Loved this! Just absolutely loved it! A group of people, playing what they think is a reality game with a huge prize sum at the end…but it’s not…it’s far worse…

Creepy, frightening (but not too much), and very exciting! The characters are so well written too. Absolutely perfect!

My thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review

Splendid thriller/horror, I really enjoyed this. Another high-concept tale, Hide is a delightfully simple concept – a bunch of people have to hide for seven days from sunrise to sunset and the last one standing wins. But nothing’s ever quite that easy, is it? Great characters, some you’ll be rooting for and others you can’t wait to get caught. White does a great job of ratcheting up the tension as the days progress. Highly recommended.

Dark and twisty like a haunted rollercoaster, this takes Mack, as a central narrator, a girl with no family, no future and a past she is running away from, and plunges her head first in the opportunity of her lifetime. Or her death time.

Mack is aspiring to anonymity. She lives in a  homeless centre, with no foundations and a barely hinted at past. Given no chance other than to say 'yes' to the Ox Extreme Sports competition , where the winner takes it all. Except-there is no phone service, no way out of the fun fair , a water tight NDA to sign before participating, and a rag tag bunch of wannabes, has beens and ever weres about to lose themselves in a haunted funfair.

But as each competitor is slowly revealed, do they all have what it takes to win? And just who would they throw under a bus to get there? And what's with the highy suspicious disappearance of personal belongings, the creepy support staff (hello Linda and Gary!) and the way they sugarcoat what is a very creepy theme park, built on a highly toxic piece of land?

Why was it abandoned in the first place?

And what made the producers pick it in the first place?

The creepy introduction makes it sound like the underbelly of every theme park you have ever been to, it's instantly relatable for the urban myths that surround it -we live down the rbakers dowzenoad from one very much like it,a sea front amusement park , with peeling paint, terrifying carousel horses and the site of several deaths....-and it draws you. Once the scene is set and the characters introduced, you are hooked. And whilst we spend a little time with each of them, Mack is the heart of the story and Mack is the one you are rooting for. Partly because you know you want her to stay around long enough to tell her tale and partly because you know she has a good heart and will help save some  of the others who you just know will land themselves in peril.

A faceless corporation.

A baker's dozen contestants with nothing to lose.

A contestant who wants the prize money in order to hide herself forever.

A haunted funfair.

And some very eerie, creepy goings on....

Hide is a mystery wrapped in a horror tale with some unsettling shenanigans that will make you jump. It is the right length, I think, for this story, because at 236 pages, the suspense can be maintained and the plot reveals are often 'blink and you miss' them. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I hope you will too!

I can’t deny that it was the dark curiosity that is this cover that drew me in. I also really enjoyed White’s And I Darken a few years ago and I was intrigued to read something completely different from her.

14 contestants must spend a week hiding in an abandoned theme park without being found. The winner will be rewarded with a cash prize that could change their life. Mack has already survived the horrific tragedy that killed her family, so she’s sure she can survive this. But the contestants appear to be rapidly disappearing and Mack begins to realise that there is something much darker at the heart of this.

The park itself is the perfect spooky setting and I was very unsettled as soon as I wandered into it. Abandoned, derelict theme parks are always creepy because of course, they should be places of joy and laughter and Mack definitely feels that too. Mack is quite aloof for the first part of the book and I struggled to really figure out how she was feeling. Therefore, it was a while before I could find some likeability and investment in what happened to her.

Once Mack’s past comes out, albeit via Jaden, I began to understand her. She has suffered an insane amount of grief and somehow come through a terrifying situation. Suddenly, everyone there knows about her past and will have formed some kind of opinion of her based on it. Although it’s morbid, I would love a prequel that details the events of the Hide-and-Seek Massacre as I know it would go a long way to deepening Mack’s character.

