Hidden

The story unfolds in two times: 1881, where we see Alexandre Chevalier and his family on an archaeological dig in Turkey, searching for a lost underground city of legend, and the present day, where Madison Greene and her brother Ben, children in the foster care system whose parents are dead, inherit a great country estate and a pile of cash from a long-dead relative. This newfound wealth changes Maddy and Ben's lives, and they have no idea how much their lives will change when they move to Marchwood.

The 1881 timeline was fascinating. I loved the details of the archaeological dig, the chase to find the myths on which the story of the lost city was based, the tension as they explored the location they ultimately found. The horror of the party's encounter with ancient vampires was deliciously spine-tingling, and the aftermath of that encounter heartbreaking. I felt a little bit bad for Alexandre. Were it not for his foolish choice at a party, his entire family wouldn't have been in Turkey. Definitely a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Modern day lost a little something by comparison, but the story still kept me engaged. Maddy is a teenager, and a lot of the time, she jolly well acts like one. She's prone to serve attitude, make impetuous decisions, and then regret her life choices. (Wait. Alexandre was a teenager, too....) I can't really fault her for serving attitude to her foster parents, though. They make it clear that they see her and Ben as more of a meal ticket than children to love and raise and care for. Ben is a likeable young man, and Travis really deserves better than what he gets from Maddy. But Boland's writing style just sucks you along into the story, regardless of the itch to smack a character upside the head because she rushes into situations headlong.

Vampires are portrayed quite differently here than they are in many stories, and Alexandre is a lovely character. (Although I'm unaccustomed to vampires that have serious self-restraint when they need to feed. It took a little getting used to.) His relationship with Maddy is, for the most part, sweet, especially when you remember that he was only a teenager when he became a vampire. So he's really a century or more older chronologically, but emotionally, they're pretty close in age.

I've seen this book compared to Twilight. I can see the resemblance, but this was a lot more fun to read than Twilight. Bella was a weak-willed, wishy-washy, almost emotionless heroine. Maddy has spunk. She may do stupid stuff, but no one will ever accuse her of being passive!

Four stars for a delightful bit of brain candy that leaves me wanting to know what happens next! Gotta read books two and three.