Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
Adventurous, fun, quirky and action-packed. I really enjoyed this book - especially considering I found it on accident in the bargain bin at Barnes and Noble. Recommended to anyone looking for a charming, funny and fantastical read. (The last chapter was incredibly unnecessary and spoiled the fantasy of Annie and Theo's relationship. Be warned...)
This book brings me back to what I loved about the books of Susan Elizabeth Phillips when I first started reading them. The emotion was packed tight in this book along with humor and likeable characters. I definitely recommend this read.
To be a little clearer with my rating I would say this is 4 starts compared to other romance authors, but maybe only 3 if I'm comparing to other SEP reads, what can I say SEP set the bar high.
So moving onto the review. I read this book in about two days, I definitely didn't want to put it down. From reading the excerpt I really though the puppets would bother me, but they toned down a ton from the first chapter thankfully! And after that the puppets voices were a nice tool for SEP to show how the heroines feelings were slowly changing.
I definitely didn't see the twist coming in this one! (Not that I am very good a predicting plots to begin with...) But anyway, I was really happy with how things turned out. Although that's almost a guarantee with SEP.
So as far as chemistry between the main characters I definitely felt it. Although I found the actual sex scenes to be a little cool compared to some of her others. I think there was a little less build up and the scenes themselves played out quickly or often were just referenced in passing. So that was a little disappointing.
One part that wasn't disappointing at all was the absense of a side love story. I often find these side stories distract from the main characters and don't always involve characters I care very much about, but SEP bring in a whole new kind of issue to solve was really refreshing. Having Annie interact with Livia was very interesting and unexpected. Although I think Jaycie wasn't as whole a character as she could have been, we can always chalk that up to here secrecy. Perhaps if we'd been in her head she would have seemed more complete.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by SEP's new book. I have to say the first chapter had me pretty scared, but glad the puppets didn't take over too much!
So moving onto the review. I read this book in about two days, I definitely didn't want to put it down. From reading the excerpt I really though the puppets would bother me, but they toned down a ton from the first chapter thankfully! And after that the puppets voices were a nice tool for SEP to show how the heroines feelings were slowly changing.
I definitely didn't see the twist coming in this one! (Not that I am very good a predicting plots to begin with...) But anyway, I was really happy with how things turned out. Although that's almost a guarantee with SEP.
So as far as chemistry between the main characters I definitely felt it. Although I found the actual sex scenes to be a little cool compared to some of her others. I think there was a little less build up and the scenes themselves played out quickly or often were just referenced in passing. So that was a little disappointing.
One part that wasn't disappointing at all was the absense of a side love story. I often find these side stories distract from the main characters and don't always involve characters I care very much about, but SEP bring in a whole new kind of issue to solve was really refreshing. Having Annie interact with Livia was very interesting and unexpected. Although I think Jaycie wasn't as whole a character as she could have been, we can always chalk that up to here secrecy. Perhaps if we'd been in her head she would have seemed more complete.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by SEP's new book. I have to say the first chapter had me pretty scared, but glad the puppets didn't take over too much!
This was so good. The gothic tropes mixed into a modern day setting worked so well. I especially loved how the book talked about some pretty taboo subjects like childhood trauma, mental illness and domestic abuse towards both men and women. While there were some...odd aspects, the book overall was amazing!
2.5, rounding up to 3. I enjoyed it in the end, but it was hard going for a while. The puppets were.....a little creepy-weird, honestly. The running commentary read as less quirky and more schizophrenic. The overarching plot was interesting, and I enjoyed how things worked out in the end, but it was a little "all loose strings are tied off in a pretty bow" - I guess I was hoping for a bit more substance. Oh well.
It’s been a long time since I’ve read a romance by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. For the last couple of years, I haven’t really been interested in contemporary romance (historicals all the way!); however, when I had a chance to grab a review copy of Phillips’ latest I decided to give it a shot. I loved her previous novels, so I was looking forward to checking out something new from her. Heroes are my Weakness wasn’t what I was expecting, and I totally loved it.
The other novels that I’ve read by Phillips have been relatively light, so far my favourite has to be Call Me Irresistible. Heroes are My Weakness takes a departure from the lighter aspects of romance and Phillips tosses in a lot more suspense and a sinister atmosphere. Happily, this doesn’t mean the Phillips trademark humour has departed (Annie has hilarious conversations with her puppets, after all); it just doesn’t take the front stage or at least shares the stage with a suspense plot.
