HIDE | day 1 - 4

[Lala, owner]

Since this book is pretty short, I am just splitting the discussion in half.
This is for the first 122 pages, days 1 through 4 at the park.

I'd love to hear first if you've read from this author before.
And if this book is what you were expecting.

What are your thoughts so far on the pace? What about the characters?
What reveals do you think we'll get to see? What are you looking forward to finding out?

[Lisa]

This reminds me of a mix of The Lottery by S Jackson and a Greek myth. It is written in a creepy manner, but it is not creeping me out. I read White's Elizabeth Frankenstein book, which was very good. I'd like a better description of the monster, although I know what White is doing. The thing unseen scares readers more. The pace is fine. I am wondering why she put 2 women named Ava in this. There has got to be a reason.

[Amber]

At the end of Day Three, I was getting The Hunt vibes.

[Cassie]

I read And I Darken by White. I didn’t really like that book. The characters were supposed to be morally gray but I mostly found them dull. I’m liking this book much more. So far, I’d give it a 4 star but we’ll see how that changes. The second half will be really important.

The pace is a little bit slow but not too bad. It feels like the tension is supposed to be building but we’ve had a few too many days of the same thing happening. I’m waiting for more action.

I’m finding it odd that we’re not seeing any of the (what I’m assuming are) death scenes. They’re cliff hanger type moments. What is happening to these people? And is the creature really invisible?

This cult-like town is interesting. I’m intrigued about the sacrifices needing to be blood relatives of the original seven couples. Have they been having kids with random people in order to have relatives that are sacrifice-able? I’ll be interested to see how Mack is related to the town. I noticed the couple of surname “coincidences” like the competitors with the names Callas and Stratton.

Also what is this sacrifice/creature/mystical thing doing for the town. It seems like it’s supposed to help them somehow, but how?

Lots of questions to answer. I hope I’m shocked and excited by the ending!

[Tara]

I started it today, and within the first ten pages I was pretty sure this would be a five-star for me. This is the first book I’ve read this year that I’ve felt antsy and excited to get back to reading when I’ve had to put it down. I’m in love with Kiersten White’s writing style. Not just the prose itself, but her flawless plot structure, character development, dialogue… it’s all so damn good. Not to mention the story itself! Intriguing, unsettling, and already full of suspense. I can’t believe how much I adore this already!

I just got to Day 2 and I have… not theories, but ponderings.

What’s up with the competitors having the same name as various things connected to the park? So far I’ve noticed Logan Frye (Frye Technologies), Christian’s mother’s maiden name is Stratton (Stratton Engineering), and Brandon Callas (the cook at the diner, plus the always-closed Callas Palace in the park). Were they all chosen to be proxies for relatives who were involved in building the park, and suffer punishment for it in their place?

It seems obvious the people organizing the game are expecting the competitors to die, but they’re… sad about it? Are they offering them as a sacrifice to the man-eating topiaries? Hmmmm.

[Novagrace01]

Got through days 1-4 yesterday and hm. I’m really liking it I just want more. I want more horror, I want more thrill. I don’t really feel any sense of for-boding or suspense at all. Hopefully things pick up?

[Molly]

I feel like maybe Mack’s dad knew about the sacrifices and this is the reason he killed his whole family apart from Mack? To save them from being contestants and whatever is hunting them down? Really enjoying it so far!

[Sarah]

I’m pretty sure we’re looking at a minotaur retelling done as horror. If I’m right or close, that’s a fun idea but hard to keep it spooky once revealed. But that’s just my monster horror bias lol. I’m interested to see how the second half goes and if it can keep the pace and tone, or if it’ll lose momentum. Not sure on this overall yet, but I’m hopeful! It’s been a fun start with solid ominous vibes.

[Tia]

Just finished Day Four and I have... thoughts. It took me FOREVER to get into this book. The first couple of chapters setting the story up were very convoluted and I actually had to listen to some parts over again, but I understand the intention behind it (suspense, obvs). The POV switches are also nearly impossible to follow via audio. I swear some parts will actually be like, "She is hiding in the ferris wheel. She is walking down the path.", talking about two different people right next to each other! Very confusing, but I do think the switches get better as the book goes on. Or maybe I'm just used to it now- idk!

