How Do You Hide a Dragon?

The life of the Draki isn't easy. Have you ever tried hiding a dragon? What about a whole pride of dragons? But the hunters and the enkros (scientists who torture and dismember dragons) make life particularly dangerous. Jacinda has survived, but in Hidden, she risks her own life to save that of her pride member. Even when it means giving herself to the enkros.

Jacinda bonded with Cassian, but the bond was in name only. She truly loves Will, but responsibility to her pride changes her ability to make decisions based on her emotions. Now that Cassian's sister has been taken to the enkros, she can feel his pain through the bond and knows she must save Miriam. Doing so, however, means letting herself be captured and taken to the enkros, a fate no Draki would choose for themselves.

Inside the enkros headquarters, Jacinda learns just how awful the scientists are. While Drakis go into the lab, they never come out. But Jacinda, Will, and Cassian won't rest until they free Miriam. Inside, Jacinda is pitted against a terrifying gray dragon with razor sharp scales. She survives, barely, but the enkros take her to be tagged with a tracking device. Cassian and Will couldn't have come at a more perfect time, saving her from the implanted device, but Miriam wasn't so lucky. Now they have to outrun hunters who know where they are, and the only safe place they know if is the pride, but returning to the pride means putting them all at risk. Choices aren't always easy, and Jacinda has been plagued by enough of her own tough choices, but the safety of the pride is the toughest one she has had to weather. What will she decide?

This was a very exciting conclusion to this interesting young series. We all have an idea of "the perfect ending," which might not be the perfect ending for some characters, but we know what we want to happen. We also know what the easy ending would be- something that doesn't rock the boat too much and leaves us warm and fuzzy inside. Jordan took a risk with this conclusion by not giving you everything you wanted. You won't be disappointed, but you won't feel warm and fuzzy either. In a book full of tough choices, some of those choices were bound to lead to sacrifices, and that is exactly what happened in Hidden.

I loved where this series went, and I think it matured and grew up in content dynamics as it aged. It went from a clear middle reader series to a final book that expects more from its readers in the depth and breadth. This conclusion proved Jordan knows how to elevate her readers as they progress through her stories, and I am looking forward to her next endeavor!