There were some really interesting characters in Hide but I do feel that there were too many of them. Unfortunately, this meant that some of them really didn’t get to share their stories or themselves at all. They were exactly like the contestants who are voted off early on in a reality TV show -they’re gone almost immediately after we’ve been introduced. Due to this, I thought the plot was going to follow a certain path but towards the end, I realised it wasn’t and I was a little disappointed in this.

I did really enjoy the strange, visceral imagery that kept appearing and I had great fun figuring things out. The more I learned, the more my anxiety levels rose and the more I just wanted answers. White does really well at creating a chilling atmosphere and slowly feeding the reader information, causing those ‘ohhh I get it now!’ moments. Although I wasn’t wholly satisfied with the direction that things took, there were still things to enjoy about the ending.

Hide is an engaging, pulse-racing horror novel with many secrets to unravel. A smaller cast of characters would have worked better in terms of forming real attachments. There are some incredibly violent scenes in the book, so beware if you’re not a fan of blood and gore.

This book had me gripped from beginning to end. I loved the competition trope and the horror elements were a big hit for me. This book was brutal but the mystery element and reveal were not something I would have predicted.

I would recommend and will read more from this author in the future.

Hide is how Stephen King would've tackled the Hunger Games! An excellent opening with a great setup, then some irritating PoV jumps and a bloated over-written ending (I found myself skimming paragraphs), but a fun holiday read. It won't change your life, but the premise will keep you entertained!

This was paced really well and i liked the general premise of this novel. The action was fun and fast paced and it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Mack was such an interesting character to follow and it helped that the audience saw mainly from her perspective but also got insights into the other characters too. There were a couple of times the action veered into slightly silly territory but given the premise i was able to forgive it for that.

I like this book, I really enjoyed it. Not as much as I thought I would, but still hope that somebody will publish it in Poland someday. It was my first thriller with and hide-and-seek tournament so it was refreshing experience for me. I really like the vibe of abandoned amusement park and that horror elements, but I think I hoped for more brutality.

This is a book that has quite a distinctive cover, and it was definitely the cover that caught my eye. The basics of the story are a game of hide and seek, but this version is not the happy one, this one is sinister and it also brings back memories for one of the contestants.

The story is one that flits back and forth through the decades, it is done various times throughout and it is ideal for filling in the history and the timeline of the old abandoned amusement park. Straight away I would be heading in the opposite direction, I mean those places look really creepy and ominous when you see images on the Internet! Thank goodness the author ran with the idea as it turned out to be a cracking read.

The characters are from various backgrounds, some you will get to know better than others, and some you wish you didn't know at all. But there is a small group that does seem to be ok despite how they are looked upon by others.

The reason for the game of hide and seek is told, but not until later on in the story and definitely not in full, you will have to wait a bit longer for the full details to emerge. There are two sides to this story and what the sides are and what that means for everyone is something that the author has done well. Think of it as like "the have's" and "the have nots" and then you realise that there are more serious tones that have roots back in the history of the story.

This is partly a horror-style story, and yes there were some eerie and creepy scenes, and this kept up the tension and added to the overall mystery of the tale. It is one of those stories that you can imagine being told by a campfire to scare others at night. Definitely atmospheric and nicely paced as well, with a slower beginning that gradually sped up until a full run for the finale.

I really enjoyed this book and it is the first time reading anything by this author so I am pleased to see there are many other titles for me to read. This is one for those who like a supernatural horror-style story, with some blood, some guts and some eerily creepy moments, It is also a mystery, crime thriller story so I do think it would appeal to many different readers. I really enjoyed this and I would happily recommend it.

A quick, fast paced read.

I started reading not expecting much, but ended rooting for the main characters (I loved Ava).

Part of the plot was kind of obvious and I predicted a lot of things, but It was so we'll written that I had fun even when I knew what was going to happen. That is my main goal nowadays, to have fun and this one was spot on!

Described as ‘the book you need after Squid Game’, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy of Kiersten White’s adult debut novel, Hide. I didn’t know much about the premise, other than it would take 14 individuals battling it out for a $50,000 prize in a game of hide-and-seek. What could possibly go wrong?

