Horror

The Book of the Most Precious Substance

The Book of the Most Precious Substance

  • Downloads：1652
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-10-28 09:51:43
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Sara Gran
  • ISBN：0571375618
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Summary

A book with all of life's answers， if only you can find it。。。

'Palpably seductive。' New York Times
'Extravagant， sexy and compelling。 I loved it。' LAUREN BEUKES
'A marvellous， magical novel。' Irish Times

Rare book dealer Lily Albrecht has just been given a tip-off about The Book of the Most Precious Substance， a 17th century manual rumoured to be the most powerful occult book ever written， if it really exists at all。

With some of the wealthiest people in the world willing to pay Lily a fortune to track it down， she embarks on a journey from New York to New Orleans to Munich to Paris。

If she finds it， Lily stands to gain more than just money。 This could erase the greatest tragedy of her life。 But will Lily's quest help her find some answers， or will she lose everything in search of a ghost？

What readers are saying:

***** 'Erotic， thrilling， and tense all the way through。 There is nothing like this on the shelves。'
***** 'Devilishly delightful。 。 。 THE BEST TWIST ENDING of the year！！'
***** 'I'm a bit obsessed with this book。 。 。 it's sexy and mysterious and cool， like nothing I've read before。'
***** 'My only complaint is that I wanted more！'

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Reviews

Donna ，

This was not what I expected at all。 Two book dealers travel through Europe on the hunt for a very rare occult book。 They have a buyer lined up and this sale will make them very rich and happy。 But this isn't just any old book。。。。really enjoyed it。 Its a bit horror/erotica/occult/emotional/and some more。 This was not what I expected at all。 Two book dealers travel through Europe on the hunt for a very rare occult book。 They have a buyer lined up and this sale will make them very rich and happy。 But this isn't just any old book。。。。really enjoyed it。 Its a bit horror/erotica/occult/emotional/and some more。 。。。more

Kathrin Passig ，

Es war schon unterwegs klar， dass das ein Buch ist， das vor allem von langweiligen Ideen vom Schönen Leben handelt: täglich in eine andere Großstadt fliegen （L。A。， New Orleans， Paris， München， noch ein paar）， Beschreibung des Hotels， detaillierte Beschreibung der dort eingenommenen Mahlzeiten， der reichen Leute， die man dort kennenlernt （und die für diese Mahlzeiten bezahlen）， der Häuser dieser reichen Leute， perfekter， aber undetaillierter Sex， langweilige Kink-Chateaus。 Aber ich dachte， dass w Es war schon unterwegs klar， dass das ein Buch ist， das vor allem von langweiligen Ideen vom Schönen Leben handelt: täglich in eine andere Großstadt fliegen （L。A。， New Orleans， Paris， München， noch ein paar）， Beschreibung des Hotels， detaillierte Beschreibung der dort eingenommenen Mahlzeiten， der reichen Leute， die man dort kennenlernt （und die für diese Mahlzeiten bezahlen）， der Häuser dieser reichen Leute， perfekter， aber undetaillierter Sex， langweilige Kink-Chateaus。 Aber ich dachte， dass wenigstens die Handlung irgendwohin führt。 Tut sie aber nicht。 。。。more

Adrien ，

What a weird book。 Very similar to The Club Dumas， but much sillier。 Not one I'd recommend。 What a weird book。 Very similar to The Club Dumas， but much sillier。 Not one I'd recommend。 。。。more

