I was really into this book for a good chunk of it, I so enjoyed the banter and relationship between Adelle and Connie and the story seemed to be really moving along. When they get pulled into the book; however, there's definitely some loss of momentum. I would have liked more solid worldbuilding and the story itself really slowed down.

That being said I loved how spooky it was and for the most part it was really fun. Being pulled into your favorite book is always a fun idea to give a spin, and when it concerns two best friends, that adds another layer to it. At times some of the events were a bit confusing which did detract from the reading experience. However, I did enjoy it overall and think with some slight tweaks it could easily be a five star read for me.

I was crazy excited to get an early copy of this book (thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for the digital ARC) because I am always here for some Lovecraftian horror.

While I absolutely loved the premise of the book (a spell causes two best friends to get sucked into their favorite book buuut nothing is as it should be and there are monsters *everywhere*), I was left ultimately wanting more by the end. The opening half is pretty solid, honestly. Our MCs, Connie & Adelle, wind up separated and are going on their own adventures trying to find each other while navigating this spooky, monster-infested, 19th-century Boston. This is fantastic! It's fun and it's crazy, and the cult that roams the streets (as well as the different monsters) are genuinely creepy threats.

Especially as we get into the second half of the book, it feels like this great premise just isn't played out as strongly as it could be. Our MCs (one, in particular) do some really silly, nonsensical things, and even the tone of the book gets muddled, as it tries to straddle a line between "goofy fun" and "gory-grotesque." Also, one *huge* potential plot point (no spoilers) is literally never even brought up again until the epilogue, and it comes in so out-of-nowhere that it feels like if it wasn't simply forgotten until this moment, it came from a different draft of the same story. It's very jarring, and while the entire climax feels really dragged out over several chapters, the actual ending (as in: the finale, the closure, the tying-up--of-loose-ends) happens crazy abruptly.

Really, I'm leaning towards 3.5 stars for this one. I think it had so much potential, the writing is fast-paced and pretty compelling, and like I said, I'm always game for some Lovecraftian horror. I just feel that this missed the mark, sadly. I didn't feel spooked past the opening chapters, and by the end I unfortunately didn't care much for any of the characters or for the worlds they're trying to save.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC. "The Book of Living Secrets" starts off so promisingly, with two fun, relatable characters in Adelle and Connie. Their genuine affection for one another and good-natured silliness regarding their favorite novel was instantly infectious; I was excited to see where the magic in this book took them. Unfortunately, as soon as they got sucked into their favorite novel, things fell apart for me. The worldbuilding is barely present, and it's very difficult to determine what is actually happening. Time is fast-forwarded strangely (for example, when Connie arrives inside the book, the narrator glosses over her arrival, literally saying that "hours passed, then days, and Connie was still here!" Like... we might have wanted to see the character's first few days in an alternate universe??). Just... a lot of strange decisions were made with this one. Ultimately a very confusing story that started promisingly and then veered off the rails.

I'm a huge fan of books like this. I loved the horror vibe in this story. It’s also well written, well-paced, I liked the characters and the plot was very interesting. This book also does YA romance the way I prefer, very subtle. This is the kind of book I enjoy when I’m not looking for something steamy. It was a little confusing at time because of all the different elements but overall, I really enjoyed it.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, and I was definitely full of surprises. When you venture to travel into your favorite story, you shouldn’t be surprised when it all falls to ruin.

Adele and Connie are shallow characters that nonetheless manage to flesh out and become people in their own rite. Nobody is perfect at 16 anyway. But the side characters were written to be flat and then given the miraculous opportunity to become so much more than their story. The idea of using the pages of a book to open the veil between dimensions was intriguing, and the hellmouth that was inadvertently opened birthed nightmares I wasn’t sure the girls could defeat.

Not a perfectly crafted book, but very inventive with Victorian sensibilities and modern longings.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my free copy. These opinions are my own.