The book’s central focus point is a young girl called Mack, who has a tragic and violent past which has led to her being completely incapable of moving on and carving out a life for herself. Entering this competition, where she must hide within the confines of an abandoned amusement park for a week without being found, she feels she has found her calling and will make the easiest $50,000 of all time.

As the competition gets underway, however, it becomes apparent that the two people being eliminated each day haven’t simply been sent home with their tail between their legs; there’s something much more sinister going on. With friendships and bonds being forged as the group of contestants grows smaller, will they pull together or, is the promise of riches going to prove too tempting?

White has paced this book perfectly, only offering a slither of the truth behind the story up at integral moments, rather than delivering it in lashings that would overwhelm or spoil the reader’s experience.

I did find at times, that there was a lack of character development with some of the 14 contestants involved. It’s hard to keep a reader’s interest across so many different people, so it’s understandable and, White does her best to ensure we get a little bit of information about each person, whether it be from her description or a segment told from their point-of-view.

At just under 250 pages, Hide is a quick read, but one that will keep your heart pumping; especially through its final moments. Just as you think you know what’s coming next, the author twists in an unpredictable direction, shining a light on the very real issues of those in positions of power and wealth stepping on the ‘little people’ to ensure they remain at the top of the totem pole.

There’s a undefinable monster in Hide, and it’s one that many generations will be able to recognise.

Hide by Kiersten White is available now.

Oh this was so much better than I expected. I was hooked from the first page, and it felt like a perfect way of telling a survival story. I loved each character and how they all coped with the situations going on, but specially how we had loveable bad guys and also a good cult vibe. Such a great read!

As soon as the blurb released for Hide I was intrigued and I knew I had to read it. Following fourteen different characters and learning a little bit more as the story progressed was great to keep me interested. I loved how all the characters interacted with each other especially Mack and Ava. The ending killed me as I need to know more!

Ready to have goosebumps creeping down your spine? This book is a whole rollercoaster ride. The theme is amazing and it keeps you on your toes at all times.
It's honestly so hard to put down!

A deadly game of hide and seek

Hide || Kiersten White
Pub Date: 24/05/22
Genre: Dark supernatural thriller, horror, suspense
Rating: 4 stars

Hide is a standalone horror thriller by author, Kiersten White.

The story follows fourteen individuals who sign up for a competition promising fame and fortune if they win a large-scale game of hide and seek, set in an abandoned amusement park. But as contestants begin to disappear under strange circumstances, it becomes evident that something more sinister and deadly is going on.

The story is interspersed with diary entries and sections told from the perspective of the game’s organizers; however, the main focus is on the contestants. I loved getting to know each of them and their backstories and personalities. I felt connected to almost all the characters in some way, my favorite being Mack. The story felt a little like Big Brother if it was a horror novel.

The author was able to create a tense and suspenseful atmosphere and I loved the amusement park setting. There is just something creepy about a run-down fair ground. The story was well paced and I eagerly kept reading. I did read a bit at night when I couldn’t sleep, and well this book didn’t exactly cure my insomnia let’s just say.

Overall, this was a fun, easy to read, part horror/part thriller which I would highly recommend.

This is my first time reading a Kiersten White book and I had a very positive impression. I think it's the perfect child between Stephen King and Squid Game, but with a fun and chilling twist: the paranormal shows in the middle of the story. And although I would never have imagined an outcome so connected to the supernatural, I ended up liking it a lot, it's a very interesting plot twist.

It has a fast and fluid start, with a very well character development, although eventually somewhat wasted. My favorite character was definitely Ava, who becomes a main character throughout the book. In relation to Ava, it may have been a bit problematic at times that there are two characters named the same. In the middle of the book it can become somewhat monotonous, but as the whole story of the “famous book” unfolds, everything becomes more better.

