My Book Review: Hidden

My Book Review On Kristin and PC Cast’s Novel Hidden

Okay so before I blow up in a furious rage, let’s start off with my list of things that I liked about the book…and then a list of things that I fricken’ hated about the book. By the way, there will be spoilers so prepare your minds for such. And please forgive me for my foul language. I will be swearing often in this review.

Note: For those who are not familiar with the Marked series, I like to explain this series as a vampire version of the Harry Potter series. Only in this case, most of the protagonists are girls and it is basically about a school of vampires who deal with magic (gifts, elements, etc.) So hopefully that helps.

List of things I liked:

1. Although I never really liked the Twins earlier in the book series (mostly because their dialogue as Twins became repetitive and boring) I do like that the authors separated the Twins so that they could be their own personalities. It was kind of nice to see these girls as their true selves.
2. I also liked that the story finally presented Damien with a new love interest.
3. Although it wasn’t much, I really did appreciate the clues at the end which hinted at what kind of past Neferet endured.
4. I was pleasantly surprised that the story hinted that Nicole was potentially working on becoming one of the good guys instead of one of the bad guys.
5. The awesome title of the novel reflects the overall theme to the story. Zoey and her group realized that in order to defeat Neferet, they needed to ally together as a team by using their specific prophecy gifts, sight gifts, and Zoey’s old magick stone. An odd weapon to have to fight against Neferet who has violence and darkness on her side but okay. Either way, I really liked how the students were paired up to work together and I really liked how Zoey’s stone was able to see Health in Aurox and see Lenobia’s old lover in Travis. The idea of Shaylin being able to see colors also reflects possibilities in any and all characters in the story and that fact alone is very deep, intriguing, and succeeds so well in reflecting the overall theme of the story.

List of things that I hated:

1. Neferet is fricken’ still alive! Okay let me vent here but if it’s one thing that pisses me off the most is when authors have lingering villains that are still alive and still tormenting the protagonists for well over 10 books. I’m sorry but over time, her development as a character has become embarrassingly predictable. In my humble opinion, I really think Neferet should have been killed off once Kalona entered the picture because that way he could essentially take her place as the main villain. Don’t get me wrong, I love the father and son relationship that he developed once Kalona has proven to be a good guy but I totally could imagine him being a much greater threat than….this High “Bitch” Priestess Neferet.
2. What the fuck is up with Erin? Okay yeah, I guess this story didn’t have enough roaring conflicts so the authors hooked Erin up with *gag me* Dallas. (Which is odd considering, I really liked the idea of Stevie Rae and Dallas being a couple together.) It’s disappointing that he turned out to be a bastard from hell working for Neferet but hey, the story just needed more drama.
3. Who the fuck is Shaylin? If memory serves me correctly I believe she was introduced in the book before Hidden, however, I feel like her sudden involvement with what is going on in the House of Night feels way too rushed. I think it is cool that she can see colors, however again; I honestly don’t know how to feel about her except for, “wow, you joined the band wagon so fast”. It makes sense that she wants to make new friends in the vampire world because she is new and all that jazz…but her sudden appearance was simply…too sudden and not well received in my opinion.
4. Where is Damien emotionally? After the tragic death of his boyfriend Jack, why haven’t the authors took the time to write chapters explaining his own personal journey, his own grief? I really want to see Damien expand to more than just “that friend who is the brains of this operation”. I really hope in the future that the authors take time to expand and help Damien’s character develop.
5. Why in the bloody hell was Erebus in this book? I honestly felt like this character served no purpose other than torment Kalona…and that’s it? It was so stupid that Kalona was so easily quick to brush him off, and Erebus just “talked the talk but didn’t walk the walk”….AND WHAT REAL PURPOSE DID THEIR INTERATION PROVE? To see who has the biggest dick? Seriously, that time spent in writing Erebus should have been used to better develop the other and more important characters…but no. We get a random character from out of the blue who serves no other purpose other than being an annoying knat for readers who want to read THE REAL STORY.
6. Erik Night, why so serious? Obviously there was a lot of drama written between him and Zoey but why in the hell did the authors try to hook him up with Shaylin? Was this intended for Shaylin to feel like she fit in with the story? If she was hooked up with one of the main characters from back in the day? Again, I felt like that development was rushed way too much. And no offense to Erik Night fans but damn, I figured by now he would have at least moved on from the past and expanded as a character in a positive way…rather than this perverted way.
7. Zoey, okay how hard is it to kill the villain? If it was one thing that bothered me throughout the entire series was that the adults were too damn stupid to believe the nerd herd pointing out that Neferet is evil. When they do have the support of the adults, they have to go about in the politically correct way to take Neferet down. It sounds like to me that Zoey doesn’t want to kill Neferet however, this is a fantasy story so why was it so hard for Zoey and the nerd herd to poison Neferet’s food, or stab her with a knife, or cut off her head? I know she is supposedly a “goddess” but seriously, every being has their own set of weaknesses, how come our protagonists can’t figure this shit out? Maybe it’s been awhile since the last time I read the earlier books but there were so many opportunities where Neferet could have easily been defeated. Come on kiddos of the House of Night! Pick up an axe and end this villain! Please! She has lived far too long! For crying out loud, book 11 is on its way! Can we please get it right this time!?
8. Okay I feel like I’m going to shoot myself in the foot with this next one but let’s talk about our good ol’ boy Stark. Where the hell is the cool old Stark that we use to know? I know he died and became a red vampire but why does everything he has to say or do be all about macho man stuff like “I will defend you Zoey because I am your Warrior!” and the obnoxious “let’s cuddle up and have sex just so you forget your problems momentarily”. I’m personally very tired of Zoey complaining about her struggles and her always being lovey dovey over her macho man who seems more like a sex toy than a boyfriend, future husband, or whatever you want to call him. That type of language has become so repetitive that I have suddenly lost all hope and respect for Zoey. Yeah sure she finally grew up at the end and figured out how to grow a pair of ovaries but seriously, why did it take THIS LONG just for her to get her act together? Which brings me into my next point.
9. Who is Zoey now? I miss the good old books where she was adapting and growing with each new struggle. I really missed Zoey expanded with more of her vampire tattoos. I miss all that good stuff. I honestly wish her transformation into a woman would make her more confident than always crying her problems on Stark or seeking others to solve her problems for her. (Again I understand if I am shooting myself in the foot for this point but damn) I’m very tired of Zoey’s repetitive dialogue. For once, I would like to see Zoey do something completely unexpected or better yet, change her character and make her somehow reflect on her journey from being a newbie vampire to a fully grown and confident leader who isn’t afraid of that bitch Neferet. Zoey my dear girl, YOU ARE A VAMPIRE, you are the Darkness! Don’t be afraid of Darkness. Make Darkness be afraid of you!

