Book Reviews

Colleen’s 2018 #Book #Reviews – “The Hat,” by C. S. Boyack

Colleen M. Chesebro

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Title: The Hat, A Novella

Amazon Author Page: C. S. Boyack

Goodreads

Publication Date: January 11, 2018

Formats: Paperback & Kindle

Genres: Science fiction & fantasy, Superheros, Paranormal & Urban

 

IN THE AUTHOR’S WORDS:

Lizzie St. Laurent is dealing with many of the struggles of young life. She lost her grandmother, and her living arrangements. Her new roommate abandoned her, and she’s working multiple jobs just to keep her head above water.

She inherits an old hat from her grandmother’s estate, but it belonged to her grandfather. This is no ordinary hat, but a being from an alternate dimension. One with special powers.

Lizzie and the hat don’t exactly hit it off right away, but when her best friend’s newborn is kidnapped by a ring of baby traffickers, Lizzie turns to the hat for help. This leads her deep into her family history and a world she’s never known.

Lizzie gives up everything to rescue the babies. She loses her jobs, and may wind up in jail before it’s over. Along the way, she and the hat may have a new way of making ends meet.

Humorous and fun, The Hat is novella length. Wonderful escapism for an afternoon.

MY RECOMMENDATION:

The Hat is a novella weighing in at 116 pages of pure fun and creativity written in the speculative fiction genre. Hang onto your – hat (sorry, I couldn’t resist) it’s about to get good!

Lizzie is having a rough time of it after losing her grandmother. Her uncle has control of her grandmother’s estate leaving Lizzie out in the cold. In a last-ditch effort to own something that belonged to her grandmother, she snatches a box from her uncle’s moving truck. Lizzie has no idea what is in the box, and when the hat reveals himself to her is when the real fireworks start.

As the title suggests, the protagonist is a magical hat who possesses the ability of speech. I got the sense that the hat is some sort of sentient being. I also found the hat to use a distinctively male voice who also had the ability to change into any form of head covering that Lizzie desired.

The characters are enchanting and the dialogue is full of humor as the hat and Lizzie work together to solve the disappearance of numerous babies missing from the local area. The fast-paced action left me breathless – in between bouts of laughter. Seldom do I find such engaging banter between characters. It was pure serendipity.

I loved the idea that the hat could play the bass through Lizzie’s fingers as long as she wore him while playing. The musical aspects of the story were brilliant. In addition, the author added a few graphic comic book type images strategically placed which added to the visual elements of the story on my Kindle.

The Hat is one of those rare feel-good books that ends with the reader wanting more. I can only hope that the imagination of C. S. Boyack devises a few more capers for these two characters to solve. And, at only $.99 this novella was well worth the price for an afternoon’s entertainment.

MY RATING:

Character Believability: 5
Flow and Pace: 5
Reader Engagement: 5
Reader Enrichment: 5
Reader Enjoyment: 5
Overall Rate: 5 out of 5 Fairies

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*I follow the Amazon Rating System*

CS Boyack

Author, C. S. Boyack

About the Author:

 

I was born in a town called Elko, Nevada. I like to tell everyone I was born in a small town in the 1940s. I’m not quite that old, but Elko has always been a little behind the times. This gives me a unique perspective of earlier times, and other ways of getting by. Some of this bleeds through into my fiction.

I moved to Idaho right after the turn of the century and never looked back. My writing career was born here, with access to other writers and critique groups I jumped in with both feet.

I like to write about things that have something unusual. My works are in the realm of science fiction, paranormal, and fantasy. The goal is to entertain you for a few hours. I hope you enjoy the ride.

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HOW TO CONNECT WITH C. S. BOYACK

Blog – Entertaining Stories

My Novels Amazon

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witchey kissesThanks for stopping by to hear about “The Hat.” What a fun book. Humor, a mystery to solve… what more could you ask for? 😀

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Are you looking for more great reads? Join author, D.G. Kaye, and myself in our Facebook group, The Literary Diva’s Library to find book reviews, book promotions, & special deals on books from authors you love.

40 thoughts on “Colleen’s 2018 #Book #Reviews – “The Hat,” by C. S. Boyack”

      1. Panama was my favorite so far! I’ve read and reviewed several of Craig’s books now, and he is one of my absolute must read authors. I love the uniquely unexpected things we always find in Craig’s books.😍

        Liked by 2 people

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