"'Magic,' Singleton said. “To answer your question from earlier... It works. But the tricky thing is, it never works exactly how you expect. People think they’re smart enough to summon up some entity or make someone fall in love with them and have it all turn out for the best. But they aren’t smart enough. Whatever it is that usually decides our fates—Gods, luck, random chance—it’s smarter than us. It’s always smarter. Magic works, but it’s an exercise in irony, sometimes a dangerous one."

Lily is a book dealer with an offer for a valuable rare occult book, if it actually exists. Mysterious deaths, a grimoire of sex magic-with it's own agenda and meetings with power hungry millionaires follow. Sara Gran's writing and specifically character descriptions are so vividly interesting and relatable that they paint a perfect picture for the reader. The tale of Abel's heart-wrenching illness was also a familiar one for me. It again kept me identifying with Lily and gave insight into her motivations. I was instantly hooked into the bibliophile part of Lily Albrecht's life.

What are these substances, you may ask, that the title refers to? Think of all the fluids in the body of men and women then let your imagination run with what the "most precious" substance would be. The cover becomes more clever than initially imagined once you remember the human body is 70% water. Now for the negative, I've literally never said this about a book (I'm a fan of erotica) but this book was too sex-centric. Every single page feels like it had some kind of sex, lack of sex, sex as a tool, sexual memories. It just went overboard for me and became the plotline which ultimately caused me to lose interest. I wanted this book to be more violently dark and ominous. The ending, although I get the lesson, was unsatisfying. There were definite splashes of brilliance. I loved the Madame scene and Lucas's demise but they couldn't quite overcome the rest. Thank you so much to Dreamland Books for allowing me an early review.

So I absolutely loved this author's Claire DeWitt series. I read all three of those and was on the lookout for more books by her. This popped up on Netgalley and looked really interesting.

I liked it but not as much as the other series. It was dark, well written, and involved a lot of strange events. I did like the theme of how the power given by the book could end up not being what the person wanted after all. It was kind of a warning to power hungry maniacs - who were mostly men too.

If you want a surprising and dark story, and are ok with sex, blood, and gore, I do recommend it. There were also parts that made me anxious and sad as the main character lived through losing her partner to dementia (not a spoiler, it is right at the beginning).

Books about rare and or magical books are the most entertaining books, I'm thinking of two of my favourites, Jen Banbury's Like a Hole in the Head or Scarlett Thomas' The End of Mr. Y. Now we have Sara Gran's The Book of the Most Precious Substance and it's a fantastic novel about rare books, booksellers, sex magic, loss, grief and about how the universe is never, ever fair.

I breezed through this book, Sara Gran is a fantastic writer, please pick up her Claire DeWitt series if you haven't already. Dreamland books is off to a great start, here's hoping they'll publish many more brilliant, fun, smart and sexy books like The Book of the Most Precious Substance.

I absolutely loved this story. The concept seems so original. The way it talks about true soulmate love is spot-on and gave me words that I've not had to describe how I feel about my person.

The only downside is that the writing could have been edited a bit better. It's somewhat awkward, for lack of a better word, and repetitive in places.

That said, I will definitely check out this author's other books.

A big thank-you to the author, the publisher, netgalley for a copy of this arc.

As expected, I loved this book. Huge fan of Sara Gran’s previous book, Come Closer, and this one felt similar in quality but completely unique in every other way. I was so taken with the story from page 1, and I thought the character development and storyline were perfectly paced. Really dark and smokey, I loved that the book had an element of sensuality and sexiness to it. My only complaint is that I wanted more! I can’t wait for what’s next from this author.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley
#netgalley

A new to me author but I will definitely be buying some more from her!

I can honestly say that The Book of the Most Precious Substance was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Part-mystery, part-erotica (4/5 🌶), part-existential horror, it’s a fun, sexy, dangerous romp in the world of antique books.

After a tragedy too painful to bear, former novelist Lily Albrecht has resigned herself to a dull, sexless life as a rare book dealer. Until she gets a lead on a book that just might turn everything around. The Book of the Most Precious Substance is a 17th century manual on sex magic, rumored to be the most powerful occult book ever written--if it really exists at all. And some of the wealthiest people in the world are willing to pay Lily a fortune to find it—if she can.

