Hidden Love: Krista's and Theo's story

by Joni Martins

This is the third book in my Friends, Family and Love series. It is best to read the other books first ('Captive Love' and 'Freed Love', both of which are available on Amazon. In this book we see Krista's and Theo's story and how their love started.

Initially they hid their love from friends and family, but at a surprise birthday party for her brother Rob, their relationship is outed by a 6 year old. Will their love survive now it is out in the open? Or will it fizzle and die under the pressure that family and friends put on them?

350 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 28, 2018

About the author

Joni Martins was born in the Netherlands and now lives in the United Kingdom with her family. She is in her fifties and she has so far written and published five books in her ‘Friends, family and love’ series. Four are available in both English and Dutch, the last one only in English. The first book, Captive Love, was published in December 2017.

Joni has always loved writing, but only seriously took up this hobby during her year of retirement. She is now working again and her writing has subsequently taken a bit of a backseat.

Joni is working on the sixth book in the series, and also is editing a supernatural romantic murder mystery.

Diary of a Female GP is a non-fiction book based on real-life General Practice in the UK and started as a NaNoWriMo project in November 2018. It was published on the 15th of August 2020.

Meet up with Joni on her blog (https://jonimartinsauthor.blogspot.co...) and website (https://sites.google.com/view/jonimar...), on Twitter (@JoniMartins3), Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. She would be happy to meet you there. The latest developments regarding her work can also be found there.

Reviews

[Katherine Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an emotional continuation of a beautiful series that I’m really enjoying. I’ve read the first three books now, and it was great to meet up with the guys and see how they’re all doing. The book feels like that. It’s like meeting up with a crowd of friends for dinner and cocktails. This author’s style is known for its sensitivity and family values, even within the multi-POV friendship group.

The kidnapping is behind them all, and life goes on, but outside pressure is coming. Krista is awkward, and Theo is struggling with their building relationship, so they keep it a secret. The pressure of keeping it under wraps builds believable tension, and the emotional fallout is well handled. I loved that Dad worked for his son, as it resonated with me because I’m also an employee working in my son’s company and have had to navigate being Mum at home, and one of the staff at work.

Their love is tested by doubt. They are all influenced by each other and those closest to them. Theo makes the stakes personal, and old characters raise their heads again in this book. The story works perfectly well as a standalone, but reading the books in sequence makes the developing drama more satisfying. It’s a heartfelt character-driven romance about love and finding the courage to stand up for what you want. And it’s all packaged by Martin’s beautiful way of looking at life and relationships. And we end on a cliffhanger to take us into the next one. Can’t wait.

[Tracey Gerrard · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story.
Hidden Love is a sweet romance story and the 3rd instalment of this series. It’s told from multiple points of view, which works well for this novel.
The story surrounds Krista and Theo and the build up of their relationship as well as their thoughts and opinions on Lydia and Rob’s relationship from Freed Love.
Throughout this story, we are kept entertained from various friends, family and work colleagues as their conflicting interests into Theo And Krista’s relationship cause tension.
The author has done a good job at creating some interesting characters and an enjoyable story.

[Marcia Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hidden Love is the third book in this series by Joni Martin, and like the others, it is told from multiple points of view, and I think this works well. The first two books concentrated on Rob and Lydia and how their love for each other developed, but this time the story is about the relationship between Rob’s sister, Krista, and Theo. The two of them conspired to get Rob and Lydia together, but then realised they had feelings for each other. They decide to keep their relationship hidden until they are sure it is the real thing, but, of course, as always, their secret is discovered. The book has interesting, well-developed characters and is an intriguing romance - an enjoyable read.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice romance

This is the third book I’ve read in this series and it’s been my favourite so far. Theo and Krista are so interested in what is happening between their friends that they don’t notice things starting to happen between themselves, too. The build up of romance between them was lovely to watch and the secrecy kept it exciting. Secrets don’t stay hidden forever, and it seems everyone wants to push their own opinions on Theo and Krista about their relationship.

[Tamara Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good writer

This isn’t generally the type of book I read but I found the story line intriguing and the relationship conflict interesting. She is good writer and I gave her a thumbs up.