HIDDEN by Kelley Armstrong

Hidden
Kelley Armstrong

Rating: A
Synopsis from goodreads.com:
Hiking through the snow, holiday baking and playing board games by the fire – what’s not to love about an old-fashioned family Christmas?

Werewolves Elena Michaels and Clayton Danvers want to give their four-year-old twins, Kate and Logan, something their parents never had: a nice, normal holiday. No Pack responsibilities, no homicidal half-demons or power-hungry sorcerers to deal with – just the four of them, alone, at a chalet outside Ontario’s Algonquin Park.

Then a strange werewolf shows up at their door…while the town is buzzing about a young man, back from college, found half-eaten in the woods. And there’s the missing little girl …

With all the signs pointing to a rogue mutt with a taste for human flesh, Elena and Clay have no choice but to investigate. But are they the hunters – or the hunted?


If you haven't read Bitten through Frostbitten, then don't read this review. It contains spoilers for those books.



My thoughts on the book:
Hidden is different from the other Clay and Elena stories in this series, but I feel that it is the perfect goodbye story for them. This novella wraps up their story and leaves the reader feeling as if no matter what happens, Clay, Elena, and the twins will be okay. There is not much action or suspense in this story, but there is quite a bit of mystery. Armstrong throws in a twist at the end that I didn't see coming. All in all, this is a must read for all of the fans of the Otherworld series. 


I put off reading this book for a long time because I simply did not want to say goodbye to Clay and Elena. They are my favorite Otherworld couple, and I apparently thought avoiding this book would mean that there would be more Clay and Elena stories. However, the book did not leave me feeling sad. Instead, I feel hopeful that Clay and Elena will have a good, yet adventurous, life. 


It was interesting to see how Clay and Elena's relationship has evolved over the course of this series. They went from being at each other's throats (specifically Elena wanting to kill Clay) to being happily married with twins. There are mentions of memories and the past in this book, and we get to learn that Elena and Clay have been together off and on for twenty years. 


This book focuses mainly on Clay and Elena trying to find a balance with Elena's new title as alpha-in-training or whatever the official title is and Elena wanting to protect her children from the type of childhood she had. Both of these things lead to extreme personal growth on Elena's part, but there isn't much action or steamy romance, which Armstrong's previous Elena and Clay books are known for. 


The pacing is spot on, and while the plot isn't as suspenseful as some of the previous Armstrong books, I still couldn't put the book down. I read it all in one sitting. It's a quick read... it only took me about 2 hours to finish. The ending ties up all of the questions left about Clay and Elena's relationship, but leaves room for the reader to imagine where Clay and Elena may go from here. 


Even though this book had a different feel to it, I still enjoyed it. It's a definite must-read for any fan of the Otherworld series. If you haven't checked out the Otherworld series yet, you are missing out on a captivating set of books. It's my absolute favorite series of all time. Armstrong is a fantastic author, and she does not disappoint with this final Clay and Elena story. If you'd like to read this book, buy it now before there are no copies left. As far as I know, it's a limited edition like the other novellas were, so you don't want to wait on this one. 


Want to buy Hidden?
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