Thursday, January 1, 2015

A Hero's Heart

I am seriously flying through books right now. It's kind of amazing. I'm also crossing off the FIRST book on my 2015 Reading Challenge list, so if you are also doing this, you better step it up, folks.

A Hero's Heart - Amber Daulton
A Hero's Heart
Ten years ago, Jarrett Brandt left home and abandoned everyone of importance. After a hard reality check, the irresponsible young man matured into a ballsy DEA agent with a kickass Harley Davidson and a million-dollar bounty on his head. Ordered by his superior officer to take refuge at a safe house just days before Christmas, he headed back home to Washington State, instead, to make peace with his deceased brother’s memory. 

Marissa Reinn Brandt never expected to see Jarrett again. Best friends since childhood and lovers as teenagers, immaturity, over-demanding parents and illicit drugs ripped them apart. Now a successful chef at a posh restaurant, the young widow and her son offered Jarrett a place to stay for the holiday. Even though she expected nothing from her former lover—the twin brother of the man she married—fate intervened. 

As Jarrett and Marissa rekindled the flames of love and lust that once bound them together, an enemy from his past and a trusted mentor from his present vied their time in the snowy dark and threatened to destroy everyone he held dear. Needing a Christmas miracle to save his family, Jarrett needed the love of a good woman to save his battered heart. His second chance with Marissa meant the world to him and nothing, no one, would stand in his way of cherishing her for all time.


Let's talk about this cover, mmkay? Yum. I'll be honest, I didn't even read what the book was about and agreed immediately based on the cover. 

Quick synopsis is we have Jarrett, who is a recovering drug addict who had a good thing at home with Marissa and because his parents and him have a rocky relationship, he took off. Meanwhile, Marissa married his twin brother, but twin brother died and he didn't even know it. Upon coming to pay his respects, he runs into Marissa and one thing leads to another. BUT! But then he has to come clean about what his real job is, as a DEA agent not a construction worker, and Marissa comes to grips. UNTIL! Bad guys find him and insanity ensues. 

Overall? Pretty decent. It's a fast read, I think it was like 92 pages on my Nook so easily something you can finish in a day, which is the category it's fulfilling on my reading challenge list. Some of the dialogue is a little weird in spots and in the epilogue especially, I always roll my eyes when characters basically rehash the entire major event in the book as if the other wasn't there when they absolutely were. It's not a conversation you'd have in real life, so I don't know why that kind of thing is written in a book? 

I do think the sex scenes were pretty steamy, and I like how Marissa was a bit of a temptress and not at all what we come to expect for a female lead in a book. Not even in a slutty way, but in a totally believable, normal girl kind of way. So I absolutely applaud that because there aren't many romance novellas or novels that can do that, it's either "demure, practically a virgin" or "totally filthy slut you wonder if she was a paid prostitute at one time". So that was pretty damn refreshing. 

Overall? I'll give it a 3/5 star review. I liked it. I liked the romance scenes, I liked the story line and then all of the action and the conclusion. There were a few areas that the writing felt a little wonky, but overall a solid little romance that would entertain you for an afternoon. 

You can purchase this book on Amazon for a really great deal HERE. Amber does have a blog you can follow her on, as well as Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest!

1 comment:

Amber Daulton said...

Hi Sara,
Thank you so much for the review. I'm happy you liked it.