I loved the premise of this book. I would absolutely love to hop in to a novel with a bookish bestie and explore that world and prevail against some sort of struggle/evil that would invariably crop up but this book didn’t .. totally make sense to me/didn’t take me there. I enjoy reading books that are unpredictable and keep me on my toes but I had no idea where the story was going and found it a bit confusing at times. I also felt the last chapter ended quite abruptly - I would have liked to hear about the friends’ journey home and the characters left behind a little bit more than just a sentence or two in the epilogue. [SPOILER: at one point the story starts rewriting itself and morphing into the darker version of the book the girls jumped into - but nothing is ever said about it again. When they travelled home did it go back to being the original story? Or did it rewrite itself to showcase the lesser known characters’ good qualities?]
What I did appreciate in this book is the diverse cast of characters - and some good representation. Overall, an interesting read but unfortunately just not my kind of book.
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

The Book of living secrets is a really refreshing, fast-paced fantasy book, that grasps a well-known concept and turns it into something better. I have to say, the first few chapters of this book were a little slow, and I will admit that I did not enjoy it too much either, but when I reached some part in the middle, the real action began. The dual pov that the author has going on is something I enjoyed, I felt like having both point of views gave me a different perspective on each situation, especially the 'dire' ones. I was gripping my seat during the final chapters, and to be honest, I really wanted to know what would happen to all the characters. The end really shocked me, and I will say, this book deserves a sequel, one I am waiting for!

I’m late to writing my review. Due to my work schedule I got behind on reading. I loved the story and the world building in this book.

Book of Living Secrets follows high school students Connie and Adelle as they are transported into their favorite book - a romance set in the Boston of the past. But they arrive at separate parts of the novel, and everything is wrong with the world. Because in this Boston, there be monsters.

This was good! It was super fast-paced and the characters, especially Connie, were likable. It's extremely plot heavy with some character development, but for some reason, I wasn't ever terribly invested in the outcome? Even though I liked the characters and found the worldbuilding to be next-level creative. Idk, y'all. I did love the epilogue though.

So yeah, I liked it! Youth are really horror right now, so I'll be widely recommending it come March. 3 stars - I liked it.

I really enjoyed this book. The plot and the characters were great. I would love to have more insight into the book Moira before the characters get there so that we (the readers) are just as shocked with the changes occurring. As it is the characters are so thrown by how the world is being altered, but this is the reader's first time experiencing it so it isn’t much of a change (besides taking the characters words for it). I really like the characters' adaptations and how some grew in importance. I also liked how this book showed that even the side characters of a book sometimes have a greater role than the reader expects. It teaches some great values and has LGBTQ representation. All in all I would recommend this book. Maybe there will be a prequel Moira Novella 🤞.

If you had the chance, would you go into your favorite book?

Two teenage girls get this magical chance to dive into a romance novel they’ve long been obsessed with. However, things in the novel world are mot what they expected. Near-Lovecraftian monsters, cults, street rats, and aristocracy blend in this novel about a Victorian city turned upside down.

While things went very fast in the beginning, once I got my footing, I was quickly interested in this one. I was not expecting the level of supernatural, but I dig it. Some characters were more fleshed out than others - mainly the two girls and the love interests. I would have loved more than one book in this world to explore everything further. I want to know more about the Penny Farthings and also about Caid!

There’s also a sweet bit about coming to terms with sexuality.

The ending was “meh” for me but I would read a sequel.

This is the story of two teens who are given the chance to enter their favorite book, a little-known gothic romance novel entitled Moira. Entering the world of a much loved book sounds like a dream come true but when the girls arrive they realize it is more of nightmare. The girls arrive separately in Victorian Boston where the novel is set. But they realize they are not in the Victorian Boston from the novel. This alternate version has a post-apocyliptic feel and the story line and characters have changed. But the strangest of all is the sinister void in the Harbor that is claiming many of the Boston's citizens.

The book was paced well with a lot of action and unexpected twists and turns.
The girls enter the book at different times and places therefore they meet different characters who are living in very different circumstances. The disparity between the rich and poor added to the depth of their experiences and to the overall story. Because the girls are separated for much of the novel it allows each to grow and become more independent, which was very satisfying. However, the magic that caused the changes to Moira's world wasn't explained in a satisfying way and the end felt a bit rushed and disjointed. In spite of this, I enjoyed the book and will be able to recommend to a variety of readers.

