Review: Hidden (Firelight, #3) by Sophie Jordan

Hidden by Sophie Jordan
Release date: September 11, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 260
Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Series: Book 3 (Firelight, Vanish)
Source: Gift
Links: Author's Website / Goodreads 

Overall: 3 out of 5 stars

Jacinda was supposed to bond with Cassian, the "prince" of their pride. But she resisted long before she fell in love with Will—a human and, worse, a hunter. When she ran away with Will, it ended in disaster, with Cassian's sister, Miram, captured. Weighed down by guilt, Jacinda knows she must rescue her to set things right. Yet to do so she will have to venture deep into the heart of enemy territory.
The only way Jacinda can reach Miram is by posing as a prisoner herself, though once she assumes that disguise, things quickly spiral out of her control. As she learns more about her captors, she realizes that even if Will and Cassian can carry out their part of the plan, there's no guarantee they'll all make it out alive. But what Jacinda never could have foreseen is that escaping would be only the beginning....
Loyalties are tested and sacrifices made in the explosive conclusion to Sophie Jordan's Firelight trilogy.

Review:
* may contain spoilers for the first two books in the series 

In an effort to tackle the pile of unfinished series I have sitting in my room, I started with Hidden, the conclusion to the Firelight trilogy. I read and loved the first two books in this series and, for some reason, never got around to reading the last book. Hidden was a heart-pounding and emotional conclusion, but I did not enjoy it as much as the previous two installments.

It's been awhile since I finished Vanish, so it took me a couple of chapters to get into this one and realize where things had left off for Jacinda and company. The action kicked off right away with Jacinda posing as a prisoner to try and rescue Cassian's sister, Miram, who was already captured. It was sad to see how inhumanely the human captors treated their draki captives. Jacinda is only in captivity for one night, but she already is struggling. Although I didn't want to see any of the draki imprisoned, I think it would have been fascinating to learn more about the enkros and their motivation.

Hidden allowed us to get to know Jacinda, Tamra, Cassian, and Will even more and to see new sides of all of them. All of the characters had to face a lot of challenges and encountered new threats. I did not always feel as connected to Jacinda as I would have liked and her constant back-and-forth with Will and Cassian was kind of frustrating.

A few new characters were introduced in this addition to the series, but their story lines ended way too fast. I was left wondering what had happened to them and about how other draki lived. Hidden was by far the shortest book in the series and I think the length worked against it. I still had questions and wanted to know more.

The plot was definitely fast-paced and there were several shocking twists that I was not at all expecting. The Firelight series started off as one of my favorites and while I was disappointed by the conclusion, I am still satisfied with the ending. I will definitely be recommending this trilogy to any paranormal romance fan!