Book Review: Hidden by Kelley Armstrong

Hidden 
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publication: Subterranean; Deluxe Hardcover Edition edition (December 31, 2011)


Description: 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?



My Thoughts: This short novel was still a great glimpse into the lives of Elena and Clayton and their children. I liked that we got to see more of the personalities of the twins. Kate is impulsive and empathetic and artistically talented; Logan is quiet and serious and frighteningly bright. They are off to have a quiet Christmas as a family.


But the quiet is disrupted by the strange werewolf they meet on arrival and by the potential of a man-eating werewolf in the area. Elena and Clayton are trying to investigate while keeping that part of their life secret from their kids.


One of the big issues in this story is Elena's indecision about whether or not to tell the kids that their parents are werewolves. Clay is all for telling them but Elena doesn't want to place an extra burden of secrecy on the children. But she also doesn't want to lie to them. It is a big decision for her. 


This is a nice addition to the Women of the Otherworld series which also has a few full color plates for illustrations. I wasn't really that fond of the pictures though because they seemed too "manga" to me and almost cartoonish. I prefer the images I have in my head for Elena and Clayton and the kids. 


Avid fans will have to have this one.


Favorite Quote:

I exhaled. "Which bring back the original question. When do we tell them?"

"I'm okay with telling them now. I'm okay with telling them in a year, two, three, even four. More than that? I have a problem. So, you have four years. When you're ready, we'll figure out how we're going to do it. And anytime you want to talk about it?"

"I know where to find you.""You got it."

I put my arms around his neck. "Thank you."

He arched his brows. "For making myself available to discuss a parenting issue with the mother of my children?"

"No. For knowing what was really worrying me, even when I wasn't sure myself."

I bought this one. You can get your copy here too.