Review: Buried (Hiding from Love #3) by Selena Laurence

Buried (Hiding from Love #3) by Selena Laurence

Publication Date: August 4, 2014
Page Count: 190
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:

Seven years ago, Juan Martinez lost everything—his only parent, his home, his life as he’d known it. Alone, lost, and desperate, he turned to the Reyes Hispanos—the RH—one of the most violent gangs in South Texas. But when you sell your soul to the devil, you pay a heavy price. Juan has served hard time, and now, out on parole, he wants to disappear—from the RH, from memories of all that he’s lost, and especially from the gorgeous woman who just showed up next door.

Beth Garcia grew up following after her older brother, David, and his best friend, Juan. She always dreamed of a day when she’d be old enough for Juan to look at her as someone other than David’s little sister. When she finds him living at the halfway house next door, she knows he’s still the same guy inside. But the path to absolution is dark, and even Beth may not be able to discover the real Juan.

Can a man with a damaged soul and a beautiful heart let a woman with fierce loyalty and unwavering love risk it all to save him? Or will his past bury them both this time?

Buried was my least favorite book in this series. I was actually really looking forward to reading it because the synopsis sounded so good. I thought I would like it more than I did. One of my biggest problems was the setting, which I didn't enjoy at all. It wasn't what I was expecting, so that kind of ruined the whole book for me.

Beth and Juan were okay characters, but I didn't find anything especially remarkable about either one. Oh, the insta-love. Gah. Beth and Juan hadn't spent more than a few moments together and they were already declaring their love and devotion to each other. Why didn't this work for me? Because the 'love' was leftover feelings from when they were younger, and it seemed more like nostalgia than actual feelings.

I really wasn't very impressed with the story either. I thought a lot of scenes were unrealistic and over the top. The violence that was portrayed felt forced just to prove the point of how dangerous Juan's life was. And Beth almost seemed too accepting of the violence.

Overall, this book was a big miss for me, but I did enjoy the rest of the series. I have to say that this author is new to me, and I did enjoy her writing, so I'll definitely have to check out some of her other works.

My rating: 2 stars