A wonderful, fun book full of great and interesting characters. The setting of rural Maine in autumn is a perfect backdrop for this story. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

Can a horror story/mystery be cozy? Why not? What I like the most about Westerson is her versatility. She can move from one genre to the next, medieval to literary, romance to...scary, without losing her craft of story telling. This, her newest, is another prime example of her many talents.

This book is not the type of book I usually read, but since Ms. Westerson wrote it, and I love everything else she's written that I've read (Crispin's medieval novels, etc.), I wanted to give this a shot, and I'm glad I did! It's full of action and intrigue, intensely scary parts and even some romance, which makes it all good. I love the tea shop idea - we don't have them where I live, and I can envision having a great cup of amazing tea there. I am looking forward to the 2nd book in this series, to read not only what Ms. Westerson has in store for us, but to see how the relationships progress.

I haven't read a good Paranormal/Urban Fantasy story in a while and with Halloween around the corner I was looking for something to satisfy my craving for a spooky read. Booke of the Hidden sounded exactly the type of read I was looking for. I really liked the setting, it was atmospheric and creepy, and just perfect for this time of year. I also found the premise of the book very interesting. Kylie moves away from her annoying ex to a small town in Maine and opens a herb & tea shop. While renovating the shop she finds an old book hidden in the wall. When she opens the book she unknowingly unleashes demons and other vile creatures that were trapped in the book. It's now up to her to capture and send them back. She gets some help from Erasmus, a demon attached to the Booke and Wiccans, the local coven.

Booke of the Hidden is full of action, interesting characters, and a touch of romance. I liked our main heroine, Kylie. She is funny and quirky. There are also a number of endearing secondary characters (I especially liked Wiccans and the Sheriff), and interesting villains, both human and supernatural. I wasn't entirely sold on the romance between Kylie and Erasmus, it wasn't very convincing and felt forced a little. I wanted more sparks and chemistry. I hope the romance will get better in the next book. According to the author there will be six books in the series and I definitely will be checking them out and following Kylie's adventures.

I am apparently in the minority here, but I didn't care for this book. For me this was far from UF, it was a paranormal cozy mystery set in a small town. I didn't care for Kylie, our heroine, at all. I thought she was supposed to be fairly young (maybe late 20's early 30's?) but she acted and sounded like a grandma. Just didn't hit the mark for me.

It's a nice introduction to the series -- with supernatural beings that I'm sure can be catnip to a lot of readers: demons, witches... But the pace is a bit too slow for me to enjoy. Plus it also felt a little more like cozy mystery set-up with a number of small town characters involved.

This book was not a bad reading but I do not know if I would continue the series. It wasn't a bad reading, that's true, but it wasn't so good either. I do not know what didn't work but I wasn't so captivated by it or hooked up so... I do not know if I would go on with the series.
But the idea it's not bad, I was a little bit skeptical at the beginning because it wasn't so original or so captivating, but in the end, it plays out well. And I liked the characters, Kylie is not a bad character, is a good MC, with snarky remarks and an attitude, and that's a thing that I liked. Erasmus Dark is quite good, too, and I liked the Wiccan.
I liked that all of them, except Erasmus, aren't expert: they do not know what they are doing, but they're doing it anyway. And there are a couple of plot twists that are quite interesting but I think that all in all it could have been better.
The author has a lot of potentialities and I hope that the next books are going to be better

Really loved this book; it promises to be a fantastic series!

So what’s this book about?
Booke of the Hidden is the first novel (approx 314 pages) in a new six book adult urban fantasy series set in the beautiful, rural village of Moody Bog, Maine, USA. Our key human characters include; our heroine, Kylie Strange, a local coven of Wiccans – retired doctor and part-time plasterer, Doc Boone, middle aged Seraphina, a bohemian free-spirit and ‘sensitive’, Nick Riley barista and Goth and sixteen year old Jolene Ayrs, researching whiz kid and budding Wiccan - Moody Bog’s Sheriff and hotty, Ed Bradbury and Ruth Russell, a descendent of Moody Bog’s founding families. At this early stage in the series, there is no set mythology (e.g. Norse, Christian, Egyptian, etc) to the paranormal elements of the tale, so the non-human species that we encounter, which includes the elusive and enigmatic Mr Erasmus Dark, are more of a generic amalgam rather than from a specific belief system.

So, what did I like about it?
Jeri Westerson is a new-to-me author; I found her writing style engaging, intelligent and easy to read. I loved the way Ms Westerson weaved her plot; it was complex enough to keep me intrigued without being convoluted. I felt that there was a good balance of humour, action, tension, mystery and romance and the pace of the plot felt just right.

I loved the way Ms Westerson crafted her world and its history; I found myself in the area of Moody Bog almost instantly, how she described the location, surrounded by wilderness and Moody Bog itself with its collection of small town, village style businesses just brought the place to life in my imagination.