Unless there are some crazy twists and turns, I think the journal entries from the hidden book pretty much explained... everything that's happening with the "game". I'm hoping there is going to be more to the story though because I have very few questions left and we're only at the halfway point. Hoping for something biggg and juicy to throw me off! I want to be wrong with all my guesses!

Another thing I've noticed is that, for me, this is reading very YA thus far. I'm 99% sure it's supposed to be adult, but the characters and dialogue are much more in line with YA books I've read of this genre. I keep genuinely forgetting the ages of the 14 contestants because they all act and seem 16! I'd like it to be a bit more gritty and gory, but maybe that's just me.

I'm actually, despite everything I just ranted about, enjoying this still! It's definitely original and I'm interested to see where the story goes. Sitting at about 3-stars right now. The second half really reallllly is make or break, but it's been fun!

[Mindy]

I haven’t read anything by White until now

The entire idea is this book sold me immediately. And now after reading the first four days - I need to keep going as fast as possible.
There must be a reason Mack was chosen - and how Ian said he did the DNA test and got a message inviting him to play - how are the contestants chosen? And who invited them? Not the same person for each??
I have so many questions. Is the monster really invisible? What’s happening with the “board of directors” and Linda? What is this doing to help the community?

The character development is fantastic. I don’t usually care about the characters to know the ins and outs of their lives / personalities aside the the “main” character but the writing makes me want to know as much as possible about each of them. Also - why are they there? Is there some connection?
I love Brandon. I hated him at first but dammit I want to hug him.
Also, this better not ruin my love for the county fair….😃😃

[Kelsey]

So I am not quite done with this section yet so I will probably be back once I am finished but the book so far is reminding me of Season 1 Episode 11 of Supernatural, the episode with the Scarecrow, and I am 97% sure that is exactly where the plot is going.
I'm really enjoying it so far though!

[Leigh]

I finished this section late last night and wow. This was my first book from this author and I didn’t know what to expect, writing style wise. I found it a little boring until the end of Day 1 where stuff starts to happen. I didn’t really know the layout, but now I’m kinda happy and enjoying the layout so far! I have no idea what’s going to happen. It’s weird that there’s two Ava’s, but with finding out the family history thing, I think there’s a reason for it, like maybe long lost twins or sisters? That’s probably too cliche but something!! I’m excited to see where the ending takes us.

[Kelsey]

I'm really enjoying it so far! I have read Kiersten White before, but it was one of her earlier works Illusions of Fate, so I do not think it is in anyway comparable to this. I really enjoy the pov switches and the countdown as you try and figure out which two are going to die. It kind of reminds me of And then there were None and Nine Lives in that way, which I know might be an unpopular comparison. The writing kinda reminds me of Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantaro and the plot as I said before reminds me of The Supernatural Episode Scarecrow and the Shirley Jackson short Story the Lottery.

Anyways, if the book continues as it has it might be one of my favorites of the year so far.

[Emma]

I really just haven’t gotten into this so far 😩 I’m struggling to find the want to read it and just not wanting to pick it up. Would be a DNF but really want to find out what’s happening so hoping I’ll start to like it more soon!

[TraceyL]

This is absolutely a YA book. The short, simple sentences. The dialogue that always sounds like whiny 16 year olds. The fact that a group of young people got together and immediately started thinking about who they were attracted to.

I'm disappointed because I'm not enjoying it, but I'll finish the book.

[Venessa]

I was enjoying it up until Ian found the book. The letters felt like a big info dump. Haven’t felt like picking the book up today. I’ll finish it. Just not as interested/excited.

[Daria]

Read Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein before, had a hard time getting into the pace of that one initially, enjoyed it when I got into it.

getting through this one pretty fast, the characters are a bit one note, but there were initially too many of them to flesh them out. I'm intrigued and wanna find out what happens next in the following couple of days

[Mandy]

I have not read from this author before, so this is definitely an experience figuring out how this author spins a narrative.

