Hidden Barriers is book two in the Barriers Series and is considered a stand-alone and doesn't contain a cliffhanger. Some scenes do overlap with Frozen Barriers. It's suggested to read Frozen Barriers first, simply to understand the characters history more.
Josh & Sam's Story
Love has been hiding for too long. What happens when it reveals itself?
Josh Page, a Massachusetts State Trooper, wants nothing more than to put his first love behind him. His career is all he’s ever known for the last ten years. Seeing her is a constant reminder of what he could have had if he had not put his career first years ago.
Relationships and dating women have never been part of his lifestyle. He continues to have meaningless sex with women as an attempt to distance himself from his past. That is until he opens the door and a sassy roller derby girl stares back up at him.
*****
Samantha Daley’s past haunts her. After college, she spends years building a new life with new friends, roller derby, and a bustling business under her feet. Her past suddenly comes rushing back after just one phone call.
Afraid to love, she never imagines a life where one man can turn her world inside out and make her reevaluate what she wants in her future. Almost instantly, she’s attracted to the man in front of her. He pushes her trust to a new level and is willing to take a chance with her.
Will Sam be able to handle the reminders of her troubled past enough for her to be with Josh, or will it be Josh’s secrets that threaten to tear them apart in the end?
**For mature audiences. 18+. This book contains sexual and abusive situations, and strong language.**
JOSH
The feeling of sleeping in your own bed is comforting in and of itself. When you fall asleep in the arms of a beautiful woman, that’s peace. The moment you wake up next to the woman who’s quickly taking your heart in her hands, comfort and peace cease to exist. This is absolute euphoria.
I’ve been lying here watching her sleep for a while now. The sun has been slowly creeping its way into the room through her windows, illuminating the glass chandelier over her bed. Rainbow prisms dance against her walls as I gently push aside a stray hair, so I can just watch her sleep.
I already knew I was quickly falling for her, but after last night, I knew she was it for me. Yeah, true, we’ve only known each other for a short time, but when you know, you know. There is still so much about her that’s a mystery, but I could spend the rest of my days willing to find out.
Lying here, facing her, I push that pesky stray hair from her face again and wonder how it was that any man, let alone her ex-boyfriend, could ever want to hurt her. The heinous things he did sickens me. What could have run through his head to want to take her life? She’s the most angelic creature, and I have to wonder what could have been.
Where would I be now if Stone actually succeeded in killing her that night? My body tenses immediately at the idea of her not being here with me. Even now, I don’t have any power to help keep that asshole behind bars, but I’m definitely going to find out everything I can about the fucker, and I will protect Sam the best I can. If that means giving my life for her, then I’ll do it. If I already took an oath to serve and protect strangers, I will gladly put my life on the line for her.
SAM
I move away from Josh who continues to talk on his phone with my brother. I scuffle my heavy legs through the room over to the kitchen cabinet I need. Josh watches me with concern written all over his face, but I know there isn’t anything I can say to make him leave. If I thought not having space before this was bad, unless by some miracle they find Stone soon, there won’t be any way I can handle Josh’s overprotective nature for another week.
I pull open the cabinet and grab the bottle of Jack, foregoing the shot glass. I shut the cabinet door and twist the top off the squared bottle. As I bring the bottle to my mouth, the stinging smell hits me first before I tilt my head back and chug until I can’t take the burn anymore. I straighten my head, coughing as the burn wears off in my throat until I feel the warmth coat its way into my system. Only this isn’t what I need right now.
I stare at the bottle in my hand and start laughing hysterically before screaming at the top of my lungs. As I continue to scream and laugh, tears well in my eyes, but not before I catch sight of the girls rounding the corner to see what’s going on. Josh stands there, silently watching me mentally break down. Nick storms through the front door, most likely thinking the worst has happened, considering his hand is already on his holster ready to draw his gun. All of them think I’m losing my shit and quite possibly I am.
For three years I was safe and happy with my new life and friends. I had just found love and a future with a man who was willing to deal with all my bullshit, and in less than a few weeks, I’m back to where I was three years ago. Everything I worked so hard to overcome is disappearing in a flash.
4.5 stars
This was such a fantastic book from start to finish. We did get to meet some of these characters in the first book, Frozen Barriers. It is not essential to read that first, but you will understand more if you do so.
I loved that both Josh and Sam were trying to hide from their pasts. They both took different routes in doing so, vastly different, but the result is the same. No matter how far you go, you always bring your past with you. It is inescapable. It is your choice to let it keep you down or to do your best to rise above and truly live.
For years, both Josh and Sam let the past keep them hidden away. But a chance meeting, not once, but three times shows that fate has something else in store for them. Sam makes a choice to let Josh in and immediately they are faced with something from his past. They both decide to move forward together, however, there are others who refuse to let the past go. These people throw obstacles in front of Josh and Sam and try to get them to part, because they are easier targets alone. The twists and turns in this one kept me glued to the pages not knowing what would happen. Sara is really good at that. The ending was fantastic, to say the least. But I'm not blowing it for you. I loved getting to know the new characters and getting to know the previous characters better. I am hoping there are more books to come in the series.
"Live your Dreams, Follow your Heart"
Emily Cameron is America's newest figure skating star looking for her own personal identity. Her high profile life was never her dream, it was her parents.
Jeremy Page is a minor league hockey player who always imagined himself playing for the NHL.
A chance encounter has them crossing paths after several years apart. Which way will his heart lead him? Will Emily embrace his charm?
Just when things finally fall into place, an unexpected event occurs leaving Emily reevaluating everything in her life.
Can Emily escape from under her parent's intrusive ways and take a chance on love? Will Jeremy be able to break down the barriers that have held her back for so long?
Book 1 of the Barriers Series. This story does not have a cliffhanger. **Mature Subject matter. 18+ due to strong language and sexual situations**
A romance novel addict finds herself staying up well past her bedtime to see how the next story is going to end. Sara spends her days living on a vineyard in wine country with her husband and cat. Her family hailed from Italy where her ancestors lived in the mountains of Rocca di Cambio. A former Broadway star and champion skier whose career was cut short because of her passion for being a wine sommelier. It was on her way west where she met her husband, the President of a very influential MC in California. You can find her riding off through the vineyards on the back of a Harley almost every night.
Her passion for books has been viewed as borderline obsessive. But, when all you have is time and a bottle of wine awaiting you as the sun sets off the veranda writing became second nature.
In Vino Veritas
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