DNF at 40%. I thought the premise was super interesting and I was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately the execution didn’t work for me. Every time I stopped reading, I forgot what I was even currently reading and had to check my goodreads. There’s some humor in that considering the plot. But the reality is this just didn’t capture me and I kept trying and waiting but at 40%, decided to call it as not for me. Thank you to Del Rey, Netgalley and PRH Audio for the gifted ebook and audiobook.

I've been a fan of White's novels for some time, and I personally enjoyed her adult horror debut, so when I saw she was writing another one I was excited to see where it went. Personally I found this one slightly less enjoyable than her previous adult title, but the consensus so far seems to be that people like this one more, so make of that what you will. I will say that the story itself is certainly a unique one, and after reading the authors note the book as a whole makes a little more sense. I also do appreciate what White was going for with the book, and in retrospect I think she did accomplish that to some degree. I want to make it perfectly clear that this is not a bad book by any means, and I did find myself flipping pages (although not literally) because I wanted to know what was going on, but in the end the horror aspects fell a little short for me. There was kind of an overall sense of wrongness in the book, which I enjoyed, but I'm not sure the prevailing sense of dread ever really amassed itself into something truly terrifying. That might work for some people, and I certainly didn't hate it, but I think I was just hoping for a little more in the end, and I just didn't quite get that. There were some terrible things revealed throughout the story, but in the end they were more just every-day terrible things that might mess you up had you experienced them as a kid, but in the end they did seem a little mundane compared to what I was expecting. Overall not a bad story, and I'm sure that there will be a great many people that are able to relate to the heart of this story, but for me it slightly missed the mark. I certainly won't steer anyone away from purchasing this title, and if someone asks for a story like this I would be happy to recommend it, but I don't think it's something I will go out of my way to gush about and hand-sell unless I'm sure it's what the customer is looking for. I'm still excited to see whatever it is that White comes up with next.

I have read most of Kiersten White's books and enjoyed most of them!

This one was ... interesting. I didn't know that much about the author's background, but the book's setting combined with one phrase about a dramatic house rising out of the desert just clicked in my brain and I decided this seemed like a metaphorical story about coercive organizations.

While I understand that writing (and reading) about trauma can be therapeutic, but these issues weren't cathartic for me to read about.

I appreciated what White was trying to do with the metaphorical structure but thought the book danced around the issues for too long. I also wasn't sure what point the story was trying to make having adult characters be so childlike. That by being forced to be performative all their lives, they never really grew up? I like the Peter Pan analogy but I still struggled with much of it.

But maybe she wrote this mainly for herself and those who shared her experience, and of course that's ok. Not everything has to be for me.

This is an incredible paranormal mystery surrounding a group of friends who appeared together on a mysterious children’s television show. I absolutely love this author’s writing style and this book was no exception. Huge five stars!

I really enjoy White’s writing and how she uses creepy stories to make a comment on our world. I liked how she subtly commented on religion and how it can be toxic.
I will read anything she writes and I can’t wait for her next book.

The only thing that was a little hard for me was when some of the words were broken up letter by letter vertically on the chat room pages. It was a bit hard to follow and I think could be a struggle for other readers.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC of this creepy title**

Actual rating : closer to 3.5 stars, rounded up because there were some really creepy/cool elements.

Mister Magic follows Val as she learns that she was part of a children's television show along with several other kids - friends that she has long forgotten. In fact, Val has forgotten everything before the age of 8 when her dad brought her to Gloria's ranch.

Enter her "friends" from the children's show as they head to take part in a podcast about the show - Mister Magic. The creepiest part is that no record of the show exists. No recording, no studio information, nothing.

This book started out really strong and dropped off a lot towards the end. Formed from the experiences of the author, this book took a turn at the end that took away from the plot. I just wanted a creepy horror book, not an agenda driven narrative. The dialogue was often cheesy as well, and I didn't find the characters to be relatable.

Mister Magic being listed as a horror book on a lot of up and coming lists doesn't really fit. There were supernatural elements and definitely parts that were creepy, but this book wasn't scary. Especially by the end.

I liked Mister Magic even more than Hide! Reminiscent of an incredibly good creepypasta (see.: Candle Cove), this book delivered on everything its blurb promised and beyond. It was creepy, and atmospheric, and emotionally moving to the point where I was straight-up crying during the final pages. I can't get into the themes without spoilers, but I really enjoyed and appreciated the metaphors here. It's honestly quite shocking to me that some reviewers didn't get it until the author's note (or never) because of how well done it was in my opinion. I found myself attached to every single one of the characters and basically binge-read this in a single night because I needed to know what would happen to them. TLDR; I will continue picking up this author's horror novels in the future because they always have incredible concepts and boy is she DELIVERING on them, too.

