Are you ready? The itter is coming and he is coming for YOU.

🥰 Loved how it all started! Our MC and his friend planning on a fun trip before the adults wake up come across a mysterious town with a creepy statue (seriously, I would have booked it if I saw that one) and then things go totally south when they decide to play Hide and Seek. The town was such a spooky thing without the Itter and it became even spookier as the story continued.
🥰 I loved the game of hide and seek with higher stakes, but I also loved learning about other forms of it. We get some non-fiction parts throughout and I learned quite a few new things. A couple I knew but many I don’t. Too bad I am not a kid anymore otherwise I would have tried them!
🥰 Never knowing what edition of hide and seek you are playing right now. The Itter is playing a game and it plays whatever it wants. One moment you need to hide, other times you need to find the others. You never know what is next. It kept me on my toes.
🥰 Reading what happens with the kids who get tagged. We don’t get the full information but enough hints to know that it is not a good thing to get tagged.
🥰 I also love how the town matched with the kids in it. We don’t just get the town as it is with its shops and buildings, but we also get to see souks, an amusement park, and other places.
🥰 When we got to the missing posters, boy, I was just crying then. We already quickly learn that the kids have been here for a while, but seeing those posters made it even more real.
🥰 The friendship between Kai, Jun, and our MC. Helping from the start, but with a touch of annoyance (though hello, how is our MC supposed to know what is going on, haha). I loved seeing them team up and try to figure out a good hiding spot to get away from the Itter.
🥰 The Itter, prepare for nightmares. Holy, if that was after me I would just curl up and cry. That thing was terrifying. His little rhymes, how he played the game, how he was able to get into places, how he played the shadows, and other things. shivers Just thinking about it gives me nightmares. He is truly a terrifying villain/monster.
🥰 I love the parts between with the people who have taken on Adam’s case + all the wiki + all the little notes, fingerprints, and more (I want more Darkive stuff).
🥰 Fantastic illustrations here and there that will make you want to NOPE.

😒 Gosh, I was so happy that Sol was only apparent in the first bit, as soon as things kick off he disappears. He was so frustrating. I could definitely understand our MC and his feelings. Sol wants things to go his way, but oh no if someone else has another opinion, BAH.
😒 The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was how fast it all felt. It is all set in ONE day (or at least for our MC). I would have rather seen a bit more time. See the kids get some reprieve from the hide and seek, see another day come full of horror and hide and seek.

🤔 Plus, not entirely a fan of the last sentence, on the one hand OHHHH, on the other hand, whut?

All in all, holy heck, this was such a good book. I just adore a horror with a children’s game gone gruesomely horrific. I would highly recommend this one! And as for me? I need more!