I flew thru this genre bending read. Part YA. part fantasy. Part horror. Part thriller. Whatever you describe it as, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Before reading this book I’d only ever read another book by this author, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, which I hated with a burning passion. However, this book sounded interesting and I am always down to read a book centering around a game. Usually, even in fantasy books, if there’s a competition of any sort, you can bet I’ll be interested. Sadly, I ended up not liking this book, so I am going to give this author one last chance with her middle grade horror called Wretched Waterpark and then I’m gonna call it quits.
My biggest issues with this book were the characters and the atmosphere (or the lack thereof). I did not care for any of the characters and I could not tell half of them apart, so my interest was instantly lost. I didn’t even like the “main” characters, those surviving for more than one or two days, because I felt they were extremely stereotyped and they did not have anything peculiar enough to keep me engaged and to make me invested in what was going to happen to them. Which is sad, because I believe they had some potential, to be honest. Another thing that bothered me about the characters is that, while the book is supposed to be a “full on” adult novel, they all read extremely young, childish and YA.
As far as the atmosphere goes, I don’t think the author managed to make it scary or even spooky enough. I would have loved to feel the thrill while reading; I don’t ever get scared when I read, but I like when the writing makes me feel the chill. The setting really lended itself to be spooky, so I wished it would have gone a bit further.
The plot itself is nothing special, it’s extremely basic and predictable, but I didn’t mind it all that much. I’ll say, and Juls — who buddy read this with me — agrees with me (or, I agree with them, since they actually said it first, even if I already thought it), this book would make a great movie. I would totally watch it and I believe I would give it a much higher rating, if it was well made. I hope, since everything is being turned into a movie or a TV show lately, that they will pitch this one and someone will produce it. If they need a hand, I already have some ideas for the cast and the set design.
Talking about the writing style, I’ve already mentioned that for me it didn’t do anything in the atmosphere department. It also didn’t make it any easier to make me like or make me interested in the characters, and it was full of clichés, in my opinion. It wasn’t a badly written book by any means, but it was just extremely boring, when you add everything to the mix: flat characters, basic plot, no atmosphere and simplistic writing.
Overall, it was not a bad book, it was just a forgettable one. I’ll probably still buy myself a physical copy because I am obsessed with the cover and the endpapers, but I don’t think I will ever reread it or do anything with it other than stare at it and take pictures of it.

3 stars. This book has a cool premise, but I will admit it's not a creature feature. This is a full scope cosmic horror novel, but the characters and the ending suffer from feeling too YA. Considering I've read Kiersten White's YA and found And I Darken to be much a darker novel than this, I am disappointed. I also know she can write some decent adult style writing considering the letters and journals found in this very much fit the cosmic forces that White is attempting to focus on. I just wanted more, so much more. The one highlight: this book is insanely readable. I read it in two days and even when at times I was bored, I wasn't bored enough to put it down. Full review to come.

Unfortunately, this was one of the most disappointing reads I've had all year. I was disappointed enough in the direction this story went, but that's more personal preference; I have seen many, many readers who have enjoyed the direction of the story. However, there were serious pacing problems in this, and the constant POV changes were impossible to keep up with. This was an unbelievably frustrating and confusing reading experience, especially via audio (the narrator was also awful & added to the confusion-she uses multiple voices for the same character! How are we supposed to keep up with that?)

I wanted to love this book. I really wanted to, but in the end we weren’t a fit. Here are the reasons I didn’t like it:
🎡 It did not feel like an adult book. The characters did not feel like adults. It reads very much as a YA book.
🎡 Instead of chapters the book is divided into seven days. This still could have been done with chapters dividing the day. A three-hour long chapter should be illegal.
🎡 There are so many POV shifts without any indication of a change. This felt very muddled.
🎡 The plot just got more and more ridiculous, leaving huge holes that go unanswered.

I have read many of Kiersten White’s young adult novels. Therefore, I was intrigued by her adult novels particularly the horror genre. The story tells the tale of people who compete in a contest at an abandoned amusement park. The story is reminiscent of Hunger Games or Squid Games. There are many characters in this novel. Because of the different perspectives, it was hard for Mrs. White to develop the characters fully. It was hard to feel for them or connect with them. Therefore, there should have been one narrator so that the characters could have more development. The writing is very beautiful and is the novels best feature! The story is very suspenseful and moves at an evenly pace! Therefore, this novel will be sure to please Mrs. White’s fans! I recommend this for fans of All of Us Villians, Your Republic is Calling You, and The Law of Lines!

The writing was clunky. The premise was nonsense. There were too many characters, but since they were just fodder for whatever “something” was stalking them there was no need to keep track of them. There was no suspense until the 1/3 point. Romance was unnecessary. I generally don’t care for supernatural horror, and this book was not an exception. I made it to the 60% point and then skipped to the ending. This was definitely not for me. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

HIDE is about a group of struggling young adults who enter a hide and seek competition in the hopes to win money and/or fame, but everything isn't what it appears to be and the competition is far more sinister than they could have imagined. I was pulled into this story by Mack's voice in the beginning, but then soon realized that the novel actually has an omniscient point of view, the narrator jumping into the heads of different characters from one paragraph to another. I think this is a hard technique to pull off, and while I do understand why the author would use it for this story, it was a little disorienting towards the end when it seemed to jump more quickly.

