Hidden (Forged by Magic Book 1) (2024)

Hidden is book 1 of the Forged by Magic series by M.P Starkweather.

Includes Multiple POV, Dystopian,sci fi romance with a smidge of PNR thrown in.

The year is 3127, earth is barely habitable and most people have either moved to other planets or live in one of the space stations. The space stations are named after different gods & goddesses and are divided in to different specialities. Not all of the inhabitants are human.

Calliope 127 holds the library and museums and is where our FMC Zoey works as the museum curator. She finds a glowing book that seems to call out for her to read it. At first glance the pages appear blank but when strange words appear before translating in to a message for Zoey she realises the book is communicating with her. Ian is a wizard responsible for unleashing magic and destroying the world, he needs Zoey to go on a quest to Earth and set the world right again.

I was excited to start this book, I mean a magical book talks to you and sends you on a quest, yes please! However once you get past the initial first few chapters things get a little meh, there is no concept of time - eg when Zoey meets Kyro who explains it will take 2 days to get to the Cave which is their first stop on the journey, Zoey later makes a comment about knowing him less than a month but when they meet Q she says it’s only been a couple of weeks then when Kyro kisses her she says she has known him less than a week…
There are also a few continuity errors especially relating to one of the characters Gill eg - after a fight with some banshee he heals Kyro and it puts him to sleep for a week. Gill mentions it’s inconvenience because he now can’t break in to Kyro’s library to find an invisibility spell. Next thing he states he knew Kyro would sleep for a week due to the spell but it can’t be both, he either planned it that way or he didn’t, it’s not quite clear which and there’s another when Gill searches Zoeys room for the book and doesn’t find it. He takes the decoy copy she gave to Q but when Kyro tracks the two decoy books the book they gave to Q is still in her room and the decoy book from Zoeys room is the one missing. It’s niggly little things that make you stop and think, I kept having to go back and re read to make sure I wasn’t missing things.

I would have put this as a Slow burn YA, however we don’t really see any meaningful connections being made on page between Zoey and Kyro besides the author telling us there is a spark and they have a connection. There is some heat in this book but it comes from what I considered at the time to be irrelevant characters, yes by the final chapter these two are slightly more involved in the story but it was abit random to read about one minor character and a completely unmentioned character hooking up, it felt like it was only added just so the book had some heat to it. I would have preferred to see something between Zoey and Kyro then Jack and Elena.

Overall I think the general concept of the book is brilliant however the fluff needs some fine tuning, the potential is there so hopefully book 2 will work out all the kinks.

I just love M.P. Starkweather's style of writing. Her characters are so real and you get sucked into the worlds she creates.
Hidden is a extremely intriguing tale of mystery and suspense.
Zoey is a half human, earning a living as an historian on a space station.
While trying to avoid marriage to her controlling, on again, off again boyfriend, she unwittingly uncovers a book which changes her life forever. Finding out you are the key to saving earth and magic kind proves to be a very dangerous and action packed turn of events.
This book does end on a cliff hanger, so strap yourself in and get ready for a fantastic adventure.
m-p-starkweather

Awesome story building and entertaining.

Very Entertaining

Hidden is book one in the Forged by Magic Series by MP Starkweather.

Hidden is a sci-fi, Dystopian Future romance novel with multiple points of view.

The story is set in the future, in the year 3127. Where you learn that Earth is mostly inhabitable and most have moved on to other planets or to space stations.

Calliope 127, otherwise known as Calliope is the home of our FMC, Zoey, who works as curator of the museum and the library. Zoey finds an old glowing book that practically begs for Zoey to read it. At first glance, the pages of the books appear blank, but when messages begin to appear using Zoey's real name, she realizes the book is trying to communicate with her.

Ian is the wizard responsible for unleashing magic and destroying the world. He uses the book to communicate with Zoey and he tells her that he needs her help to set the world right again.

I was super excited to start this book as sci-fi, Dystopian Future type books are one of my favorite generes. Also, who doesn't love a magical glowing book that sends you on a quest to save the world?

I was confused for a bit with the time jumps or the missing concepts of time, but all in all it is a great read and very entertaining that makes you not want to put it down.

It is a slow burn romance, and to me that's fine. I like the slow burn from time to time. Do not go into this book thinking it is full of smut, because it is not. But it is still a great read and perfect for those who love the Dystopian sci-fi books.