“I wasn’t ready for this. Hannah deserved a man who was whole, not a broken shell. But I couldn’t resist her. Couldn’t resist this. It felt too good.And would that be so bad? To have something that felt good for once?”Leo Miles came home broken—wounded and scarred. It’s been five years, and he hasn’t left his family’s land. Not once. It’s not much of a life, but the way he looks now, he prefers … way he looks now, he prefers to stay hidden.
His only reprieve is her voice. He puts on his headset, logs in to his game, and she’s there. They talk while they play, sharing everything but personal details. She’s his best friend—his happy place—even though he doesn’t know her real name.
Until one day, he hears a voice he recognizes.
Meeting Hannah Tate in person rocks the reclusive Leo’s world. And discovering she’s in trouble—serious trouble—changes everything.
Hannah is Leo’s every fantasy come true. And the badass gamer girl is determined to break through his defenses. But between the mess that is his life, and the threats to his family’s safety, he can’t be anyone’s hero. Least of all hers.
But maybe they both need saving.
Author’s note: A wounded hero who’ll squeeze your heart. A girl in trouble. And the family who won’t let either of them down.
The Miles Family is best enjoyed in order.
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I’m a sucker for a broken hero!
One of my top novels for 2019. Ten stars
Oh my heart!
This book was so much more than I expected. More emotional, funnier, sexier.
Leo is a brooding, wounded bear doing all he can to protect those he loves. His story gave me shivers, I felt his pain and anxiety so keenly. Leo Miles is one of the best written characters I’ve ever read. This book was flawless, I loved every word!
What a way to finish the amazing series! Leo’s and Hannah’s story is about taking the broken pieces and putting them back together. My heart broke for both characters, but Claire Kingsley has put it back together masterfully in this tale of overcoming fears and learning to trust again.
Leo, aka Iron Badger and Hannah, aka Gigz have been online gamer friends for years, not knowing each other’s real identity, until a chance meeting where Leo recognizes Hannah’s voice and sees her for the first time. He remains anonymous until Hannah’s escape from her abusive relationship finally brings them together face to face for the first time.
From there we watch their love for each other develop as they battle the demons from their past, especially Leo – his physical and emotional scars left after his military career ending injury. As we witness Leo’s and Hannah’s relationship grow, we also visit with all the beloved characters at Salishan Cellars. Woven into this love story is also the suspenseful element of the dangerous fall out of their father’s illegal activities and double life. His criminal connections become a real threat to the entire family he so carelessly and cruelly betrayed.
Not only is Hidden Miles beautiful and sexy romantic read, it is a phenomenal and complex tale of survival, love, overcoming personal fears, dealing with family secrets resulting in imminent danger and ultimately putting the broken pieces together in this epic finale of the beloved Miles family saga.
A DEFINITE MUST READ!!!
A scarred ex-military man with PTSD and prefers to work hidden at home rather than face strangers… put it all together and you have the perfect mystery character. This is Leo Miles.
As soon as I started reading the first book in the series and I discovered these characteristics of Leo, I wanted to read his story.
Oh, you fall in love with one of the family members – especially the cheerful Cooper – but Leo’s wounds attract female readers.
The way he got all the scars, I’ll let you read and find out (emotional plot moment), but the way he starts to blossom comes through a fellow online gamer.
Gigz and Iron Badger, that’s how Miles and Hannah Tate knew each other when they played online. They had never seen each other but the game allowed them to talk.
So, at a wedding party that took place at the family winery, Leo was able to identify Gigz by her voice.
Hannah had been forced into the wedding party of her boyfriend’s cousin – an abusive cop she was planning to break up with.
At the party, in that beautiful place, she feels attracted to a man with long hair and a beard, who was trying to hide his scars.
From a distance, Leo can tell from body language that Hannah/Gigz wasn’t comfortable with the guy next to her.
From that day on, Leo was elated to want to play with her again. After all, he now had a face in mind to play with. But Gigz disappeared for several days.
Jace, her boyfriend, had changed shifts and when he was at home, he didn’t like her playing online.
For several weeks she had been sleeping on the couch and Jace was already losing patience, wanting her to go back to their room.
In a more serious fight, the neighbors call the police, and Hannah takes the opportunity to flee when Jace is taken by his partner.
With nowhere to go, she decides to go for a walk in that winery where she had felt so good, and there, not only is she welcomed, but she discovers Badger’s identity.
In the days that follow, the attraction they feel for each other is notorious, but Leo didn’t feel comfortable opening his heart, especially since his scars were big and ugly. One side of his body was bruised all over, and his long hair helped to hide the ear he had lost in the bomb explosion. How could he get naked in front of her?
Even though they didn’t have complete intimacy, the romance begins, and when Hannah returns home to get her things, tragedy strikes… and she ends up in the hospital.
