A review by jkreads
Hidden Roots by Clio Evans

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I’ve been loving romantic suspense lately and it was the first book in this series (Broken Beginnings) that got me into it in the first place. I still haven’t written my review of Broken Beginnings but it was an absolutely bonkers good time in the same way that the Pretty Little Liars TV series was.

Hidden Roots followed Emma and Hunter, and from their very first interaction over the phone in Broken Beginnings it was very obvious they’d end up a couple, and it was always going to be fiery! If you’re into banter and “enemies to lovers” (I say it that way because Hunter was clearly simping for Emma from the jump) then you’ll probably love this one. Without posting any spoilers I will say that this book surprised me with how hard some of the more emotional scenes hit me - I was just here for an unhinged good time but I got so much more than that!

This book was high on the spice, so be aware of that going in! One thing I love about Clio Evans as an author is that she is very upfront about trigger warnings in her books, and includes a list at the start. The list details specific sexual acts (many will just say ‘sex scenes’) which I think is great because some may be confronting, off-putting or triggering for people and it’s great they can make an informed choice about whether they want to read it or not!

The trigger warnings list was as follows (this is literally verbatim from the author’s note):
  • Parental death
  •  Animal injured (no animal death)
  •  Stalking
  •  Coping with grief
  •  Assault
  •  Gun violence
  •  Stabbing
  •  Kidnapping
  •  Discussions of difficulty getting pregnant
  •  Detailed sex scenes including: shibari, spanking, pegging, dub-con voyeurism, breeding kink, use of sex toys, role playing, anal, rimming, and more.

If you’re a romantic suspense fan, or a Clio Evans fan, I definitely recommend this! I’m sad this series is over and I hope Clio writes some similar books in the future 🩷
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