B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Thoroughly enjoyable and frightening. Well done!
"If the world is hell and evil is all around them, what else can they do but try and help each other?"
2.5 Hide must be the third or fourth book by Kiersten White that I have read. And while the book is OK, I‘m always left feeling that way by her books. This is her first adult novel. Adults are lured into a game of hide and seek that it turns out to be deadly. This does have fantastic horror elements, which do make sense but still seems to be missing something. This book is on the shorter side, it‘s only 235 pages but is so slow. It feels like it‘s
This was a fun, suspense horror. Kiersten White, who is an amazing epic YA/teen author, is branching out into adult dark fantasy horror. In Hide, a group of greedy and financially strapped contestants enter a 'hide and seek' contest in an abandoned amusement park for one week for a huge cash prize. The only thing they're not aware of is that they're playing a real game of survival as a feral, evil entity is stalking them. A page turner!
Picture it…a decaying theme park with a spotted past now has a new life in the form of a hide & seek competition for 14 adults. They start being found…and disappearing. It‘s a good premise, yes? I agree! The book reads well and the theme park vibe is creepy and unsettling, but then suddenly the story adds on something more…something deeper and semi-unexpected. The 14 hiders are somehow woven into this “game.” A weird little book you should read!
I was intrigued by the premise when this first came out last year, but the Goodreads reviews scared me off a lil bit. I think it‘s like with slasher movies: they‘re not for everybody. I love me a good slasher creature feature and this delivered. There were gays, there was a pretty horrifying creature, and there was commentary about the economy and classism which feels particularly apt right now with the strikes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book reminds me not to always believe goodreads. I can see why people had issues with the anger and chaos of the writing, but I think it worked really well for the story. A horror style reality show is what it read like to me, and I loved the chaos and confusion. Great characters with a super creepy setting. Loved it! I can't wait for this authors next creepy read.
🎧 I chose this book as an adult horror. I was warned that it was not.
It wasn‘t an adult horror. It felt like a YA Fantasticland game show. It had promise. Mostly sad that it wasn‘t an adult horror. I think if this was rewritten with duplicitous adults with no romance it would gain at least a star.
I suggest The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein and The Guinevere Deception by this author, both are better YA novels.
⭐️⭐️3/4
A fun, adventure read with some supernatural and mythological elements. it has a lot of characters in the beginning, some more developed than others.
I‘m a little disappointed by this book. The cover and the premise really had me bought in. There were a few problems though. Too many characters and POVs. Also….2 characters have the same name just to make it a little more confusing. The back story of a few characters were interesting but because there were so many it didn‘t seem to be deep enough. The book started out strong but kind of fizzled out for me and the ending fell very flat. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mack‘s not a mystical person by any means, but she‘s going to win. It feels inevitable. It‘s not a triumphant feeling, though. It‘s heavy and monstrous. Familiar.
#bookspinbingo #6 - Audio - 1 🌟
14 people hiding in an abandoned & decrepit amusement park for prize money. 2 by 2 they are killed. This had so much promise!!! Presented to me as an adult horror and its WAY more YA especially with the insta-love. The individual stories didn't develop but constantly picked at. At no point did I feel tension or fear. The supernatural element didn't shock me. If anything this has me reconsidering Joyland.
Nothing is working 😩. Add Carrie Soto and The Whalebone Theatre to the list of books I‘ve tried. The “in-between books” stage is rather unsettling. Booooo 👎
4.5 stars, excellent narration, and a great story. I LOVED the commentary on past generations and what today's 20-somethings are left with as well as wealth and the 1%. It was also a great story and horror without the gore, which I always prefer! It was also the rare non-1st person writing I really enjoy it allowed us to see a bit from everyone for a better story.
Book 164🎧 2⭐️
Hmmm. I don‘t know if it was the narrator for this one or what but the characters kind of got muddled together so it was hard to know who‘s story we were in. I didn‘t overly connect with them either.
Was hoping for more🤷🏼♀️☹️
The fire is so hot on Mack‘s face, her back is cold. She can feel the night there, all the darkness pausing, leaning in to listen like everyone around the fire. This isn‘t real. None of it is real.
How can he write without (his pen)? He doesn‘t manage to write anything with it, either, but he‘ll be convinced it‘s the lack of pen holding him back.
She often wonders which is more anonymous; a big city with so many people to notice that no one notices anyone, or the empty countryside where no one lives.
Taking a break from Other Birds until it arrives from BOTM. It's rainy out and perfect weather for a spooky thriller like Hide.
Bailed at 61%. I only made it that long because I was driving. This is supposed to be an adult book. It felt like YA and not like YA which is totally doable for an adult. No. For me, this was straight-up cringy YA. The shifting narrative drove me absolutely crazy.
The cover is fantastic and the blurb totally drew me in...but the execution killed it for me. I'm beyond disappointed.
