Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Review: Hidden

HIDDEN (Firelight #3)
Sophie Jordan
Paranormal Young Adult
260 pages
HarperTeen
Available Now
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Jacinda was supposed to bond with Cassian, the "prince" of their pride. But she resisted long before she fell in love with Will—a human and, worse, a hunter. When she ran away with Will, it ended in disaster, with Cassian's sister, Miram, captured. Weighed down by guilt, Jacinda knows she must rescue her to set things right. Yet to do so she will have to venture deep into the heart of enemy territory.

The only way Jacinda can reach Miram is by posing as a prisoner herself, though once she assumes that disguise, things quickly spiral out of her control. As she learns more about her captors, she realizes that even if Will and Cassian can carry out their part of the plan, there's no guarantee they'll all make it out alive. But what Jacinda never could have foreseen is that escaping would be only the beginning....

Loyalties are tested and sacrifices made in the explosive conclusion to Sophie Jordan's Firelight trilogy.


MY THOUGHTS
An action-packed conclusion to the Firelight trilogy, Hidden brings Jacinda face to face not only with the Hunters who have been systematically exterminating her kind, but also with all the issues she ran from when she and her family left her Pride originally. Though this last installment flows nicely and easily thrusts us into the middle of death and danger from the first page, some of the tension crackling in the first two books seems absent, problems arising and then easily overcome as Jacinda and company learn a series of uncomfortable and painful truths. There is a both a great deal of pain and passion throughout, but they feel slightly muted – as though we're viewing them through panes of glass – able to see and hear but not reach out and touch.

Jacinda has been a strong heroine throughout, feisty, independent and unwilling to succumb to the expectations of those around her simply because they can only see the Pride as a collective rather than as individuals who make up a whole. In Hidden, Jacinda is as much of a fighter as she's ever been, always protecting those she cares for and making the hard decisions when necessary. Her relationship with Will is one of those elements seemingly free of the aforementioned tension however, the forbidden aspect of their relationship in Firelight a non-issue now that Will has left his family behind, and the acute pain caused by a heart torn in two different directions when Cassian made an epic play for her affection in Vanish is reduced to a mere ache as Jacinda maintains her surety that Will is the right choice for her. While we thoroughly appreciate her decisiveness and the dissolution of the love triangle, her moments with Will seem to lack some of the emotional intensity found in previous books, brief moments of heat flaring before being quickly extinguished by new and often life-threatening intrusions.

The final showdown between the Hunters and the draki is a touch anticlimactic given the magnitude of the hatred on both sides, the battle with Will's family and the repercussions it has on Jacinda's Pride all wrapped up fairly quickly and easily in the final 30 pages. There are several unforeseen twists in those final pages to ensure we're utterly riveted, though a more thorough exploration of one particular revelation might have increased the impact of a few major events, causing our hearts to break instead of merely bruise from the blows. Overall, Hidden is a quick and entertaining read, wrapping up lingering questions as to what the future holds for Jacinda, Will, Tamra, and Cassian, and I can't help but hope a spinoff with Tamra and/or Cassian might be in the works at some point so closing the back cover of Hidden does not mean I've walked out of this world for the final time.

Rating: 3.5/5

29 comments:

  1. *sigh* One of those series where so far I had no intention of reading the last book! I don't even know why, I liked the first two books! Even more, I LOVE the idea of Drakins! Still, I always felt.. mediocre about these books...

    And this anticlimatic ending reminds me of Breaking Dawn - the most anticlimatic ending ever!

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    1. I loved the idea of the Drakis too, I guess I wanted a bit more of an explosive showdown with the Hunters:) I did love the new characters she added though!

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  2. I can't say I've ever felt any particular need to read this series, though I was curious about how the last book would fare and how the series would be seen as a whole. So it is too bad that this finale was a bit anticlimactic and the romances were lacking in tension (I understand that was one of the main draws for fans of this series). I think I'll skip this one myself, though I would totally read another book with a similar dragon-type concept because that's awesome! Thanks for this review, Jenny!

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    1. I loved the romance with Will in book one, and even the relationship with Cassian in book two even though I greatly dislike love triangles (I thought this one worked well), this third book was just missing a little of the heat between the two of them.

