**Blog Tour ~ Hiding in Plain Sight ~ Kate Mathias**

Hi, y'all! Welcome to my second stop on the blog tour for Kate Mathias' novel, Hiding in Plain Sight. As you may recall, this is the second book in her Silver Oaks Series. Today I have reviews of both the first book, Worlds Apart, as well as Hiding in Plain Sight.   I'm also posting the giveaway again.

The third and final book of the Silver Oaks Series, Spitfire, is due Fall 2013.

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Review of Worlds Apart

Worlds Apart

by Kate Mathias

#1 Silver Oaks Series

Release Date: June 28, 2012

Synopsis

Piper Reynolds uncovers that she is not alone each time a crisis arises in her life, for in another parallel reality, an identical woman named Pip stands by to help her. Exploring Pip’s dimension, Piper soon realizes that although several aspects of their lives appear to be the same, small choices have significantly made their realities far different from one another.

As they both try to understand the dynamics of each other’s lives, things began to turn from fascinating to frightening as Piper faces her own death in a car accident, and at the same time, she discovers that her son has leukemia. On the other hand, Pip is confronted by her own dilemma as she becomes a target victim of a dangerous stalker who relentlessly threatens her safety. Together, the two women heroically join hands in trying to resolve each other’s crisis.

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**Tissue Alert**

Wow! What a  unique story! Worlds Apart is essentially the story about the colliding of two parallel realities. And it completely captivated me.

Worlds Apart has two main character couples in each of the realities, Piper and Joe AND Pip and Joe. For some reason, Piper and Pip are able to jump into each other's reality. The story chronicles their lives from the time Piper meets Joe. 

All the characters are richly defined and I ended up loving them. Piper/Pip and the Joe's feel like people you have known forever. They're very comfortable and real. And endure the same problems we all do. Watching them cope with the trials they experience was gripping and touching. There were times I triumphed with them and times I shed tears with them.

I think this story is well written and thoughtfully laid out. I was, at times, momentarily confused when there was a jump and therefore a switch in POV. But overall, this switch was done smoothly. There is quite a bit of tension and suspense. Both couples have experiences that kept my adrenaline pumping. It was very intense at times.

With the exception of the POV shifts confusing me on ocassion, and maybe that the jumping hasn't been explained yet, I really enjoyed Worlds Apart!

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Review of Hiding in Plain Sight

Hiding in Plain Sight

by Kate Mathias

#2 Silver Oaks Series

Release Date: 04/20/2013

Synopsis
Graham Reynolds has always taken on the role of the protector in his family. He’s a hard working DEA agent but he has a secret that he’s been keeping his whole life — he can jump to a parallel universe. It’s on one of these jumps that he faces an impossible dilemma. Will he make it in time to save his half sister from the wrath of a mad man? Will Graham be able to deal with the consequences of his actions? Lily Bennett is the girl next door that Graham remembers as the shy, quiet childhood friend. All grown up, Lily is now a powerful CFO of her family's business. Graham saved Lily once when they were children but now Lily may be the only one who can save Graham from his past. Will she be able to pull him out of his darkness and back to her or will he be forever hiding in plain sight?

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Holy smokes! Hiding in Plain Sight was quite the thrill ride. The action and suspense are definitely ratcheted up a few notches. I wasn't quite expecting that but it made for a sensational read! 

I don't want to give things away about the plot so I'm going to be intentionally vague about certain things. Just know that it all makes perfect sense when reading. : )

Hiding in Plain Sight continues Pip and Joe's story along with their daughter's, Palmer. It also follows Piper's Joe's life and that of their twins, Graham and Arie. However, for most of the book, the kids are grown up and it's their story.

I enjoyed watching Graham and Arie grow up. They were able to share their family's ability with their best friends' family and that made life a bit easier. Since Graham can jump, he's been able to visit Pip. I think this enabled him to grow up less affected by the tragedy his family endured. Arie is the most affected. She's grown into a more isolated and prickly woman. I got the feeling she pushes everyone away. 

Pip hasn't jumped to Piper's world much since Graham's health crisis ended. However, he's stayed close with Pip and her family since he could jump to them. Palmer has led a pretty stable life. She hasn't witnessed her mom jumping and only learns of the ability when Graham appears at a most opportune moment. Following that,  Palmer learns she can jump as well. And, even better, her first jump occurs in front of Cole, another jumper. However, there's a bit of mystery thrown in when Cole jumps to Arie and her dad seems to know Cole. And he wants to have nothing to do with him. Hmm...

Hiding in Plain Sight seems to center mostly on Graham. As I said, he was able to grow up around Pip's family and he's grown into a fine young man. He's in law enforcement and recently moved back to Silver Oaks with the DEA. It's nice to see him interacting again with his family and his childhood friends...particularly Lily! She really helps Graham stay positive when the negative in his life could bury him. Ah, the power of love. Making me feel how deeply Graham and Lily feel for one another is something Ms. Mathias excels at. 

I feel Hiding in Plain Sight is more exciting than Worlds Apart and since I was used to the jumping, it didn't pose any issues for me. Also, I really love all these characters! They're a tight-knit family despite the dual reality thing and I appreciate that. And the concept of the dual realities and being able to jump from one to the other is so unique. I feel like I am even more invested in these characters' lives. There is one more book in this series, Spitfire. I'm anxious to see how it all turns out.  

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About Kate:

Kate Mathias is former elementary teacher and real estate agent. She enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with her family. She lives in Arizona with her husband and three children.

Find Kate here:

Facebook

Goodreads

Find the books here:
Goodreads link for Hiding in Plain Sight

Goodreads link for Worlds Apart 

Amazon  link for Hiding in Plain Sight 

Amazon link for Worlds Apart

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Giveaway

Prizes: 

2 Signed Copies of Worlds Apart (Book One in the Silver Oak Series)

2 Signed Copies of Hiding in Plain Sight (Book Two in the Silver Oak Series)

$20.00 Amazon Gift Card

10 Pairs of ebook copies of Worlds Apart and Hiding in Plain Sight

a Rafflecopter giveaway