The addictive pacing of this book made my head spin. I felt like I was on an adventure with Lily as she hunted down a magical book. Travel, danger, sex, and books—It was a wild ride! But, the ending felt rushed. All of this exhilarating buildup to the (YESSSS) shocking twist, but it all happened too fast. I wanted to spend more time in Lily’s head during the story's climax. (Pardon the *cough* pun.) And the twist was 💯 legit!

Gran did an excellent job crafting the characters of this story. They are three-dimensional and real with depth & flaws. Lily is my favorite. She stole the show. Her pain, sarcasm, and skepticism resonate with me. Gran writes women superbly, and I think that’s one of her assets when it comes to this story.

This book is about the world of rare antique books. As a reader, what’s not to love about that?! I found myself thinking many times over: “What a bunch of bizarre book sniffers!” That’s good stuff, folks.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy of the book. I really enjoyed it. It's fun, funny, and very sexy. It's equal parts seductive and heart breaking. I reccomend!

I’m a bit obsessed with this book. Im writing a review to come in BookPage near the time of release.. But for now I’ll say it’s sexy and mysterious and cool, like nothing I’ve read before. And the main characters are book people, which is fun— a rare book dealer and a university archivist on a quest to broker a million dollar deal for an ancient and rare handwritten guide to “sex magic.” There are multiple definitions of “sex magic” in the book. This is my favorite: “the art of using sex to, as Crowley defined magic, affect change in accordance with one’s will.”
4.5 stars I think.

Sara Gran has done it again. A smart sexy mystery with a book dealer as the main character. What's not to love.

First let's get the this out of the way: The Book of the Most Precious Substance is the book and the most precious substance mentioned is female ejaculate.
So, you could say this whole book is about that, but it's also about rare books, beautiful things and how far would someone go for the one they love?!

I really enjoyed this story! Lily gave me some major Joe Goldberg vibes and I loved it! Lily is a tired author who sells rare books to make money and is feeling defeated by life when suddenly she gets the lead on a very rare to and expensive book about sex magic. She teams up with a fellow book nerd to find this magical book and their journey is truly a delight! It's tense the whole way through, dotted with good sexy scenes and the ending was a bit of a surprise.

I recommend you order this one now and take the release day off for some alone time.😉

I had the best laugh about half way into this novel …
a laugh that only makes sense if you’ve read the first 50%.
“Would you say this is a common occurrence in the book world?” — asked by Detective Frank.
So…. let me explain — a lot of drama is generated around a rare book called “The Book of The Most Precious Substance”.

Lily and Lucas were book dealers (lovers too - but that’s a story within a story of itself)..
A colleague died. ( that’s also a story within a story),
but
Lily and Lucas were helping fill some of his orders — for the good of his family —
But then a ridiculously wealthy ‘Admiral Masters’ heard that Lily snd Lucas had a way of getting hold of the rare book…. willing to pull out all stops to F-over another buyer and sell it himself—steal it if given the chance.
The book is about war - power - and sex. ….
[sex magic:
the art of using sex to affect change in accordance with one’s will]…
a book about …..
“the most precise, and most effective, grimoire on sex magic ever written. It guides the reader through five steps, each corresponding to a different bodily fluid, and along with it, a specific symbol and a word”….
the book calls it “the nectar of the woman’….next is the life-giving seed of the man”.
“Only one man in a thousand will be able to draw it out of a woman, and only one woman in a thousand will allow it to be drawn”.
“When a women’s pleasure reaches a crescendo, there will be a wave like the ocean, violent and forceful, but sweet and delicious when it crashes”.
Ha…..
Don’t get too swaddled in juicy-naught thinking…
because…
don’t you want to know why a detective Frank even cares… and why he might be asking about a rare book?
Well… things get a little voodoo spooky in the land of Sara Gran’s grand creation.
Admiral Masters was murdered at approximately 4am…
and
…..the question is…..
did another ridiculously wealthy book buyer send someone to take out his competition?
…..and
….are there more stories within a story? That take turns the reader upside down and around - in other words a surprise twist?

