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Hidden Among Us by Katy Moran
The Blurb On The Back:
When Lissy meets a mysterious and strangely beautiful boy on her way to Hopesay Edge, she is deeply unsettled by their encounter.
She discovers that the boy, Larkspur, is a member of the Hidden, an ancient group of elven people, whose secrets lie buried at Hopesay Reach. Before long, Lissy and her brother Rafe find themselves caught by a powerful magic and fighting to escape a bargain that can never be broken.
When 14-year-old Lissy she gets out at the wrong station when travelling to her uncle’s house for a family holiday in Hopesay Edge, she meets a mysterious, gorgeous teenage boy called Larkspur who leaves her very unsettled. The holiday’s intended to introduce Lissy, her estranged brother Rafe and younger sister Connie to her mum Miriam’s boyfriend and his teenage son, Joe. But pragmatic Joe regards Lissy and Rafe as snobs, while Rafe blames Lissy for revealing their father’s affair and ending their parents’ marriage. When Lissy meets Larkspur again and discovers that he’s a member of the Hidden (essentially elves) she discovers that 14 years earlier, her mother made a bargain for her life and now Lissy must pay the price or her brother and sister will be killed …
Katy Moran’s novel, the first in a YA fantasy trilogy, is an unsatisfying read split between four narrators, none of whom I connected with. There are some great ideas here – particularly the twisted court of the Swan King – but it never came alive for me and there are numerous holes in the supposedly unbreakable bargain that are never exploited. Ultimately, the plot hinges on characters refusing to talk to each other or explain things, which I found deeply artificial while Lissy is such an anaemic character that despite the cliff hanger ending, I won’t be reading on.
Lissy is underdeveloped as a character. She’s little more than a bargaining chip throughout the story and the big secret for the reason why is conveyed far too early. It’s difficult to believe in her relationships with Rafe, Joe and Larkspur because they get so little page time together and she never really asks questions or press for answers. When she does finally show initiative, it’s for utterly artificial reasons that I didn’t believe in
I got tired of being told how clever Rafe was when he continues to do stupid things throughout the plot. Joe is more sympathetic and I actually believed in the protectiveness that he had for Connie more than Lissy’s supposed relationship with her. Miriam is little more than a plot device there to provide exposition on how the bargain came to be made. The Swan King is equally thinly drawn – he should be terrifying but instead has ho-hum motivations and stereotypical villain behaviour.
Ultimately although I didn’t connect with this book, I would check out Moran’s other work.
ARC from publisher.
The Verdict:
Katy Moran’s novel, the first in a YA fantasy trilogy, is an unsatisfying read split between four narrators, none of whom I connected with. There are some great ideas here – particularly the twisted court of the Swan King – but it never came alive for me and there are numerous holes in the supposedly unbreakable bargain that are never exploited. Ultimately, the plot hinges on characters refusing to talk to each other or explain things, which I found deeply artificial while Lissy is such an anaemic character that despite the cliff hanger ending, I won’t be reading on.
Thanks to Walker Books for the ARC of this book.
When Lissy meets a mysterious and strangely beautiful boy on her way to Hopesay Edge, she is deeply unsettled by their encounter.
She discovers that the boy, Larkspur, is a member of the Hidden, an ancient group of elven people, whose secrets lie buried at Hopesay Reach. Before long, Lissy and her brother Rafe find themselves caught by a powerful magic and fighting to escape a bargain that can never be broken.
When 14-year-old Lissy she gets out at the wrong station when travelling to her uncle’s house for a family holiday in Hopesay Edge, she meets a mysterious, gorgeous teenage boy called Larkspur who leaves her very unsettled. The holiday’s intended to introduce Lissy, her estranged brother Rafe and younger sister Connie to her mum Miriam’s boyfriend and his teenage son, Joe. But pragmatic Joe regards Lissy and Rafe as snobs, while Rafe blames Lissy for revealing their father’s affair and ending their parents’ marriage. When Lissy meets Larkspur again and discovers that he’s a member of the Hidden (essentially elves) she discovers that 14 years earlier, her mother made a bargain for her life and now Lissy must pay the price or her brother and sister will be killed …
Katy Moran’s novel, the first in a YA fantasy trilogy, is an unsatisfying read split between four narrators, none of whom I connected with. There are some great ideas here – particularly the twisted court of the Swan King – but it never came alive for me and there are numerous holes in the supposedly unbreakable bargain that are never exploited. Ultimately, the plot hinges on characters refusing to talk to each other or explain things, which I found deeply artificial while Lissy is such an anaemic character that despite the cliff hanger ending, I won’t be reading on.
Lissy is underdeveloped as a character. She’s little more than a bargaining chip throughout the story and the big secret for the reason why is conveyed far too early. It’s difficult to believe in her relationships with Rafe, Joe and Larkspur because they get so little page time together and she never really asks questions or press for answers. When she does finally show initiative, it’s for utterly artificial reasons that I didn’t believe in
I got tired of being told how clever Rafe was when he continues to do stupid things throughout the plot. Joe is more sympathetic and I actually believed in the protectiveness that he had for Connie more than Lissy’s supposed relationship with her. Miriam is little more than a plot device there to provide exposition on how the bargain came to be made. The Swan King is equally thinly drawn – he should be terrifying but instead has ho-hum motivations and stereotypical villain behaviour.
Ultimately although I didn’t connect with this book, I would check out Moran’s other work.
ARC from publisher.
The Verdict:
Katy Moran’s novel, the first in a YA fantasy trilogy, is an unsatisfying read split between four narrators, none of whom I connected with. There are some great ideas here – particularly the twisted court of the Swan King – but it never came alive for me and there are numerous holes in the supposedly unbreakable bargain that are never exploited. Ultimately, the plot hinges on characters refusing to talk to each other or explain things, which I found deeply artificial while Lissy is such an anaemic character that despite the cliff hanger ending, I won’t be reading on.
Thanks to Walker Books for the ARC of this book.