Sharon’s review ~ Things We Hide From The Light by Lucy Score

Things We Hide From The Light by Lucy Score
Published by Hodder & Stoughton on February 21, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / General, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Romance / Suspense
Pages: 592
Format: eBook, Kindle Unlimited, Paperback
Source: Kindle Unlimited
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THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED FOLLOW-UP TO TIKTOK SENSATION AND MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER THINGS WE NEVER GOT OVER

Police Chief Nash Morgan is known for two things: being a good guy and the way his uniform accentuates his rear end.

But two bullets put a dent in his Southern charm and now he's facing a criminal still on the loose and a town full of citizens that consider the law more of a 'guideline'. The last thing he needs is the leggy, smart-mouthed Lina Solavita moving in next door, making him feel things he doesn't have the energy to feel.

Lina is on a mission. As soon as she gets what she's after, she has no intention of sticking around. The town of Knockemout has other ideas. Soon she finds herself sucked into small-town life. Dog-sitting. Saying yes to a bridesmaid's dress. Listening to the sexy chief of police in the shower.

But when Nash discovers Lina's secret these friends become furious enemies - though the sparks flying between them don't know the difference between love and hate.

This book was classic Lucy Score; interesting characters, fun banter, emotion, friendship, and most of all love (of all kinds). I loved this very slow burn romance which was perfect for this couple and their situation. ~ Sharon – Simply Love Books

 

While I enjoyed the first book in the Knockemout series, I really loved this book. I felt it was better balanced, that the romance was on the front burner instead of the back burner, and most of all I truly liked both characters and felt we got to know them on a much deeper level than the two main characters in the first book.  This book was classic Lucy Score; interesting characters, fun banter, emotion, friendship, and most of all love (of all kinds). I loved this very slow burn romance which was perfect for this couple and their situation.

Nash Morgan, the good brother as he’s been called, and the chief of police has been hailed as a hero after being shot and surviving. However, Nash is hiding panic attacks, not being able to sleep, and simply feeling like he’s living in a fog. Not being able to remember the shooting and therefore not being able to ID the shooter despite it being assumed it was the man who kidnapped his brother’s girlfriend and her niece has left him feeling helpless. He’s been going through life but not living it until his brother’s long time friend Angelina (Lina, Angel) moves in next door and suddenly he realizes she gives him a sense of peace he hasn’t felt since before the shooting.

Angelina Solivita isn’t in town just to see her old friend Knox, but she isn’t about to tell anyone why she’s there even her nosey next door neighbor and chief of police, Nash. And while she can’t deny her attraction to him, she doesn’t expect his vulnerability when she realizes he’s having panic attacks and suffering from PTSD something she’s knows all too well.

I absolutely loved the way Ms. Score slowly unveiled these characters to us as they shared their pasts with one another, I felt like I really got to know them, what made them tick, why they acted the way they did, what motivated them, and why they didn’t share with those closest to them. I think this really set the tone for their relationship and while Lina did mess up by not telling Nash everything, I could also understand it.  While they were intimate (without sex) early on, and while they did share things, it took them a long time to move to lovers status which worked for them. The suspense angle was tied to events that happened in Things We Never Got Over and for that reason alone I don’t feel this book can be read as a standalone.

I loved seeing the characters from the last book and loved seeing Knox, Naomi, and Waylay (man I love that kid) becoming a family and planning a wedding. I was also happy to see that Knox and Nash seemed to be repairing their relationship more despite a couple of “brotherly” incidents.  Then there was Piper, the cute little mutt they saved from a drainage ditch and became a big part of their lives.

Well written, packed with emotion, a bit of suspense, and a really great love story; Things We Hide From The Light was an exceptional novel from Lucy Score.

Reviewer’s note:  After I wrote my review I read quite a few review on Goodreads about this book. I was kind of blown away by the amount of people who felt this book was too long, it’s easy to see that people gravitate towards the “fast food” books these days; quick, lacking character development, relationship development, and plot development instead of a “four course meal” book that contains all of that and more. I’m actually not a big fan of romantic suspense and for me Lucy Score gets in right in this book; the suspense was there but in the background; the book focused on the romance developing between the two main characters AND we actually got fully developed characters who slowly let us see their past, their fears, and their hopes for the future. What I loved most about the romantic suspense part of this book; the heroine was just as much of a bada$$ if not more than the men in this story.