The way the author described everything definitely gave a strong sense of foreboding, though, which kept me interested. While it was very clear early on that this wasn't simply a hide and seek competition, I feel like the author intended for it to be, so that the reader can see coming what the characters can't. I've seen and read enough horror to have a few guesses of what was really going on, but the reveal still didn't disappoint me. And I definitely never predicted the ending.

Something interesting about this story, is that while we get into the heads of many characters, almost all of them were pretty unlikeable. This meant that I didn't sympathize as much as I could have with their sad fates. The small group of characters that survived long enough to be memorable were actually very likable, though, so I was rooting for them by the end. Ultimately, while the ending was unpredictable, it felt almost unfinished. Honestly, it left me feeling kind of weird. But after reading the author's acknowledgements at the end, I wonder if that was sort of what she intended. All in all, this book was a creepy, fun, and quick read that I didn't want to put down, because I just wanted to know what was going to happen.

(Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.)

Listen, did I hate it? No. Did I love it? Also no. This book is at its worst, confusing and unforgettable. The premise is interesting. A blend of And Then There Were None and The Minotaur, and this could have been so good, but there were too many characters and too many POVs which changed without any real warning. None of the characters were particularly likable, and the social horror felt shoehorned in as an after thought.

Probably more like a 2.5.

Horror isn't my preferred genre to read but I thought I'd give this one a chance since I've enjoyed so many of White's novels in the past. Unfortunately, not even White could make me enjoy the genre and I found myself putting the book down every few pages to take a breather from the action. This is definitely a case of "It's me, not the book" though so I would recommend this one without hesitation to horror fans.

Hide, by Kiersten White was my most recent horror read. I was drawn to it because of that spooky and eerie cover. And the premise, it sounded amazing- spend a week hiding in an old and abandoned amusement park and do not get caught. The ultimate game of hide and seek with a prize that is potentially life changing.

Mack, a young woman with a horrific past, is sure she can win, after all she has spent her whole life hiding. Then her fellow participants begin showing up dead and it becomes clear there is something more going on in the park. Something deadly. Are they being hunted?

This book started out with a bang. I loved the premise and thought I was in for a fast paced roller coaster of a ride, but after the first chapter it slowed down. The pace of the novel for me was just was too slow. I found myself constantly putting it down to read other things and that is never a good sign. Also, there were just too many characters and learning the backstory of each one became tedious - after awhile I just did not care. I found it hard to connect with any particular character because after awhile they just kind of all blended together and I was left feeling bored. This is the kind of book that needs to move at a fever pitch and the first chapter did and that was the highlight of the book for me. It’s not the worst book I’ve ever read but it is one I doubt I’ll remember. Thank you to @netgalley for this advanced copy.

Our main character for Hide is a girl on the run from her own past, spending her nights in a shelter and days hiding in rafters where no one will see her. When the shelter tells her there is a chance for her to make money in a new potential reality show, she is basically given no choice but to enter. Along with 13 other young people, she finds that the game is in an abandoned amusement park and the game is basically hide and seek. The game turns sinister within days as contestants start disappearing. The plot, characters, and character development for Hide was perfect. I'm a fan of a little tidier ending but Hide really is an amazing book start to finish from White.

I loved the concept of this book. Hide and seek in an abandonment amusement park reality show contest with a cash prize for the best hider. You’ll need a lot of unreliable characters, maybe a weird town curse and a couple hero’s for this story.
The pace of this book was to slowburn for me. I had to wait until I could get an audiobook version to actually get through the whole thing.
Overall a good story, just a little slow to get going and then had an abrupt ending that I was not expecting.

Hide’s premise is so creepy, I immediately wanted to read this book. Hide and Seek in an abandoned amusement park? With supernatural elements? Sign me up!

This is White’s first adult book, bringing supernatural and horror to the forefront. It is very dark which I really liked. Mack’s backstory was heartbreaking, but I didn’t get enough of her story of what happened after the horrific actions of her father and the current day. There’s also some LGBT+ love, but this wasn’t really addressed that much and I would have liked a little bit more dialogue on this (Particularly during Mack’s POV). This is a plot book and it moves pretty quickly. There are some great descriptions of the old worn rides that create the perfect atmosphere.

That said, I wish I had a firmer grasp on the characters and they had more distinct voices. Some of the characters are very interesting. I really liked Brandon for instance. I wanted more from Jaden and why he was who he was. Maybe because it’s a thriller, maybe because there are so many characters. But I did want more from each of them. I also wanted a lot more from the um, older group of people who were putting on the contest. I understand the why but there was no character development from any of them, besides Linda so I didn’t really care what happened to them. I really want to feel something for the villains, hate, anger, disgust, but instead I didn’t seem to connect with any of the characters (players or otherwise).

And let’s talk about the cover love! This is so gorgeous. The cover is a beautiful balance of the above ground setting (a Ferris wheel) and the decay and darkness that stretches below the surface. What an amazing visual to accompany this book.

