Title: Hiding in Plain Sight
Series: A Camp H.O.W.L. Novel
Author: Bru Baker
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press/Dreamspun Beyond
Length: 256 Pages
Category: Paranormal
At a Glance: This is a sweet story of two best friends who figure out they’re in love and get together. I’m sorry to see the series end.
Reviewed By: Kel
Blurb: Happily ever after is right under their noses.
Harris has been keeping a big secret for years—his unrequited mate bond with his best friend, Jackson. He’s convinced himself that having Jackson in his life is enough. That, and his work at Camp H.O.W.L., keeps him going.
Things get complicated when Jackson applies for a high-ranking Tribunal job in New York City—far from Camp H.O.W.L. The position requires he relinquish all Pack bonds… and that’s when his wolf decides to choose a mate. Suddenly Jackson sees his best friend in a sizzling new light.
Their chemistry is through the roof, but they’re setting themselves up for broken hearts—and broken bonds—if Jackson can’t figure out a way to balance his career and the love that’s just been waiting for him to take notice.
Review: Hiding in Plain Sight is another book in the Camp H.O.W.L. series, and a nice way to end it. These books aren’t epic or anything like that, but they’re a nice way to spend a weekend, curled up with the cat or dog and just spending some time in another world. This time around we get Harris and Jackson’s story. Harris has known for a very long time that Jackson is his mate, but because they’re such good friends, he doesn’t want Jackson to know; he doesn’t want to ruin the friendship and make things awkward in case Jackson never realizes it.
Harris is a good person. He cares about the campers, making sure everyone’s doing okay, and that Jackson is happy, with or without him. It’s hard on him and you feel bad for him; it can’t be easy to love someone and know you’re meant to be together but not wanting to say anything because you want to give them the freedom to live their life. When he finds out Jackson is trying for an Enforcer job that would keep him from creating any bonds, he’s even more determined to not say anything even though it’s killing him to let Jackson go. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to hug Harris or smack him for not telling Jackson the truth and losing out on his true love. You really want them to get together.
Jackson on the other hand is clueless for most of the story. He’s so focused on his jobs and getting into the elite Enforcer job that he almost misses the way Harris has changed towards him. It slowly dawns on him that he wants more than just friendship with Harris, but that conflicts with his plans, and he’s lost as what to do about it. Does he give up on true love to take his dream job, or does he give up the dream job for Harris? It’s not an easy decision and you can see just how much it takes out of Jackson to try and decide. It doesn’t help that his other best friend and business partner, Jordan, eggs him on trying to get him to do what he sees as the right thing.
The romance between Harris and Jackson is sweet, and I really rooted for them to get their heads on straight and realize they needed to be together. While in the story the love comes on fast, it really doesn’t. They’ve been friends since they were kids, they know each other extremely well, and it feels like a natural progression to move on from friendship to love. When Jackson finally does figure out what he wants in life, you cheer for him and are happy that they both get to be happy together.
One of the things that I think the story ends up being weak in is the secondary story. I did like most of Candice’s story, the kidnapping, the rescue by Jackson, the interactions with the other campers, but at the same time it seemed too glossed over. I also wish the author hadn’t introduced other paranormal characters into the story so late in the game. I would’ve loved to have seen the wolflings or the camp staff interacting with selkies or fairies or any other paranormals over the course of the series, not have them introduced at the end of a book at the end of a series. There was so much more potential that could’ve been brought to the series that way. A rival camp of selkies or vampires or something that the wolves could have fun competing against. That would be amazing to see.
Even with those minor complaints, though, this is a sweet story of two best friends who figure out they’re in love and get together. I almost felt bad for Jackson when he made his final decision on what he wanted, but at the same time, I was glad for the two of them. I’m sorry to see this series end; I hope the author changes her mind, or maybe continues the series with a different camp or group of paranormals, but Hiding in Plain Sight was a nice way to end things.
You can buy Hiding in Plain Sight here:
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