Denis Wheller ，

Shortly after Lily Albrecht agreed， for a third of the profit， to help a fellow Bookdealer trace a valuable manuscript he was murdered。 Coincidence？ Lily is a bookdealer by accident。 Her first novel had been very successful and her husband， Abel， was also a well-known， academic， writer。 However， he had developed a rapidly developing case of early dementia and their life had collapsed。 Abel is now in a persistent vegetable state looked after by a dedicated care worker and essentially a burden to Shortly after Lily Albrecht agreed， for a third of the profit， to help a fellow Bookdealer trace a valuable manuscript he was murdered。 Coincidence？ Lily is a bookdealer by accident。 Her first novel had been very successful and her husband， Abel， was also a well-known， academic， writer。 However， he had developed a rapidly developing case of early dementia and their life had collapsed。 Abel is now in a persistent vegetable state looked after by a dedicated care worker and essentially a burden to her。 In downsizing she had had to sell off their personal book collection and so drifted into the world of book dealing。 She learns about the death from Lucas， a University purchasing librarian and a wealthy book collector in his own right。 The dead man， Shyman， was a military history expert and he’d sought Lily’s help because she was a generalist with a wide range of contacts。 However， he hadn’t told her who his buyer was and his notebook only contain nicknames， so she is at an impasse。 Feeling that she has a moral duty to try and find the book， if only so that his family will benefit from the sale of the book which is possibly worth a million dollars， she asks Lucas for advice because he knows a little about the specialist area of esoteric， occult books。 However， neither of them knows the actual title of the book， or its content， or how rare it might be。 Neither moves in the circles where people believe in the power of magic， and certainly don’t know buyers who can spend millions on their avocation。 Fortunately Lucas knows a man who does， and he sets them on the trail。 He also knows details about the book， which is of course titled “The Book of the Most Precious Substance”。 It is a true manuscript hand written in 1614 and only five copies were made， of which three remain。 It is a grimoire which describes a sequence of five sex acts which， carried out in the presence of the book， and with the application of appropriate bodily fluids to symbols in the book and the recitation of magic words brings infinite power to the user。 Lily and Lucas embark on the search。The book， i。e。 the book you are reading not the fictional （I hope） grimoire， becomes a classic hunt story in which the protagonists meet someone， learn something， move on to the next someone， getting ever closer to their goal。 Initially driven by the money she will make， Lily， gradually becomes subverted by the magic， or is she just diverted by the increasingly adventurous and climactic sex she is having。 Lucas’s initial motivation is less clear， perhaps he just has a yen for Lily， but becomes the same obsessive desire for increasingly erotic sex。 There is quite a lot of sex and it is mostly erotic， although some of it is sadistic， and much of it is disquieting。 Here is also a strong epicurean vibe as they travel to various cities in various parts of the world and enjoy first class travel and accommodation and wine and dine on the finest haute cuisine。 The whole thing is well written and the cast of characters are entertainingly drawn。 I did feel that some of the scenes were overwritten， the author enjoying her considerable descriptive skills。 However， it doesn’t really slow the action too much。I would like to thank NetGalley， the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review。 。。。more

Nicole Murphy ，

This was highly anticipated after loving Sara Gran’s other book Come Closer， but this was completely different and not what I expected at all。From the blurb and marketing， I expected this book to be sinister， erotic， dark， and bizarre。 It wasn’t quite that， but it was also captivating and highly entertaining。The first half was quite slow whilst they were on this seemingly never ending quest to find the book and whilst the characters were developing and I was starting to feel somewhat disappointe This was highly anticipated after loving Sara Gran’s other book Come Closer， but this was completely different and not what I expected at all。From the blurb and marketing， I expected this book to be sinister， erotic， dark， and bizarre。 It wasn’t quite that， but it was also captivating and highly entertaining。The first half was quite slow whilst they were on this seemingly never ending quest to find the book and whilst the characters were developing and I was starting to feel somewhat disappointed but then the second half had me by the balls and it gradually became the weird， erotic， horrible little story I wanted it to be！ 。。。more

Ghoul Von Horror ，

TW: Murder， cheating， drinking， language， marriage problems， cancer， sex *****SPOILERS*****About the book:A mysterious book that promises unlimited power and unrivaled sexual pleasure。 A down-on-her-luck book dealer hoping for the sale of a lifetime。 And a twist so shocking， no one will come out unscathed。After a tragedy too painful to bear， former novelist Lily Albrecht has resigned herself to a dull， sexless life as a rare book dealer。 Until she gets a lead on a book that just might turn ev TW: Murder， cheating， drinking， language， marriage problems， cancer， sex *****SPOILERS*****About the book:A mysterious book that promises unlimited power and unrivaled sexual pleasure。 A down-on-her-luck book dealer hoping for the sale of a lifetime。 And a twist so shocking， no one will come out unscathed。After a tragedy too painful to bear， former novelist Lily Albrecht has resigned herself to a dull， sexless life as a rare book dealer。 Until she gets a lead on a book that just might turn everything around。 The Book of the Most Precious Substance is a 17th century manual on sex magic， rumored to be the most powerful occult book ever written—if it really exists at all。 And some of the wealthiest people in the world are willing to pay Lily a fortune to find it—if she can。 Her search for the book takes her from New York to New Orleans to Munich to Paris， searching the dark corners of power where the world’s wealthiest people use black magic to fulfill their desires。 Will Lily fulfill her own desires， and join them？ Or will she lose it all searching for a ghost？ The Book of the Most Precious Substance is an addictive erotic thriller about the lengths we’ll go to get what we need—and what we want。Release Date: February 8th， 2022Genre: Horror Pages: 319Rating: ⭐ ⭐ What I Liked:t1。 Love Sara Gran's writingt2。 The plot sounded interesting What I Didn't Like:t1。 This book dragst2。 The plot gets old Overall Thoughts:I never knew that different book collectors would have a "different" look。 I wanted to love this book since reading Sara Gran's other book but this book just dragged and dragged。 It's a little over 300 pages。 I was 50% into it before I just couldn't anymore。 I found Lily and Lucas just such basic boring people。 We listen to Lily talk about how poor she is on almost every page。 We also get a rehashing of her sick husband on every other page。 It gets to feel like nothing is happening。 We are just stuck in this same day with Lily。The turn of this book being about sex felt odd to me。 I just kept thinking of Hellraiser （Hulu） version while reading this。 I know this book was out before that but something about having to complete all these missions that made me feel bored。 I think if there were more interesting characters to follow around then I would have loved this book。 This is such a slow slow book。 Over 100 pages in and you're waiting waiting for SOMETHING to happen。The ending was okay。 Nothing ground breaking。 She finally gets him back and he's different。 We don't notice because there was very little character development to Abel from the beginning。 We never built a relationship with them together so I couldn't feel sad that she went through all of this and it didn't work out。 Final Thoughts:I'll continue with the author's other books because I do like her writing style。 Recommend For:t• Slow burn plotst• Books about books IG| BlogThanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy of the book。 All thoughts and opinions are my own。 。。。more

