Scan barcode
nialiversuch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
fictionmajorette's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Full thoughts: https://fictionmajorette.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-hidden-melanie-golding.html
A very large theme in this story is motherhood, different types of mothers, different decisions mothers need to make, etc. I'm personally not a mother (and have no desire to ever be one) so I might have a different take away than some other readers, but I really liked the way that motherhood isn't shown as being some altruistic life calling. All of the mothers in this book (and there are 5) are complex and flawed because they're human and that complexity includes the mothering-aspects of their lives.
The characters and character relationships in this book were great. Golding does a fantastic job of giving us character details right upfront which helped ground me and feel like I really knew these characters. These character details come in such a seamless way that it never felt heavy handed or overly telling instead of showing. I also really enjoyed how those initial character details were deepened as the story progressed and we learned more layers to that detail.
The narrative structure was really fun and I think really helped to keep the overall pacing engaging. The first scene in the book is the child being abandoned and then we start switching between Ruby and Joanna and different times within the last year and we see the lead up to how and why that child was abandoned. Most of Joanna's chapters were in the present where she is investigating the attack on the man in the apartment and most of Ruby's chapters are in the past where she's integrating herself into this other family. Obviously, the two plot lines are going to converge at some point and it is a fun journey to see how, exactly, that is going to be done.
The reveals were fantastic and were paced perfectly. Specifically, there were 3 reveals back to back to back within a certain 10% window of the book that I was just in awe of. Those three reveals completely changed the direction of the narrative as well as my perspective on multiple characters. I also felt the reveals were well hinted at ahead of time so nothing felt like it was coming completely out of left field.
Overall, I really loved this book - the characters, relationships, themes, pacing, and reveals were all dialed in perfectly for my reading tastes. I will be going back and reading Golding's debut novel from 2019 for sure.
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for review
Expected publication date is November 9, 2021.
A very large theme in this story is motherhood, different types of mothers, different decisions mothers need to make, etc. I'm personally not a mother (and have no desire to ever be one) so I might have a different take away than some other readers, but I really liked the way that motherhood isn't shown as being some altruistic life calling. All of the mothers in this book (and there are 5) are complex and flawed because they're human and that complexity includes the mothering-aspects of their lives.
The characters and character relationships in this book were great. Golding does a fantastic job of giving us character details right upfront which helped ground me and feel like I really knew these characters. These character details come in such a seamless way that it never felt heavy handed or overly telling instead of showing. I also really enjoyed how those initial character details were deepened as the story progressed and we learned more layers to that detail.
The narrative structure was really fun and I think really helped to keep the overall pacing engaging. The first scene in the book is the child being abandoned and then we start switching between Ruby and Joanna and different times within the last year and we see the lead up to how and why that child was abandoned. Most of Joanna's chapters were in the present where she is investigating the attack on the man in the apartment and most of Ruby's chapters are in the past where she's integrating herself into this other family. Obviously, the two plot lines are going to converge at some point and it is a fun journey to see how, exactly, that is going to be done.
The reveals were fantastic and were paced perfectly. Specifically, there were 3 reveals back to back to back within a certain 10% window of the book that I was just in awe of. Those three reveals completely changed the direction of the narrative as well as my perspective on multiple characters. I also felt the reveals were well hinted at ahead of time so nothing felt like it was coming completely out of left field.
Overall, I really loved this book - the characters, relationships, themes, pacing, and reveals were all dialed in perfectly for my reading tastes. I will be going back and reading Golding's debut novel from 2019 for sure.
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for review
Expected publication date is November 9, 2021.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse
More...