Two best friends. A favorite novel with intriguing story, setting, and characters. Add a touch of magic and you have the ingredients for an adventure; that goes sideways. For me, this book was hard to get started, but it was worth staying the course. The story ebbs and flows like the sea, and the sea is an important component to this tale.

Adelle and Connie are dear friends with a common obsession, but otherwise very different young women. It was fascinating to read through the twists and turns of a dangerous undertaking with surprising outcomes. This is a great young adult offering that delves into various struggles of teenagers. If you are looking for something that is not an ordinary journey, look no further.

A copy of The Book of Living Secrets, by Madeleine Roux was provided to me by NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books, for an honest review.

Adelle and Connie have always been obsessed with little-known book Moira. When they get an opportunity to jump into the book, they.. jump.. at the chance. What they think will be an old-fashioned romance turns deadly, as Moira's world is not what they remember.

This book was .. fine. Interesting premise, but the pacing was a little too slow, and I just couldn't really get into it.

I was so hopeful for this story! I was hoping it would have an Inkheart feel but in reverse. I just had a hard time keeping up. I would almost get lost in what was happening and have to go back and reread parts because I was going confused. So much potential but for me fell short.

The Book of Living Secrets is a really cool premise- what if you could jump into your favorite book?
I felt like the plot moved a bit too fast, without enough explanation. The events in Moira's Boston were just really *weird*. I understand that was the point, but it just felt like it could have been executed smoother.
Connie and Adelle were great characters. I loved their friendship and their character growth! Mississippi was another great character.
There were definitely some twists that I didn't see coming at all.
Overall, it was an enjoyable book, but I don't think Roux's writing style is for me.

This cover is gorgeous and I really love the premise. I didn’t think it was executed as well as it could’ve been. The characters were pretty static and I felt that some aspects of the story like monsters needed more of a description for me to really picture what was happening. I did really love the creativity and the thought that the stories that we love aren’t always what they seem.

The Book of Living Secrets is a wonderful concept - who doesn't love the thought of jumping into their favorite book?? Of course, nothing is ever that simple. The characters of Adelle and Connie provide a good contrast, and their separation on entering the world of Moira allows them that development as independent characters, rather than a 'duo', which is nice. Connie especially shows significant character development that I love to see in a YA novel. Unfortunately, the world building just doesn't do it for me - the world is confusing as is what is going on - honestly, at one point, I thought there had been a mistake an da couple of manuscripts had been mixed up - there is just not the cohesion between the transitions of worlds that make it a seamless story. At times, the plot felt slow and disorienting, and I found myself checking how far I'd made it through the book at quite a few points. While the story is a fun idea, the lack of clarity in Moira's Boston and the confusion make it a difficult read at times, but I was happy to get to know Connie - she is the shining light of the book.

The Book of Living Secrets had me asking myself “Am I enjoying this?” throughout most of the book. As someone who has their fair share of book boyfriends and would love to be able to jump into their favorite book, the premise of this story appealed to me immediately. Jump into my favorite story? What is this magic and where can I get some of it?! Even knowing that it wouldn’t end up being the fairytale Adelle and Connie had in mind, did not necessarily prepare me for what happened.

The Boston of Moira is really confusing. Maybe I wasn’t paying close enough attention, but besides all the odds things happening, it also took me a while before I realized that Moira took place in Boston. I could have benefitted from a little more world-building. That being said, events happen fast and furious from the start and as I’ve mentioned in past reviews, I’d rather feel like a book is moving too fast than too slow.
I felt the representation in the book was good, particularly Connie’s very real struggle with admitting to herself and others that she is attracted to girls. I feel throughout the book there were some sweet moments around this topic. I also really just enjoyed Connie and Adelle’s BFF friendship and there were some other great, surprising characters and moments throughout the book.

The end of the epilogue is what finally had me deciding whether or not I enjoyed the book. The last couple of pages completely caught me off guard, so much so that I had to reread them. I had not anticipated that ending and it instantly increased my enjoyment of the book and made me want to flip back and see if I had missed any clues!

This was an okay book for me. The world it created just didn’t draw me in like I wanted it to, I always dislike giving low reviews or ratings but honesty is what I strive for.