I was wholly absorbed by the odd yet thrilling hide-and-go-seek game that is the core of this story. Otherworldly and creepy, you bet, but full of characters that takes the reader to a deeper level of interest. I enjoyed the distraction the creativity behind Hide provided for me and look forward to more from Kiersten White in future.

This was a fast paced and delightfully sinister novel with touches of Greek mythology thrown in. I thought that the setting was fabulous and that Kiersten White did a great job describing the abandoned theme-park. It made it easy to imagine how horrifying theme park rides and decorations are out of context. I liked the premise and set up and thought that this was an intriguing way to tell the story, but I did think that the number of participants in the game and the speed with which they were dispatched made it difficult to connect to the characters and lessened the impact when they 'got out'. I thought that the over-arching plot to the game itself was really fun and that the plot progressed in interesting and satisfying ways. Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this book and would definitely recommend it to any slasher fans.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was an interesting premise and a decent read. I liked that the story was mostly from Mack's point of view, but also from the other characters.
I didn't know much about the story apart from it being about a "reality competition" in an old theme park, but as it unfolded, the back story made it more interesting.

Who wouldn't want to stay in an abandoned amusement park?
The book is like a mismatch between the The Hunger Games and if your old enough to remember Total recall
Add in some Greek mythology and it's a fantastic read.

I had to read this book due to the interesting premise. I had a big idea about how the supernatural element would happen within the story (I could tell it would be the seekers) but couldn’t work out exactly what that supernatural element could be. It wasn’t actually what I was expecting.

It was definitely hard memorising fourteen different characters, so I’m glad Kiersten decided to focus more on some than others, fleshing out the characters that needed fleshing out. I definitely had my favourites and ones I didn’t care much for. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just say that my favourite character was unfortunately “eliminated” towards the end, and the method really shocked and broke me.

My only criticism is that the story was very, very fleshed out at the beginning and then ended too suddenly. I would have really enjoyed and appreciated an epilogue.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kiersten White and Random House UK for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Mack is the only survivor from the day her father turned family annihilator, killing his wife, her parents, & his youngest daughter, Maddie. Mack only survived as she stayed hidden for hours & her father committed suicide before the police arrived. She has lived a quiet life since then, tending to blend into the background going unnoticed, when a woman at the shelter where she is currently staying offers her the chance to change her life. There is a challenge for 14 contestants to basically play Hide-n-Seek in an abandoned amusement park for a week. Last one standing gets the prize money of $50,000. Mack has nothing to lose so decides to try, & even against her own better judgment she meets & makes several friends amongst the other contestants. The first night back at camp, two contestants are missing & the coordinator, Linda , says that they left straight away, but on following days when a contestant finds what looks like blood smears & others hear a panicked scream, they wonder if the game is being played for keeps.

There are a lot of characters at first in this book, but we hear from all of them at least once. The 14 contestants are from disparate background including media influencer, game designer, ex-military, failed author, even one who has been expelled from a religious cult. There's also the duplicitous Jaden who, along with Beautiful Ava, decides to cheat & try & get the other contestants caught out. Mack is a bit bland & I don't really have an opinion about her, but I liked Other Ava (there are two characters called Ava & the second one is referred to by the others as Beautiful Ava) who left the army after an accident left her badly injured, Brandon who is a sweet guy who lost his remaining family recently & has been struggling & just wants to make friends, & LeGrand who wants the money to get treatment for his critically ill sister.

I thought this would perhaps be a 'serial killer stalking the group' type thriller but the story is actually a little more involved than that. I'm not sure why abandoned places such as amusement parks hold such fascination for us, but they are reliably eerie places. There are a lot of deaths but a lot of them happen 'off screen', & I do think it could have been creepier & scarier. The first half is great but it seems to flag a little in the middle as I found my attention wandering a couple of times, which means I can't really award it top marks, so I rate this 4 stars - entertaining but not as creepy/scary as I had hoped.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Random House UK/Cornerstone/Del Rey, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Random House UK and to NetGalley for the opportunity.

