Author: Marianne Curley
Series: Avena
Pages: 325
Genre: Young
Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Australia
Amazon: Hidden
Synopsis. (Goodreads)
For as long as Ebony can remember, she’s been sheltered.
Confined to her home in a secluded valley, home-schooled by her protective
parents, and limited to a small circle of close friends. It’s as if she’s being
hidden.
But something is changing in Ebony. Something that can’t be concealed. She’s growing more beautiful by the day, she’s freakishly strong, and then there’s the fact that she’s glowing.
On one fateful night, Ebony meets Jordan and she’s intensely drawn to him. It’s as if something explodes inside of her—something that can be seen from the heavens. Ebony still doesn’t know that she’s a stolen angel, but now that the heavens have found her, they want her back.
But something is changing in Ebony. Something that can’t be concealed. She’s growing more beautiful by the day, she’s freakishly strong, and then there’s the fact that she’s glowing.
On one fateful night, Ebony meets Jordan and she’s intensely drawn to him. It’s as if something explodes inside of her—something that can be seen from the heavens. Ebony still doesn’t know that she’s a stolen angel, but now that the heavens have found her, they want her back.
Review: 3 out of 5 stars
Hidden by Marianne Curley was kindly provided to me by the
publisher, Bloomsbury Australia in exchange for my honest review.
Angel
books tend to be hit or miss for me and I must admit Hidden started off really slowly and wasn’t holding my attention;
but as it progressed so too did my interest and I found myself enjoying Ms.
Curley’s writing style and storytelling.
Our
main protagonist is sixteen year-old Ebony who has been hidden away by her
parents from the outside world, she feels she is different with her unusual violet
eyes enhanced abilities and in the way her body is changing but getting answers
from her parents has been like pulling teeth, they remain vague and don’t seem
to know a lot about the contract they signed with a mysterious man who left her
on their doorstep as a baby. But answers soon come when she meets Jordan, a
fellow classmate with a painful life story.
After
a near fatal incident at an underage nightclub, Jordan is saved by an Angel
named Thane and has been tasked with convincing Ebony of the threats surrounding her,
with the story being told from both Ebony and Jordan’s POV’s we get a clear
look into their thoughts and their actions; seeing them interact and learn more
about the angels and the dangers I found to be quite interesting.
The
pacing I found to be choppy and the plot was unfortunately predictable but in
saying this, I did enjoy seeing the details of the stolen angel and the
disappearance of Ebony’s parents being unraveled; the history and the angel background
information we were given I found to be written well and the angel realm of
Avena which I am looking forward to learning more about was fascinating.
I
liked some characters more than others, Ebony at times I found to be lackluster
and frustrating whereas Jordan and his past and his purpose I was more curious
about; I hope in future installments we are given more detail about the
Guardian and Angel relationship, at this stage I am still a little confused.
Each of the angels was written well, I especially liked Thane and I’m eager to
know of his destiny.
Overall,
despite a few elements not meshing well with me Hidden was an intriguing start to this series and the cover is absolutely stunning! I am curious to read the sequel to learn more about the world and the characters Ms. Curley has created.
Thank-you
to Bloomsbury Publishing Australia for the opportunity to read and review Hidden.
Giveaway:
If you are a resident of
Australia/NZ, please complete the below rafflecopter form for your chance to
win a copy of Hidden.
Ooh nice review! Bummer I live in US and can't enter! Dying to read this one because I have LOVED Marianne's past work! I have high hopes for this one since I am use to some of her writing style, although it's been a good long decade or so since she last wrote something since she was ill.
ReplyDeleteVery nice review though! I feel like I have more of an idea of what the story is like now. Going to be hard to remember Jordan is the name of the one male protagonist, since in her first book I read the male leard was named Jarrod. Different names obviously, but still that "J" sound, add to that the vowel and "r" and it might get complicated for the reader in me, I'll be saying Jordan but I might be thinking of Jarrod, who I grew to love in that particular book!
Sorry for the rambling! Once again, lovely review!
LOVE angel books and as I don't mind a slower pace I'm sure I'd like it!! I'm glad you got sucked in despite knowing the twists and thinking it's predictable:)
ReplyDeleteLovely review:)
Too bad the pacing was choppy and off, the cover is lovely. This genre is hit or miss with me too.
ReplyDelete