Betsie Bush ，

Interesting details about rare book selling。

Erin Sharp ，

3。5-4

Julia ，

Lily Albrecht is a bookseller of antique and rare books。 When one of her colleagues dies she takes over a commission to find an occult tome called "The Book of the Most Precious Substance" and sell it for a six to seven figure price to the anonymous buyer。 Lily and another rare books selling colleague set out to find the buyer and find one of the few remaining copies of the 17th century book。 A book about sex magic， granting the user a large boon when used correctly - or something like that。So f Lily Albrecht is a bookseller of antique and rare books。 When one of her colleagues dies she takes over a commission to find an occult tome called "The Book of the Most Precious Substance" and sell it for a six to seven figure price to the anonymous buyer。 Lily and another rare books selling colleague set out to find the buyer and find one of the few remaining copies of the 17th century book。 A book about sex magic， granting the user a large boon when used correctly - or something like that。So far this sounds good。 Bookish people trying to find an occult book。 And here's where the book becomes repetitive。 The two fly to a city in the US or Europe to meet up with a book collector who might or might not have the book and sell it to them。 They stay in a fancy hotel。 Go out for an expensive -and described in detail- dinner with the book person。 Find out details about the book。 Go back to the hotel to have awkward sex。 Not one sex scene is as sexy and erotic as the cover blurb makes you think it might be。 Nor is the book as thrilling。 The story is repetitive with a very predictable outcome that makes up the last 10-12% of the eARC。 It all reminded me of that late 1990's film， "The Ninth Gate" with Johnny Depp; though not in a good way。More reviews under: https://scepticalreading。com/ 。。。more

Filipa ，

3。5 rounded up This is really one of those "it's not you， it's me" instances。 I really enjoyed Sara Gran's writing and reading about a 40 year old female protagonist who's still trying to figure out her career， romantic life， herself and well， life， was comforting。 It definitely made me feel better about how uncertain things feel for me at 27， way more than books about teenagers saving the world ever did。 Comforting isn't the first word that would come to mind when thinking about this book thoug 3。5 rounded up This is really one of those "it's not you， it's me" instances。 I really enjoyed Sara Gran's writing and reading about a 40 year old female protagonist who's still trying to figure out her career， romantic life， herself and well， life， was comforting。 It definitely made me feel better about how uncertain things feel for me at 27， way more than books about teenagers saving the world ever did。 Comforting isn't the first word that would come to mind when thinking about this book though。 It also made me cry， maybe 20% into it， which is probably a personal record。 Lily's grief over her husband， whose dementia made him less and less like himself as time went by， hit close to home。 My grandma was diagnosed with dementia a few years ago， and it's a very strange thing to be watch someone lose themselves until you can't recognize them anymore while they seem to be completely unaware of it。 Maybe I wouldn't have read this if I'd known it would go there but it did make it a much more intense read。 The reason I gave it 3。5 stars （which is not a bad rating， btw） was that I didn't really care for the plot's main theme: dark sex magic。 I knew what it was about going into it but I was hoping I'd still be able to enjoy it。 The truth is， I felt very uncomfortable more than once。 And like I said， that's on me， not on the book。I felt a certain apprehension about Lucas from the beginning and so scenes with him made me feel uneasy。 Not to mention （view spoiler）[ the scene with Madam M where Lily is asked to trust people who give her no clue about what they're about to do to her and then drug her， blindfold her， hit her， psychologically harm her， stick needles in her thighs which she thinks are syringes and then ignore her when she asks them to stop， even though they told her they'd stop if she asked them to （hide spoiler）]。So even though I can appreciate the writing and even how interesting the theme may be for some people， at times this was a bit of a weird and uncomfortable read for me。 。。。more