Sinister is the correct word to describe Hide. This book is sinister from the off. Though there is no immediate link between the opening story of a child going missing at an amusement park in 1973, and Mack, an adult living, or rather hiding out in a modern day homeless shelter. However, when we learn that Mack is being coerced into taking part in a competition in which she must hide in an abandoned amusement park, we begin to see the barest outline of a link. Mack has no doubt she will win. She has been hiding most of her life. As a child she hid while her father butchered her family and she continues to carry the motherlode of survivor’s guilt and fear, driven into dark corners everywhere she goes.

There are fourteen people in the competition, some we never really get to know. White strikes the perfect balance of brief mentions, snappy descriptions painted in a wry and humorous tones, and more in depth characterisations. Among them, there are Sydney with the Youtube prank show and Rebecca the aspiring actress. There are two girls called Ava, one of whom an Instagrammer, obsessing about whether she will be known as Ava One or Ava Two when this competition is released as a reality show, the other a veteran who takes everything as it comes. There are arrogant characters and there are likeable characters. I can see these people in my head and if I struggled I could turn on the TV at any time and see people just like them. Then there’s Mack, standing out more than anyone because she doesn’t want to be noticed. Desperate for company but too afraid to allow it.

The rules are set, hide in the amusement park by day, eat, sleep and recharge by night. Two people are knocked out of the competition every 24 hours. For Mack, though, something doesn’t add up. There is no drum roll or fanfair heralding the departure of the failed competitors, but there is a creature snuffling and stalking its way round the park, and then there is blood. The build up is so good that the monster reveal is almost an anticlimax but it turns out that human monsters can be the most disturbing.

This book has a horror movie structure: slow build of sinister, suspenseful questions, a violent, explosive climax and an ending that doesn’t quite resolve everything.

The most compelling words in this book, though, come after the ending, where White describes her inspiration for the story. Here is an author with some quality rage building. If you want you could read this book looking for allegorical parallels to modern society. Or you could just enjoy the ride.

14 players are invited to spend 7 days in an abandoned amusement Park and play hide and seek for a 50k prize there can only be one winner but all is not what it seems and they soon realise they are fighting to survive.

This is a very Spooky Atmospheric read. The tension I felt as the story progressed was nail biting ! Literally ! The ending disappointed me a little bit which is why not 5 stars but I hope that maybe we will get a sequal.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

How to review and not spoil it....lets go with the blurb for those of you with no idea what this adult debut by Kiersten White is about...

"The challenge: spend a week hiding in an abandoned amusement park and don't get caught.

The prize: enough money to change everything.

Even though everyone is desperate to win - to seize their dream futures or escape their haunting pasts - Mack feels sure that she can beat her competitors. All she has to do is hide, and she's an expert at that.

It's the reason she's alive, and her family isn't.

But as the people around her begin disappearing one by one, Mack realizes this competition is more sinister than even she imagined, and that together might be the only way to survive.

Fourteen competitors. Seven days. Everywhere to hide, but nowhere to run.

Come out, come out, wherever you are."

I loved this!
I was dragged in from the first page, I really enjoyed the multi POVs and the way they could almost blend together if it weren't for each charater having a distinct personality (and inner monologue), and the twisty revelations, just *chefs kiss*

One of the best supernatural thrillers I've read in a long time!

A new horror thriller that can be described as Squid Game meets Cabin in the Woods.

I do love a good thriller, and Kiersten White's adult debut caught my eye! I love a good competition plot, and Hide ups the ante: if you're out, you're out (if you know what I mean). I ultimately had a great time reading this book - it's a great summer thriller - but I felt it could have been stronger. You know that feeling when you're approaching the last 50 pages of a book and are wondering how the author will manage to wrap it up? That was how I felt in the last 5-10 pages. The ending was so abrupt and rushed, I wish a little more time had been dedicated to it. We also have so many points of view - we see through the eyes of pretty much every character at some point in the book, adding up to over 13 different POVs! It was a lot to keep track of, and I think some readers will really dislike this.

