Review: Concealed (Hiding from Love, #2) by Selena Laurence

Concealed (Hiding from Love #2) by Selena Laurence

Publication Date: December 14, 2013
Page Count: 254
Published by: C.P. Writes, LLC
Source: Purchased

**Due to sexual content, language and violence, this book is only suitable for ages 18 and up**

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Two years ago, Gabe Thompson stood in the desert of Afghanistan and watched the love of his life drive away. When his tour of duty ended six months later, she wasn’t waiting. Now Gabe’s ready to go after the one thing his life is missing – the woman he’s never been able to forget.

Twenty-year-old Alexis Garcia rues the day she decided to volunteer for a UN mission to Afghanistan. The sexy, exasperating soldier she met there nearly destroyed her carefully constructed life with the boy next door. She’s spent two years trying to forget Gabe, working to show her parents and her boyfriend that she knows where she belongs.

But when Gabe shows up at Alexis’s door, complete with tattoos, a Harley and enough attitude to start another war, everything she’s tried to conceal could be exposed, starting with her heart.

Concealed was definitely my favorite book in this series. I was looking forward to reading Gabe and Alexis's story and I enjoyed the way it all played out. Gabe was so darn likable that I wanted him to get the girl and his HEA.

This story picks up 2 years after the events in Camouflaged. While in Hawaii with Nick and Lyndsey (in book #1 of this series, Hidden) Gabe finally realized that his love for Alexis wasn't going away, and he decided to man up and go to Texas to get answers from Alexis.

Gabe loved Alexis for years, even though they were apart, and he wasn't afraid to let her and everyone else know how much she meant to him. I loved that he was so open and up front about his feelings. Although at times he does act a bit impulsive and immature in his actions, he knew what he wanted and he wasn't afraid to go after it. I really felt bad for Gabe because he kept putting his feelings out there for her, and she continuously rejected him and stomped all over his heart.

I tried really hard not to dislike Alexis. The way she blew off Gabe and wouldn't respond to his messages was really harsh. She was pretty heartless and Gabe really took it hard. So when Gabe shows up after 2 years to demand answers from her, I was hoping she had good reasons for causing him such heartache.

Alexis worked really hard at pushing Gabe away, even though deep down she wanted a relationship with him. Her family and friends approve of her long term relationship with Marco, and she's so intent on pleasing her family that she is not willing to take a chance on finding happiness with Gabe. I hated that she was so weak and willing to be unhappy just to please her family.

About halfway through the book, Gabe and Alexis's roles were reversed and Alexis was the one that was being rejected. She realized that she hurt Gabe so much that he might not be willing to give her another chance. I loved that both characters had to fight for what they wanted, and it made me root for them to get together and be happy.

There were some very real issues dealt with in this story, like Gabe finding his own identity and Alexis dealing with family expectations. There was also quite a bit of angst and emotional turmoil, but I loved every second of it!

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For the 2 days that I was reading Concealed, this song kept popping up everywhere. I started to think of it as the theme song for the book. I have to include it here in my review because there is a scene in the book that this song reminds me of.