Carmen ，

I held back a smile as I met him。 I felt。。。 normal。 Not cursed， not overly stressed， no thousand-pound weight on my shoulders。 I even felt a little happy。The book already had me by the throat。 If only I'd been smart enough to see it。 pg。 123This is an amazing book。BASIC PREMISE: Lily is a bookseller， she buys and sells rare books。 She hears about a man willing to pay seven figures for a very rare book about dark occult sex magic。 It's called THE BOOK OF THE MOST PRECIOUS SUBSTANCE。 It's about us I held back a smile as I met him。 I felt。。。 normal。 Not cursed， not overly stressed， no thousand-pound weight on my shoulders。 I even felt a little happy。The book already had me by the throat。 If only I'd been smart enough to see it。 pg。 123This is an amazing book。BASIC PREMISE: Lily is a bookseller， she buys and sells rare books。 She hears about a man willing to pay seven figures for a very rare book about dark occult sex magic。 It's called THE BOOK OF THE MOST PRECIOUS SUBSTANCE。 It's about using sex and sexual fluids （view spoiler）[and eventually death blood （hide spoiler）] to make a deal with the devil or get demons to grant your wish （along that vein）。 Lily has her own personal problems and may be seeking out the book not for money alone。REVIEW:WRITING: I had never read Sara Gran before， but I had heard only good things and her reputation is well-deserved。 Her writing is concise， muscular and gritty。 She's especially talented at writing from a woman's perspective - in a true and real way， with no sheen or gloss on it。 I find this rare。 Extra rare because this book revolves around sex and sexual acts， but even if it didn't， her normal， true， realistic feminine portrayal is refreshing and doesn't pull any punches。It's an immersive， concise， muscular novel that draws you in but spares you any floweriness or unnecessary rambling。Also， Lily is savage and I was enjoying it immensely。 She （and Gran） are funny， smart， and cutting。 If you like funny， smart， and cutting heroines， this is a good choice for you。PLOT: I mean， it's a horror， I don't think this is for everyone。 Especially since it is a horror that revolves around making a deal with Satan and using dark sex magic to achieve your dreams。 But if you like horror， this is excellent。 It's not at all similar to Stephen King nor Kristi DeMeester。 They are both excellent， but they excel at kind of。。。 oozing atmosphere in their books， this is much different。 The horror builds。 You can read the first few chapters easily， even forgetting this is a horror novel。 Everything builds up to the ending， and it's not especially a creepy atmosphere or horror on the forefront。 It's more about how a normal woman gets sucked into a very bad， demonic situation。 It's about how normal evil seems by the end of the book。 That kind of thing。 Not like something like It or The Shining。Stephen King is obviously a skilled author， one of the best living IMO， this isn't an attack on his work。 But Gran is writing a different kind of horror novel。 A tighter， brisker， more down-to-earth one。 You might prefer one or the other， the horror genre is wide and vast。The book is genuinely hair-raising， I got a bit of goosebumps at the end， that's a good feeling when you are reading a horror as far as I'm concerned。Lily seems like a real person， and even though some of her decision-making is not what I'd personally do， you can see why she makes those decisions， especially since the evil book always has a bit of a hold on her。I thought SPOILER was a creep from the beginning， the book didn't really SURPRISE me， I hope that wasn't Gran's goal。 I didn't call EVERYTHING， but I called enough for the end of the novel not to be a true shock to me （the climax is mainly what I'm talking about here， the aftermath WAS still a surprise）。 But it was chilling and hair-raising nonetheless。 I don't think suspecting what I suspected ruined the book for me at all， it was still very effective and I'm not entirely sure Gran was even intending to surprise me with a twist。PLOT THEMES: Even though this book is a horror and allegedly the focus of the book is on an evil sex occult book which promises power， money， and wishes granted in exchange for doing wicked and degraded acts （pg。 142）， and that IS a main plot point， this book is about many other things。1。） Books and bookselling。 Gran isn't twee or precious at all in describing this。 She's also savage in some of her literary takedowns。 She perfectly balances the reverence and importance of books with a gritty portrayal of how dirty and grim the profession is at times。 If you like books about books but are put off by all the twee， cutesy， book-worship books being published now， give this a glance。 It's right up there with Malice House and The Silkworm。 I couldn't remember the last time I'd been excited about a book。 Ever since I'd stopped writing and started selling our library， books had gone from being the great delight of my life to a fucking drag。 Selling books isn't like selling stocks and bonds， where you sit at a computer all day， or selling houses， where no one expects you to hand-deliver a cabin or a condo。 Books are heavy and dirty and messy and have strong smells and leave your skin dry and dusty。With a little sadness， I now saw I'd come to dread and resent books， every last one。 It was a loss。 Opening a book had always been like opening a window into a new and mysterious world。 When I was a child my books were my best friends。 I pored over my picture books， memorizing every line of every drawing。 When I moved on to chapter books， I saw that words could illustrate even more than a drawing。 In my mind's eye， I could see the exact picture a book painted for me: Times Square with a cricket， a pig's pen with a spider's web， a peach so large that it was its own sweet， sticky world。 I wanted to be a writer before I understood what a job was。 Books had been the most lasting， profound relationship in my life。 