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A review by bethanyangharads
The Book of the Most Precious Substance by Sara Gran
5.0
If you want a quirky book about books, power, and dark sex magic then look no further. That is, unless you’re a minor, because yep I said SEX magic and this book is not for children. To summarise, Lily (our MC) is a bookseller. One day, she was approached by a fellow book seller saying he'd give her a cut if she managed to get any leads on a one in three novel called ‘The Book of the Most Precious Substance’ (meta, I know). That night, he was murdered. So Lily, desperate for cash, decides to try to find the book herself - with some help from a love interest/friend/sex magic partner.
This book was the most perfect balance of wacky, fun, and thrilling. Basically, Lily and her partner follow a bunch of obscure leads to hunt down The Book. Along the way, they learn about the sex magic The Book talks about, and dabble in it themselves. I don’t feel like I’m going to be able to explain the ‘wackiness’ in this novel, without spoiling any major elements, but just know there are definite wtf moments.
Plot and pace wise, I think Gran (the author) did a brilliant job at structuring the novel in a way that slowly revealed the truth of Lily’s predicament, whilst also making sure the hunt for the novel was the main focus. Sometimes I find these kind of quest-like novels can be hard to keep interesting due to an obvious ending, but Gran managed to keep me guessing right to the end.
I think this book is a great example of how a novel can be fun AND complex. The triggers in this novel include murder, kidnapping, and some BDSM that goes too far.
This book was the most perfect balance of wacky, fun, and thrilling. Basically, Lily and her partner follow a bunch of obscure leads to hunt down The Book. Along the way, they learn about the sex magic The Book talks about, and dabble in it themselves. I don’t feel like I’m going to be able to explain the ‘wackiness’ in this novel, without spoiling any major elements, but just know there are definite wtf moments.
Plot and pace wise, I think Gran (the author) did a brilliant job at structuring the novel in a way that slowly revealed the truth of Lily’s predicament, whilst also making sure the hunt for the novel was the main focus. Sometimes I find these kind of quest-like novels can be hard to keep interesting due to an obvious ending, but Gran managed to keep me guessing right to the end.
I think this book is a great example of how a novel can be fun AND complex. The triggers in this novel include murder, kidnapping, and some BDSM that goes too far.