Book Review: Hidden by Sophie Jordan

Release Date: September 11, 2012
Author: Sophie Jordan
Publisher: HarperTeen
Length: 264 pages

"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."

Review:

Characters: Jacinda ventures into the enkros compound to rescue Miram, the "princess" of her pride. Helping in her daring escape plan is her sister Tamra, her boyfriend Will, and her bond-mate Cassian. Though her stay in the compound only takes up around one-fifth of the novel, the experience stays with her as she and her friends fight to make it home. Joining them is a draki named Deghan, other than his name and the fact that he's probably the coolest draki alive, that's all I can say to avoid any spoilers. Jacinda grows throughout the novel and learns to show more selflessness and to learn to let the past stay there.

Romance: This is one area I wasn't too impressed with, at least not regarding the main love triangle. I was able to practically feel the love between Will and Jacinda and even the care Jacinda has for Cassian, but when Jacinda and Will would fight, there was only one time that it felt natural, like it was something their characters would do. the other times it felt forced and awkward. However, Jacinda isn't the only one finding love in this book, you can look forward to Tamra finding love herself. I wasn't sure how I felt about Tamra's romance in this book, because like the fights Jacinda and Will have, it seemed awkward for a bit. I was proven wrong though when the romance bloomed slightly more natural and I gre to love it.

Cover and Length: Since both these topics are a bit short I've lumped them together. I don't really like the cover that much, it just feels weird having Jacinda on two covers, I would have rather seen Cassian or maybe Deghan on the cover since Jacinda is on the cover of the first one and Tamra on the cover of the second. Also, I feel like the cover is a bit awkward since the other two are more zoomed in on the face. The length is another thing that's a bit awkward, is super short, I was able to read it in a matter of a few hours, and if this weren't the last one I would be sad that I'd have finished so soon. 

Predictability: I was blown away at the twists this book entails. Though you'd expect this book to begin winding down as the trilogy comes to a close, it does no such thing, and in defiance it slaps you in the face repeatedly with it's twists. It would get to the point in the book where I'd begin speculating, and as though the book knew what I was doing it would instantly prove me wrong, and sometimes blow my mind in the process. 

Ending: When the book did finally decide to wind down, it did so very nicely with a few pockets for further development should the other write a spin-off, which she totally should. Nothing is too aggravating that you'd need to know what happens next but I would definitely like to know what happens to a few characters, maybe in a short story or two if there's no spin-off.

Overall, I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars I could get over the unnatural fights and Tamra's awkward budding romance, but not enough to get this to 5 perfect stars. That being said however, this is still one of my favorite series and I hope to see it on the big screen someday, mainly so I know what exactly draki look like, I'm not 100% sure yet.

P.S. Be sure to follow me on Google Friend Connect in the sidebar, once it gets to 25 I'll do a review of The Iron King by Julie Kagawa and for each 25 followers I'll do a review of the next book in the series, and once we get to 100, I'll be giving away a box set of the whole series complete with autographed poster. Won't that be fun. Also, I'm planning another giveaway, this one just because I want to. If you follow me on Twitter @FlyeZachary93 you may already know what I'm giving away.