. Their approach is to go do it and see what happens. The second part I struggled with is Erasmus Dark (the “helper”/romantic interest). Firstly he seems bound to help the main character but actually tells her nothing useful then is mad when she doesn’t know how to do demon hunting. Secondly, there was (I felt) very little set up in establishing interest between Erasmus and Kylie (main character). It was more of “well you’re an attractive specimen” so of course they’d get together. It didn’t feel like either of them actually cared about the other when the author painted it like they did. It would be fine if they didn’t care for each other and were simply scratching an itch, but that wasn’t the case. Bottom line, I found this book annoying with its bumbling approach to demon hunting, it’s refusal to allow communication on how to demon hunt happen, and it’s lack of set up for a relationship with actual feelings.
Not a bad concept, the execution is cheerfully fluffy and wasn't what I was looking for at the time.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I adore Jeri's work and the premise of this book sounded like fun.
LOVED IT! The characters are great, and the world-building is fun. Looking forward to reading more!
LOVED IT! The characters are great, and the world-building is fun. Looking forward to reading more!
This book was a good launchpad for a series - a great collection of allies and enemies, hints of dangers to come and a sexy love triangle. I didn't rate it higher because I'm really not a fan of sex scenes, but I think this is definitely a good pick for those who enjoy some erotic action with their fantasy.
4.5/5 stars
The Booke of the Hidden is the first book in a new series by the same name, by Jeri Westerson. I really, really enjoyed this supernatural/urban fantasy read. It follows our main character Kylie, as she moves across the country to a town in Maine, where she opens up her own Herb & Tea shop. There she finds a book hidden in the wall, called the Booke of the Hidden. From there, she is swept up in a crazy whirlwind demon hunting adventure that reminded me of part Buffy the Vampire Slayer and part Supernatural. I cannot wait to read more about this series.
Kylie is a feisty main heroine. She has no problem standing up for herself, which I loved about her. Even when she first meets the mysterious Mr. Dark, she doesn't mind putting him in his place. I loved that Kylie was immediately embraced into this quirky small town. It is already a spiritual town. Kind of like in Buffy, where the town seemed to be the epicenter of supernatural activity. Except in this case, it is not because of a hell mouth, but rather because of the Booke. The Booke is really rather fascinating, so I am going to put a spoiler in place right here, which is really not much of a spoiler since it's descirbed within the first 50 pages of the story, but click on if you want to see how the Booke works. When Kylie finds the Booke of the Hidden she opens it and sees that it is blank. The book forms a connection with Kylie and she is the only one that can open it. The Booke acts like a kind of pandora's box, and when she opened it she released a whole bunch of demons into the world. She is then tasked with rounding up and defeating the demons by killing them and writing in the Booke to trap them there. Cool, right?
There is a light budding romance in The Booke of the Dead. I really liked the romance, but I wanted more of it. If I am being honest with myself, the light romance is the reason I couldn't commit to 5 stars for this otherwise excellent story. I am really hoping that the romance will develop into something more in the next book, because I love the dynamic between the two of them. Bring on more romance! (even if it is a love triangle, I will take it)
Bottom line: If you are a fan of demon hunting adventures, set in a cool atmosphereic small town, with plenty of supernatural baddies, then The Booke of the Hidden is a great book for you. It is the start of what is sure to be an exciting series. I can't wait for the second book. I love the spunky main character and I am really interested to see the whole cast of secondary characters developed more. Plus, I totally want more romance! I really enjoyed The Booke of the Hidden.
The Booke of the Hidden is the first book in a new series by the same name, by Jeri Westerson. I really, really enjoyed this supernatural/urban fantasy read. It follows our main character Kylie, as she moves across the country to a town in Maine, where she opens up her own Herb & Tea shop. There she finds a book hidden in the wall, called the Booke of the Hidden. From there, she is swept up in a crazy whirlwind demon hunting adventure that reminded me of part Buffy the Vampire Slayer and part Supernatural. I cannot wait to read more about this series.