I'd long bought and sold a few books for extra money。 But once I'd started selling them out of desperation， not luck or love， I'd come to wordlessly feel like even my love of books - like everything else I'd loved - had turned on me and become ugly。 pg。 1272。） Demonic influence， the temptations of evil， Satan， making a deal with the devil， worshiping Satan and how that affects your life， greed， sexual depravity etc。 etc。 Self-explanatory。 I was usually a very honest person。 But the book had already reached a long tentacle into my head， twisting my thoughts。 In a few days， I had convinced myself that I not only wanted the book， but needed it。 pg。 1083。） Sex。 This is a very sex-heavy book。 It's not EROTIC， Gran's not writing to titillate IMO， but there's a lot of discussions about sex and on-page sex and described sex acts in here。 I was loving it。 Gran's frank， unabashed， female-perspective view on sex and sex acts was golden。 It's very rare and important。 I thought her points about sex and pleasure were amazing and she did a great job of discussing and portraying sex。 Props to her。He could see that I was ready， but we weren't looking for ordinary good sex here。 We were looking for magic。 pg。 2914。） Money。 This is a huge theme of the book。 Greed。 What people will do for money。 How money doesn't lead to happiness or guarantee it。 It's quite heavily explored and discussed。All that money and no happiness。People thought money would make them happy。 But money was the consolation prize in life。 Money was what you had left to dream for when all the other dreams died。 Money was what would keep you going when nothing else could delight you again。 pg。 258There are some excellent portraits of Rich People in this。5。） Grief。 This book is， in reality， a book about grief。 How grief affects our lives， how we learn to deal with it or let it consume us。 Lily's grief is all-consuming and shapes her life into a sad， bleak wasteland。 It takes Satan of all people to kind of snap her out of it and take a look around。I enjoy when horror has an underlying， true horror theme。 In this one， the true horror is grief。 Even though it's allegedly about dealing with Satan， the book is actually about the horrors of grief。 Kind of like The Shining is often said to be actually about alcoholism and the horrors of alcoholism - the true horror is that and not dead people haunting a hotel or rivers of blood or etc。 （I argue in my review that it's ACTUALLY about bad tempers and abusive males and not even about alcoholism once you scratch deeper， but I realize I am in the minority here）。Every day my heart broke more and more and then one day I realized there was nothing left to break。 It was all broken。 pg。 446。） Food。 Let's not forget about food， lovingly and exquisitely described in detail by Gran。 In much the way sex is appreciated in this novel， food is as well and Gran never misses and opportunity to describe the luscious foods her characters are eating and how much they enjoy them。 In the café I got a plate of eggs cooked with tomatoes and a salad of green herbs with a sweet-tart pomegranate dressing。 With it was a basket of hot bread just out of the oven。 The woman running the place was about my age and kept refilling my tiny glass of hot black tea with mint and sugar in it。 When she brought my food she looked old and hard， but when she wasn't working， she sat at a table by the register and texted with someone who made her laugh and blush。 Each text made her younger and softer。 pg。 216TL;DR: If you are looking for a great， hard-hitting horror for Halloween。。。 this is going to be an odd choice。 It doesn't exactly go the route of classic horror （King， Lovecraft， Susan Hill）。 Instead it is more like a book where the horror creeps up on you。 I can't think of another example of this right now， I know there are some。 Gran's writing is great: sparse， clean， gritty。 Her female MC is smart， cutting， a realistic woman with no false feminine filter hiding the way things really are from you。Apparently it had been a bestseller。 His book made me feel good about not having published in more than a decade。 pg。 118If the idea of a horror which revolves around demonic bargains， evil sex magic， greed， and crippling grief appeals to you - that's this book in a nutshell。 As advertised。 It's worth the price of admission just for Gran's writing and her female MC， IMO。 Speaking of price， this is pretty cheap on Amazon。 And book prices are just WILD， this gem is cheap and then they want like $30 for the bestsellers that are coming out that are SHIT。 It baffles me what makes the bestseller list and what sells for $30 vs。 hidden gems that no one knows about and sell for， you know， five bucks or whatever。 MIND-BOGGLING。 Don't even get me started on book-pricing nowadays， it's insane。 Use your local library and save money。 You could go broke buying books， and I'm sure people spend insane amounts of money for books that end up being SHIT。Anyway。 Great book， worth reading， pick it up if it sounds interesting to you。 Talented writer and IMO a horror payoff。 They had fooled me into thinking life would be an endlessly fascinating adventure。 I'd look at other people's lives - at their boredom， their drudgery， their pain - and imagine that my book had given me the key to escape from all of that。I wasn't just wrong。 I was wrong in such a vast and specific way that I felt like the punch line of a cruel joke。 pg。 246NAMES IN THIS BOOK:（view spoiler）[Shyman mLucas mLily fJenny fJonathan mSonya fMay fAwe mJeremy mAl mBetty fElena fArchie mAbel mSophie fMark mLucien mJeremiah mLeo mHieronymus mRobert mHans mJohann mBella fOswald mJohn mJack mMarjorie fRichard mIsabelle fToby mAllen mMason mMaria fImogen fNellie fPaul mHayden mCaitlin fRose fAlice fPaschal mMikael mFranz mKeith mJim mKim fFrieda fArjun mStacy fRodriguez mJackie fJohnny mKat fCarrie-Anne fMaude fMarie fMichelle fJillian fJean-Michel mJulien mYves mAngela fAdrian mKitty fHelene fHenri m（hide spoiler）] 。。。more

