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A review by anacarter
Hideaway: Special Alternative Edition by Willow Prescott
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
╭ ✦ •
│ ⊹ 𝟹.𝟻 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜, 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚐!⊹
╰ ✦ •
I've been wanting to read this duology for a while now so when I saw Willow's ARC sign up for the Special Edition version I couldn't resist!
*𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚, 𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙃𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣 1𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣, 𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙋𝙊𝙑 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨, 𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙚, 𝙖 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙪𝙨 𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙪𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙣 𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨.*
Hmmm… where to start? The plot had me hooked in the beginning—it was tense and intriguing—but it quickly became irrelevant, buried under unnecessary filler smut. And I mean a lot of it. The smut was great, but when it adds 200+ extra pages without moving the story forward, it starts to feel repetitive and boring. I ended up skimming a bit because I just wanted to get to the actual plot and understand wtf was going on. Even by the end, there were too many unanswered questions, and the story dragged with noticeable gaps.
I really wanted to rate this higher because, despite the plot holes, Willow is a great writer. Her descriptions, word choice, etc—I loved Shades of Red, the first book I read from her. But this... was not completely what I was expecting I guess?
As characters, I liked Kara and Caden; they had decent backgrounds even though I wish we had gotten to know more about them. Especially Caden's backstory because who the heck is E?? It felt like she was supposed to be important to his background, but the book never really explained her. Unless I skipped that part?? She’s clearly someone from Caden’s past, but the lack of clarity added to the confusion.
Some of the choices the main characters made were questionable. Why didn't Kara just give Caden the First Edition Chaucer? I get that it's super valuable.. but she probably wouldn't have gotten kidnapped or been in any of the awful situations she was in. And don't even get me started on Caden! He let Jace continue working for him after what he almost did to Kara. COME ON. That completely undermined any claim of him being protective. Yes, just let someone almost SA, your 'girl' and let him still work for you.. so smart!! Also, the scene where he pretty much abuses Kara? Yeah, no thanks. I wish Caden was a little softer, and not the absolute dick he was. I liked him but good God he was so annoying in the first 200 pages.
Hmm... what else? I felt like Avery's reason for stealing back the First Edition Chaucer was a little underwhelming. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't that? I guess it worked? But maybe I was expecting more of a significant motivation, it ended up feeling a bit flat, especially given how central the book was to the plot. Plus the fact that we don't get to know this information until 78% into the book, I felt like it should’ve carried more weight in the story, but it just didn’t hit the mark for me.
That being said, yes, the pacing, is the biggest issue—nothing significant happens for 70–80%+ of the book, and even when things do pick up, it barely moves the plot forward. Sure, there were some good moments between Kara and Caden, and their chemistry and banter were undeniable, I liked their push-and-pull dynamic and other interactions, but there was so much filler that it overshadowed the actual story.
And then there’s the ending… which was so underwhelming... literally more smut lol. Idk after all that buildup, it just ends the way it does.. smut last chapter and an epilogue???? What the heck was that epilogue? Confusing. A different male character, he had blue eyes and was hunting a girl with blonde hair at a Pandemonium (I'm assuming it's pandemonium)?
│ ⊹ 𝟹.𝟻 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜, 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚐!⊹
╰ ✦ •
I've been wanting to read this duology for a while now so when I saw Willow's ARC sign up for the Special Edition version I couldn't resist!
*𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚, 𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙃𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣 1𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣, 𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙋𝙊𝙑 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨, 𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙚, 𝙖 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙪𝙨 𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙪𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙣 𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨.*
Hmmm… where to start? The plot had me hooked in the beginning—it was tense and intriguing—but it quickly became irrelevant, buried under unnecessary filler smut. And I mean a lot of it. The smut was great, but when it adds 200+ extra pages without moving the story forward, it starts to feel repetitive and boring. I ended up skimming a bit because I just wanted to get to the actual plot and understand wtf was going on. Even by the end, there were too many unanswered questions, and the story dragged with noticeable gaps.
I really wanted to rate this higher because, despite the plot holes, Willow is a great writer. Her descriptions, word choice, etc—I loved Shades of Red, the first book I read from her. But this... was not completely what I was expecting I guess?
As characters, I liked Kara and Caden; they had decent backgrounds even though I wish we had gotten to know more about them. Especially Caden's backstory because who the heck is E?? It felt like she was supposed to be important to his background, but the book never really explained her. Unless I skipped that part?? She’s clearly someone from Caden’s past, but the lack of clarity added to the confusion.
Some of the choices the main characters made were questionable. Why didn't Kara just give Caden the First Edition Chaucer? I get that it's super valuable.. but she probably wouldn't have gotten kidnapped or been in any of the awful situations she was in. And don't even get me started on Caden! He let Jace continue working for him after what he almost did to Kara. COME ON. That completely undermined any claim of him being protective. Yes, just let someone almost SA, your 'girl' and let him still work for you.. so smart!! Also, the scene where he pretty much abuses Kara? Yeah, no thanks. I wish Caden was a little softer, and not the absolute dick he was. I liked him but good God he was so annoying in the first 200 pages.
Hmm... what else? I felt like Avery's reason for stealing back the First Edition Chaucer was a little underwhelming. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't that? I guess it worked? But maybe I was expecting more of a significant motivation, it ended up feeling a bit flat, especially given how central the book was to the plot. Plus the fact that we don't get to know this information until 78% into the book, I felt like it should’ve carried more weight in the story, but it just didn’t hit the mark for me.
That being said, yes, the pacing, is the biggest issue—nothing significant happens for 70–80%+ of the book, and even when things do pick up, it barely moves the plot forward. Sure, there were some good moments between Kara and Caden, and their chemistry and banter were undeniable, I liked their push-and-pull dynamic and other interactions, but there was so much filler that it overshadowed the actual story.
And then there’s the ending… which was so underwhelming... literally more smut lol. Idk after all that buildup, it just ends the way it does.. smut last chapter and an epilogue???? What the heck was that epilogue? Confusing. A different male character, he had blue eyes and was hunting a girl with blonde hair at a Pandemonium (I'm assuming it's pandemonium)?
"“Hello, little bird.” My voice is a deep rumble as I rub my thumb over her too-full lips. I feel her shiver beneath my touch, her teeth digging into her bottom lip. The heated longing in her eyes tells me she wishes it was my teeth sinking into her flesh.
I wonder if Kara would appreciate my choice of pet name—it’s a tribute to her, after all. Her stupid fucking obsession with books, Jane Eyre in particular, was demented. She glorified the story of a girl who found her freedom and kept it at all costs. It’s a little ironic given her current choice of voluntary enslavement, but no one ever said women were smart. And it gives me untold joy that every little bird I take after this will be blood on her hands too."
WHO IS HE?
Didn’t feel satisfying.
I want to know how this ends but ugh do I really want to sit through another 500 pages? ehhhh
────── ✧ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ♡ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ✧ ──────
⊹ 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓮𝔁𝓹𝓮𝓬𝓽 ⊹
❥spanking turned abuse (literally)
❥touch her and die
❥captor x captive
❥he’s a Lord
❥ she’s a librarian
❥‘good girl’
❥‘you’re mine’
❥morally grey mmc
❥posessive mmc
❥hate to love
❥BDSM
❥dom/sub
❥forced prox
❥first person - dual pov
❥dark romance
❥enemies to lovers
❥beauty and the beast vibes
❥dark academia
❥touch her and d!e
❥sex dungeon in his personal library
❥Praise/Deg
❥light MFM
❥self love (M)
Thank you for the ARC, Willow♡
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