Hideaway by Penelope Douglas

Penelope Douglas is back again! Almost a year has past since the events of Corrupt, and Kai is most on edge with Damon still on the lose, he's doing everything to keep the group safe. When he tries to make a deal with the devil himself, Damons' father Gabriel, he never expected to run into Banks, the girl he couldn't get out of his mind from six years ago. But Banks has a secret, and she is stuck in a hard position.

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BANKS

Buried in the shadows of the city, there’s a hotel called The Pope. Ailing, empty, and dark—it sits abandoned and surrounded by a forgotten mystery.

But you think it’s true, don’t you, Kai Mori? The story about the hidden twelfth floor. The mystery of the dark guest who never checked in and never checks out. You think I can help you find that secret hideaway and get to him, don’t you?

You and your friends can try to scare me. You can try to push me. Because even though I struggle to hide everything I feel when you look at me—and have ever since I was a girl—I think maybe what you seek is so much closer than you’ll ever realize.

I will never betray him.

So sit tight.

On Devil’s Night, the hunt will be coming to you.

KAI

You have no idea what I seek, Little One. You don’t know what I had to become to survive three years in prison for a crime I would gladly commit again.

No one can know what I’ve turned into.

I want that hotel, I want to find him, and I want this over.

I want my life back.

But the more I’m around you, the more I realize this new me is exactly who I was meant to be.

So come on, kid. Don’t chicken out. My house is on the hill. So many ways in, and good luck finding your way out.

I’ve seen your hideaway. Time to see mine.

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Hideaway is ex-convict, real estate investor and martial art instructor Kai Genato Mori story. Story takes us back to when Kai and his friends ruled their high school as the “Four Horsemen”. Girls pined after them, boys wanted to be them while the parents in their upscale community looked on, letting them run wild… until something went horribly wrong…  Fast forward seven years and Kai is still recovering from his time in prison. He has isolated himself from the world. Running into the enigmatic tomboy Banks stirs up memories. In an unfolding mystery Kai decides she might hold answers, but he did not count on her holding the key to his heart.

"Open your shirt for me, little one. Let’s see if I like what I’m getting for my trouble.” 

Kai is in for a shock when he learns, that the women working against Kai and his friends, and making his life more difficult in finding Damon, is none other than the girl he could never seem to forget. One Devil's Night, long ago, Banks, pushed back, ran from and played Kai's games. And now she's here watching his every move, and getting in his way. He'll have to be faster, smarter, and soon he'll be chasing after her once again.

“There are just some things that are more exciting when they’re a secret.” 

The want, the need. All the fighting, the sex, the need of being together, yet their different worlds trying to keep them apart. Makes for one passionate and unforgettable romance. I could not get enough of Banks and Kai's back and forth chase. Kai wasn't as intense as I thought he would be but I really liked his character. He could be a huge asshole at time, well most time, but that's actually one of the things that drew me to him. He seemed different with Banks, even when he was still being a jerk, it was just somehow better with Banks.   The book as a whole had me intrigued from the start and I wasn't disappointed with it at all. I'm actually really nervous to see what could possibly happen in the next book but I'm dying to find out.

“People will think what they want to think, not because they believe they are right, but because it’s in their nature to maintain that they are. By defending yourself, you feed the appetite for drama. By not, you’ve ended the conversation. You. Not them” 

Rating: ★★★★☆
Overall, Penelope Douglas weaves this story in Hideaway that feels like a darkish angsty new adult and romantic suspense hybrid. She does so much world building even though this a world we are mostly familiar with from book one. As I was reading I kept visualizing the characters in anime form. She pushes boundaries. She gives us a push and pull romance that feels so passionate at times it's mind blowing. She answers so many questions that I know we all had, but still gives us even more by the end!

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Corrupt (Review)