A great blend of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Real-world monsters and monsters that peer out at us from cracked closet doors. What's there vs what isn't there. What's real vs what's fake. White's writing style is quick and concise, her ability to carry us through a story is effortless and thrilling. Definitely wont be my last of her. For fans of coming-of-age horror, nostalgic horror, mystery/thriller vibes, and great character development.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exhange for an honest review.

"All words are imaginary. Sounds that we attached to meaning, images and emotions conjured out of the air. So really, all words are magic. Something from nothing. Forcing others to feel things, to think things, to understand things simply by uttering the right combination of noises. You were always good at words, weren't you? Good at making the others do what you wanted."


Oh, Mister Magic and I would not get along. Or maybe it would be me against the town of Bliss? My goodness, those people... they were something else. As for the very cult-like vibes, I absolutely devoured them. It's the only thing that made sense to me. The characters themselves were interesting to a point. I mean, sure, some of them weren't my absolute favorite but I really wanted to know the overall mystery.

Where is Kitty? What has happened to all the people who have gone into this circle of friends? And why did no one look for Val? Especially her mother. When we finally saw what happened on the day that Val disappeared and couldn't be found, it hurt my heart. Val wasn't the only one who saw the truth of what Mister Magic was and it still hurt to see the truth come out. But then again, the people of this awful town didn't expect the unexpected when it came to her or her group of friends.

This ending was interesting. I honestly thought it was going to go differently than it did. It was still good, though!

3.5 stars

As someone who loves TV shows, the concept of a show being really popular and being loved, but having no evidence of ever existing was really intriguing. I'm not much of a horror reader, but Mister Magic gave off horror with a bit of thriller vibes. I was hooked from the start and actually enjoyed the creepy feeling this story gave.

Our main characters come back together so many years later to record a podcast. This show wasn't always a good memory for everyone, but some things also seems to be a little fuzzy. Some have moved on well and others not so much. It still seems to be remembered that they did lose a crew member in a very tragic way. So when their characters seem to be personified again now that everyone is back, things get creepy. Who is this Mister Magic no one can seem to remember.

I loved that our characters slowly realize they may have entered a trap and I wasn't sure who could be trusted while reading this story. The ending was definitely intense, but I do feel like I was left with some questions here and there. Even though I don't normally read this genre, I'm glad I decided to pick up Mister Magic.

My review will also be posted on https://thebookdutchesses.com on May 10th.

A chilling, nostalgic horror novel about a lost children’s TV show with sinister undertones. Dark, unsettling, and full of creeping dread. Brilliant exploration of memory and trauma.

Kiersten white is a great writer and while there were times this book was seriously creepy, overall it just fell a little flat for me.

Really interesting take on cults! I docked it a star because I felt like it was a little too long and a little repetitive at times. I enjoyed our cast of characters and the pacing was pretty good for most of the book; however, that good chunk did drag on a bit. Overall good read

I loved Kiersten White’s Hide last year or the year before. This one was just as good. Story of friends from an old tv show you reunite to do a podcast. Very modern, man who from old tv shows ISNT doing this in the real world nowadays?

I absolutely loved the premise of this book and it did not disappoint at all. It was suspenseful and extremely creepy. It was very enjoyable and I highly recommend it!

Mister magic has an unique and interesting set up. A children's TV show that everyone remembers, yet there is no footage of it. One of the main characters in the show has no memory of ever being on it, when she is found by her castmates to do a reunion. There are so many secrets and so many questions that go unanswered for our main character. I was hooked in and enjoying the ride....but as the book went on, I felt like I may never get answers.
As you read on, there are some heavy feelings/observations dropped like this, where you know that it is all heavily metaphorical...but of what? I wasn't 100% sure until I read the author's note, and then I appreciated it all a bit more. I will leave it up to you if you want to discover that note before or after reading....but I think I would have liked to know beforehand, as I may have gotten a bit more out of it. Either way, this is a unique read that kept me wanting to know more.

We love a creepy children's TV show and former child stars. The book was slow and repetitive in certain parts, I think there could have been about 50 pages cut from the middle of this and it would have been just as effective. The ending was interesting, I definitely called what was happening from the start.

Would read again!

This one didn't totally hang together for me, and I tried reading it in several different moods and times. I found several parts of the book hard to follow and visualize, and the tone wasn't consistent, which made it challenging for the tension to really build. The opening grabbed me, but then I found myself continuing to put it down in the second half of the book, and the ending truly didn't land for me. Great premise and some interesting themes, but ultimately not for me.

Great book! It had all the fears of growing up. Make a choice. Turn the page or close the book. Enter the darkness if you wish!

After several attempts with different moods I’ve found this one didn’t work for me. I’ve enjoyed a lot of this authors work and I’m confident that this one will work for a different audience.

I am a huge sucker for anything with a cult vibe. the premise of this book was super interesting, but the writing was kind of a miss for me. It was hard to follow and visualize what was going on and I found myself rewinding multiple times to see if I was missing pieces or if they just weren’t expressed. However, the character development, creepy house, cult vibes, and relationships were a huge hit. While I like how the book was wrapped up, I’m still confused as to what the heck actually happened… I get that they got from A to C, but step B is quite ✨muddy✨. This might have been better if I read it with my eyeballs rather than earholes, but oh whale. Thank you @prhaudio for my gifted copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This book was a wild ride, though it left me feeling a bit confused about the author's overarching message in the end. I would have a hard time even describing what this book is about to a friend. I recommend Mister Magic for any reader interested in speculative fiction and ambiguous endings. Reading the author's note included at the end of the book did help clarify a bit, but I think some of the themes of the story could've been tied up a bit more neatly in the end.

This book was a little tough to follow to be honest. I really liked the summary and the themes present in the book, but it felt confusing at times.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this. I kept finding myself not paying attention for the majority of this and finally gave up on it around the half way point. I enjoy more fast paced stories.

While I felt like the ending left something to be desired, the "set design" of the novel is very interesting. Lots of creepy liminal spaces that really made me get invested in what the characters were going through. I also liked it a bit more than Kiersten White's other horror novel, "Hide," which felt a lot more YA than "Mister Magic." Prime analog horror fiction, well worth the read!

This read was a solid three stars for me. The first half of the book grabbed my attention, pulled me and and took me down the strangest rabbit hole in the best ways possible. I loved it! However, the second half felt as if it went is different directions that didn't entirely tie in together. I found my thoughts to be drifting off towards the end and had to push through to finish it. Overall, the creepiness was great, the plot was wonderful, and the writing was excellent. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC opportunity.

I just finished reading Mister Magic by Kiersten White, and I'm so excited to share my thoughts with you!

This book is a wild ride from start to finish. It's a dark supernatural thriller that follows the surviving cast members of a beloved children's TV show called Mister Magic, which ended in tragedy thirty years ago. The story picks up when these former cast members reunite at the remote desert filming compound, and things get seriously eerie from there1.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the way Kiersten White builds tension and suspense. There's this one scene where the characters are doing a podcast interview in the old filming house, and things start to get really creepy. The entity posing as the podcast host starts asking them questions that seem to know more than it should, and the atmosphere is so thick with unease, you can almost feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

The mix of nostalgia and horror is so unique, and it's perfect for anyone who loves a good mind-bending thriller. If you're into stories that blend the supernatural with a touch of childhood memories, Mister Magic is a must-read.

So, grab your copy and get ready for a spooky, thrilling adventure! 🎃📖