A review by theengineerisreading
Hidden Pieces by Paula Stokes

5.0

Before I actually go into the review proper, I want to say shout to National Book Store for giving me a copy of this book in one of their Instagram giveaways.

This is my third October read and I’ve been seeing some negative reviews about this book being somehow a rip-off of Pretty Little Liars, and Little Monsters by Kara Thomas. But after reading this book, I can’t comprehend why some people throw rocks at a good read like this. I mean, I know we are all entitled to our own opinion but the book and the author do not deserve the hate it receive. Sorry, just sharing!

Technically, Hidden Pieces by Paula Stokes is a young adult-mystery book that revolves on the story of Embry Woods, a seventeen year-old teenage girl from Tillamook County, who, upon a series of unfortunate events, got caught in an uncontrollable situation with her best friend, Holden Hassler, after both of them got involve in a fire incident in their area’s infamous Sea Cliff Inn. Their involvement resulted to a succession of unwanted blackmailing from Unknown, the person who know that Embry and Holden are involved in Sea Cliff fire, and the repercussion of this events result to the protagonists being manipulated to do crimes they can’t escape else someone they love will suffer. Embry and Holden, with the help of their friends, embarked on an adventure to unveil Unknown’s identity and free themselves from the shackle of their lies. The catch is, will they unravel who their blackmailer is or will they fall to Unknown’s trap and finally confess of their role in the Sea Cliff fire?

Moving on from that lengthy spoiler, I must say that though this is my first mystery/thriller read for years (YEARS!!!!), I did not had a hard time connecting with Paula Stokes’ world and characters since her style of writing is appealing to teens and adult readers. She easily built the characters of Embry and Holden by incorporating backstories of the characters in their respective highlights. I mean, there is no easy way to enumerate Embry’ pessimism and Holden’s optimism without laying out all of what happened in their past journeys.

As imperfect as every person in this world is, I love that Embry Woods was not written in the usual way where female characters go head over heels to some boy-next-door because that is one hell of a used trope and readers get tired of encountering that trope. One thing I hate about Embry’s character is her sense of lying but that’s part of her development and I also note that she somehow managed to turn the table of that attitude during the last part of the book.

I won’t prolong this review but I’ll end with this, if you are looking for a thriller read that will make you whisper ‘One more chapter..’ in the middle of the night while you’re in bed, then Hidden Pieces by Paula Stokes is a definite fit for your taste.

BEST QUOTE/S:
“As messed up as things are between the three of us, I feel a flash of hope that somehow everything might turn out all right. But then I remember the secrets I’m keeping, the lies I’ve told, the horrible things I’ve done. And that momentary sense of lightness sinks like an anchor.”

“You did a bad thing. Maybe several bad things. But we all do bad shit sometimes. It’s what you do now that matters. If you don’t like the person you are, take responsibility for your past mistakes and do better.”

“I kept telling myself I was protecting you, but really, I’ve been protecting me. I knew telling the truth would mean losing you as a friend. I couldn’t think about losing my best friend. I know how selfish that makes me.”