Dan Frey

Byron Kidd's twelve year old daughter disappears one day with the only clue being a note saying that she is off to explore the Hidden World, a reference to a magical world in a popular YA fantasy series. It turns out that she isn't the only one that has gone missing under mysterious circumstances tied to this book series.

The journalist Byron, unsatisfied with the lack of progress in the police investigation, decides to do some digging himself in a quest to find his daughter. He journeys from the East Coast to Los Angeles where the author of the book series lives. In the course of his research, he finds that there appear to be parts of the fantasy world blending with the real world. Can he find out what happened to his daughter and the other missing children?

I found the premise of this book very intriguing and the cover is gorgeous. The book is told through journal entries, Reddit posts, interviews and excerpts. While this isn't my favorite style, it seemed to fit here. I found the character of Byron to be a very unlikable person almost all the way through the book. In his defense, his teenage daughter is missing and presumed dead while his wife and others have tried to move on. As a parent, I cannot imagine what that must be like. As a reader, it was really hard to sympathize with him because he is a jerk, lies to people constantly to get what he thinks he needs, drinks like a fish, and looks down on pretty much everyone, especially if you are a woman.

I found this book to be a REALLY slow burn. Things don't really get started until almost 40% in and the action really doesn't ramp up until the last 20% or so. There was a lot of buildup but a quick ending so pacing seemed a little off. It was hard to get a rhythm going due to the writing style changing constantly and Byron's run on sentence journal entries getting in the way. Without the supporting character of Misha, the operator of a popular fan site dedicated to the YA fantasy book series, this would have been a tough read. Byron is just not a fun character to spend time with.

There were some bright spots in this creatively put together modern fantasy novel but it is hard to root for the main character even though his goal is to be reunited with his daughter who he didn't spend enough time with growing up because he was busy with work. Once the fantasy and real world started blending, the book got going but it took awhile. The ending was rushed but was satisfying.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for honest feedback.… (mehr)

One of the best [SciFi) books I ever read! This will definitely be in my Top 5 for 2021. The premise is absolutely brilliant. But what makes this book so damn appealing is how it is constructed, through emails, text messages, and transcripts, which not only moves the story along at a fast pace, but it brings the ideas and the characters to life in a way that I have never experienced before.

If you are a lover of this genre or are just interested in a great read, do yourself a huge favor and pick this one up ASAP. It is timely, fun, spot-on accurate in accessing how we interact and consume technology in our daily lives… (mehr)