Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Hidden in the Shadows
SERIES: Beyond Desire
AUTHOR: Gwen Martin
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 262 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 31, 2020
BLURB:
A second chance at first love is exactly what these coffee shop coworkers need, but can they learn to trust in forever?
Three months ago, Jordan vanished. Gone. Leaving Ethan, his friend and sometimes more, devastated. Ethan thought they had something real, something more than simply friendship and working together at the same small coffeehouse.
But now Jordan’s back. And so is the pull he has over Ethan. He hates himself for still feeling the same sizzling attraction to Jordan, the same temptation, the same soul-deep passion that tells him that they’re so much more than friends.
But if they’re going to be anything more than coworkers with after-hours benefits, Jordan’s going to have to trust Ethan with the truth. And his heart. But even if he makes that leap, Ethan must find his own courage and take a risk on lasting love.
Hidden in the Shadows is the second book in the Beyond Desire series, but it stands alone well with a brand-new couple and no spoilers! This full-length second chance new adult romance stars two friends and contains all the steamy feels along with a guaranteed happy ending.
REVIEW:
Ethan is a barista at a coffee shop and he’s pining after his previous hook-up Jordan. Jordan is a co-worker who has ghosted Ethan after their previous hook-ups and just disappeared for three months. When he finally resurfaces, he seems to want to pick up again, but Ethan is still hurt. He wants more than sex, but he still really wants to know what the score is. In the meantime, he’s looking for a job that uses his degree in English. So far no luck, but he’s still looking.
Jordan has lost his grandmother and it’s thrown him. She was his biggest supporter and without her, he feels more pressure from his parents. His father in particular is not on board with music as a career. He’s worried about Jordan’s stability and his future. They have more clashes after his grandmother’s death and it’s frustrating for Jordan. He really wants to make music his career, but he’s got two other jobs as well.
As Jordan and Ethan grow closer, they are still dancing around what their relationship really is. They are spending a lot of time together – including nights – which they’ve not done with anyone else before. It’s obvious this is turning serious, but then Ethan gets an offer. But he’s scared to share it with Jordan and predictably you know how that’s going to end up. And pride goeth before the fall 😉 They both have a lot of soul-searching and growing up to do.
Well I wanted to like this one more than I did. I liked the second half of the book a lot more than the first half. for me, there was just too much angst, drama and internal emo stuff with both MCs, but particularly Ethan. I am under the impression that young folks are a lot more up front about things today, but Ethan definitely was not. Jordan is dealing with family stuff, so I understood his radio silence to a degree, but I didn’t understand why he couldn’t just tell Ethan that he had a death in the family and that he had a lot going on. I felt like both guys acted a bit more high school than college grad age. When they finally got over themselves – and that comes VERY late in the story – I finally felt like they were starting to grow up a little bit. The secondary characters in the story – particularly Ethan’s brother Zack and Jordan’s parents – were well-written. I totally understood Jordan’s parent’s perspective when it came to his music dreams. Zack is the epitome of the older wiser and supportive brother. Basically this is a case of poor communication and worry about what “might be” and not directly dealing with the situations in front of them which got really frustrating. Overall though, I still really like this writer’s style and I look forward to more stories from her. As usual, YMMV.
RATING: 
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