My overall opinion of the Marked series:

I really liked books 1-7. My most favorite of all the books in the series is Burned and my main reason is that I honestly enjoyed the journey that Stevie Rae went through and how her relationship between herself and the other red fledglings changed. I really liked the earlier books when they described Stevie Rae as being trapped in a more disgusting monstrous state. From Stevie Rae’s perspective, she has transformed so much that I admire her and love how she overcame her “monster side”. I really miss reading about her struggles with being a red vampire and how she lost her humanity. You know, for a moment I even enjoyed Stark when he struggled with his humanity after he changed into a red vampire. To be honest, as I was reading Hidden, I honestly thought that one of the Twins was going to turn into a red vampire. I was given the impression that perhaps the authors would try to further distant the Twins by having one of them change into a different type of vampire. And honestly it would have been cool to see another one of the nerd herd go through the struggle of losing their humanity. (And getting their humanity back of course). I’m not going to lie, I was sort of let down that this prediction of mine didn’t come true.

After reading Hidden, I’m slightly afraid as to where this story is going to go next. Especially since Neferet isn’t dead and the Twins’ situation isn’t resolved. Obviously the humans are more involved into the House of Night so does this mean that Neferet is going to use her evil red fledglings to manipulate the humans to kill all the vampires at the House of Night? Will Neferet finally succeed in killing one or more members in Zoey’s nerd herd? (I predict maybe Aphrodite or Shaylin purely based on their effective gifts). I suppose the authors left things unclear so that there was more room for them to write new things…or throw in random characters that are annoyingly rushed into the story that makes no sense at all? The possibilities are endless.

I will admit that I will most likely buy the next book right away when it comes out, purely based on the fact that I grew up reading this series and I watched these characters grow in certain aspects. As much as I want to flip tables and scream at the top of my lungs at how horrible the novels have become as of late, I really want to keep reading and cross my fingers that the nerd herd will finally destroy Neferet for good! The only reason, in fact, is that I hope Neferet’s downfall comes very soon. If it doesn’t then I very well may abandon the entire series and no longer give a shit about Zoey or her nerd herd.

So folks, now you have it….my book review of Hidden by Kristin and PC Cast. I do apologize again for the swearing and the fact that this was mostly a negative book review but to be honest, I’m frustrated with this book series. I can only hope that I am not the only one who thinks this way too. But until next time, have a happy reading time!

-Missy