Book Review: Hero

Hero: Samantha Young

Alexa Holland’s father was her hero—until her shocking discovery that she and her mother 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…

I am a huge fan of NA, which I think is what this is classified as. I've heard extremely good things about Samantha Young's other books like "On Dublin Street", which happens to feature a girl named Jocelyn. So obviously I'm going to have to read it soon. I wasn't impressed with Hero. It featured a great deal of stereotypical NA plot and characterization. 

For about a few chapters, I was actually confused about the plot. Now, I'm definitely not stupid and I literally thought Caine was her half brother, it took me awhile to sort out in my head this family line. Her father was sleeping with Caine's mother when he was a child, but he wasn't Caine's father. He just ruined Caine's life. After I was able to sort that out, the plot proceeded in your typical NA romance fashion. Which I don't mind at all, because I love NA! It was just drawn out longer than it needed to be in my opinion. Now, the plot wasn't really what turned me off about this book. I was totally into her working for him and him kind of wanting to make her life miserable. It was funny and intriguing. The thing that disappointed me was the characters. 

Alexa is the billboard for your NA romance doormat. I love romantic books with strong female characters, not ones that will bow down and submit to whatever the other main character is feeling at the time. Alexa lets Caine tramp all over her. She bugs him and bugs him until he really has no choice but to pay attention to her since they are obviously made for each other. Then, she complains about the type of attention she's getting. I mean, come on you asked for this. She is just one the dumbest characters I've ever met. 

"Of course, I'd just agreed to a no-string-attached affair with him, 

so I guessed I shouldn't hold out for silly little important things like affection." 

I sort of understood Caine. He really didn't want anything to do with Alexa at first. It's totally understandable though, because she was insufferable. He had a lot of problems growing up and she kind of just brought them all back for him. He was kind of over the top indecisive and moody, though. One minute he was ok with her and the next he wasn't. And I've read a lot of reviews saying he was an asshole to her, but she kept telling him that she's fine. Maybe he was supposed to be a mindreader? She is a serious dumbass. 

So basically, this one just wasn't a win for me. I am definitely going to try out her other books, because I've heard fantastic things about them. If you are a diehard NA fan, I would probably recommend this book. You may like it! I know people who really did like it and people who weren't fans. Anyway, I think my next NA conquest will be K.A. Tucker's Burying Water series or Ten Tiny Breaths series! 

- Jocelyn