The Hidden: Book 1
What it’s about:
Ruby Salazaar wants answers…and revenge. Her uncle has just been murdered before her eyes and the name he utters with his final breath—Cyntag—leads Ruby into a world beyond her wildest imaginings. She soon learns that the dark, sexy Cyntag Valeron knows more about her than she does. Ruby’s about to realise that she’s more than just your average tomboy but can she handle the truth – all of it?
What I thought:
My Rating: 
A nice start to the brand new series from one of my all time favourite authors. Dragon Awakened is filled with magic, mystery and interesting creatures. I really enjoyed learning about the world of The Hidden and all that comes with it. Rush has a very distinctive style and I could feel it with every word. She sucks you into her fantasy world and really makes you a part of it. I love how we get snippets of moments in other characters POV, it sucks us more into the mystery making you really want to know what’s going to happen next.
I really liked Cyn, he’s a sexy, alpha male that you want to keep and play with. I liked how he lived his life through logic and fought hard to keep back his emotion, and then when he couldn’t do it any more, he became a man worth loving. Ruby was a well written character. I loved how her journey unravelled and how she didn’t just accept what she was being told. I also liked the way she interacted with Cyn, from love to anger, every moment was riveting and emotional.
I loved the mystical characters, the Elementals, Deuces (Wizards), Dragons and demons were all fascinating and I’m really eager to read more about them. I’m especially eager to read more about the Caidos, the fallen angel creatures. I like that Rush began the series with the Dragons because it can be quite hard to get into characters that shift into something unusual but she brought the characters to life well and made the catalysing (changing) parts smooth and comfortable to read about.
One of the things I felt this book missed was more side characters, or more interaction with them. We got slight glimpses of some of Cyn’s allies and Ruby’s co-workers but for some reason I felt like both Cyn and Ruby didn’t really have any friends. Their lives felt almost empty to me and it makes me wonder how the series is going to progress, though I have full faith in Rush’s storytelling ability. I also felt like we didn’t get Cyn’s whole story. He kept on referencing a pain from a loss and it sounded like it might have been a woman he once loved, and we never really got a full explanation of why he didn’t want to feel, the book starts with him looking forward to a rush, some emotion but we never find out why.
Having said that I enjoyed the book and really like the essence of the series. I’m eager to read the next one and learn more about the characters and world of The Hidden.
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