Since he got back from the hospital, Leo had never left his mother’s land. Upon learning that Hannah was hurt, he immediately decides to go there (oh my, this scene is sad and beautiful at the same time!)
Leo would put Hannah under his protective wing.
Hannah would need to get rid of her violent ex-boyfriend once and for all, and Leo would need to learn that love can see beyond beauty.
This is that kind of book you hold your breath a few times, and get emotional and happy a few other. Each had a type of scar/fear to overcome.
5 stars
My favorite book in the series. It’s everything I want in a book like this, a broken vet and a woman that’s looking to escape a bad relationship. Hannah and Leo are my relationship goalle, excellent story.
Online becomes real
We are back to Echo Creek Washington for the next Miles brother story. Leo Miles is back home after an IED explosion almost took his life while on duty overseas. He has locked himself away on his family’s property ashamed of how his burns scare those he encounters. His outlet to cope has become the virtual world of computer gaming where all he shares is his handle of Badger, and his voice over the headset. Hannah known only to Leo by the gaming handle he has given her of Gigz has also escaped the hell of her personal life in the online world. The two enjoy taking on the virtual villains together until Hannah gets the courage to flee her abusive boyfriend. When she and Leo meet in person. she slowly draws Leo out of his shell and into the world beyond the gates of Salishan Cellars. Things get tense when the twin threats of Hannah’s ex stalking her, and Leo’s quest to bring down his father both come to a head and have to be faced in the real world.
What an amazing and emotional love story
Leo has not left his family property since he came back from being injured while serving in the military.
Locks himself in his cabin playing games.
He has a friend on there by the name of Hanna (Gigz) and he has fallen in love with her.
They see each other from afar at a wedding being held on winery.
Hannahs boyfriend is an a$$ and she ends up in the hospital and the only one she can rely on is Leo.
But what she does not count on is the entire Miles family to stand beside her and are there for her whenever she needs them.
This had to be the emotional and loving book I have ever read.
This is Book 4 and it is the Leo story. Since a military action left him terribly scarred, he has become sort of a hermit; doesn’t want anyone to really see him and is facial scars; and, he lives alone in his house filled with technology and surveillance equipment. That’s his job for the family winery. This story has many twists, lots of action and several family situations from page one to The End. Although this book is listed as a romance, it does contain erotic scenes. Also, there is wide use of F-bombs which in some areas was so obsessive it took away from the great writing by this author. I’ll admit I passed a few pages of over-the-top activities and language as it can become tiresome. I’ve read this series and enjoyed each life depicted. Now I see Book 5 has Ben and he being a gentle-man, should be great reading.
Reading the series in order creates a lot of anticipation for Leo’s story. In fact, I usually avoid romances about characters with PTSD because it either overwhelms the entire story or it’s swept under the rug with a simple “love cures all” explanation. But neither happened here and I gobbled it all up.
Absolutely recommend this book and this series. Start at the beginning and enjoy!
I cannot even tell you how much I loved this book. I’ve wanted to read Leo’s book since I read Broken Miles, but I made myself read them in order, and it was worth the wait. Leo Miles is protective and sad and I adore him. Hannah is cool, too. But seriously, Leo. He has a couple of dick-ish moments, but in the circumstances, you can understand why, and he’s just one of those heroes who breaks your heart.
Hidden Miles is quite remarkable. A man so scarred physically and emotionally that he’s become almost a recluse even to his family. His only real friend outside the Miles clan is a fellow gamer named Gigz. For the last three plus years their friendship has developed giving Leo the anonymity from the outside world he craved and a measure of familiarity that soothes him. Hannah “Gigz” Tate has one solid thing in her life, a game named Badger. Little does she know that this man will be her rescuer and savior not once but twice. Hannah accomplishes what his family and his therapists have been 7unable to do. She gets Leo to start living again and in the process they fall in love.
I am just going to say it: Leo Miles is my favorite. Yes, I still love Cooper, but I really loved Leo. He is a broody, wounded man who is struggling to find his new normal. He needed a heroine like Hannah, and fate put them together. They were friends first, online in a way that Leo could be without fear or shame, and then drawn together in person through circumstances. Leo is broken, and Hannah recognizes something in him because she is a little broken too. She is a survivor, but she has to get to that point after some events which may be triggers for those who have experienced domestic violence. I appreciated how she was written in a realistic way. Leo’s protective instincts are powerful and he conquers some of his fears and is brave to protect Hannah. The winery dram a comes to a head in this book and Leo plays a big part in making sure that his whole family is protected. I love how his brothers and his mom support him as he faces fears and comes out of his shell. I loved how Hannah both encourages him and pushes him a little to get him to grow. I loved everything about this!