Judith ，

Lily deals in rare books in order to support herself and her husband， Abel， a formerly successful author who has early onset dementia。 The life she planned for them is over， all she can do is scape a living to get by， until she and her friend Lucas are offered millions of dollars to track down The Book of Most Precious Substance， an ancient text on sex magic， which grants those who follow its six steps whatever they wish for。 However Lily and Lucas are seduced by the power of the book the moment Lily deals in rare books in order to support herself and her husband， Abel， a formerly successful author who has early onset dementia。 The life she planned for them is over， all she can do is scape a living to get by， until she and her friend Lucas are offered millions of dollars to track down The Book of Most Precious Substance， an ancient text on sex magic， which grants those who follow its six steps whatever they wish for。 However Lily and Lucas are seduced by the power of the book the moment the set out to find。 it。 which leads them into dangerous waters。 This is a dark but fun morality tale。， full of erotic detail。 。。。more

V ，

Dnf at 30%

Cassandra Henrichsen ，

What a ride if a book！ I must admit that I did not expect this books to be about the substance that I expected haha！ However it was a super cool concept and I definitely recommend it if you’re a book nerd！

Kaetlyn ，

LOVED。 The sex。 The quest aspect。 All the quirky fun weird people Lily meets along the way。

Nichole Underhill ，

“I wanted to be a writer before I understood what a job was。 Books had been the most lasting， profound relationship in my life。”Strange， disturbing and compulsively readable， I really enjoyed this book！

what。heather。loves ，

"'You're feeding it。 Giving it power。 The book both gives power and receives it。 Magic。。。It works。 But the tricky things is， it never works exactly how you expect。。。Whatever it is that usually decides our fates - God， luck， random chance - it's smarter than us。 It's always smarter。 Magic works， but it's an exercise in irony， sometimes a dangerous one。 Be careful。''Former author， sensible and lacklustre Lily Albrecht has become a specialist bookseller in order to pay for beloved husband Abel's， w "'You're feeding it。 Giving it power。 The book both gives power and receives it。 Magic。。。It works。 But the tricky things is， it never works exactly how you expect。。。Whatever it is that usually decides our fates - God， luck， random chance - it's smarter than us。 It's always smarter。 Magic works， but it's an exercise in irony， sometimes a dangerous one。 Be careful。''Former author， sensible and lacklustre Lily Albrecht has become a specialist bookseller in order to pay for beloved husband Abel's， who has advanced dementia， care。 Their bright and full life has become repetitive and dull， isolated in up-state New York， whilst she works and researches miracles for Abel， leaving him with conscientious carer， Awe。 At a book fair she encounters Lucas and Shyman， both of whom she knows a little; Shyman is seeking a mysterious and rare， 17th century， occult book， supposed to bring great power。 When Shyman is found murdered the following day， Lily and Lucas decide to pick up where Shyman left off and find the book。Part mystery， part supernatural thriller as well as protagonist Lily's emotional and sexual reawakening as she falls in love with Lucas whilst the pair travel to globe tracking down potential copies of the book。 Imbedded in the world of antiquarian bookselling adds a wonderfully rich dimension （who doesn't love a book about books？）。 There is a sense of pervasive dread about their quest， building with every dark copy， every eccentric and often unpleasant character they meet。 Reminding me of Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s The Shadow of the Wind， it's an engrossing tale， with obsession oozing from the page。 Rather too many bodily fluids for my liking （！） but a fascinating and compelling mystery。Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my review。 。。。more