This wasn't at all what I expected. A little disappointing that I didn't get the type of horror I was after, but I still enjoyed it. Loved the horribly damaged MC, could have read a whole book about her past!
This has "Squid Game" vibes with the "group of people competing against each other" part, but beyond that its a good take on cults and human sacrifice. The twists are good in that they're not all predictable. There was some world-building with the background story but I do wish it was more flushed out. The characters were done really well though. They all felt well rounded and real and I liked that the story was told from all of their perspectives
For some reason, I really disliked the ending of this book! I didn‘t feel very interested towards the middle
At one point I thought I would give this 2 stars and at one point I thought I would give it 4 stars.
Ultimately, I appreciated the character development and the premise. But when it comes to sci-fi or fantastical elements, I appreciate a deeper commentary.
July 2022 #BooKSpin #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaOfBooks
Most people didn‘t like this book and I can understand why but I have mixed feelings. I liked the theme, the setting, the risky game and the characters issues. However, the novel is so short that there were parts poorly developed and the end was not the best one but it kept my attention to continue reading. I think Linda character needed more description to make sense of the story. 3⭐️
I loved reading this book. One of my top reads of the year. A young girl finds a contest where you hide for a week in an abandoned amusement park. I am a sucker for books set in amusement parks, so this was an automatic read for me. I also loved the contest atmosphere in the story. Getting to know the contestants was one of my favorite parts. I would be interested in a follow up book about that happens in the town after the events of the book.
Big fan of this! A group of 14 contestants come to play hide and seek at an abandoned amusement park to win $50,000 as part of a reality show. The contestants who are found, just disappear and soon the remaining players think it might not be a game after all.
I wish I had loved Hide as much as I loved the cover. I picked this up in my last book haul, and I was so excited to read it that I took a break from The Wise Man‘s Fear, which might have been a mistake.
My main issue was the character development. It tried to fit too many povs in. I‘m a character driven reader so that took a lot from me. But if you‘re a plot driven reader you might love this because it is action packed.
Hide by Kiersten White is a story about bravery, friendship, and choices made in the past that continue to haunt the current generation, all set within the bounds of an abandoned amusement part.
I do not say this lightly; This is my new favorite book of all time.
https://www.ericarobynreads.com/book-review-hide-by-kiersten-white/
Another Tuesday evening fiddle club practice, another book to read 🥰. The woman who directs them said I didn‘t have to wait in my truck but then how would I get 90 minutes of peace and quiet with my book?!
Wow, I was planning to just read a few chapters of this book and ended up reading it cover to cover in one sitting. A group of 14 contestants sign up to play a weeklong game of hide and seek, only to discover the stakes are much higher than advertised. A riveting, cinematic horror story with vivid characters and a pulse-pounding finale, set in an abandoned amusement park.
I really enjoyed this one! Yes it was predictable and wasn‘t as scary as I was expecting but I just went with the flow and didn‘t expect it to be anything other than entertaining. I think a little more terror and gore would have helped. While I‘ve read a lot of people didn‘t like the abrupt ending I actually liked that…leaves it open for everyone to decide what happens next. Good enough characters that I either loved or hated. 🌟🌟🌟🌟
A horror book with a map! I‘m in 🤣
Taking a break from the realities of life to enjoy the weather, drink a beer, and actually crack open a book.
3.5/5⭐
I wanted to like this more than I did.
LIKES
🔹 It's reflective. Character stories are clearly social commentary on various topics: poverty, social media, making a career out of a hobby, PTSD, desperation, guilt, grief and many more.
🔹The setting
🔹The overall idea
DISLIKES
🔸Predictable
🔸Unlikeable characters
🔸Ambiguous ending
🔸Left me more sad than scared
🔸2 MC w/ same name 🤨
CW: Graphic suicide and moderate mention of child death
I was incredibly disappointed with this book. It‘s unfortunate because I loved the author‘s take on Frankenstein. The delivery of this book‘s plot was utterly atrocious. Any author who purposely gives two characters the exact same name and constantly refers to one as “ the other Jane Doe” really needs to check themself before they wreck themself. Sad. So. Very. Sad.
For a better version of this story, see Chopping Spree.
Set in an abandoned amusement park, this had a lot of potential. 14 people are here for a hide-and-seek competition, and things go awry quickly. Loved the setting and premise. The character development was a bit shallow for me, but I felt I could‘ve fell in love with them had I gotten more. White‘s pacing and writing are great, but the ending was abrupt and disappointing. Would definitely read more from White - her best is yet to come. 3.5⭐️
This 💯💯💯 scratched my horror itch! Great creep and a bit of gore, this was an engrossing, quick #audiobook with some fun twists!
Mac has been invited to a competition in a run down amusement park. She and thirteen other contestants must hide while the sun is up and seekers will eliminate two contestants each day. The final player standing gets $50k. As the contestants meet, alliances form, but maybe there‘s more at play than a simple game. 🤔