I’ve always had a soft spot for Leo Miles. And this book only confirmed why. Though he doesn’t leave his family’s land for many years due to PTSD, Leo is always there for his family and now it’s time for him to be there for his friend Hannah who he’s been gaming with for years! When they finally meet face to face (even though they don’t know each other yet) you can feel the pull between them. This book will make you cry, the love of family, the love of the Mile’s people always helping others. Just another book family I would love to be adopted into! Beautifully written, and there’s of course some Cooper shenanigans in here that will have you laughing.
Ahhhh, Leo Miles. When I thought I could not possibly like a Miles boy more than Cooper, here’s Leo. He’s playing an MMORPG…do you have any idea how often you read about a romance hero playing an MMORPG? NEVER! Oh, they play video games, FPS (First Person Shooters), like Call of Duty or some other game played on a console. But Leo and Hannah have met in an MMORPG (Massive Multi Online Role-Playing Game). These are large environments where characters interact in-game in quests, dungeons, and raids. These games require time. And Leo has time. Lots of time. Badger and Gigz meet and build a relationship for years in the game. That is the beginning.
This story is the continuation of the Miles Family series, and it is so perfect. There are the ongoing storylines that began with Broken Miles and continue through the series. We see deepening relationships in characters from the series, which I love, it’s like keeping up with old friends. We get a couple of proper doses of Cooper and Chase. In essence, bromance of the century, learn about emotional jumper cables and get to know Leo (who has been sort of fringy and shadowy previously). Oh, and the romance, let’s not forget the love, bonfires (really BIG BONFIRES), guy care packages, and t-shirts.
Claire not only writes a heckuva good love story, but she imbues them with humor, the heart feels that make your eyes leak, unforgettable characters, and a desire just to find more of her books to read. People, believe me, READ. THIS. SERIES.
Hidden Miles is book four of the Miles Family series and focuses on Leo and Hannah. Leo is the one in the background of all of the other books… the one you want to know more about because he sounds intriguing. When I finally got to his story, it was like finally getting to taste the dessert I’ve been waiting all day for.
I don’t know if this one has a trope or not, but that is okay. Because much like Cooper, Leo is too big for any one trope. Yes, he has scarring but that isn’t who he is… regardless of what he believes. He is a beautiful soul that I loved learning more about. And even though he drove me crazy with how back and forth he was with Hannah, by the end, he had me swooning so hard.
Leo and Hannah are a beautifully emotional story that had me feeling every single thing I could possibly feel about a novel. I was connected, emotionally and mentally. I was right there with them through every single moment and when it was done, I didn’t want it to end. I wanted so much more.
Seriously, the Miles family is everything I love about a good family series. These are all standalone novels, but interconnected.
Five stars for this beautifully tragic emotional romance that has you begging for more when the end comes up.
Hannah and Leo have been friends for years but have never met and don’t really know each other’s real name. They met online playing video games. One day Leo hears her voice and recognizes it. They meet and sparks fly but they both have scars some emotional and some physical. Great characters and storyline. Highly recommended. Excellent book true love means going in with eyes wide open.
I’ve read and loved every Miles Family book, and since book 1, Leo has intrigued me. His withdrawal from the outside world has been breaking my heart all along, and I’m so happy that he finally found the someone that could pull him back in to the world and back into living a life fully of happiness and sunshine.
Claire Kingsley writes books that draw you in and fully engulf your heart. She creates characters that you fall in love with, and makes you invested in their story. Each book that she writes leaves me waiting anxiously for the next one, even when you know the next one is the last in the series! There are very few authors that take care of their readers so well. These books are not just the writings of an author trying churn out books, but instead they are labors of love so well crafted and nurtured that you feel like she wrote them just for you to enjoy.
One of the best modern ‘Beauty and the Beast’ contemporary love stories. A wounded warrior finding his way ‘home’ and a slightly lost heroine finding her own way to love, along with her own healing.
Hidden Miles (Miles Family #4) by Claire Kingsley is a contemporary, small town, military, friends to lovers romance told in first person, dual POV.
Leo Miles is a scarred, agoraphobic, army veteran with PTSD. Hannah Tate is a graphic designer in an abusive relationship. They’ve never met in person, but have been friends for years through online gaming under their gamer names, Badger and Gigz. What will happen when circumstances bring them face to face for the first time? Will their online friendship become more in the real world? Can Hannah break free from her abusive boyfriend? Can Leo make real progress and find healing from the demons that haunt him? Read the book and find out.
I loved Leo and Hannah’s story! Ever since I read book one, I had been looking forward to learning more about Leo, and I was not disappointed. I love all the Miles siblings, but Leo is definitely my favorite. This book is heavier than the ones that precede it because it covers some very sensitive subject matter. Both Leo and Hannah have some serious issues that the author tackles with respect and finesse. This book is also the most suspenseful in the series as the over-arching storyline with their evil father, Lawrence, finally reaches its climax and conclusion. This story was heartbreakingly beautiful, gripping, and hopeful. I highly recommend it!