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  3. I did look at book 1 at the library yesterday, but I am all booked up. Saving my library list for Jan, sorrydragons

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    1. Awwww maybe after January you can give these dragons a try:)

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  4. I remember really enjoying Firelight, but the love triangle put me off reading Vanish. Urghhhh I hate anticlimactic final showdowns....I mean, there's usually so much tension and we'll all expecting some huge standoff only to be disappointed by how easily everything is wrapped up. (Like Danny, it does remind me of Breaking Dawn!) Anyway, I don't think I'll continue with this series :( Great review Jenny!

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    1. I was not looking forward to Vanish due to the love triangle, but I was actually really pleasantly surprised. Cassian one me over big time and I thought the love triangle made sense in this case:) The showdown was a bit disappointing, but the series as a whole is fun!

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  5. I loved Firelight, but Vanish was just okay for me, and it sounds like this one was a letdown in places. Also, I was totally rooting for Cassian!! I'm still looking forward to reading this one to see how things work out, but it's not top of my list! Great review, Jenny!

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    1. I have to say I was really rooting for Cassian too! I almost always root for the boy I know is going to win, but in this case, I was completely Team Cassian:)

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  6. I just can't get myself to finish book 1 itself :(

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  7. I struggled with book 2 and ended up rolling my eyes and giving up on the series. Not gonna lie, I have no desire to pick up this last book, even though I hate to leave things unfinished (love to cross items off my to-do list, even if it's just a mental list!).

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    1. Awww sorry Vanish wasn't for you Mary! I enjoyed that one much more than I thought I would, but I had hoped for a little more from this last book. Everything just seemed to get resolved so quickly.

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  8. Yeah, I felt that way too. I mean, I still enjoyed the book but I really wanted more. Thanks for sharing Jenny!

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    1. Exactly! This was the finale, I wanted it to maybe be a touch longer and really get into the details about the war with the Hunters now that they know the draki's secret.

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  9. I loved Firelight, but Vanish was just alright...I agree with Leanna. I can't wait to see how Jordan ends Hidden though. I am bummed to hear that the moments with Will aren't as good as they were in Vanish. That's ok though...I am Team Cassian. :) I never thought I would enjoy a book about Dragons, but Jordan hooked me in! Great review, Jenny, and I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving!

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    1. Yeah Team Cassian! I would not mind at all if he got his own spinoff:) I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving too Christina!

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  10. I still need to read Vanish and this book too. Your right I was put off with the triangle and glad to know a lackluster ending...still want to see what happens with the dragons :)

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    1. I was really glad the love triangle wasn't really present in this book, she'd made he decision at the end of Vanish and stuck with it which was great. I just missed some of the tension in their relationship:)

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  11. Hmm. I have not read this series. Is it worth picking up?

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  12. *Sigh* yet another series....this sounds pretty interesting but I'm not sure that I want to commit.

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  13. Sucks that you felt some part of it lacking, but do you recommend the series overall? I haven't read it yet, but I would like to. The first book has been sitting on my TBR pile for quite some time now and would definitely like some exploring ;)

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  14. I'm so glad this was a satisfying conclusion! I read the first novel and while I didn't hate it, I didn't love it either. It was just okay for me, which is why I haven't picked up the rest of this series, but it looks like I'll have to now with such a positive review. Fantastic as always, Jenny! :)

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  15. I really want to continue this series. I have only read the first one and really need to dive into the other 2. I have to admit I wasn't happy about Will in the first place and I'm sad that that it didn't seem to have the same impact. I would also love a spinoff although I'd be behind in that as well... :)

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  16. Lovely review, I have the first book in my tbr pile..and you have certainly stirred my interest in digging it out!

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  17. Definitely agree about the ending being anticlimactic-I expected a much bigger battle but overall I did like this series. Love Will!

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  18. I read the first one and liked it but never did get the second one to read. I do have this one though so I really need to pick up Vanish!

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  19. I loved the first two of this series, so I'm really hoping I like this one a little better than you. This is disappointing. I have this book, just need to pick it up. Maybe now that my expectations are lowered, I'll like it better? Here's hoping. Excellent review Jenny. :)

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