Despite this, I really enjoyed the characters in the book (I would die for Ava) and the heightened tensions made for some excellent tension. Mack isn't the strongest character in the book, but I really enjoyed her chemistry with some of her fellow competitors. I was totally invested in their journey until the very end. And the setting? Perfect.

If you're looking for a solid summer read, with a side of horror, I'd definitely recommend looking into Hide.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

CW: homophobia, suicide, murder, child abuse

When she enters a hide-and-seek competition based in an abandoned theme park, Mack is pretty confident in her chances of winning. All she has to do is hide, and she’s an expert at that. But as the other competitors begin disappearing one by one, the competition takes a sinister turn and Mack starts to realise that the stakes might be higher than any of them could have imagined.

I absolutely loved this book. Firstly, the premise of a high-stakes hide-and-seek competition really appealed to me, and was surprisingly plausible in the current age of reality TV. Secondly, Hide is really, really well written. The pacing is good and Mack is a very likable central character.

The one area where it lacked a little was in the split narration following all fourteen competitors. Fourteen is a lot of characters to try to keep track of, so this was a little confusing at times. Luckily, they start dropping like flies pretty early on, so the number of characters to follow cuts down quickly!

There’s also a supernatural twist which was right up my street.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

the competition to spend a week in an abandoned amusement park

the reward $50,000
14 competitors

survival of the fittest whoever remains at the end of the week will be the winner

its a game....right....

what an interesting concept and an enjoyable read, even at its most gruesome...

Fourteen competitors, seven days, one abandoned theme park. The game is hide and seek, how hard can it be?

Mack is a survivor, her father killed her family and she’s still alive because she hid. When she’s offered the chance to win a life-changing amount of money, she knows she’s in with a chance. She just has to stay hidden in a creepy old theme park for a week.

The other competitors all have their reasons for being there; half are aspiring, they’ll be the next big influencer or their startup will take off any day now, the other half down on their luck, they all just need their one break. This reality game show must be it. Right?

If you’re into your Greek mythology the number fourteen is significant and you’ll soon work out what the inspiration for this story is. But if you don’t really like retellings, it doesn’t really matter, the story stands well enough by itself.

I can totally see a game show being based on hide and seek in abandoned places. It’s all very hush hush, they sign non-disclosure agreements and their phone signals are jammed. Of course this is to keep up the secrecy of the show, not at all for nefarious reasons… The players are all convinced this is a TV show, even when doubts start to creep in, they convince themselves it’s all part of the entertainment.

At the start, it may feel like there are too many characters to keep up with, but it follows a classic horror formula, picking them off one by one. The longer they survive, the more you get to know them and the more they seem like real people. I was a bit upset some of them didn’t make it, others I wanted gone quickly.

If you don’t want any hints on what the myth is, stop reading now.

I did think it was an interesting premise; how in this modern day and age do you go about placating the beast you’ve ended up being tied to? In ancient Greece, it was all very well for a king to summon youngsters to offer up for sacrifice, but people might notice now. Well if you lure in those on the edges of society with a promise of success, maybe their absences will go unnoticed.

The theme park is deliberately maze-like, hard to find your way out of. One might just think that was to keep guests in and spending money longer.

There is a societal message in amongst all this. The rich just keep getting richer off the backs of the poor and the young. It's easy to scoff at their life choices, but they never stood a chance, things are set in motion that they have no control of.

Hide has been on my TBR for quite a while now and I must say, it’s been my most anticipated read of 2022 so far. A Hide and Seek competition set in an abandoned fairground? Count me in!

