Quick Summary:
Things We Hide From The Light by Lucy Score is her second installment of the Knockmeout series. This book follows the events that occurred at the end of Things We Never Got Over (the first book in the series – check out my review here!) from the perspective of Nash Morgan and Lina Solavita.
Nash Morgan, Knox’s brother and Chief of Police in Knockmeout is still trying to recover from getting shot. After that horrific night, Nash is left with the traumatic emotional and mental aftermath that come from almost dying. In typical Morgan boys fashion, Nash is struggling to deal with his deteriorating mental health on his own and starts to believe he’ll never feel anything other than depression and despair again.
Lina Solavita, who arrived in Knockmeout to say hello to her old college ex Knox, ended up getting involved in the events that occurred in Things We Never Got Over. She decides to stick around for a bit – without divulging the real reason she’s in town. She has everyone believe she’s in insurance – and she is – but not in the way everyone thinks. After spending a few days at the disgusting motel, Knox puts her up in the empty apartment in the building he owns, making Lina Nash’s new next door neighbor.
Plot Overview:
The chemistry between Lina and Nash is felt by both of them almost immediately. However, neither of them are willing to admit anything. Lina swears Nash isn’t her type and Nash doesn’t think he deserves her so he doesn’t even try. That, and Knox forbade him from trying to go after her, though Nash isn’t one to listen to Knox. He and Lina spend more time bickering than anything whenever they see each other, and both of them are hiding their secrets. Their friendship, or lack thereof up until this point, changes when Lina finds Nash going through a panic attack in their building. She takes it upon herself to guide Nash back to his apartment and help him come back down from his attack. Nash asks Lina to stay the night, and she does, but things between them get a little more complicated from then on.
As the story progresses, Nash and Lina get closer, much to her chagrin, where their friendship begins to blossom into a real relationship. Lina isn’t exactly the relationship type, and after swearing Nash wasn’t her type, she found herself falling for him but wouldn’t even admit it to herself. In trying to help Nash recover, Lina is forced to reveal why she’s really in town, throwing a wrench in her and Nash’s blossoming relationship. However, as the search for Hugo continues, Nash, Lina, and the rest of the Knockmeout regulars (Knox, Lucian, Naomi and even Waylay) band together to try and find him before his henchmen come back and finish what they started.
Common Themes + Opinions:
Based on the title, anyone can guess that the theme between Nash and Lina is secrets. Nash is hiding his depression and mental health struggles from everyone, while Lina is hiding her own health problems and the real reason she’s in town that’s seemingly connected to the Hugo case.
For Nash, he is struggling with dealing with his mental health but is making progress, thanks to Lina being around, but he’s not yet on the path to full recovery. The night he got shot is a mystery to him though he still has panic attacks plus flashbacks to the night but can’t explicitly remember anything. As the Chief of Police, Nash has to look and be a certain way – stoic, strong, a fearless leader. He feels like he’s not any of those things anymore and that in being honest about what he’s going through, that makes him weak and not fit to be Chief. So he tries to appear unaffected while the depression eats at him. Once he realizes Lina’s effect on him, he wants her around more. They clash, however, because of Lina’s fear of vulnerability and Nash’s distaste for dishonesty.
For Lina, her health problems became severe as a teen, causing overbearing surveillance from her parents, countless doctors appointments and hospital visits, and the loss of normalcy during her teen years. This drove her to seek out independence, as a way to prove she was okay and was self sufficient and didn’t need anyone to treat her otherwise. Adding to this, her job has been a secret to her parents, given that there’s so much danger and risk, to not worry them. So not only was she lying to the folks in Knockmeout, she was lying to her family as well.
While independence in theory isn’t necessarily the worst thing, it also closed Lina off from vulnerability, out of fear that she’d lose the life she carefully created. Now that she’s got feelings for Nash, she’s confused and unsure how to handle it because she thinks getting into a relationship is tying herself down away from the independence she’s cultivated this whole time when in reality, it’s bringing out the fear of vulnerability and softness that she’s been purposely avoiding all this time as a protective measure.
Final Thoughts + Ratings:
Overall, I was anticipating Things We Hide From The Light after finishing Things We Never Got Over as I loved Knox and Naomi’s story and was hoping for a repeat here. While I did enjoy Nash and Lina’s story, it didn’t quite hit the same as Knox/Naomi. Since I read the first book, the events that happen towards the end of this one weren’t much of a shock, as it was kind of a repeat of what happened to Naomi and Waylay. However, I was surprised to learn who really shot Nash that night. I also knew these two would get together from reading the epilogue in the first book 😬. Word of advice for those patiently waiting for the final installment of the Knockmeout series (Lucian’s story! Finally!): don’t read the epilogues in this book as they might spoil what’s to come.
All in all, I give Things We Hide From The Light four stars for the story, the continuity from the first book, and the steamy scenes between Nash and Lina.
Have you read Things We Hide From The Light? Let me know in the comments!
4/5