I really liked our heroine, Kylie; she’s intelligent and has heaps of gumption (even if she does struggle a bit on the romantic front during this book). I also loved the fact that the secondary characters that Ms Westerson created to populate her world felt just as real as our leads and had strong, memorable personalities, they weren’t just filling the page; kind old Doc Boone, wise Reverend Howard Cleveland, Jolene who had definitely been ‘hiding her light under a bushel’ and who out there doesn’t know a person like Ruth Russell with her self-important air! I loved that Ms Westerson wrote her characters with the complexities that we’d see in those around us, that they had a good balance of strengths and insecurities to make them feel real, even the supernatural ones.

I love the fact that Booke of the Hidden kept me guessing what would happen next and had me holding my breath at times, on the edge of my seat. But fear not, good readers it’s not all tension and scares there are giggles and a good sprinkling of tummy tingling passion to balance it all out.

In short, I found myself desperate to find out what would happen next throughout this book, staying up late to finish just one more chapter - I was gripped!

So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?
Nope – loved everything about it!

Although, I will warn you, as Booke of the Hidden is the first book in a new six book series, not all of our questions or mysteries are resolved within these pages, however, I can happily confirm that there is no life or death cliff-hanger ending - you all know how much I detest those - thank you Ms Westerson! (Further brownie points earned! Lol!)

So, basically what I’m saying is...
I really loved this book; it promises to be a fantastic series. I have pre-ordered my own copy of Booke of the Hidden from Amazon and will be waiting with bated breath for book 2 “Deadly Rising.”

If you love well written tales of magic, curses, mystery and horror with a bit of romance I think you’d enjoy this book, I think it’s a perfect mix of scary, paranormal, mystery and adventure, however, I would just like to add that due to the explicit sexual nature of some of the scenes within these pages, I’d only recommend this book to adults who are not offended with this type of content.

DISCLAIMER ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN—- Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC

So Jeri is probably one of my new favourite authors!
Booke of the Hidden was the perfect mix of creepy, paranormal, mystery, and adventure. Kylie Strange (I actually really liked her name even if it was a little corny) has caused a world of destruction (albeit not exactly on purpose) when she discovers a book behind a wall and opens it. I mean who wouldn't open a book they found behind a wall? Could be historically relevant, could be a treasure map, or could release a succubus and a demon. Of course this is a paranormal book and so she opened it and released the latter of those options. Basically the rest of the book is spent trying to clean up the mess she accidentally caused with Erasmus Dark (you know the demon from the book) and a local Wiccan group she has befriended. I will say that I love books and I love to read but you are not getting me to join a knitting club thing just to commandeer something from someones library.

I was left with a few sort of uhhhh I don't think soooo's.

I mean the Wiccan group was really forth coming and I mean REALLY forth coming to someone they just met. Who for all they know could be mocking them or something.

Overall though I say go for it! It was enjoyable and a quick read for entertainment.


Character creation - 4- I did think that Kylie and Erasmus could have used a little more umpft and that some of the other characters were just really flat

Plot - 5 - There could have been a bit more explaination as to what line of mythology we were working with. Are we assuming that Erasmus is a Christian demon like you know demons and angels or more of a Daemon from other lines?

Addiction Level - 4 - I did put it down once to read something else when it got a little repetative.

Overall I'd say 4.5


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2145473613

https://maxximumreads.tumblr.com/post/166115016898/disclaimer-all-opinions-are-my-own-thank-you

I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next book. For fans of Deborah Harkness.

Kylie moves from California to maine after her mother passes away. She aldo breaks up with her butthead boyfriend. Then Kylie is drawn to the small town of Moody Bog. Kylie has bought a building to turn into her tea and herb shop which is to be called “ Strange Herbs and Teas”. While working on the building she takes down a wall and causes all kinds of chaos as she found the Booke. The name of the book Kykie finds is “The Booke Of the Hidden”. Then Kylie opens the book and releases a succubus, and a demon. Kylie has made some friends and they are a coven of new wiccan and they offer to help even though they don’t know what to do. Erasmus also comes when the book has been opened and is suppose to be Kylie’s guide but he himself may be a demon and Kylie is sure Erasmus in untrustworthy but he’s hot in a dark way. Erasmus was in charge of the Booke or was to help the Booke holder. Some of the locals aren’t very happy that Kylie is going to hold a powerful position in the town. Kylie meets the sheriff when the man is murdered that Kylie went to see about the book. There is a bit of a love triangle between the sheriff, Erasmus, and Kylie.
I liked this book. I liked that Kylie and the coven didn’t really know what they were doing but tried anyway. This was an easy enjoyable read. The pace was a little slow but i got through it. I did like the plot. I really liked Kylie’s attitude. But I thought Erasmus was a butt when he berated Kylie for not knowing things and asking questions. I did enjoy the action in this story. Maybe a few too many sex scenes but got through that also. I am waiting for the next part to this story. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and i recommend.

