Love.Life.Read.: Review: Heroes are My Weakness by Susan Elizabeth Phillips **GIVEAWAY**

Heroes Are My Weakness
By Susan Elizabeth Phillips
ISBN: 9780062376763
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: Paperback released 7/28/15

About Heroes Are My Weakness:

The dead of winter.
An isolated island off the coast of Maine.
A man.
A woman.
A sinister house looming over the sea ...

He's a reclusive writer whose macabre imagination creates chilling horror novels. She's a down-on-her-luck actress reduced to staging kids' puppet shows. He knows a dozen ways to kill with his bare hands. She knows a dozen ways to kill with laughs.

But she's not laughing now. When she was a teenager, he terrified her. Now they're trapped together on a snowy island off the coast of Maine. Is he the villain she remembers or has he
changed? Her head says no. Her heart says yes.

It's going to be a long, hot winter.

How About a Sneak Peak Inside...Excerpt:

Annie hadn’t thought she’d ever be warm again, but she was sweating when a coughing fit awakened her sometime around two in the morning. Her ribs felt as if they’d been crushed, her head pounded, and her throat was raw. She also had to pee, another setback in a house with no water. When the coughing finally eased, she struggled out from under the blankets. Wrapped in the scarlet cloak, she turned on the flashlight and, grabbing the wall to support herself, made her way to the bathroom.

She kept the flashlight pointed down so she couldn’t see her reflection in the mirror that hung over the old-fashioned sink. She knew what she’d see. A long, pale face shadowed by illness; a sharply pointed chin; big, hazel eyes; and a runaway mane of light brown hair that kinked and curled wherever it wanted. She had a face children liked, but that most men found quirky instead of seductive. Her hair and face came from her unknown father “A married man. He wanted nothing to do with you. Dead now, thank God.” Her shape came from Mariah: tall, thin, with knobby wrists and elbows, big feet, and long-fingered hands.

“To be a successful actress, you need to be either exceptionally beautiful or exceptionally talented,” Mariah had said. “You’re pretty enough, Antoinette, and you’re a talented mimic, but we have to be realistic…”

Your mother wasn’t exactly your cheerleader. Dilly stated the obvious.

I’ll be your cheerleader, Peter proclaimed. I’ll take care of you and love you forever.

Peter’s heroic proclamations usually made Annie smile, but tonight she could think only of the emotional chasm between the men she’d chosen to give her heart to and the fictional heroes she loved. And the other chasm the one between the life she’d imagined for herself and the one she was living.

Despite Mariah’s objections, Annie had gotten her degree in theater arts and spent the next ten years plodding to auditions. She’d done showcases, community theater, and even landed a few character roles in off-off Broadway plays. Too few. Over the past summer, she’d finally faced the truth that Mariah was right. Annie was a better ventriloquist than she’d ever be an actress. Which left her absolutely nowhere.

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My Thoughts:

I LOVE SEP. She is one of those authors I always return to when I need a sure bet. I love the Chicago Stars series in particular (I do love a great sports romance). There is something about her books that just give me a feeling of coming home--that warm, comfortable feeling. Needless to say, I had high expectations going into this book and while it was definitely not what I had expected it, it still had elements of Ms. Phillips' books I enjoy.

First and foremost are her characters. She has an ability to write characters that just feel so real to me. I am a character reader--they are what drive and hook me into the story. Annie is a strong female lead, someone who has had a run of bad luck who finds herself back on an island she thought she left behind. Theo is unlike any other hero I've read by SEP (I admit I have not read her entire backlist). I was not sure I liked him, but I had faith that SEP would bring me around. I am glad I stuck through and finished it because I really ended up liking it and him towards the end.

What struck me most about this book is the difference in tone. SEP set out to write a more Gothic style romance, which I found interesting and a different take from her usual writing style. Please do not get me wrong, Ms. Phillips signature is still written within this book--just know that is a bit darker and moodier than some of the others on her back list.

Heroes Are My Weakness is a worthy read--whether you are a long time fan of Ms. Phillips like me or if you are new to her books. As summer winds down and our thoughts begin to turn to the fall (and gasp...winter), do not be afraid to add this title to your reading list!

About Ms. Phillips:

Susan Elizabeth Phillips soars onto the New York Times bestseller list with every new publication. She’s the only four-time recipient of the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Favorite Book of the Year Award. Susan delights fans by touching hearts as well as funny bones with her wonderfully whimsical and modern fairy tales. A resident of the Chicago suburbs, she is also a wife, and mother of two grown sons.