Review of Hidden Deep, by Amy Patrick

Hidden Deep by Amy Patrick
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

If you like a feel-good type book with few (if any) surprises, then this is a good choice. The same if you don't mind reading common paranormal romance tropes. If, however, you want to be surprised by plot twists and new developments, I would suggest something else.

A girl whose parents are going through a divorce moves in with a family member in a small town. An attractive male with secrets appears out of nowhere, and is described as extremely good-looking with a perfect physique. Neither have ever been in love before, but fall hard and fast for each other, despite knowing next to nothing about one another. Aaaaand...here comes the love triangle and the revelation that the guy is not only an immortal elf, but the *prince* of an underground group of physically perfect people.

And then, naturally, he's dealing with an arranged marriage that has to take place on his eighteenth birthday, which is only a few weeks away, and his father, the king, is very upset that he's been messing around with a human girl. Why? Because he doesn't want his people to be discovered and harmed, and his son is already betrothed. To a girl from an opposing group. And this marriage was intended to facilitate peace between the two.

The main character, when she hears this, and her grandmother (who, incidentally, is an elf herself) makes her understand what love means for the elves, goes out and breaks his heart so he'll marry this other girl and believe she doesn't care about him. Which she did because, after two weeks, she loved him and decided that it was best for him and his people if he married the girl his family picked out. Her plan works, until she manages to send a mental message (which she'd never managed before, by the way) to the king. Who then decides to cancel this important marriage contract, because kings have the luxury of being able to put their own desires above that of their people, and that totally makes a good king. *sarcasm*

There were a few times where the author could have surprised me, but it didn't happen. I would have found it more believable if Lad had been a normal elf and not a prince, for instance, or if Ryann's elf ancestor had been further back in the family tree than her grandmother. I also would have enjoyed this more if Lad hadn't been all emotion all the time, and was actually capable of critical thought. Who knows they're a prince and are betrothed for an important political reason, and then goes out and falls in love with someone else on purpose? Who takes their position completely for granted, and takes gross advantage of it to break the rules? Who would leave their people without a leader in a heartbeat, and deprive them of a marriage contract that could unite them? Someone who cares more for their own fleeting desires than the welfare of their people, that's who. But even with all that, it makes some sort of sense for Lad to be that way, even if I think it's self-centered and he'd make a terrible king, or, for that matter, boyfriend. What doesn't make sense is his father changing his mind and letting Lad do whatever he wants. I think that, if your son falls in love with and is willing to abandon their entire life for, a person they've only known for a few weeks, that a good parent would question very carefully that son's decision-making skills. Especially with how serious love and relationships are for them.

So, basically, Ryann was okay. She had some good moments, I quite liked her. She made some serious mistakes that made me want to shake her, like her manipulation of Lad and Nox in order to get what she wanted, but overall she was okay.

Lad and his father, on the other hand, just didn't make sense, and I came away feeling like they were both self-centered and lacking critical-thinking skills.

(I see some people complaining about the presence of the fan pods and sweet tea, which doesn't make sense to me, actually. The fan pods and Lad's reaction to them were a clue (to me) that the celebrities that had them were elves. It was also obvious to me that they were a set-up for later developments. That's common in the fantasy genre (my favorite) so it wasn't jarring or unusual to me, just evidence of a plot aside from the romance. And the sweet tea was included because it was necessary for part of the plot, as out of place as it may have seemed.)

But even with all that, it was an appealing book in its own way. I read all the way to the end, in spite of the many times I rolled my eyes. It was well-written, for what it was, though I don't think I'd recommend it. I wasn't surprised by anything that I'm guessing I was supposed to be surprised by (Ryann's grandmother, Nox, the pods...) but it was satisfying in a happy ending kind of way. A nice, light read for people who aren't interested in being surprised.

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