Review: Just keep getting better
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 28, 2014
I received a copy of this book (along with the other books in this series so far) from the author in exchange for honest reviews.This is the third book in the Hiding From Love series and the continuation of Gabe and Alexis' story from their time in Afghanistan (Camouflaged, book 0.5 in this series).What a confusing and beautiful couple these two make! Sometimes love isn't always enough to make a life together. You also need your partner to choose you, to choose to live your life together. There has to be that overriding desire, that want and need to have you there beside them at all times. There has to be that knowledge that the good, the bad and the ugly become easier to handle when there are two hearts holding on to things and each other and holding things together.It is so hard to reconcile the young, brash, opinionated, headstrong, passionate Alexis that we met in Camouflaged with the quiet, do as she is told, don't make waves Alexis that we meet at the beginning of Concealed. It doesn't take long, about 15 seconds in Gabe's company, for the passionate Alexis to come to the forefront and meet Gabe's deliberate crudeness and hardness head on. Before she even realizes it, he has started to break into the box where she put her heart, her passion and her confusing feelings for him. And through this wonderfully written, heart-rending, emotional roller coaster of a book we watch Alexis figure out who she is, the woman she wants to be and cheer her on as she struggles to become that woman and person she truly wants to be.Gabe is Gabe and thankfully some things will never change! While he certainly learned that love is real and worth fighting for by watching Nick and Lyndsey in Hawaii, he also slowly learned about himself. Once he really looked at the man he was there, he realized he wasn't where or who he wanted to be. He stopped hiding from the hurt, confusion and sorrow he felt when he realized that Alexis, "his Alexis", was not going to be waiting for him when he made it home from Afghanistan . He finally decided to man up and go get himself some answers. Real answers. Face to face, you can't ignore me anymore answers and boy was he surprised by some of them!Watching Gabe learn who "his Alexis" really was, learning about her family and her culture and her passions was so much fun and so eye-opening! At the same time, watching Gabe as he learned to make himself comfortable with Ramon and the shop and, for the first time ever, become part of a family was so sweet. Again, this book was so well-written that even the hard times, the times when your heart broke as a door was closed and you desperately hoped it would be opened again, you were cheering for Gabe to find his place in Alexis' life and her heart and for them to reveal and really trust in their love for each other.