At first, I thought this was going to be an all out Battle Royale kind of story. I was waiting for that shoe to drop the moment they got in there, but that is not what this is and I don’t think I’ve read a story exactly like this before.

I want to know what this creature is. I want to understand what these sacrifices do. That wasn’t all that clear. Do these 14 sacrifices mean monetary success? Is that what I’m understanding.

Some things are just unclear for me.

I’m digging Ava. She’s badass and I hope she comes up with a plan to at least get herself out.

The other characters can get eaten. They aren’t my jam.

[Artrice]

I haven’t read from this author before. As far as plot—people playing hide and go seek and being killed when found— is what I expected, but everything else is so much better than I expected.

I’m loving this book. White’s writing style is amazing: the prose, distinct character voices, the POV, the way all the threads are coming together. Even though there were a lot of characters initially, I found them to be sufficiently fleshed out for me, none of them felt flat.

The pacing is good, I’m flying through these longer sections faster than I thought I would. No parts of the book felt like they were dragging for me. Every piece of information felt intentional.

I think it’ll be revealed that Mack is related to Keck, and possibly immune from the monster like he was. I’m looking forward to knowing what will happen to this town, if any repercussions will happen or if the game will continue as
it has every seven years. Also, can’t wait to find out what happened with Mack and her sister. How did she betray her?

[Zan]

Hide is giving me YA squid games vibes.

I am enjoying it. This is my first Kiersten White book. I’m flying through it. I do agree that the mystery incentive book was a Info dump but I like the idea of it happening to more than one group throughout the years. Horror is steeped in tradition. I’m glad I caught on to the last names being founding members, but I’m also wondering why the founders messed with the temple in the first place:

I thought it was messed up that Jaden told everyone Mack’s traumatic past, people have to be assholes and he is the villain for me up till this point.

Anyone else picture the monster a evil pig when they heard the description of sniffing the ground or just me🤣

Can’t wait to finish the book tomorrow! Excited for plot twists and to see how they find out people are dying.

[Chelsea]

I read The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein for a Halloween readathon and I remember really liking it. I also started her King Arthur inspired books but I DNF'd the first one for some reason.

I don't know how I feel about this book quite yet.

Pros: the premise? 10 gold stars. I love myself a theme park and make it spooky. Even better that there's a supernatural spooky.

Cons: The writing feels a little choppy although I can't put my finger on why. Is there also errors I'm picking up? or was some of the repeats purposeful? not sure. There's a lot of repetitiveness in Mack's mind specifically.

I'm not sure if the short nature of the book is going to help in the long run of me liking it. I'm usually the type of person who likes to have the characters more fleshed out with more descriptions. I like the theme park itself but like the characters I'm a little lost. I feel like I know very little about the park. Maybe that's not important but I wish I felt like I could imagine it in my head better.

Also I had trouble understanding some of the journal entries. Who are they written by and whats they're significance?

[Doreen]

I read the Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein and loved it!

Liking this so far! I really like the pace, the short, quick sentences. Makes me feel nervous and tense. The changing POVs are great and the characters are perfect millennial stereotypes. I thought it would be like the movies The Hunt or Ready or Not, but I guess it’s a monster? That’s cool. Can’t wait to see how Mack is related!

[Emily]

I really need some time to flesh out my thoughts about this one. I thought I hated it at the beginning (I still might, we're working through emotions.) Now though, I'm not so sure because I was not expecting the direction in which we are heading. I was thinking Hunger Games originally but now it's giving The Village..??

For such a small book though, it is taking me forever to read. I even "officially" dnf'd at 75 pages, only to realize I wanted to hate rant about it later and wanted to get the whole picture.

My biggest point of contention is the writing style and the POV. This would have worked so much better for me if it was just multiple POVS and not third omniscient. I get the cast of characters confused constantly and I cannot stand the fact that there are two Avas.

I'm left with two main questions by the end of day four. How is Mack's family connected to the original sacrifices? And how is the media/police not catching on to disappearances in this area every seven years?

