ARC Review: Booke of the Hidden by Jeri Westerson

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite the treasure that I was hoping for.”
~ Under the Covers

I’m always in the mood for a fantastic Urban Fantasy, there’s something about that mix of magic, adventure and romance in a, normally, somewhat familiar setting that I love. However, it has been a while since I have found anything new that’s whetted by appetite, so I decided to go all Indiana Jones and explore and in the wilds of NetGalley I came across Booke of the Hidden. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite the treasure that I was hoping for.

When I read UF I like something to be a little gritty, I want the heroine to have depth, strength (even if she doesn’t know it) and intelligence. I want the love interest to do more than decorate the book with his gorgeous abs and massive biceps. And lastly I want an interesting story set in world that is well thought out and full of potential. Unless it is a superb 5 star book you don’t always get these things all at once especially on book 1 of a series, but you get enough to get stuck in and encourage you to continue. However, Booke of the Hidden didn’t really have any of the things I love, it didn’t feel like an UF it had the feel of a trying-to-be-charming, yet ultimately shallow cozy mystery.

It’s mixture of cookie cutter “eccentric” secondary characters, a broody love interest with as much depth as a paddling pool and the clueless, yet plucky heroine made this predictable and shallow. There was nothing below the surface, the world although not really explained also didn’t leave me intrigued about what wasn’t said, mainly because I didn’t feel like there wasn’t anything further to learn. And the storyline of a demon on the loose I completely lost interest in. I read this book to get to the end rather than out of enjoyment.

Needless to say, I won’t be continuing reading this series it wasn’t quite what I expected and wasn’t to my taste. A book that I did love and the premises are kind of similar is Deadly Curiosities by Gail Z Martin, which I recommend you check out if you like the type of UF I do.

[about-author author=”Jeri Westerson”]

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