First of all, just to set expectations, this is a thriller with a supernatural horror twist – please do not go into the book thinking it will just be a straightforward thriller! There are of course some elements of suspension of disbelief with this genre but if you go into it knowing that it is a horror it’s a lot easier to get your head around.
The book has 15 characters – 14 competitors in the Hide and Seek game and the mysterious organiser Linda. This is a lot of characters and I often have trouble when it gets to this number to keep everyone straight in my head, particularly when the book switches points of view. I think this is one of the only books I have read that takes this mechanic and makes it straight forward and easy. We get the majority of the perspective from Mack, a homeless woman with a disturbing past, and she is used as our entry way into the rest of the story. We then get small paragraphs of perspective from the other characters - there isn’t a huge ton of detail or backstory to each character though, they each have their own personalities and this is reinforced by what each character thinks about the others. This repetition in personality traits allows us to quickly get a grip on who is who and makes the characters distinct in our minds without getting muddled and lost. As the character count goes down as players start to lose the game more detail & backstory is then added to the remaining players.

The book is also really well written with flowing prose and atmospheric descriptions of the eerie setting. The fairground is well described and makes for a fantastic backdrop to the story. The pace is kept high throughout and with the switch in perspectives you never really knew which characters would be safe and which would ‘lose’ the game.

Overall Hide is an atmospheric thriller with a supernatural horror twist – with flowing prose and a great perspective mechanic to keep you engaged throughout. Thank you to NetGalley & Ransom House UK, Cornerstone & Del Rey for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to netgalley for the arc ebook to read.
This book didn't go where I was expecting it to - but I really enjoyed it! There's interesting and well written characters, the further into it the harder it was to put down!

‘The Amazement Park opened in 1953. ‘Get lost in the fun!’ Posters advertised, and it was true…’
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THIS. BOOK. HAD. ME. ENGROSSED. I loved it! I saw it early on in the year in a round up of books to look out for on Jordy’s Book Club and boy oh boy am I happy I requested it the minute I saw it on netgalley!
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The challenge: spend a week hiding in an abandoned amusement park and don't get caught.
The prize: enough money to change everything.
Even though everyone is desperate to win - to seize their dream futures or escape their haunting pasts - Mack feels sure that she can beat her competitors. All she has to do is hide, and she's an expert at that.
It's the reason she's alive, and her family isn't.
But as the people around her begin disappearing one by one, Mack realizes this competition is more sinister than even she imagined, and that together might be the only way to survive.
Fourteen competitors. Seven days. Everywhere to hide, but nowhere to run.
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From the get go I was pulled in, the description of the park in the early pages, the introductions to the contestants and the game itself. I was fully in for the ride! I feel like I was slow and steady starting this and then suddenly my kindle went from 10% read to finished in the space of one sitting, I couldn’t put it down! I fully invested into the world created and enjoyed what seems to be a retelling of a classic story/mythology. Fully here for this book and want to encourage all who enjoy a fast paced page turning thriller to pre-order this one and end your month with an absolute treat of a read!!
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Thank you so much to Netgalley & Random House UK for the ARC!

This book freaked me out for a number of reasons. Not only is it the possibility of signing yourself up or something like this, but when things start to turn wrong, as a player you would have no idea what to do. The thought of being desperate enough to want to hide yourself all day to make some money was a bad place to be indeed. As a thriller this was great, but with the added supernatural elements, it becomes something different.

If you like a modern horror, then you can not steer wrong with this.

Hide is Kersten White's adult debut and I was ecstactic to receive this ARC! I loved And I Darken, but ended up not finishing the series because I was in the process of falling out of love with YA at the time, so this horror/thriller was way up in my list of most anticipated reads for 2022. And it didn't disappoint!

This new(ish) wave of social horror works really well for me, and Hide is no exception. It has the very cool setting of an abandoned amusement park, and it's about fourteen people competing for a prize on a potential reality show. I really liked how we got insight into every cahracter and, although with such a huge cast it's impossible to really get into each one very deeply, I never felt like they were treated superficially, not even the first ones to leave the contest. It feels to me that White's writing has matured a lot since the last book I read from her, and not only because she's writing adult fiction.

This made me stay up way too late, not only to finish the book but because it terrified me SO much, which does not happen often with books at all. I had a great time reading this and hope she will continue to write horror and thrillers!

A brilliant blend of horror that kept me hooked until the very last page. Crackles with voice and tension!

I love amusement parks and as a child, I enjoyed playing 'Hide and Seek' so the premise for 'Hide' by Kiersten White immediately caught my attention.
Our protoganist is one Mack (Mackenzie) who mysteriously is invited to participate in a Hide and Seek tournament with 13 other contestants. The prize for successfully hiding (surviving) for 7 days in the amusement park, without being found, is $50,000. Definitely a tempting offer!
Mack is homeless and currently residing at a shelter whenever receives her invite. We quickly learn that Mack has a tragic backstory, involving the death of her family. It is only when the tournament begins that a fellow contestant reveals the truth.
We learn very little about the other contestants at this early stage but that does not matter as they quickly disappear and the author has time to flesh out Mack, Ava, Brandon etc as the storyline progresses. There is a sense of Christie's 'And Then There Were None' as characters quickly die and the remaining group slowly realise that this tournament is far deadlier than they could have imagined.
I loved the supernatural element to the story and there are plenty of amusing moments due to the the snarky comments from the contestants (in particular Ava) and the description of Linda, the erm, host.
A highly enjoyable read and my only disappointment is that there was no epilogue as I wanted to learn what happens next for the winners.

What a fantastic, gripping read this book is. From start to finish the pace is relentless, the characters are relatable and the tension is palpable. Early on in the book I flagged up the name of the town and dismissed it, then about halfway through suddenly everything fell into place with a huge lightbulb moment. The story shines a light on modern expectations and entitlements is very cleverly done.

I read the entire book in an afternoon which I automatically think makes a book worthy of 5 stars. Something kept me turning page after page and I havent come across anything like this before.

If you like the film Cabin In The Woods, this is a great book for you.

This book is an adrenaline pumping ride. I was totally immersed into its pages. The questions looming large on my mind about what it'll turn into was delicious. Kept me on my toes.

This was such a fun and gripping book, although I had an idea of what was actually going on I was still dying to know what would happen. I’d definitely recommend this if you’re looking for an epic thriller.

Hide has been almost top of my list for exciting releases so far this year. I requested on Netgalley and after three weeks wait thought I'd be declined. Lucky, lucky me and a big thankyou to Del Ray for the ARC.

Before the main event we're given a short introduction to the history of Amazement Park within a prologue providing a peek at main character Mack's traumatising past.

It's a little disorientating to start whilst each character in the competition is given a small description and the rules are laid out. I struggled a bit with the initial conversations where people were referred to alternately by names or occupations but eventually my sieve brain retained enough to follow the plot.

As the characters began to whittle down I found myself particularly fond of Brandon. The story is told in third-person present, mostly from Mack's point of view but we do get a glimpse into the minds of each contestant. Brandon's naive optimism portrays him as the sweet little puppy, a nice reprieve from the narcissism and distrust most of the others display.
The way White has written her characters is very black and white; they are good people or bad people no in-between. Each entered into the competition in desperate need of money for reasons revealed one by one.

Stories in old theme parks and carnivals always draw me in, perhaps its the bridge between reality and fantasy- clowns, horror houses and ghost trains make a more interesting backdrop. I was a big fan of Fantasticland and Joyland to name a few. White has written the perfect fun yet creepy atmosphere with Amazement Park for Hide, it's dilapidation adding to the unknown dangers inside.

Spoilers prevent any speculation here on why the contest exists, who is doing the seeking or what exactly is in the centre of the maze- remember though, this is a horror novel, all is not as it seems.

Hide is a horror thriller well worth your time, I loved it.