Overall, I think White’s fans will enjoy her dip into adult fiction.

Yikes. This was not good. So much repetition in the writing and then there were plot lines that just didn’t match up. The supernatural element just didn’t track for me.

Sadly, this didn't do it for me. I liked Kiersten White's previous series (The Conqueror's Saga), and I was excited to read more by this author. There was a lot that wasn't meshing well for me - the writing style was oddly stilted, there were waaaaay too many characters, most of whom are never developed, absolutely none of the characters are likeable, and the pacing was far too slow. I was also disappointed with the "reveal". Just a big swing and a miss for me.

One of my all-time favorite tropes is a competition, so when I heard the synopsis for Kiersten White's Adult Debut, Hide, I instantly added it to my TBR. In this story we follow fourteen contestants competing in a Hide-and-Seek contest at an abandoned amusement park. Seemingly selected at random from some sort of need-based selection process, the fourteen individuals are complete strangers and come from locations scattered throughout the United States.

From the very start the contest is shrouded in mystery. The only things they really know are that it is hosted by a sporting goods company and the prize is $50,000. We follow multiple different perspectives as the contest begins and a Hunger Games-type vibe falls over the narrative. With two contestants getting caught and out of the game each day, the tension increasingly mounts. Additionally, it's not clear at all who, or what, the Seekers are.

The main individual we follow is a young woman named Mack, who has a very violent, traumatic past. As she sees it, her biggest gift is her ability to hide. She's been doing it her whole life. The things Mack observes as she hides chill her to the bone. This game may be more dangerous than anyone initially anticipated.

It's taken me a long time to come to grips with how I feel about this book. I liked some aspects and I really disliked some aspects. Therefore, it made sense to give this a 3-star rating; just slice it right down the middle. I'm disappointed, but I'm not mad.

The writing was a little wonky for me from the very start, but I was intrigued to see where it was going regardless. There were so many perspectives and characters. Additionally, it jumped around a lot, it was hard to engage with any of the characters or what they were feeling. Mack, who was the person whose perspective you read from the most, didn't do it for me. I hated being in her head.

Also, there was a plot device used to help explain the background of the contest which generally I like, but here, the execution of it, I just felt like it was too convenient. I didn't enjoy it.

Further, I promise this is it for complaints, the horror aspects were kept too obscure. I wanted more. I liked the build and tension initially. The not knowing was sort of like when you first started watching <i>Lost</i> and you knew something was in the jungle, but you could never tell what it is. I liked that, but eventually as you discover the truth behind the park, it could have gone deeper into those elements.

Overall, this is a good book and I know a lot of Readers will love it. I was expecting a bit more, but even though this was a slight miss for me, I will continue to pick up anything White writes. Thank you to the publisher, Del Rey Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity!

Hide is easily one of my most anticipated reads this year, and it did not disappoint. A sweltering hide-and-seek game in an abandoned theme park with a supernatural horror twist, it is the perfect thrill ride for the summer season.

Hide is a character-driven social horror with a large cast of characters. It was hard initially for me to keep up with all of the characters and I found it helpful to take notes. I appreciated the amount of detail given to each of the characters, even the ones that you can tell are less important, with enough information to learn about them but not so much that it slows down the novel. The narrative constantly shifts between characters, even mid-paragraph, which kept the pacing snappy. The plot is filled to the brim with commentary about privilege and wealth inequality, and while it was at times extremely heavy-handed, I appreciated it regardless.

It takes a while for the story to really start moving but the second half of the novel was just so imaginative and wild that I couldn’t get enough. The ending was killer, I loved it and I honestly laughed out loud reading the last line. This book feels like a summer blockbuster film, and although it is categorized as an adult novel I think it would be an easy bridge for YA readers.

Also notable is the official playlist for Hide, which is available on Spotify, the songs are great and fit the tone and feel of the novel perfectly.

Mack is without home, family, or hope. She's tricked into entering a hide-and-seek contest in an old amusement park. The rules are simple: 15 people spend 7 days hiding in the abandoned park, and the last to be found wins $50,000. None of the contestants know it, but they are all connected to the town, to each other, and to the thing they will be hiding from. And the prize isn't $50,000, but one of their lives. (I'm not considering that to be a spoiler because come on. Of course that's what's happening.)

I've never read a book with this many characters that did such a good job of distinguishing their names, voices, and backstories. You feel for almost everyone in this grown up Hunger Games, and you want them all to live. The town's secret is spectacular, and the way you slowly discover it is perfect. I would happily read a dozen prequels leading up to this story.

First i will like to thank #netgalley and #delray for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

3.75 stars

First i was really intrigued by the concept of the book as it sounded really spooky and right up my alley to be honest. Overall i did enjoy this book a lot as it sucked me right in and left me wanting more and more. There are some really Erie moments and times there things were not right at all.

I have to say something i personally felt that was lacking was the backstory of the whole concept because while i understood why everything was happening i wanted to know more and more and why some people, could see things and others couldn’t,

Other than that i really liked the book and found it to be a fun read suspense read overall!