Things We Hide from the Light by Lucy Score

Synopsis

Nash Morgan was always known as the good Morgan brother, with a smile and a wink for everyone. But now, this chief of police is recovering from being shot and his Southern charm has been overshadowed by panic attacks and nightmares. He feels like a broody shell of the man he once was. Nash isn’t about to let anyone in his life know he’s struggling. But his new next-door neighbor, smart and sexy Lina, sees his shadows. As a rule, she’s not a fan of physical contact unless she initiates it, but for some reason Nash’s touch is different. He feels it too. The physical connection between them is incendiary, grounding him and making her wonder if exploring it is worth the risk.

Too bad Lina’s got secrets of her own, and if Nash finds out the real reason she’s in town, he’ll never forgive her. Besides, she doesn’t do relationships. Ever. A hot, short-term fling with a local cop? Absolutely. Sign her up. A relationship with a man who expects her to plant roots? No freaking way. Once she gets what she’s after, she has no intention of sticking around. But Knockemout has a way of getting under people’s skin. And once Nash decides to make Lina his, he’s not about to be dissuaded…even if it means facing the danger that nearly killed him.

Review

4,25 stars

We are back in small town Knockemout and this time, it’s Nash Morgan that we’ll follow.

This is part of an interconnected series and even if these books are technically standalones, it’s better to read them in order.

In the previous instalment, “Things We Never Got Over”, Nash Morgan, local sheriff of Knockemout had been shot. He woke up but had no recollection of that night’s events.

He who always had been the good guy, the charmer and the friendlier of  the Morgan brothers is now a shell of himself. He pretends everything is fine but in reality he is numb to everything and has panic attacks.

Enters Angelina “Lina” Solavita, his brother Knox’s ex temporary girlfriend. Lina is moving next door to Nash, in town for her job.

Their attraction is immediate but Nash is the marrying type whereas Lina is the “have a good time and leave them in the dust” kind of girl.

She is allergic to commitment.

Worse, Nash praises truth and honesty above everything else while Lina is hiding something that will have him furious once discovered.

Nash is hurting inside after his near-death experience but when he is in Lina’s presence, it’s like being alive again!

“Whenever you’re close, everything is better. The closer you are, the easier I breathe, the less I feel like life is a never-ending pour of lemon juice into an open wound that won’t heal. You take away the dark, the cold. And you remind me what it’s like to want to be here.”

He truly is a disarming character.

Very charming with a glorious bum he is the good boy of the town. Loyal, sexy, protective… he was a perfect hero.

But he isn’t only traumatized by the assassination attempt, he carries a truckload of baggage from his childhood! When his mom died, his father plunged into alcohol and drugs to survive.

Having Lina essential for him to feel again reminds him of his father’s addiction to go on with life.

Lina is a badass character who went through her share of trauma as well! She is decided not to be coddled and to live her life to the fullest, searching for adrenaline shots.

She won’t be intimidated by anyone, even Lucian “Lucifer”!

We met Lucian in “Things We Never Got Over” and know that he is a cold and intimidating man who has villains cowering in his presence, deep pockets and a vast intelligence net at his disposal. But as I said, Lina has “big girl panties” and I loved the scene where Lucian tried to manipulated Lina in leaving Nash alone!

“We stared each other down, willing the other to break first. These were the kinds of social situation I excelled in. Making small talk about girly things? Nope. But going head-to-head with a cagey man when there was important information on the line? This was my Olympics and I was a goddamn gold medalist.”

And further down that discussion she said to Lucian:” You’re like a little kid showing off the terrible finger painting you did at school expecting me to be impressed. If I hang it on the refrigerator, will you go away?”

I was all: “Bam! Take that Lucian!” even if I can’t wait for his book too LOL

Knockemout and his inhabitants have a way to sneak up on you and soon Lina will have friends to go drink with (Daisy and Sloane), have her behind handed out to her at the gym (the elderly Mrs Tweedy) and servers remembering her orders. Oh and let’s not forget a small girly dog saved by Nash himself.

Is she really certain she want to leave everything behind once her job is done?

This is a very good small-town romance with a swoon worthy hero, fierce female character and a dash of suspense as a killer is still out after Nash.

Thanks for reading.

Sophie