Misha ，

Fantastic。 Strange and funny and smart。 The last chapter took it to another level。

Alanna ，

Spoiler for spoilers and NSFW。 （view spoiler）[ Things I did not particular expect to read in my lifetime: literary horror about squirting。 But， well， here we are。。。Also spoiler within a spoiler: IT'S JUST PEE （hide spoiler）] Spoiler for spoilers and NSFW。 （view spoiler）[ Things I did not particular expect to read in my lifetime: literary horror about squirting。 But， well， here we are。。。Also spoiler within a spoiler: IT'S JUST PEE （hide spoiler）] 。。。more

Katie ，

Not sure what it was， but I did not vibe with this book at all。 I got over 60 pages in， and I’ve just decided it’s probably best to move on。

Louise ，

3。5 starsAn enjoyable ride through many cities with fine wine， good food， lots of sex， all whilst on a quest for a very rare book。The characters are what make this book， they are many and varied， headed by Lily who really is the star。Stuck in a dreary life， she thinks money will buy her way out of it。Interesting to see how far people will go， to get what they want。An entertaining read。

Jessica ，

DNF @57%。 Boring and repetitive。

Tayler K ，

I'm feeling weird about the ending。 More thoughts later。--------------I really enjoyed this book！ Part of the reason I took so long to read it （in addition to my usual brain difficulties with attention， task initiation， ~mood~， etc。） is that I didn't want it to end， so I was putting it off sometimes。Books！ Sex！ Mystery and intrigue！ Magic！ What's not to love？？ And it was sometimes very funny， which I didn't expect。 Lots of things I made notes of to pull quotes， too。I also enjoyed the ominous for I'm feeling weird about the ending。 More thoughts later。--------------I really enjoyed this book！ Part of the reason I took so long to read it （in addition to my usual brain difficulties with attention， task initiation， ~mood~， etc。） is that I didn't want it to end， so I was putting it off sometimes。Books！ Sex！ Mystery and intrigue！ Magic！ What's not to love？？ And it was sometimes very funny， which I didn't expect。 Lots of things I made notes of to pull quotes， too。I also enjoyed the ominous foreshadowing we sometimes got from Lily's narration--the "I didn't know it yet。。。" type of things。 And jetsetting across the globe and always having cute little coffee。 And meeting sooo many characters （somehow without it feeling overwhelming！ Although I did start to get fuzzy on some people after taking so long to read it）。 And the vibes of old rare books--to a book person there's never anything else quite like it。 I was really thrown for a loop all of a sudden with the last 30 or so pages though。 I'm not the type of person that tries to guess the ending to books or movies， I'm just along for the ride。 So I hadn't even asked myself how I thought the whole thing would end。 And that was part of the suspense of the story， too！--how far will they get， how far will they go？ Maybe there was really no other way。 But somehow that wasn't what I expected。 （view spoiler）[I never expected Lucas to be a murderer。 I had really forgotten to even wonder who killed the Admiral。 I had almost forgotten that the last act was murder and not just sex。 I'm not sure how much I think the "regular" Lucas was capable of murder versus how much influence the book was having on him。 I'd like to think Lily wouldn't have killed him if she hadn't realized he was already killing。 I wonder if he would've killed her， had the man in the bathroom not been there。 I think at that point， with the magic influencing him， Lucas would have killed Lily if there was no one else。 But Lily didn't want to do kill anyone。 She was never in it for some grand overarching power--she just wanted Abel back。 I think somehow it would've been harder for her to kill a stranger， actually， now that I think about it。 Killing Lucas was necessary， really， for Lily to get what she wanted。 She chose， in that moment， to give up the whirlwind life with Lucas and go back to what she hoped she would get back with Abel。 She had to close the door on one to go forward with the other。And geez！ The idea that whatever came back wasn't Abel or wasn't entirely Abel。。。 How do you know？ I think we're certainly meant to believe that there are dark consequences to having used the book。 But it's a conundrum， wondering how much is magic and how much is regular human nature。 What would a person be like after getting their brain back from 5 years of whatever he experienced？ How would someone go on with their second chance at life while carrying anger at having been dealt those circumstances in the first place？ Was Abel， at this point， capable emotionally of understanding Lily's experience or was he just thinking of all he wished he'd done in those 5 years and projecting that onto her while she was just trying to survive for the both of them？ But yes， I think with that last scene of Abel staring out at the water that whatever is there， it's not the same Abel she lost， and not entirely human perhaps。Poor Lily though。 She gave her whole life and identity away to someone who woke up and decided they didn't really want it。 She shrank herself over and over and over for the opportunity to live in Abel's shadow。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more

