What a hoot! I loved this story. It was short, and just funny all the way to the end. A woman returns to her recently deceased grandmother's antique shop, to find her uncle hauling everything away. He gives her an ashtray as a inheritance, she swipes a box off his truck. Inside she discovers a hat, trying it on, she she discovers it talks! I personally thought she was pretty calm about the talking hat, but it was just so funny! The hat pretty much runs the story, but it was hilarious! Much more fun then the sorting hat of Harry Potter fame. This hat has a real personality! Pretty quick read! I'd love to read more by the author.

Did not care the book. Did not keep my interest.. the conversations between the characters where not kind of dull.

Magic hats and witches and monsters, oh, my! Great setup for a cozy mystery with spunky heroine--who likes music and clothes, is dead broke and works two jobs, and will do about anything to help her friends. This story was terrific fun and I am so glad I grabbed it when I saw it on Netgalley and BookBuzz. Oh, and there are some stylish posters at the back, too.

What a brilliant, original story this proved to be - I loved it! ‘The Hat’ is one that Elizabeth (Lizzie) St Laurent took from her grandmother’s possessions that her Uncle was disposing of. Little did either of them realise that ‘The Hat’ is sentient, adaptive and a great character in its own right! As soon as she puts it on, ‘The Hat’ communicates with Lizzie. When Lizzie has a phone call from her friend and boss, Dave, telling her that his newborn baby has been stolen ‘The Hat’ offers to help her find it! So starts a very entertaining, funny adventure and mystery!

‘The Hat’ has some interesting abilities and talents that you’ll discover as you read the story which is well paced and engaging with plenty of action. There are new discoveries for ‘The Hat’ to make regarding contemporary artefacts, events, language and fashion as ‘he’ has been in a box for the last couple of decades. I enjoyed the interactions between ‘The Hat’ and Lizzie but must confess that some of the author’s language choices detracted from my enjoyment of the story - the use of foul language added nothing to the story IMHO, but that’s most likely just me! Still, other than that, this is a great story that I really enjoyed reading and I do hope there will be more stories involving this dynamic duo in future.

I requested and received a copy of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review after choosing to read it.

Lizzie St. Laurent is a bit off-track from her life goals. She was working two jobs rather than going to college due to the death of her grandma. So she grabbed a box as a memento from the antique store her grandparents had run before her uncle totally cleaned it out and sold everything. In the box, a hat. A 3,000 year-old talking, magical hat who liked to play the upright bass. So she did what every right-thinking American girl would do, she learned to play bass, start a band and hunt monsters with the aid of her hat. Now, the details of how this all came about are the fun of the story, that I will not spoil! Read The Hat for yourself and enjoy the ride! Hopefully C. S. Boyack will write more adventures of Lizzie and the Hat!

Lizzie is just trying to stay alive. She's working two jobs to pay for her apartment. She was staying with her grandmother but she had a stroke. She moved into the apartment with a roommate who didn't stay. And now her grandmother has died and her uncle is cleaning out her second hand shop. She asks if she can have something to remember her grandmother by and he hands her a small item and tells her to leave. She sneaks a box out of his truck and gets out of there...

The author and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It has been published and you can buy a copy now.

This story really appealed to me. When I was young, I'd look at people sitting on their porch by the river and wish I could trade places for a day. That whimsical part of my mind loved this story.

What Lizzie finds is an old brown fedora in the box. For fun, she tries it on. It changes her life...

Imagine if you had a hat that could transport you to a safe place? Or help you learn how to play a musical instrument? Or help you recover a kidnapped baby? Lizzie found all of that when she wore the hat. The best part was that the hat could change shapes, textures and styles to match her outfit. The hat was a bit insulted to find people didn't wear hats much anymore. But he and Lizzie make a good team.

There's lots of action, the bad guys lose, and Lizzie's life has a new focus. This was a very enjoyable read. I'm rooting for Lizzie!

This is a fun book and, aside from the language, would make a great YA read. That said, it really read like a YA novel. The writing is not sophisticated, the prose merely telling the story and nothing more. No flowery descriptions. No evocative imagery. Just clear, straightforward language telling an unusual story.

I couldn't help but like the story, though at times it was a bit cheesy, particularly the dialog. It's the retelling of an outlandish adventure. There is no moral to the story, no takeaway message, no universal truths. It's just a fun story that should have been written more towards the YA market. In fact, despite the language, I'd have to classify it as such.