Kiersten White can do no wrong! I swear, if she writes it for adults, I will read it and Mister Magic has solidified this for me. Talk about cults? I want to be in the cult of Kiersten White's book fan club. What do I want to be when I grow up? As talented an author as Kiersten White. Holy shit. Okay, enough fan-girling (except not really, Kiersten call me so we can be BFF's please, I also love Star Wars).

This book... Y'ALL! Hide was my top read of 2022. I still think about it to this day and my heart starts to race at just how amazingly executed it was. So when I saw White was releasing her sophomore adult standalone I knew I was going to love it.

1990's nostalgia. The phenomena of the Mandela Effect amongst Millennials. Spooky house in the middle of the desert. Found family. What is going on vibes. Unreliable narrator. All with a social commentary on cult-like religion and deconstructing the damage these institutions cause our children. CHEF'S FUCKING KISS.

No other author writes a gripping, creepy, horror story like White while also delivering a one-two punch of social commentary and I will forever bow to her genius.

Much like Hide though, if you don't get the commentary piece, you may not enjoy this one as much. The brilliance is in the undertones. It's in the "wait a minute... is she talking about... what I think she's talking about?" And this is why her books will forever leave me on a high unlike any other I read.

IDK if this review makes sense. So I'll leave with this... read it... read it.... READ IT!!!!

Mister Magic is a story in layers. It may seem to be about a more generalized idea, but it's really an abstract perspective about escaping a toxic religion, in this case, the Mormon religion.

Val doesn't remember much from her youth, but when her father suddenly dies and some mysterious "friends" find her at the funeral, she is forced to face that past.

Mister Magic is a children's TV show that teaches correct behavior and even gender roles to its young audience. It mysteriously went off the air 30 years ago and is surprisingly missed by many individuals. This somewhat relates the safety of having a "role" to play, rules to follow. However, nothing can beat the freedom of personal decision-making and individuality.

Out August 8, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

This is my second book from the author. I am starting to think maybe we are not a match. I loved the premise of this book but the follow through was a bit of a let down. If you know anything about getting away from religion, and dealing with that this might appeal to you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I don’t know how I feel about this one so im putting my rating in the middle. I love the concept and feel like if executed properly, it could be very creepy and original. It fell a little flat for me.

Mister Magic started off with a bang, bringing together ingredients I didn't even realize I wanted in a horror book. A children's show exists in the memories of the masses and on the fringes of the internet, but no recordings exist and extended writings on the subject seem to go missing. The group of children from the show gather as adults to get to the bottom of the mysteries surrounding the show, and layers are peeled back as memories begin to surface and not everyone in the group is exactly what they seem. A great premise that loses steam around the midway point when reveals start to become blurry and clouded. As the story brushes up against the cosmic and relies more heavily on metaphor as story, I found my interest waning. There is an author's note explaining how the author's real-life experience impacted the book, and it does clarify some elements, but to my mind, story notes should not be necessary to understand the story. This is, of course, one reader's experience, and some might enjoy losing themselves in the cosmic clouds of White's narrative voice and the uncertainty that comes with it.

I very much enjoyed this book. It was super reminiscent of stories like candle cove but stood on its own well. I loved the writing style and the characters. The story was well paced and I genuinely couldn't tell what direction it was going to go in pretty much until it happened. It was a very unsettling read which I loved but it was also very emotional. The surface story was really good and you can totally stop at that and have an incredibly enjoyable experience but then when you start to understand the deeply personal nature of the authors story it makes me want to go back and read it again to get the full power of it. It's a very meaningful story especially for those with religious trauma. This was my first read by this author and I am excited to read more. It kept me coming back excited to continue the story and I had a great time

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine books for this ARC

I'll be quite honest- White's first read for me 'Hide' was a bit of a let down. However, my feelings toward Mister Magic could not be more different! Excellent exposition, a completely gripping plot, and master suspense- I was hooked the entire time and read the whole book in one sitting.

*Many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for my eARC*

I'm not sure what to say besides this book was SO weird and strange. I'll admit I didn't really know what was going on so I think that took away from my reading experience. I know a ton of people are going to love this one, it just wasn't for me.

I loved the entire vibe of this book! A children's show that seems only to live on in the memories of those that had actually watched the episodes, there are no old episodes to be found online, and any mention of the show seems to disappear.
There are tons of multimedia elements that made me feel like I was traveling down the same rabbit hole of this show along with everyone else. I loved the characters, you could feel the connection they all had with each other, and how the show not only brought them together but really shaped who they are as adults.

Mister Magic had the perfect amount of tension, suspense, and spookiness. I thought the characters really jumped off the page, and I was sucked in from the first moment. It kept me guessing until the last moment about how everything was going to play out.

