The Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Reading Time Review of Hidden – April 6, 2014

CURLEY, Marianne Hidden Bloomsbury, 2013 325pp $15.99 pbk +e ISBN 9781408822623 SCIS 1595150

Hidden is told from two points of view, that of Ebony, with her prosperous, loving and protective family, and of Jordan, who has been in and out of foster homes, his dad in gaol and his mother dead.  Teetering on the brink, he is just in control at sixteen, with a sympathetic caseworker and a decent place to live.  When they meet there is instant rapport, although not the kind we usually expect.  In spite of his unhappy background, Jordan is perceptive where Ebony seems to be in denial – perhaps she has been so sheltered that she has not developed imagination and is naive, or is she just unwilling to accept that which seems too bewildering.  She is his guardian angel.  She is a stolen angel…‘descended from Avena, an otherworldly realm caught between warring light and dark forces.’

Without Heaven or Hell, God or Satan, the King of Angels and the Dark Prince reign over different realms.  There are Biblical allusions, Prince Luca, the Prince of Darkness, is a fallen angel, the hunter of souls from Earth; the angels who appear to guard Ebony and her allies are Nathaneal, Michael, Urial and Gabriel.  Thane, who looks like a potential romantic interest (angelic) is an admirable heroic figure, and there is a mesmerising horde of demons, mythical creatures, angels and princes.  There is suspense aplenty as the reader seeks out Ebony’s true identity, information is released parsimoniously, keeping the reader bemused and perplexed until the riveting action-packed climax.  And this is just the beginning.  Definitely for fans of the genre.  JS

“Loved it” – gave Hidden 5 Stars on Barnes and Noble on 5th January, 2014
“I could not put this book down! I loved the twists and turns this book contains. There is so much passion between the main characters and their magnetic pull towards each other. The story line captivated me. Would recommend to anyone looking for a fun, interesting read.”

“Riveting” – gave Hidden 5 Stars on Barnes and Noble on 8th November, 2013
“Riveting first book in an anticipated trilogy about an angel hidden on Earth, who doesn’t know her identity and is thrust into a dangerous world of light and dark. I loved this book, it kept me turning pages. It has a different take on the angel worlds around in other series of the kind. Hidden is exciting and intriguing, with, I feel, much more adventure to come.
a captivating read that I couldn’t put down.”

A Day-Dreamer’s World, 23rd March, 2013 – Here is a sample… visit the website for entire review.

“This novel was mainly fantasy but it really combined a bit of everything to create a captivating world. It grabs your attention from the very first sentence and doesn’t let your eyes dart from the page until the final sentence has long since been read. The world-building in this novel is perfectly plotted, with intricate detail that gave you a vivid image in your head. The descriptions made the world’s in this book realistic and imaginable and the writing was beautiful.”

Cheezyfeetbooks BlogSpot, 29th March, 2013

Read Plus – South Australian Consultancy Group, 26th March, 2013, written by Pat Pledger, Library and Teacher Consultant

Speculating on Fiction, 11th April 2013

Girl!Reporter, 26th April 2013

Books on the Run, 14th March 2013

Best Books by Annmarie and Alice, 17th February, 2013

Complete Review written by, Cafébiblioart, 5th February, 2013 in Goodreads:

“5 of 5 stars – First of all I want to thank Bloomsbury for giving me the chance to read this book before it was published. I felt special. 🙂

I have no words to describe this book, or maybe there simply aren’t words good enough to describe it. I loved it more than many other books because I could tell that it is more than just a simple book. I read the author’s personal story and I connected. I know what is like to got though those thing, but only as an outsider. This book is special because the author gave a more personal touch to her works by including some of the things she went though. I can’t explain it, but I was able to feel that some of the events described in the book are a somehow connected with her personal experience. There are small details that catch you attention while reading such as Jordan’s first meeting with Thane or passage describing Avena and the other dimensions. Maybe it is just me, maybe not, but I like to think that the author wrote those passages the way she had because that is how she wanted to believe those things are. At a first look it may not seem to be any different from what other authors write since they all write things how the want them to be, but in this case since this author in particular was so close to knowing how those things really are, they seem more real. Sorry, I think I started going in a different direction. You must read it in order to understand what I am really trying to say.

The plot is a bit to simple for my taste even though it includes a lot of elements: it has action romance, adventure, drama. But in the end I don’t think this really matters since, in my opinion, what matters more are the feelings behind all of it.

I like the characters. They are quite different from those in the other books I read until know with the same type of beings. I adore Thane. I really hope he is the main hero of this book. Until now it is not very clear who the main male character will be.

I like Ebony as well, but I believe her too be a little bit too naïve sometimes. I honestly believe that she should have not made some of the mistakes she did. She should have listened to her parents. I can understand that the situation was difficult for her to understand, it must be a shock for every child to find out that she is adopted, but she should have known that parents always know better. I learned this lesson the hard way, but in the end she did too, I think.

The cover is beautiful, but I honestly prefer the white one with the feather… I recommend this book to anyone who loves angels, to wants to discover a new world or simply hopes that out there exists a place where we could finally find peace and beauty in its purest forms.”