Publisher: Self
Publish Date: Out now
How I got this book: ARC from the author
Sexy fireman Chris Savoy has been closeted all his life. He’s a weretiger in Resurrection, and no shifters are more macho than that city’s. Due to a terrible tragedy in his past, Chris resigned himself to hiding what he is—a resolve that’s threatened the night he lays eyes on cute gay cop Tony Lupone.
Tony might be a wolf, but he wakes longings Chris finds difficult to deny. When a threat to the city throws these heroes together, not giving in seems impossible. Following their hearts, however, means risking everything . . .
This blurb came from the author’s website.
Holly’s latest installment in her Hidden series takes place around the events of Hidden Dragons so you really should read Hidden Dragons first. In the first Hidden Story, Hidden Talents, Tony was introduced. He had recently come out to his pack and his pack-mates were trying to adjust to their new normal. It was great to see that as events in the Hidden world progressed Tony was pretty much fully accepted by his pack-mates, and they did their best to keep him safe, sometimes to the extent of making him feel left out of the loop. He was also feeling left behind in other areas because one by one they were mating but he did not have any prospects for even a steady date.
Chris was introduced in Hidden Crimes as the beta of the weretiger pack. As a firefighter he almost died during a rescue attempt and it took the combined power of his alpha and a dominate member of the wolf pack, Adam, to ensure he healed properly. Usually the two species didn’t spend much time together but since the weretiger alpha mated Adam, the two will be in close proximity. This would be challenging enough but Holly included a few other elements; Chris is in the closet, there are some vocal homophobes in his crew, and Chris is seriously attracted to Tony.
This particular installment pulled out the angst. Chris was not only dealing with his overwhelming attraction to Tony but PTSD from his most recent near death episode and a tragedy from his adolescence. In addition he was facing rumblings of discontent within the crew. As Beta, Chris’ job was to enforce as well as support his alpha but he was reluctant to physically smack down the dissenters for fear of taking it too far or overreacting due to his orientation. So he kept trying to fix it verbally while having a few hidden extremely hot encounters with Tony. As intense and caring as those encounters were, they also really shattered Tony’s heart because Chris kept walking away and would not acknowledge their connection. Each time that happened I could see Tony crumble and wonder why Chris refused to at least keep in contact after their mind-blowing sexytimes. Chris was also torn between his attraction to Tony, knowing he wasn’t treating Tony as he should, and the worsening atmosphere within his crew.
I loved how Holly brought it all together and forced Chris and Tony to see what was important. Several key characters from Hidden Dragons were also crucial to the conclusion of this particular story. I can’t go into detail about the conclusion due to major spoilers for both stories but decisions were made, choices announced, happiness fought for, and the possibilities for an eventful life created.
In Hidden Passions Holly has again expanded her world and created memorable characters. I enjoyed how the events in this story took place around Hidden Dragons because it very effectively made the world seem three-dimensional with events happening while life continued instead of events occurring in a vacuum. Watching Chris and Tony struggle with their relationship and acceptance from those around them was really heart-wrenching. I also loved how patient and caring Chris was during their sexytimes. The first time **fans self** was amazing and sweet at the same time. I am eagerly anticipating Holly’s next installment.
I give Hidden Passions an A-
And my TBR list grows again….
I have really liked this series so far.
@LineJM: LOL yes Emma Holly is bad for the lists. I hope you enjoy it :).