Hidden - M. Lathan

Hidden by M. Lathan
Series: Hidden #1
Publication Date: November 2012
Source/Format: Author (Thanks!) || e-book

[I received this book from the author. This in no way affects the thoughts expressed in my review.]

Sixteen-year-old Leah Grant has given up on being normal. She’d settle for stopping the voices in her head, intrusive visions of the future, and better odds of making it to her seventeenth birthday.

That’s the thing about pretending to be human in a world where magic used to exist – at any moment, her cover could be blown and she’ll be burned to death like the rest of the witches.

Everything changes when she loses control of her powers and flees the orphanage she grew up in. She desperately wants to be invisible but finds her face plastered on every news channel as humans panic over the possible resurgence of her kind. And now the hunters won’t give up until they find her.

Making friends for the first time in her life and falling in love with one of them drives her to discover why she is unlike any being she’s ever met – human or otherwise. The dangerous powers inside of her that would repel Nathan, her new, handsome reason for living, are priceless to some. The locked up forever kind of priceless. And to others, they are too dangerous to allow her to live.

Let’s hope she can stay hidden.

Hidden does not stand out among the paranormal books I've read, but it possessed a quality that invited me to keep turning the pages. It was entertaining for the most part, particularly when it toed the line between the serious, high stakes moments and the silly, sweet ones. The writing was pretty good, simple and clean. But the way the story was told is a bit disjointed and the characters are indistinguishable except for Leah herself. In spite of my reservations, I did like Hidden, and will admit to being curious about how the series continues.

This novel is about Leah Grant, so it's probably no surprise that she's the character the reader gets to know best. We're given a very intimate look into her thoughts and feelings from beginning to end. She starts off the novel depressed, angry and insecure, mostly because she feels unwanted, unloved and evil (because of her powers). This was entirely unexpected, but it definitely added an extra and really interesting dimension . Apart from all the paranormal stuff, readers watch as Leah slowly but surely arrives at a better place when it comes to her self-esteem, self-worth and her powers. I'm always partial to stories with character transformation, so I definitely appreciated this aspect.

The other characters melt into a bit of a blur for me, as they fall into stereotypical types for me - the bad-ass bad girl, the sweet and positive good girl, the flirty guy and the shy guy and a few more. This was unfortunate, as I think each of them has the potential to be really interesting individuals. Since this is a series, I'm hoping that this is remedied in the next novel.

The story of this novel was mostly predictable, though there were a few things I didn't see coming. The author did a good job of making the story an easy read, even though a few things happened entirely too conveniently. But the surprises were definitely slightly shocking to me, and I really liked that. Though there were times when I felt my attention wandering, the writing always managed to pull me back in within a few pages. I wasn't a big fan of the repetitive descriptions of characters, but they didn't bother me to the point where I didn't want to continue reading.

Hidden might fall into a pile of the usual paranormal reads, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy my experience with it. Despite the predictability, the development of additional characters and slightly disjointed storytelling, I did have fun. I'm curious to see how the sequel plays out (especially considering that this one ends on a pretty solid note), and I think that's a good sign of how interested I really am in the story.

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