Reviews
3 Stars
*A slightly corny Urban Fantasy novel lacking in spookiness and atmosphere*
Continuing with my spooky season reads, I pulled Booke of the Hidden from my backlist TBR. I did have to refresh my memory about the synopsis, because it has been a while since I added it, and I got some details confused with The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane since they are both about young women who return to their roots in New England, discover a magic book, and family secrets.
In Booke of the Hidden, Kylie Strange moves to a small town in Maine after a bad breakup, discovers a magic book that turns out to be some sort of lock to a portal that releases monsters. And whoever touches the book is bound to recapture the monsters. Things are made more complicated when a mysterious demon shows up and may or may not be trying to help Kylie.
For starters, I am not sure how old Kylie was supposed to be, but she - and the writing - felt young. I had a difficult time believing she was a business owner when acted like a clueless teenager so much of the time. I’m guessing she was supposed to be late twenties maybe? I’m shelving it as New Adult because it felt so YA but with sex thrown in and slightly older characters.
The demon, Mr. Dark, was not scary at all. There were too many mentions of him having a hurt expression on his face for me to think of him as even a tiny bit menacing. He was a grumbly, slightly entertaining curmudgeon. But I was hoping for the loveable morally grey type of demon like Crowley from Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. Sadly, Mr. Dark didn’t really deliver.
The instalust in the story really didn’t help. I can’t recall the last time I read this much instalust without any chemistry. It was just random spit swapping. Lots of awkward flirting and even more awkward seduction attempts. Plus they just had to throw a love triangle in as well – which felt sleazy since the third party didn’t realize he was in the triangle to begin with. It kind of made me hate Kylie.
And speaking of the lack of chemistry, the explicit sex scenes were odd and, you guessed it, awkward. It was just too much. Plus the cheating and manhandling were so off-putting. And great Merlin’s beard, save me from all the angst. These characters were so immature and emotionally stunted. I hated all their bickering, accusations, and refusal to take responsibility for having consensual sex.
It was also annoying that Mr. Dark was so vague about everything then would get so irritated when Kylie didn't figure things out. And while he may have been magically prevented from revealing some things, it definitely felt like others things were withheld just as an excuse for things to go wrong and be dragged out.
And the premise of the book was hard to swallow. There is this semi-sentient magical book that releases a bunch of demons the instant anyone touches it. Then that person is magically bound to kill all the demons and journal about in the book (which blanks out each time a new person starts the cycle again). Or else. And this just continues on for all eternity apparently. There were some holes in that for sure. The book wants to contain the demons, but it also calls to "worthy" people to trick them into opening it? Because, and I quote, "it gets bored." Then on top of that, there was a heavey-handed dose of Destiny thrown in.
There also wasn’t much believable tension or danger. It all felt too easy. Kylie found all the right people who had all the right information right whenever she needed it. She got her magical monster-slaying crossbow and didn’t even need to practice because "these things have been created with a purpose. Things that have been created with a purpose simply work." What a cop out! The darn thing automatically loaded with whatever bolt was needed to kill whichever monster she was fighting. And it aimed itself. You don't need a Mary Sue character when anyone with a pulse can apparently pull it off as long as they were tagged by Destiny.
It wasn’t a terrible book, despite my complaints. It was a quick, easy read. But I doubt I will continue with the series. I wanted something spookier and much more atmospheric. And less angsty.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars