Three teens, Laura, Mo and Daniel, abruptly awaken in a school classroom, aware that they were dead. They’re met by Mr. Anabin, and the frightening Bogamil. Anabin informs them they must learn to perform magic within a year, or they will be returned to death. They will be given specific magical tasks to complete, and they can tell no one outside their small group of where they have been.

While they were gone, the teens’ families have reconciled themselves to their deaths. We see this in how all of them have moved on in some way or the other, or are trying to cope, as we see with Laura’s sister Susannah, who has transformed herself from the messy child into responsible one. Formerly, Laura was known to be the organized and responsible of the two.

When the three teens return home, their families’ memories are rewritten to incorporate their return, which is explained away as the trio being in Ireland the past year at boarding school.

The three try to return to their former lives, but notice the changes, and struggle. They also struggle with learning magic, while Susannah tries to pull the two realities she feels in her mind together: Laura, Mo and Daniel dead, contrasted with Laura, Mo and Daniel back from Ireland. (Note that Laura, Mo, Daniel and Susannah are all point of view characters, and each chapter is named for the character the reader will be spending time with.)

As if this wasn't enough, there are other supernatural and possibly malevolent beings in town attracted to the magic of the teens' resurrection. These beings begin infiltrating the lives of the adolescents and the town, causing chaos and deaths.

This is a long book, and it takes quite a while to get to the point where the trio are making a go of their new lives, and in some cases, new powers. Much of the prose is devoted to the confusion, anger and sheer amazement each member of the trio feels about being alive again.

What is interesting, and obvious, but not to them, is that returning from the dead does not magically heal the existing problems in their relationships with each other, or their propensity for making mistakes or in some cases, dumb or harmful decisions. They're still teens trying to figure out who they are and what they want, and the stress of learning magic and pretending they were away at school exacerbates some of their less laudatory qualities. Meaning, all the jealousies, insecurities, crushes, angers, wants, needs, aspirations and ambitions are still in them, and often their worst selves are at the fore making choices during the year they each have.

The characters are lovingly crafted and flawed, and in one case fairly unlikable, even though she is a point of view character. Probably my favourite characters in this book are Mo and his dead grandmother, a hugely successful romance novel writer, and Susannah.

There is also much happening in the town with its large cast of characters, and there are some fairly loopy ideas and scenes throughout the novel. But there are also emotional moments as the four try to navigate who they are and what they can do, and where do they want to be. Author Kelly Link does a wonderful job with the characterizations, and she even makes a bloody, terrifying being who has a stake in what happens at the end of the year at times sympathetic.

This is not the easiest book to get through, partly because of its length and the time it takes to move all the characters into place and set the stakes so that when the teens have to use what the have learned and deal with the outcomes, it feels earned.

If you're in the mood for a dark, sprawling story with flawed characters making mistakes and bad decisions until they don't, with sweet and shocking and scary and sad moments, and this this is for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Head of Zeus for this ARC in exchange for this my review.

Loved the excerpt, but it was just a little snippet - and now I have to read the whole thing! Link's vibe is a little Gaiman and a little Twin Peaks here, and I'm really curious where we'll go next.

I read an extract, consisting of one chapter, of The Book of Love by Kelly Link. It was only a few pages, but it immediately drew me in and left me wondering what happened to Laura and Daniel. I could really feel Susannah's grief.
I'm curious as to what happens next in this book!

This was an intriguing opening. It's hard to judge it based on so little, but the writing style was interesting and the final paragraph in particular has piqued my interest. I have lots of questions!

Off to an interesting start... difficult to give a review on a short sample (only about 5 mins of reading time) but definitely intrigued to read more

Full review to follow once I have read the complete book

Ebook/excerpt: I was looking forward to reading this book only to realize it was an 77 page excerpt. I read it yesterday and I really can't tell you anything memorable about it.

First Impressions

Why yes I do want to know what Kelly Link’s first novel will be like I’ve read some of their short stories which are lyrical and intelligent so what will this book offer the reader?

The chapter I have read of this book is named The book of Susannah and it was absolutely gorgeous and pulls you in and wants more. We meet Susannah who is missing very terribly her sister Laura who has vanished without so far any details shared with us but its left a terrible imprint on the rest of her family. Link makes you feel Laura having to be the good girl now her sister is gone. We feel her loss as we watch her go through her sister’s things now they are hers. Its emotional, its mysterious and you want to know more. I love a well written chapter and this just pulls you in to know more.

I am intrigued and very keen to learn more!

This incredible extract of a novel both lyrical and dreamlike demands the reader’s attention from the outset. Full of atmosphere and beautiful language, the characters have a lot to say and although this is only an extract I’m already invested in their outcomes, and I can’t wait to read the full novel in 2024.

Thanks to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for the opportunity to read and review this extract.

I found this extract intriguing, and would certainly be keen to learn more about the plot. It gave a good sense of the relationship between the sisters, and I would be interested in reading more about their dynamic. However, I found the writing style difficult to get used to, which may make it difficult to finish reading the whole novel.

Extract.Great writing but too short to comment on.Im not sure what the story was about and would need to read more about this to comment

I really enjoyed this extract from The Book Of Love and cannot wait to read the full story. Would definitely recommend.

The extract was intriguing, and certainly made me want to read on to find out what was happening, although it was confusing in places and the writing style was unusual. It gives a good foundation of the relationship between the sisters, but the plot was hard to follow in the short extract.

Sadly this extract did not convince me to read the full book when it’s released.

The writing style didn’t engage me and the pacing seems very slow. I also don’t feel like I learned anything of note other than Susannah’s sister is dead.

Not going to be one for me, I’d say.

Great Extract, i really can't wait to read the full book. Really great writing. Can't wait to get stuck in.

I’ve been seeing this book a lot lately, so I wanted to give this excerpt a try! I loved the writing and the story, and I can’t wait to see how it unfolds. I’ll definitely be checking this out when it releases.

It may have been a mistake for me to read this extract – now I'm just upset that I don't have the full book yet! This will definitely go straight in my basket when the book releases.

Have only read an extract but I really enjoyed what I read and am now adding this book to my list of ‘must reads’ because I have to know what happens next.

This was an intriguing little snippet, though the writing style is definitely something I'd have to get used to in a longer novel. The extract alone doesn't really tell you much about what's going on, which is a good thing as it raises interest. Three teenagers disappear (and, as the description tells us, are definitely dead) and the sister of one of these teens is clearly being eaten up by her grief. There's not much else that I can gleam from these few pages, and so far I haven't read anything by Link, but I'll definitely check out reviews of the full novel.
I don't give extracts more than two stars unless they completely blew me away, but this one is solid.

Oooh this extract has definitely left me wanting more... can't wait to get my hands on the full book!

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.