Hero by Samantha Young (Website, Twitter, Goodreads)Also by this author: The One Real Thing, Every Little Thing, The Impossible Vastness of Us
Published by Penguin on February 3rd 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, Romance
Pages: 416
Format: ARC
The emotional and unforgettable new romance from the New York Times bestselling author of the On Dublin Street series.Alexa Holland’s father was her hero—until her shocking discovery that her mother and she weren’t his only family. Ever since, Alexa has worked to turn her life in a different direction and forge her own identity outside of his terrible secrets. But when she meets a man who’s as damaged by her father’s mistakes as she is, Alexa must help him.Caine Carraway wants nothing to do with Alexa’s efforts at redemption, but it’s not so easy to push her away. Determined to make her hate him, he brings her to the edge of her patience and waits for her to walk away. But his actions only draw them together and, despite the odds, they begin an intense and explosive affair.Only Caine knows he can never be the white knight that Alexa has always longed for. And when they’re on the precipice of danger, he finds he’ll do anything to protect either one of them from being hurt again....
Alexa and Caine share a painful history, only they’ve never met until the day he hits on her at a photoshoot.
Alexa’s father turned out not to be the hero she always imagined him as. When she was younger she idolized him, but then she learned who he really was, and it changed her life.
Caine was on the receiving end of Alexa’s father’s deception and deceit and when he finds out who she really is he is stunned and then decides he doesn’t want anything to do with her.
But Alexa just wants to help make things a little bit right in Caine’s world. She just wants to see him happy and despite him getting her fired, she goes to his office and confronts him. He’s determined to prove to her that he’s not the white knight and hero that she thinks he could be.
You guys… the chemistry between these two was off the charts. From their very first meeting, the tension between them jumps off the page, and despite who they are to each other, that never dissipates. Their first time together… you guys… *fans self* and well, every single time after. Seriously good stuff.
Here’s the thing, there’s a bit of a mystery that starts somewhat after the mid-point. It was a welcome addition, because most of this story actually revolves around the evolution of Caine and Alexa’s non-relationship, and it was kind of dragging a bit for me at the mid-point. I think there was a lot of back and forth that wasn’t entirely necessary.
I really enjoyed Alexa as a character. She put up with a lot of crap from Caine… and at times more than she ever deserved. I felt like she really hung in there longer than any normal person would which I guess is to be expected but there were seriously times that I wanted to shake her and tell her to run in the other direction.
Which leads me to Caine. Holy hotness, but seriously… his back and forth with Alexa irritated me a bit. I was so happy when she finally came to her senses about him, though to be honest, I think he got her back a bit too easy, especially after how hot and cold he was with her at times and as a reader it was frustrating. Plus I get that he had some secrets in his past, but I don’t know… I just didn’t feel they warranted some of what happened.
I do have to say that I loved Caine’s neighbor lady. She did a good job of showing Caine’s human side a bit more. It was nice to see him have a connection to someone, plus she added a nice bit of humor that the story really needed.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Was it perfect? No… but for the most part it kept me entertained and interested and the characters were fun to get to know. I have read some of Samantha Young’s On Dublin Street books, but I’m horribly behind on them and this really reminded me that I need to get back to them and here’s hoping we get more stand-alone’s from Samantha Young in the future.
Thank you to NAL for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts
About Samantha Young
Samantha Young is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of adult contemporary romances, including the On Dublin Street series and Hero, as well as the New Adult duology Into the Deep and Out of the Shallows. Every Little Thing, the second book in her new Hart’s Boardwalk series, will be published by Berkley in March 2017. Before turning to contemporary fiction, she wrote several young adult paranormal and fantasy series, including the amazon bestselling Tale of Lunarmorte trilogy. Samantha’s debut YA contemporary novel The Impossible Vastness of Us will be published by Harlequin TEEN in ebook & hardback June 2017
Samantha has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award 2012 for Best Author and Best Romance for On Dublin Street, Best Romance 2014 for Before Jamaica Lane, and Best Romance 2015 for Hero. On Dublin Street, a #1 bestseller in Germany, was the Bronze Award Winner in the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2013, Before Jamaica Lane the Gold Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2014 and Echoes of Scotland Street the Bronze Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2015.
Samantha is currently published in 30 countries and is a #1 international bestselling author.
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