Vanessa ，

An interesting story that kinda fell flat by the end。

Goober ，

I was really excited about this book conceptually but for a book about sex magic it wasn’t really very sexy and wasn’t particularly well written， I kind of just wish it was written by a different author。

Sydney S ，

Is this my favorite book of the year？ Let's say it's in the top three for sure。 I read Jemisin and Hobb at the start of the year。 Is this my favorite book of the year？ Let's say it's in the top three for sure。 I read Jemisin and Hobb at the start of the year。 。。。more

Chloe ，

This book from the beginning had that intangible 5-star quality。 There’s something about this book that i’d very loosely relate to my experience reading Vita Nostra， where it just evoked a feeling I can’t describe。What tangible things i can say i love is everything else about this book。 In particular， i love what this book was trying to say。 I love morals and messages like that， but i’d absolutely prefer to have them disseminated through a book like this， rather than some heavy-handed， preachy b This book from the beginning had that intangible 5-star quality。 There’s something about this book that i’d very loosely relate to my experience reading Vita Nostra， where it just evoked a feeling I can’t describe。What tangible things i can say i love is everything else about this book。 In particular， i love what this book was trying to say。 I love morals and messages like that， but i’d absolutely prefer to have them disseminated through a book like this， rather than some heavy-handed， preachy book like a Matt Haig。 The ending definitely cemented my 5-star rating when i was tossing up whether this was 4。5 or a full 5。 It could have been done in a way i hated， but this whole book was written with a kind of nuance and subtlety that i loved。The plot， characters， and writing i loved。 The writing was so beautiful but also kind of understated。 Like Vita Nostra， there is something about the combination of the writing and the plot that transported me - but this is an incredibly individual reading experience。 What was objectively incredible was the way that the characters were described， and the way Lily’s thoughts were written。What i haven’t mentioned so far is that this is a book about sex magic。 I honestly loved the level of weird that this took on。 It was both ridiculous and realistic。 The “magic” and witchcraft in this worked so well for me。 I think the conversations about sex and relationships were so interesting from the unique perspective of Lily。 The book selling aspect was amazingly atmospheric， and seeing all of these rich and hateful characters in Lily’s journey to find the book could have been repetitive but was instead enjoyable。 This is the kind of book， love it or hate it， that you’ll think about for a long time after finishing it。 。。。more

Lucy ，

Ok so I enjoyed this whilst reading it， but it didn’t knock my socks off and I don’t think I’ll remember much about it in a few months time。 I definitely wouldn’t call this horror。 Id label it as more of a mystery book。I liked the mystery of finding out about the book， the two mc’s tracking it down， slowly discovering more information about it and all the characters we meet along the way。3。5 ⭐️

Sean Graham ，

I didn’t know what to expect going into this - it was in the horror section of Goodreads but， when reading the synopsis， mentions being an erotic thriller。 Well， either way sounded interesting！ And， whilst this does tend more toward erotic thriller， I enjoyed my time。 The characters were fleshed out， the world of book selling really explored and the writing is sharp。 There’s a lot of mention of the most precious substance and it’s erotic charging of magic but， for me， the sex scenes weren’t over I didn’t know what to expect going into this - it was in the horror section of Goodreads but， when reading the synopsis， mentions being an erotic thriller。 Well， either way sounded interesting！ And， whilst this does tend more toward erotic thriller， I enjoyed my time。 The characters were fleshed out， the world of book selling really explored and the writing is sharp。 There’s a lot of mention of the most precious substance and it’s erotic charging of magic but， for me， the sex scenes weren’t overwhelming to the story and the magic involved was an interesting twist。 This novel seems more for those who like their magic thrillers more steamy than horror led but it’s an easy recommend。 。。。more

Charlotte ，

2。5 starsi loved all of the ideas and concepts in this book， but the execution fell flat for me。 it was a fun page-turning experience， but the plot-points were simply too-loosely connected and i failed to stay/become emotionally connected to the main character （apart from chapter 6， which was incredible）。 i have no idea who to recommend this book to， since it really doesn't fit into any genre。 2。5 starsi loved all of the ideas and concepts in this book， but the execution fell flat for me。 it was a fun page-turning experience， but the plot-points were simply too-loosely connected and i failed to stay/become emotionally connected to the main character （apart from chapter 6， which was incredible）。 i have no idea who to recommend this book to， since it really doesn't fit into any genre。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Book of the Most Precious Substance

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Book of the Most Precious Substance&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Book of the Most Precious Substance&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0