The Hat by C.S. Boyack is a new paranormal novella. Elizabeth “Lizzie” St. Laurent has had a rough time since her grandmother became ill and passed away. She was living with her grandmother while attending college. When her grandmother went into assisted living, the house was sold to cover the costs. Lizzie moved into an apartment with a roommate who soon bailed. She is working two jobs to pay her living expenses. Her uncle, Steve is cleaning out her grandmother’s antique store, and Lizzie goes by to get a memento. Her uncle declines her request. On the way to her car, Lizzie feels compelled to grab a box from the back of the moving truck. When Lizzie opens the box, she discovers a brown fedora that looks like it has eyes with eyebrows. She puts it on her head and the hat starts talking to her. Lizzie is not sure what to make of the hat. Then Lizzie receives a call from Dave, the owner of Sandi’s diner where she works. Dave and Sandi’s newborn has been stolen from the hospital and the police do not have any leads. The hat states he can help her find the baby. Lizzie drops everything to take off with the hat to find the baby. Along the way, the hat reveals how he came to be created and his history with her family. Lizzie is in for a wild ride with the hat as they set out to recover Dave and Sandi’s child. Life will never be the same for Lizzie!

The Hat is an entertaining and creative story. I thought the hat was a great character. He can change his form as needed (different types of hats, scrunchies, etc.) and has witty dialogue. He has been put away for the last twenty years and needs to catch up on current events, slang, fashions, technology and so much more. The hat has some interesting characteristics and talents. He can play a three-quarter sized upright bass through Lizzie (you will have to read the book to find out how) as well as use a phone. I liked Lizzie who is a strong female, but I wish the author had fleshed out her character a little more. The story is well-written and fast paced with plenty of action. The duos antics will have you laughing throughout the story. I do wish, though, that the author had eliminated the foul language from the story. It was unnecessary and off-putting (for me). The Hat has a great ending. The author took Lizzie’s character in a new direction. I hope C.S. Boyack will write another story involving Lizzie and the hat (he really needs a name).

I received a copy of The Hat by C. S. Boyack from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Even though I was unfamiliar with the author, C. S. Boyack, I was intrigued by the summary. I am happy to report that the book did not disappoint as I really enjoyed Lizzie and the Hat's adventure!

This was an enjoyable novel - and a quick read - with entertaining moments and dialogue that made me chuckle out loud more than once. A fun book to unwind with even though I felt it was more Young Adult than (adult) Sci Fi and Fantasy.

I didn't think I would actually read or like this book but I was wrong! I loved the story and the characters... I would love another book about Lizzie and the hat #TheHat #NetGalley

Cute and fast read. Unique story, skews a bit young so I'd definitely class it young adult rather than as adult fiction. No romance and high fantasy elements. For all the youthfulness of the main character and writing style, I still found it fresh and engaging. I just wish it had been full length and then maybe I could rate it higher. I felt the ending felt abrupt and unfinished, as if there was definitely more story to tell. I'd love to give the author the opportunity.

The Hat is a novella length (116p.) story by C.S. Boyack. It's quite hard to categorize, with elements of speculative fiction/fantasy, a little dash of noir, and some chick-lit thrown into the mix.

I'm truly not a book snob and I do make an effort to read and review smaller self published books. I'm so glad this one caught my attention. It's a joy for me to be able to give a good review for books which don't fit the mold and aren't mammoth-juggernaut-publishing-wonders™ with gazillion dollar budgets.

After a poke around his blog and having read this novella, I can say with certainty that the author is a gifted and creative storyteller with a sure voice. Most of the characters are well written and the dialogue and plotting are entertainingly readable. One big thing that struck me whilst reading The Hat was how consistently funny it was. Humor is so variable and so difficult to write. This book is really really funny in a lot of places. I was also struck by how sure the author's voice was when writing the female protagonist. She is believable.

There were a few less than stellar moments. Her interaction with her uncle was flat and seemed like exactly what it was (a plot device to get The Hat into her possession). A lot of her interaction with the bad guys was over the top, but then again, she's teamed up with a sentient inanimate object, so the author is owed a lot of suspension of disbelief wiggle room.

Just an all around fun read. It's a couple of hours' diversion and entertainment. I, for one, would love to read more adventures from Lizzie and co. Intergalactic do-goodery with a rockabilly soundtrack?! Count me in!

Four and a half stars, beautifully written and funny.