Yep… all is-ha-‘business as normal’ in the book world 😉

This was pure page-turning fun from start to finish—a surprise offer (thank you Cai) with lots of entertaining surprises to boot.

I’m so tempted to share more about the plot (my first experience reading ‘sock-it-to-me’ *Sara Gran*….whom I found devilishly delightful)…
I’ve several pages of notes should anyone want more of me —
but instead — are you hungry?
How about dinner on 5th Ave. in New York?
(personally, I’m not much of a foodie- but if I were - I might be able to appreciate being dined and wined by two attractive men)…

Leo Singleton (let’s just say — one of several ridiculously wealthy men you’ll meet in Gran’s novel), took Lily and Lucas to a very posh restaurant with luxurious food and alcohol on 5th Avenue with exorbitant prices. (duck, rare lamb chops, mane mushrooms, sea bass crusted with fresh green herbs and hazelnuts, plenty of wine - getting a little drunk- pistachio ice cream, vanilla orange meringues and a plate of tiny white and dark chocolates in unusual flavors: violet, pecan, lemon blossom for dessert-adds a little Brandy to top off the three hour dinner/meeting.
It was the best dinner Lily had in years (with those two attractive men, I mentioned)…

But …. we get a lot more in this novel than just tasty-teasers…
If one ‘must’ indulge in a crime-thriller-novel-(for those of us who do not regularly read crime novels), this unique story about a sought-after rare book adds a new dimension to the words ‘crime’ and ‘book’ in the same sentence.

The characters were interesting— I liked hanging out with them (main and supporting)…
99% of the time I got a great kick out of the detailed descriptions—for ‘every’ major and minor character—for every house (be it a farmhouse in upstate New York, a clean-masculine-impressive apt. in Oakland - or a - ridiculously wealthy- mansion in D.C. or Paris.
But ….
my one tiny quibble —1% quibble…
I had thoughts about some of the descriptions beginning to feel repetitive (in styling) —
yet—
I at the same time, I enjoyed each of the descriptions for its own merit.
Here’s a sample creative-eye-catcher ‘character’ description:
“Elena was unattractively tall—there was nothing wrong with her height, which was about six-three, but she hunched her shoulders, which made her back look bent and put her face and neck at the worst possible angle—chin out, neck doubled, chest sagging. Her nose was big and matched by her forhead,
with cheekbones and chin lagging far behind. But there was much that was appealing about Elena nonetheless; a happiness that shone out from a deep dark point inside”.

And…
a ‘house’ description:
“The entryway to Toby Gunn’s house had twenty-foot-high ceilings and stone walls and marble floors. Tapestries that looked like they were from the 1500s hung from the walls, showing scenes of the unicorns and walled gardens, muffling the noise in the already too-quiet house. A chandelier that was as large as a car hung from the ceiling”.

FUN FUN FUN…
Lily has a sarcastic tone…
which we understand once we are privy to her past history.

The male characters are charismatic & tantalizing—but also puzzling debatable.
Lily - center of every man in this novel has a sarcastic tone which I grew to admire and understand.

It’s clear to me that Sara Gran (tell me that’s not a great name for a woman) knows who she -
she writes with chutzpah — with her shrewd sultry, imperfect characters….
giving us (both)compelling male and female characters…. and a darn gran story….(thrilling, erotic, tantalizing, and never predictable)…
THE BEST TWIST ENDING of the Year!!!

Gloriously entertaining!!

4.9 stars

Sara Gran fans REJOICE!!! This book contains everything you expect from one of horror's rock star authors. Erotic, thrilling, and tense all the way through. There is nothing like THE BOOK OF THE MOST PRECIOUS SUBSTANCE on the shelves. Original concept and expertly crafted. Gran does what she wants on the page and we're all lucky enough to take the ride.

Loved the Clare Dewitt series not sure if I liked this book or not. A down on her luck book seller with a tragic history is given the opportunity to make a lot of money. But will she sell her soul to do it? An erotic thriller about books, black magic and power.

Sara Gran has the most demented imagination (and I mean that in all the best ways). I’m this one, she mixes magical realism, the occult, sex, and self sacrifice to create a mystery/thriller with an awesomely twisty end.