Kylie Strange wanted to get as far away from her ex as she could when they broke up so when she spotted a place for sale in Maine she figured she couldn’t get any further away from California than that. Arriving in Moody Bog Kylie has nothing but hope for her fresh start quickly getting to work to set up for the opening of her new shop, Strange Herbs & Teas. When working in the store however Kylie ends up finding a rather strange book hidden within the wall of the shop, The Booke of the Hidden.

Once Kylie opens up the book things begin happening that she doesn’t quite believe. A stranger shows up warning her away from the book that no one should even know exists so Kylie tracks down a man that know more about the legend surrounding the book only to come away with more questions than answers. And no sooner is Kylie back from her visit than the police show up at her door saying the man she’d asked about the book had been murdered. Soon Kylie finds herself teamed up with a demon and a coven of witches with a curse on the loose since the book had chosen her to open it.

Booke of the Hidden by Jeri Westerson is an adult urban fantasy read with all the fun things involved in it that I’m normally a huge fan of, witches, demons and other various elements. However, as much as I could say nice about this one, good writing, likable characters, interesting plot etc. There just seemed to be that little something extra missing for me, that bit of a spark to make me fall in love with the story.

I think for me with this particular read my biggest drawback was that it seemed to be a rather slow going story. There are things happening but the progress and story built rather slowly so being one that prefers a fast paced or intense books first and foremost I think that might be the one thing that didn’t make this story pop out the way I’d like. In the end I thought it was good but not one that really stood out from all the other books of this type.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is a good start to a new fantasy wiccan series. Kylie Strange moves to Moody Bog Maine to open her tea and herb shop. She discovers a book hidden in her shop and unleashes some powerful demons and power into the small town's coven. Great characters make this story move quickly, it's an easy read for readers from young adult to older. Kylie's position in town is going to be powerful and some of the locals are not happy. Seeing how she grows her business and handles the demons to come will make an interesting read.

Booke of the Hidden is the first of a pretty promising paranormal series. Readers are introduced to Kylie Strange, a young woman who picks up and moves from California to Maine to start a new phase of her life as a small business owner when she opens a tea shop. While she's setting up her new digs, she finds a mysterious booke hidden in a wall which begins a series of events that take her relatively normal life on a very abnormal, supernatural path. The book includes a variety of supernatural themes to include demons, succubae, demon slaying with a magical crossbow, and witchcraft which I thought were handled quite well by the author. Kylie herself is a perfectly likeable character. She's a little spunky and I found her inner dialogue pretty entertaining. The only thing I wasn't too thrilled about with her was that she came across as falling too easily for the men in her life. Pace and writing were enjoyable. I would still be interested in getting to know her and the other characters a bit better and to see where things go with future books.

Wonderful, creepy, fantastic adventure! First time with this author, so glad I got a review copy from netgally!

A good and interesting cozy urban fantasy. The murders are not bloody and gory. Doc Boone is my favorite character. I want to read the rest of the books in this series.

An exciting new series from a gifted storyteller. This one pulls you into the Booke, and doesn't let go.

This was a pretty good supernatural book. Kylie Strange moves from California to Maine after her mother dies and she breaks up with a jerk of a boyfriend. Something just draws her to the building for sale in the small town of Moody Bog. While she is fixing up the building to be her tea and herb shop she finds an old book hidden in the wall. That lets loose all sorts of strange things in town. Now it's up to Kylie and her new Wiccan friends to stop the evil that has come to their small town before history repeats itself.

I was given an eARC by the publisher through NetGalley.

Woman moves to a Small town in Maine to open a tea and herb shop, finds a mysterious book inside the wall, opens the book, and evil monsters start showing up. She's got to catch them with the help of the friendly neighborhood coven of Wiccans, a magical crossbow, and a demon. It's fun, snarky urban fantasy in a rural setting that will probably get shelved more along the paranormal romance lines where it probsbly won't satisfy readers as there's not a ton of romance. Such a fun, personable protagonist, can't wait to see more of her!

(Will post a more comprehensive review to Goodreads closer to the release date).

Booke of the Hidden, Jeri Westerson

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Sci Fi & Fantasy

I really wanted to like this book, sounded a fun read, and to start I thought it was going to be OK...and parts of it were, its just that there were also some strange parts ( and I don't mean her name), too many convenient co-incidences, people who she needed to know who just appeared at the right time, too many mysteries and unexplained things that didn't really seem to lead to much.As for the bikers...the least scary scary people I've ever read I think. I'm not sure whether we're meant to be afraid of them or whether they really are meant to come off as ridiculous as they seem to be. 
Its got potential as a series, but for me this isn't a good start. The characters seemed very stereotypical, rather than genuine, Kylie an odd person - who does that, just ups and starts a tea and herb shop without checking to see if you can actually make a living from it, that there is call for it, there isn't another already there who do it bigger and better....It was a struggle to finish, and I really wasn't invested in the story despite really looking forward to it. 

Stars: two, sounded good, may get better but a bad start for me. 

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers