Hidden - Dragonlands #1 Review

I read this book as an e-book because I got it for free. If you like a fast-paced book that slows down to have more proper pacing near the end, then you may like this book. I won't say this book wasn't a fun read, because it was. I sat in my bed, telling my friends about the events of the book and how quickly they were all happening during the middle and laughing.
During the beginning of the book, my thoughts were; 'This author doesn't pull any punches, that fine.' then, during the middle my thoughts became closer to Why is everything happening so fast? and toward the end, they became, Now that it's paced properly, this is actually like, proper good.

'Connors toddler reared back, kicking Udor on the shin. "Don't talk to my poppa that way. Shut up you mean old man."'

Plot

The plot itself within the book was good. It was the pacing that was off. Had the author taken the time and care to pace this book properly, the plot would have shined beautifully. Add more time between the events to allow the characters to figure out their actions better. Allow them to process. Yes, in some situations removing the ability to process from the characters can create interesting dilemmas, but that wasn't the issue in the book. It was purely how fast everything was moving. If it had slowed down it would have been fantastic, plot-wise.

'"Then I will pray for your safety. I want nothing more than to see you again."'

Characters

Bastian
Bastian was initially one of my favorite characters in the book. During the first several chapters where we had read interaction, he showed himself to be rather smart-mouthed. That didn't turn out to last long. He ended up being, in the end, somewhat bland. Having little to no character traits other than a fierce love and determination to take care of his daughter, the village, and Tressa. Soon that became more or less just about Tressa and much less about the village.


Tressa
At first, I didn't like Tressa. She was rather annoying in my opinion. However, as the book went on it showed her to be strong and cunning. It wasn't one of the books that told you she was strong and cunning without showing any evidence to back that up, it showed her to be so. Although, she was relatively dumb throughout several parts of the book, not enough to make me upset, but enough to make her feel slightly more human.


Connor
There was very little time actually spent with Connor, so there was very little we actually learned about him. However, what we did learn of him was rather nice. He was devoted to his wife and his children. He seemed and all-around good character, however, he showed little flaws causing him to feel more like a plastic Ken doll than anything else.


Leo
Even though there was also, very little time spent with Leo. What was sene of Leo, was amazing. He was a cunning, tricker. Smart, and eventually became devoted to Tressa, more in a fatherly way than anything else, but the thought is still there.


Jarrett
Jarrett, Jarrett was probably one of the strongest characters within the book. He had an obvious personality, loyalties, and motivations that made themselves clear. A little too soon, in my opinion, but the entire book was fast-paced which in general there is nothing wrong with if some semblance of decent pacing is kept. By the time Jarett was introduced the pacing was going in a steady way.


Henry
Henry was an oddity, Once it was revealed why Jarrett was protecting him, as well as the effects to certain things, he was a fun character. Cocky, sassy, full of himself, exactly how one would imagine somebody of his caliber

'"I won't be a coward like the rest of you. My papa taught me to be brave. Didn't yours?"'

Character Development

Overall, there was a decent amount of character development. Although it went quickly and wasn't entierly shown, it was there. Subtle, and if not looked for it would barely be noticed, but there. However, this is also a book series, so in the later books in the series, the character development could have been put to more effective in those.

'"But you need to realize your perceptions are only a product of your desires and experience."'

Character Relationships

With a large number of relationships between the characters, the ones showing friendship and romance were surprisingly good. The ones showing more proper interactions between enemies and parents were a bit weaker. However, 90% of the time spent surrounding character relationships was either friendly or romantic.

The development within the relationships certainly needs more help. By no means is there major insta-love (other than the childhood lovers, but that's a different story with how it's portrayed) but there is also by no means a whole ton of major relationship development.

'"Neither of you can stop change, but you both have the ability to influence it."'

Worldbuilding

There is a rather large amount of worldbuilding in this story, which is good. But, the only thing about it is that it can never truly shine. Once again, the fast pacing within the story muddles down many aspects that could be brilliant. Had more time been taken within the story in order to show things such as worldbuilding, character relationships, character development, plot development, it would have been such a better book.

'"You think I have a few extra pounds on me because I'm unhealthy? Wrong. All a man needs is a little belly fat. Push it up with the right girdles, and viola, boobs!"'

I'm torn on whether or not I want to recommend these books. It's a fast and fun read, however, it certainly isn't anything fantastic and for a good portion of the book it was like whiplash with how fast things were happening in the plot, and not in a good way either. If you decide to read the book for yourself, I suggest going into it knowing there will be major pacing issues that overshadow a whole ton of the good that this author did. The book isn't awful, but it's by no means amazing, completely due to the pacing issues.