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indiarosey's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
eveningjaye's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
aleks_olisar's review
4.0
This one had a slow start in my opinion. If I didn't have a thing about finishing books I started, I'm not sure I would've kept up with it; I'm glad I did though. I don't know anything about Irish folklore, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this book after it picked up.
erinrosalee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
antiopelle's review against another edition
4.0
What would it take for a loving mother to leave her young child in the middle of a street during one of the coldest days of the year?
A young family lives in a secluded penthouse in London: Gregor is a charming father and Constance a troubled but loving mother to their little toddler. In comes Ruby, a chance encounter, and she becomes almost like a second mother to the child, attracted by Gregor's charm and intrigued by the mysterious Constance. Then Gregor ends up almost dead in his bath and both woman and child are running for their lives. What happened? By coincidence, it is police officer Jo who is assigned to the case, who happens to be Ruby's sister.
Little by little we learn that nothing is as it seems, and all the characters have their troubled pasts and hidden truths. The one thing that stand out is that Constance believes she is a selkie, a creature that can live on land as a human and at sea as a seal. It is up to the reader to believe this or not, as the story can easily be read as a complex mental health issue of Constance, or even that she is part of a cult living on the Hebrides. Either way, the child is in danger and needs saving.
The book reads easily, and the characters and surroundings are well detailed. However, the lead character - Ruby - is very unlikable. She is stubborn, makes all the wrong decisions and she could have avoided both her very complicated family life and the whole situation with Constance if she just would have done the right thing. The selkie folklore contributes nicely into the story, something that I wouldn't have expected and I was intrigued by it.
I've hovered between 3 and 4 stars, but I'll settle with 4, as I must say I that even if there are just too many coincidences to make it fully believable, the plot is original and I genuinely liked it.
A genuine thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
A young family lives in a secluded penthouse in London: Gregor is a charming father and Constance a troubled but loving mother to their little toddler. In comes Ruby, a chance encounter, and she becomes almost like a second mother to the child, attracted by Gregor's charm and intrigued by the mysterious Constance. Then Gregor ends up almost dead in his bath and both woman and child are running for their lives. What happened? By coincidence, it is police officer Jo who is assigned to the case, who happens to be Ruby's sister.
Little by little we learn that nothing is as it seems, and all the characters have their troubled pasts and hidden truths. The one thing that stand out is that Constance believes she is a selkie, a creature that can live on land as a human and at sea as a seal. It is up to the reader to believe this or not, as the story can easily be read as a complex mental health issue of Constance, or even that she is part of a cult living on the Hebrides. Either way, the child is in danger and needs saving.
The book reads easily, and the characters and surroundings are well detailed. However, the lead character - Ruby - is very unlikable. She is stubborn, makes all the wrong decisions and she could have avoided both her very complicated family life and the whole situation with Constance if she just would have done the right thing. The selkie folklore contributes nicely into the story, something that I wouldn't have expected and I was intrigued by it.
I've hovered between 3 and 4 stars, but I'll settle with 4, as I must say I that even if there are just too many coincidences to make it fully believable, the plot is original and I genuinely liked it.
A genuine thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
nadia_oliver's review against another edition
3.0
This was a very unique concept for a book. I didn't read the blurb, so I was shocked when the Selkie-lore aspect appeared in the book, as I was expecting just a regular old thriller. I ended up enjoying that aspect of the book, though, and I appreciated that (at least for me) it never became clear whether she was actually a Selkie, or if that was a delusion. Either way, I liked that unique plot line.
Additionally, I thought I had figured out from the beginning what happened in this one, and what happened was pretty close to my guess, so it did feel somewhat predictable to me.
Overall, though, I enjoyed this one and it was a fairly fast-paced read, since I wanted to know what happened. It was good, just not amazing.
Additionally, I thought I had figured out from the beginning what happened in this one, and what happened was pretty close to my guess, so it did feel somewhat predictable to me.
Overall, though, I enjoyed this one and it was a fairly fast-paced read, since I wanted to know what happened. It was good, just not amazing.
r_coop's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lovelylittlelostgirl_'s review against another edition
1.0
DNF - I tried to get into this but it was so unnecessarily vague from the get go to add intrigue and it just bored me. The concept sounds good. But it reads like the intro of a thriller tv show, but this is a book, it doesn't need to be so cryptic. A hundred pages in and I just couldn't get interested enough to keep reading.
smittenforfiction's review against another edition
3.0
Happy New Year book lovers! I wish you health and happiness for 2022, and that you'll read some incredible books. I'm determined to catch up and keep up with my reviews this year. I'm not going to call it a resolution because then I'm certain to fail. After loving Little Darlings, I jumped at the chance to request an arc for Melanie Golding's newest novel, The Hidden. This is inspired by a Scottish folktale called "The Mermaid Wife".
The Hidden is about people hiding their past and their feelings. There are hidden cameras and hidden objects. Hidden pockets and hidden bodies. What happens when hidden things are found?