Hidden: Rapunzel’s Story by Kaylin Lee
Fantasy. 249 Pages. 4 Stars
Synopsis:
Young assassin Rapunzel is the most powerful absorbent mage alive, so strong she can drain the life of a grown man with a single brush of her finger.
But the power means little when her every move is controlled by her mistress.
For twelve long years, Rapunzel has known nothing beyond a nightmarish life of captivity, murder, and failed escape attempts.
She spends her days locked away in a tower, dreaming of a different life, and her nights in the city, forced to use her terrible power for her mistress’s political ambitions.
Rapunzel knows she’s a monster. She shouldn’t exist. She doesn’t deserve to exist. But her desperate hope for freedom just won’t go away.
Then a mysterious foreigner climbs into her tower seeking refuge. He should be terrified of Rapunzel, but he wants to help set her free. What kind of madman would ever want to help someone like Rapunzel?
And who is Rapunzel, really? A woman, or a killer?
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Hidden: Rapunzel’s Story is the second book in the Destined series, a series of overlapping fairy tale retellings all set in the same magical world. Each story is self-contained, with its own protagonist and satisfying happily-ever-after, but they also tell an over-arching story.
My Review:
Okay, full disclosure: the emotional part of me reallllly wants to give this five stars, but the practical part of me says four. So, here’s why: (warning, review contains book 1, Fated, spoilers, but none for Hidden, book 2)
First of all, returning cast: YAY! New and returning settings: YAY! (See my review of Fated for more gushing on the awesome political and societal structure and desire to see more of this fabulous world.) Rapunzel retelling: oh. my. word, y’all. This was an excellent retelling of the classic tale, one of the most ingenious I’ve read. It cleverly stuck to the original tale, but in such subtle ways I nearly missed the parallels entirely. For this reason, and perhaps this reason alone, I can forgive my biggest complaint against the story: the pacing. I felt like the entire book was backstory or prologue material until the very end. (Okay, y’all, that ending was fabulous!) The pacing throughout almost the entire book was off. It was fast-paced, but not in the good way. There were a lot of time skips, which I could understand, and none of the story was written ambiguously. It was all clear and understandable, but I felt like I was ready backstory or a setup to something instead of a story all its own. Honestly, I expected this to be Rap’s story in Draicia and it end (book 1 spoilers!) as she reaches Asylia. However, Hidden went on well beyond that. And, personally, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Zel’s pov of the events of Fated and some of the conversations between her and Weslan, even if I was slightly disappointed in her character and choices at times. I did feel like she developed rather slowly, and like there were several…insta-moments throughout the story, though this may be due to the pacing. I loved where it ended and that ending alone brought the whole experience up a notch for me. It was exciting and compelling and made me look forward to the several other fairytales I saw setups for–at least four others. So, in conclusion, most of the book felt rushed to me, much of the middle felt like “extras” material, but overall, it was well-written, held a fresh perspective, cleverly planned, and excellent settings. No foul language. Clean romance. Mild, though not graphic at all, violence. I would recommend it, but with the understanding that it feels more like an alternate pov or companion book than a sequel. And I will definitely be checking out the prequel for some Weslan pov!
More:
Prequel Novelette: Torn (4 Stars)
Book 1 in the Destined series is Fated: Cinderella’s Story (5 Stars)
Book 3 is Twisted: Belle’s Story (4 Stars)
Book 4 is Betrayed: Ruby’s Story (5 Stars)
Book 5 is Hunted: Alba’s Story (5 Stars)
Book 6 is Cursed: Briar Rose’s Story (Being written)
I have rated and reviewed each of the above on Goodreads. Follow the links to find more info on the books and then scroll down to see the reviews. Mine is among them.
This series should be read in order.
On Gracebought
If you missed it, check out my review of the previous book here! And stay tuned next week for my thoughts on the next book in the series.