[Haley]

I just finished the first part, and my feelings are mixed. on one hand I like that we had kind of a mystery about what was happening, and some of the small hints that were revealed before the book was found I think we're pretty clever.
but I can't help but feel un-engaged by the writing. the really short sentences sometimes make things confusing and hard to follow.
I'm not hating it yet (which I really expected to after Gabby's review), and it definitely has the potential to be a four star depending on how the end goes.

[Lydia]

I enjoyed the content much more than I enjoyed the writing style. I didn't love that it's in third person and jumps to each contestant's individual story. Maybe a first person multi POV would have been more successful for me. I dug the Squid Games vibes. Although not my ideal writing style, I liked the first half a lot!

[ryan]

All I'm thinking is that i hope Brandon makes it out okay. Other than that i have absolutely no thoughts.

[Sian]

I have never read any of Kiersten Whites books before (I did have to double check!) and I am flying through this book!

I am really enjoying this so far and cannot wait to see what happens in the second half. However, I am not 100% sure where this is going and I am hoping there is a super big twist somewhere in the story. I am thinking Mack might be immune..? But I am not sure as I wonder if that is why her dad killed their family. Purely speculation but I am intrigued to find out if I am right.

[Genevieve]

I finish the first half and on the fence about DNFing it.
getting the cabin in the woods vibe, but I actually enjoyed the characters in that movie. I really don't care about anyone in this.

[Srivats]

I DNF'ed it after day 2 or 3. The writing read a bit YA and I can't be bothered with these characters. Bonus: the audiobook narrator's voice did not help my reading experience either

[Nicole]

I read her book "The dark descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein" and really enjoyed it.

I didn't look into the summary so I didn't realize it was horror until like page 100... Oops! I was expection an action thriller. At this point I really enjoyed it.

The pace feels a bit slow but I do like how we change perspectives & get insight from each character. There are no reliable narrators which makes it interesting.

[Stina]

I have at least one other KW book but this is my first time reading her stuff. I'm not sure what I was expecting. Maybe a sort of Hunger Games meets Joyland. And yeah, I'm getting that, as well as a bit of a Lovecraft Country vibe.

The pace is a little uneven, but not so much that I find it distracting. And it's probably at least partially my fault because I keep flipping back to check stuff from earlier in the book.

I'm enjoying all the character reveals. I usually hate head-hopping, but I feel like White is using the technique to great effect, and I'm jealous of her ability to really stretch out the backstories and their meanings and interconnectedness.

I'm most curious as to Brandon's backstory. There has to be something disturbing there, and I am really hoping it doesn't kill how I feel about him. I'm also wondering how Mack will save herself and how many others she'll be able to save. I know thematically she'll need to save Ava, and I really hope she can do it without sacrificing herself, but I'm thinking there is also more we don't know about her childhood trauma that will tie into this somehow.

It's a little thing, but it's really bugging me that it isn't clear which year this is set in. It has to be 2016 or 2023, right?

[Stina]

I'm also interested in the star symbolism (Star Diner, Asterion) and the meaning of Atreus.

[Dominique]

I haven't read anything by Kiersten White yet. This book was not what I expected to be. It doesn't read like adult horror. It reads like The Maze Runner or Hunger Games. I would call this YA.

I had a lot of trouble getting into this book before the days at the park started. I didn't care for any of the characters and the story felt sluggish even though the book is short. At the end of day 4 I like the characters more, but I'm also not really invested. I don't care who survives. I also feel like we've had all the reveals. The "adults" who are really kids tbh, are part of a family that summoned a beast and now there's a ritual where they're killed every 7 years. I wonder if the group who's alive now (probably only Ava, Brendan, Legrand and Mack - not Jaden and Beautiful Ava) will get their justice and kill the whole evil family or if the ritual will simply continue but they do escape. I'm curious to find out more but it's a meh book for me so far.

The writing feels off as well, I don't like how perspective shifts in one paragraph. I don't want to read through the eyes of different characters at once...