Review: Hidden by M. Lathan

 

What they say: 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.

 

I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review

 

What I say: Leah is a witch in a world where magic is considered bad and supernaturals are hunted. Living in a very Gossip Girl style boarding school, Leah is a socially awkward outcast. After a lifetime spent trying to hide her powers, Leah suffers from depression and genuinely believes she is evil (think normal teen self-loathing and throw in bullies, secrets and unknown powers and you sort of understand where Leah's coming from).

When most people channel their rage inward it usually erupts out in a fit of rage. With Leah her rage includes terrible powers and a loss of control. After a really close call, Leah who later goes by Chris/Christine, is pulled from the school and is fully submerged into the supernatural community. I like how M. Lathan slowly introduced new elements to the story and didn't overload her readers with too much in one go. First witches, then shifters and other sorts of supernaturals.
 

I really liked Leah/Christine's love interest Nate. Although I did think he was too good to be true at times, but after a certain revelation he acted as I would have expected and became a more realistic teenage boy.
A lot of the story focuses on world building and on Leah/Christine's self-loathing. It was nice to see her find a sense of belonging by the end, but I liked the sense that this was only the beginning. I think this series has the potential to be great. There were a few grammatical errors, but these can be fixed easily and didn't really detract from the story. I did find some of the dialogue a bit young, but I think this was to reflect Leah/Christine's social awkwardness and lack of normal interaction with other teens.


3.5 Stars in my Sky!

 

My fav non-spoilery quotes:

• "You looked great in that shirt. That's typically what you wear in my head." He cleared his throat and groaned. "Oh, God. That was weird. I'm the one without social skills."
• "Are you sure about this?" he whispered. "I'd be okay if you if you changed your mind. Okay in the sense of being totally devastated, but still okay. You could do way better."
• "Can we talk about the red lipstick and heels now?" he asked. I smacked his should, embarrassed. "I wanted to look sexy," I said. "Mission accomplished."