I was introduced to Kelly Link last year and I have to say I fell in love with their writing style. I was excited to read an extract from their new novel but let me tell you now I am wanting more!

The Book of Love will be around Laura, Daniel and Mo who disappeared a year ago and were presumed dead, which they were… But now they are not. It’s up to these resurrected teenagers to discover what happened to them. They were revived by Mr Anabin, the man who they knew only as their high school music teacher. He has an offer for them. They can return to their mortal realm if they can solve the mystery of their deaths, identify the mysterious fourth soul that crossed over back with them and learn how to use the magic they seem to now possess. But there was a delicate balance, a balance that had held in place for a millennia and now that balance is no longer secure….

This extract might have only been a few pages, around 30, long but let me say I am already hooked, invested and need to know more. In just those pages we get a brilliant sense of the relationship between Susannah and Laura as sister’s. I instantly became drawn to Susannah and how human she is. It is clear she is suffering the loss of her sister and dealing with those raw emotions. It was shown beautifully, poetically but starkly as well. The attention to detail in the writing really transports you to Susannah’s side.

I cannot wait to read the full novel and will be eagerly awaiting its release. It will definitely have the wonderful and captivating writing that drew me in to Link’s work but also the well rounded and flawed characters as well.

Intriguing Extract! This sounds really good!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a review of the excerpt of the book. This was 35 pages of an ebook.

I liked the synopsis of the book, and my first thoughts were that it sounded original. Lovesend certainly was an original name for the town, and the settings of Susannah and Laura's home, and the high school were realistic and well chosen.

Laura, Daniel, and Mo all had distinct personlities. They have died, but are they really forgotten? Magical happenings and science fiction collide in this highly detailed, fast-paced story.

I really felt Susannah and Laura's relationship as sisters come through, and the emotions were well shown.

I enjoyed the sample and it left me wanting to review the entire book.

4 stars

I loved this teaser for the Book of Love!
Very easy to read, great and imaginative writing.
Can't wait to read the full book!

Thanks for the opportunity to read an extract from this new book.

It’s unfortunately is not for me, it was short so couldn’t really get a feel for it and it was a little bit all over the place.

I’ll give it a go when it’s available in full to see if my opinion changes hopefully it’s just where it was so short ect

I was intrigued by the synopsis and this little snippet has given me a taste!

I want to know who the mysterious teacher and random shapeshifter guy really are and what has actually happened to these teenagers!

I would love to read the full story for sure.

This was super short, even for an extract, but I must confess that I did not find myself at all intrigued - mostly I was just confused. I don't think the full book will be for me...

First of all, thank you for the opportunity to read a few pages from this upcoming book.

As to its contents, I can't say that I was incredibly impressed; it felt rather messy. I'm also aware that this is a very small glimpse of the whole picture, so I will be willing to give it a shot when the book comes out.

I really enjoyed this first chapter. I am very intrigued to find out more details and discover the direction the story will be taken.

Thank you to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the extract!

Thank you for the Extract.

A very short extract and yet it was long enough to make me decide that I do not want to read the rest of it.

This extract is powerful and has left me wanting to know more. Susannah’s emotions are painted vividly, tearing across the pages, pulling me in.
The loss of her sister has damaged her brutally, leaving her a husk of what she was, seeing herself as abandoned, useless and a failure to her mother. Her sister abandoned her through death along with Daniel.

Kelly Link delivers a powerful and intriguing start the The Book of Love that has left me with so many questions - Who are Laura and Daniel? What happened? Does Laura know more than we see here? And that guitar - the harmony? I need to know more.

Thank you to Head of Zeus and Netgalley for sharing this extract with me in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I didn't enjoy this at all - difficult to get into and not an easy read. It has the seeds of an interesting story where those who died mysteriously are just as mysteriously brought back to life by demonic means but the way it is written is hard to engage with.

This extract's writing style was excellent, and I believed it effectively depicted Susannah's emotions.

I'd like to devour the rest of this book because the overall subject sounds intriguing and the fast-paced, somewhat erratic writing style has me intrigued.

There's something hypnotic and intriguing in this extract. Something that made me wish I could read the rest of the story soon as I want to know about Laura, what happened and what will happen to Sarah.
Can't wait

The description of the book intrigued me, on that alone I would read the book. The extract of the book was okay, I can’t say that it made me want to read more, or start to empathise with Susannah, so for me this wasn’t enough to make a decision on.

Updated 5th September.
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Having now been sent the next chapter as part of this extract, you get more of an idea of what’s happening, who the other main characters are, and a bit of what has happened to them. It just shows that sometimes a book doesn’t immediately draw you in, but when you keep going, it leaves you wanting more, as it now has for me. It will be on my Netgalley Wishlist.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this extract..

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this extract. Such a very short extract but intriguing nonetheless. The writing is lyrical and full of subtlety that promises a very good novel. The premise is unusual- do we know if they are alive or not? Who is Laura, really? And her impact on Susanna is definitely big. All hinted at with grace, power and much skill.

This extract definitely did what it was supposed to do, I'm very intrigued to see where this will go. I'm also interested in seeing how this story will relate to the book title. I can understand the anger when someone has lost a loved one, especially when it's someone close, in Susannnah's case it is her sister. I do think I will pick this up when it comes out so I can continue with the story, I want to see how Susannah navigates through this key moment in her life.

This extract certainly whet my appetite for the book itself. Mysterious, slightly creepy, and imbued with sorrow, Link’s prose is typically magical.

This very short excerpt read quite well. Choppy and well paced. But not enough pages for me to decide whether I would want to read further. That choppy style might get a bit tiring after twenty or so pages.

Having been provided with a longer extract I realise that the book is not for me. But the writing settled down a bit and it was certainly readable and full of questions to be answered. Just not a genre I enjoy reading. I am sure other readers will enjoy it very much.

This was a tantalising extract. In this chapter, "The Book of Susannah", we meet Susannah, who is missing her sister Laura. Is Laura dead? Disappeared? It's not clear, but her absence weights on Susannah, the "bad girl" or the two. How can she be herself when Laura is gone? The house crackles with tension as Susannah visits Laura's room, touches her things, sleeps in her bed, remembers her. If she just things back just as they should be, will everything "go back to the way it should be"?

What is really going on here?

What is going to happen?

It's far from clear. Perhaps Susannah's trespass has stirred up something in the house... or perhaps she's just having a very vivid dream... either way we seem poised for something ominous to occur.

I just can't wait till the full book is published!