Absolutely loved this book! It quickly shot to the top of my list of thrillers I read this year. I thought the concept was so unique and so compelling right from the beginning. I NEEDED to know about the obscure and secret TV show. I liked that the reader was just like Val, didn't know anything, was lost and scared, and just trying to make it to the next day to learn more. This was so easy to read but a very fun read. The writing was great, the tension was very high, and the narrative ws compelling. I loved the cast of characters, each was distinct and unique and I was interested in all of them. I had so many theories running through my head while I was reading but none of them were correct. I was guessing until the very end. I also loved that the book's format included letters, messages, snippets from online communities, etc. It really made this book feel like it was placed in the real world. I will be highly recommending this one.

I enjoyed this book. It has a good mystery element to it, and moves very quickly. I would recommend this book.

3.5 ⭐️
I enjoyed this book, especially the last 75-100 pages. The story was abstract and complex with a lot of allegories about religion/cults, so you may need to look back throughout the book as you are reading to understand happenings and characters actions or you may feel lost/confused. The eerie nature of the story, along with not knowing what actually happened kept me wanting more, but in the end I actually felt like I still wanted a bit more. I can’t tell if I liked the ending or hated it, similar to how I felt about the book as a whole at points. You go through the whole story wanting answers, which are lightly sprinkled throughout, mostly at the end. However, the answers you get are sandwiched with more actions and occurrences that leave you with further questions.
Having a main character (Val/Valentine) made the beginning of the book a bit of a slog more me because she was extremely boring and had few character traits besides being the only one without her memories of Mister Magic. However, I loved the others in main cast made of the childhood friends that were on the “show”. Once I learned about their background, it definitely gave me the vibe of someone who had been controlled by religion or a cult for their young life before breaking free of it. I didn’t mind this, but it seemed to take precedent over giving the characters complexities. The only things about the characters adult lives are their professions and how they hate their lives, but love their children. I just would have appreciated something deeper like the story was preaching, at least to me.

Thank you to Del Rey/Random House Publishing and Kiersten White for providing an Arc copy of this book on NetGalley for me to review.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love creepypastas and r/nosleeps, so this story immediately drew my attention with similarities to the creepypasta Candle Cove. Instead of a group of strangers reminiscing on a children’s show that may or may not have existed, however, it’s a reunion of the last set of child actors. There’s a kind of cult classic feel to the hype for the show, as people seem to remember it but they can’t quite remember exactly what they watched nor can anyone find evidence of it online. It’s a mystery, and so once word gets out about the last cast getting together to do a podcast about the show - it’s all over the internet.

This book does a great job of bringing that feeling into it - it includes blog entries, discussion boards, Wikipedia articles, etc - with the rest of the world’s opinion and feelings towards Mister Magic and the cast reunion. I loved this, as it really brought a sort of “reality” to the novel. It’s not just the main character or the previous cast who are both obsessed with the show but also can’t quite remember anything specific that happened - it’s the rest of the world too. It really gives a solid foundation to the almost eerie feeling of this show that was a part of everyone’s childhoods - but yet no one can find evidence of it online.

The main character, Val, was apparently a cast member as a child on this show, but she has absolutely no memory of it. Her father brought her to the farm that she’s lived on for the past 30 years, keeping her hidden from anything that could identify her - but why? Does it have something to do with the show Mister Magic? What’s wrong with the show if everyone who remembers it only has positive memories attached?

We kind of wander in the dark, trying to figure out what’s exactly going on - all the while, an omnipresent uneasiness fills both the reader and Val, letting us know that there’s something not right going on. Why did her father essentially kidnap her, and never tell her about her past? What’s going on with the house they supposedly filmed Mister Magic in? And who exactly is the podcast narrator? We don’t know the answers to any of these questions, and neither does Val. From the start, Val can sense a feeling of wrongness about everything that’s going on, but she needs answers to these questions as well.

There is a very strong (and explicitly stated) theme of religious trauma in this novel, that lends an entirely other aspect to the horror happening. Once the reader can start to connect the dots between the events of the book, and the real-life abuses inflicted by the LDS church, it brings everything that’s happening into a new light. The ending might not be satisfactory to some, but I felt - with the context of this being a novel by White to confront her religious trauma from growing up in the LDS church - that it made sense. There’s never an easy answer or an easy solution when you grow up and move on, and there shouldn’t have to be.

If you, like me, read Candle Cove years ago and wanted more out of it - I recommend this book. It’s obviously not the same as Candle Cove, but it incorporates a lot of the things I loved about the creepypasta into this novel, all the while still being its own unique experience. (However, if you have issues with confronting religious trauma or cults, I would kindly suggest choosing another novel.)