Review: Hidden Deep by Amy Patrick

Title: Hidden Deep (Hidden Saga #1)
Author: Amy Patrick
Genre: Paranormal, Romance 
Publisher: Oxford South Press
Publication Date: March 23rd 2015
Kindle Edition, 376 pages

Summary: 

Give in to the Glamour… Sixteen-year-old Ryann Carroll has just run into the guy who saved her life ten years ago. You might think she'd be happy to see him again. Not exactly. She's a bit underdressed (as in skinny-dipping) and he's not supposed to exist. After her father's affair, all Ryann wants is to escape the family implosion fallout and find a little peace. She also wouldn't mind a first date that didn't suck, but she's determined not to end up like her mom: vulnerable, betrayed, destroyed. Ryann's recently moved back to her childhood home in rural Mississippi, the same place where ten years earlier she became lost in the woods overnight and nearly died. He's still irresistibly drawn to those woods. There she encounters the boy who kept her from freezing to death that long ago winter night and was nowhere to be seen when rescuers arrived. He's still mysterious, but now all grown-up and gorgeous, too. And the more she's with him, the greater the threat he poses to Ryann's strict policy-- never want someone more than he wants you. Seventeen-year-old Lad knows the law of his people all too well: Don't get careless and Don't get caught. It's allowed his race to live undetected in this world for thousands of years, mentioned only in flawed and fading folklore… Lad's never been able to forget about Ryann since that night ten years ago. When he sees her again, his fascination re-ignites and becomes a growing desire that tempts him to break all the rules. He's not even supposed to talk to a human, much less fall in love with one. And the timing is atrocious. The Assemblage is coming, the rift between the Light and Dark is widening, and mysterious celebrity fan pods are becoming more and more widespread and influential. Lad may have to trade his own chance at happiness to keep the humans, especially Ryann, blissfully unaware and safe.

To be completely honest with you have a love hate relationship with this book. When I read the synopsis on Goodreads and saw that the book was currently free for on Amazon for my kindle I jumped at the chance. I haven't read a an urban fantasy book in the longest time and I figured this was going to be a quick read. It was, the story was intriguing and I had to know what was going to happen with Ryann and Lad and stayed up way to late to finish Hidden Deep, which I am not complaining about in the slightest. 

*I just have a super complicated relationship with this book*

I honestly really liked Ryann's character, she is a relatable teenage girl. She actually reminds me a lot of how I was when I was sixteen. Some of her decisions aren't well planned out and pretty rash but that is what being a teenager is like sometimes. Plus with the IRS breathing down her mother's neck for her father's mistakes she feels like the weight of the world is on her shoulders. Not only for her family's sake but also for Lad's as well. 

My only I had two issues with this book, the first being the insta-love between Ryann and Lad. I understand that had a connection from a past incident and they been searching for each other for ten years, but they rushed into things really fast. Under their circumstances I understand and also with them being so young and it being their first "love" I am chalking it up to that. (We were all sixteen once, it all had the feeling at least once in our life for a special someone from super early on.) With the mini love triangle with Nox I strongly believe that Patrick is planning for a love triangle in the following books which I am actually pretty down for since both Lad and Nox are totally opposites and I can see her ending up with either on of them. 

My second is that were Ryann and her mother were well developed I feel like I know next to nothing about Nox and very little about Lad. Lad had to be very secretive about who and what he was for more then half the book so I sort of understand that and hope that Patrick expands a lot more on him in the next books in the series. Nox was in a majority of the book becoming a love interest but all I knew was he was super attractive and into Ryann and he was in a band that was getting a record deal. Maybe Patrick is saving their character development for future books? I hope so. 

Besides the two issues I really enjoyed this book. It's not often that you read a story about Elves. I really like the world that was created for them and their customs. I am really excited to see more of them considering how the story ended with Ryann and Lad perusing a relationship so it only seems likely that Lad's world will play a role in the next book. 

Though the romance was kinda fast it is still swoon worthy. Honestly if a guy said half the things that Lad had said to Ryann I probably would have been a puddle on the floor. His dedication and his will to fight for her really had me routing for their relationship and hoping for a really good outcome. I am also kind of in love with Lad sooooooooo I can't blame Ryann for falling for him quickly. *Shrugs*

In the end I ended up reading Hidden Deep super fast and I am really looking forward to the rest of the series. I learned there is three books following these characters, three more following different characters (that have to do with these characters) and then three more that I am not sure what they deal with. But I haven't read a long series in so so so long so I am so down for this. Any who, if you made it this far into to this really long review thank you for listening to my thoughts and ramblings (Its is 4a.m. and I am super caffeinated so I am typing about a mile a minute at the moment.) But let me know if you read this series!!! It seems super underrated. 

*Me rereading this when it is published and regretting that I wrote a review high on caffeine.*

(3.5 Stars!)