Kylie is a feisty main heroine. She has no problem standing up for herself, which I loved about her. Even when she first meets the mysterious Mr. Dark, she doesn't mind putting him in his place. I loved that Kylie was immediately embraced into this quirky small town. It is already a spiritual town. Kind of like in Buffy, where the town seemed to be the epicenter of supernatural activity. Except in this case, it is not because of a hell mouth, but rather because of the Booke. The Booke is really rather fascinating, so I am going to put a spoiler in place right here, which is really not much of a spoiler since it's descirbed within the first 50 pages of the story, but click on if you want to see how the Booke works.
There is a light budding romance in The Booke of the Dead. I really liked the romance, but I wanted more of it. If I am being honest with myself, the light romance is the reason I couldn't commit to 5 stars for this otherwise excellent story. I am really hoping that the romance will develop into something more in the next book, because I love the dynamic between the two of them. Bring on more romance! (even if it is a love triangle, I will take it)
Bottom line: If you are a fan of demon hunting adventures, set in a cool atmosphereic small town, with plenty of supernatural baddies, then The Booke of the Hidden is a great book for you. It is the start of what is sure to be an exciting series. I can't wait for the second book. I love the spunky main character and I am really interested to see the whole cast of secondary characters developed more. Plus, I totally want more romance! I really enjoyed The Booke of the Hidden.
I recieved an eArc from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
This book was just not for me. I couldn’t connect with the characters and wasn’t held by the plot. Jeri Westerson’s writing was solid, I just didn’t connect. I found both Kylie and Erasmus to be incredibly frustrating characters. I didn’t enjoy spending time with them and found the other characters to be somewhat thin.
This book was just not for me. I couldn’t connect with the characters and wasn’t held by the plot. Jeri Westerson’s writing was solid, I just didn’t connect. I found both Kylie and Erasmus to be incredibly frustrating characters. I didn’t enjoy spending time with them and found the other characters to be somewhat thin.
Kylie Strange moves to Maine to get away from a relationship gone bad in California. She decides to open a tea and herb shop in Muddy Bog, Maine. Before her shop opens, she discover an ancient book, bricked up in a wall. When she opens it, little does she know she has released demons into the world and now it is her job to track them all down and imprison them in the Booke of the Hidden once again. Aided by the demon, Erasmus Dark, and a coven of Wiccans, Kylie not only has to track down a succubus, but get her shop ready to open on time. And then, a local biker gang conjures another demon, who brings an incubus along. Just another day in the life of the Chosen Host of the Booke of the Hidden.
Starts out decently but about halfway thru the cliche tropes appear. First, Kylie Strange is declared to be the Chosen Host, which ironically we had just discussed this trope in my book club meeting. Then being an urban fantasy requirement, she takes on a nonhuman and human as lovers so we can get the love triangle started. In both cases, the love interest seems very forced and mutual attraction happens almost instantly. Finally the village of Moody Bog seems to have an astounding amount of stuff, including an amazing hardware/furniture store, Chinese take out and the like, it's really like a medium sized town, so the setting feels a bit off. It does avoid the catty heroine cliche that many urban fantasies seem to have.
An OK read but I'll not be reading anymore.
An OK read but I'll not be reading anymore.
I recieved an eArc from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
This book was just not for me. I couldn’t connect with the characters and wasn’t held by the plot. Jeri Westerson’s writing was solid, I just didn’t connect. I found both Kylie and Erasmus to be incredibly frustrating characters. I didn’t enjoy spending time with them and found the other characters to be somewhat thin.
This book was just not for me. I couldn’t connect with the characters and wasn’t held by the plot. Jeri Westerson’s writing was solid, I just didn’t connect. I found both Kylie and Erasmus to be incredibly frustrating characters. I didn’t enjoy spending time with them and found the other characters to be somewhat thin.