Following the death of her mother, Annie is a bit down on her luck. She’s a broke, failed actress, turned puppeteer. With no other choice, Annie is forced to go to the only place that will provide her with a roof over her head: their old cottage on an isolated island in the middle of the winter. Ah, the romance of it all…
Returning to the place of her childhood summers, Annie is forced to confront the boy she once cared for, Theo Harp. Theo also happened to have tried to kill her once upon a time and the years don’t exactly seem to have changed this horror writer for the better in Annie’s eyes:
If this was how you encountered a guy you haven’t seen in eighteen years and he also happened to try to kill you, wouldn’t you also be feeling a bit of trepidation?
So, not only does Annie have to deal with someone she’s genuinely scared of, she also has to find the legacy that her mother has told her about and deal with whoever is trying to force her from her temporary home, and just maybe, she’ll find out what really happened with Theo all those years ago. Is he really the villain or could he just possible be the hero after all?
When I had initially started reading this book, I wasn’t sure about it. The hero had tried to kill the heroine (or so it seems), and I wasn’t sure how Phillips was going to turn THAT around. It didn’t help that the suspense was kept up for a large part of the beginning of the book as readers do not get a peak into Theo’s mind. I have to admit, I had my doubts about Theo’s innocence. How could this hero possibly be Annie's weakness? This gothic suspense was a bit unusual, but I think it really worked here and I certainly didn’t want to put the book down.
As for whether or not Phillips turned the romance around, well, of course she did, this is a romance after all. But it was done wonderfully, full of wit and angst of which I can say no more or else ruin the entire story. The suspense storyline fit well with the overarching romance and completely suited the desolate winter setting. It was wrapped up neatly, but readers will have to keep in mind that this is not a mystery novel, it is a romance and that constantly remains the purpose of this book, as such the mystery element was not overly complicated.
Ultimately, I was pleasantly surprised by this one, but I would certainly be one board with more from Phillips in a similar vein. I may have been missing out a bit when it comes to the contemporary romance genre.
For my recommended reads, see The Book Adventures.
*Review copy provided by the publisher via Edelweiss.
The other novels that I’ve read by Phillips have been relatively light, so far my favourite has to be Call Me Irresistible. Heroes are My Weakness takes a departure from the lighter aspects of romance and Phillips tosses in a lot more suspense and a sinister atmosphere. Happily, this doesn’t mean the Phillips trademark humour has departed (Annie has hilarious conversations with her puppets, after all); it just doesn’t take the front stage or at least shares the stage with a suspense plot.
Following the death of her mother, Annie is a bit down on her luck. She’s a broke, failed actress, turned puppeteer. With no other choice, Annie is forced to go to the only place that will provide her with a roof over her head: their old cottage on an isolated island in the middle of the winter. Ah, the romance of it all…
Returning to the place of her childhood summers, Annie is forced to confront the boy she once cared for, Theo Harp. Theo also happened to have tried to kill her once upon a time and the years don’t exactly seem to have changed this horror writer for the better in Annie’s eyes:
He descended slowly. A gothic hero come to life in a pearl gray waistcoat, snowy white cravat, and dark trousers tucked into calf-hugging black leather riding books. Hanging languidly at his side was a steel-barreled dueling pistol.
An icy finger slithered down her spine. She briefly considered the possibility that her fever had come back or her imagination had finally shoved her over the cliff of reality. But he wasn’t a hallucination. He was all too real. (p.24)
If this was how you encountered a guy you haven’t seen in eighteen years and he also happened to try to kill you, wouldn’t you also be feeling a bit of trepidation?
So, not only does Annie have to deal with someone she’s genuinely scared of, she also has to find the legacy that her mother has told her about and deal with whoever is trying to force her from her temporary home, and just maybe, she’ll find out what really happened with Theo all those years ago. Is he really the villain or could he just possible be the hero after all?
When I had initially started reading this book, I wasn’t sure about it. The hero had tried to kill the heroine (or so it seems), and I wasn’t sure how Phillips was going to turn THAT around. It didn’t help that the suspense was kept up for a large part of the beginning of the book as readers do not get a peak into Theo’s mind. I have to admit, I had my doubts about Theo’s innocence. How could this hero possibly be Annie's weakness? This gothic suspense was a bit unusual, but I think it really worked here and I certainly didn’t want to put the book down.
As for whether or not Phillips turned the romance around, well, of course she did, this is a romance after all. But it was done wonderfully, full of wit and angst of which I can say no more or else ruin the entire story. The suspense storyline fit well with the overarching romance and completely suited the desolate winter setting. It was wrapped up neatly, but readers will have to keep in mind that this is not a mystery novel, it is a romance and that constantly remains the purpose of this book, as such the mystery element was not overly complicated.
Ultimately, I was pleasantly surprised by this one, but I would certainly be one board with more from Phillips in a similar vein. I may have been missing out a bit when it comes to the contemporary romance genre.
For my recommended reads, see The Book Adventures.
*Review copy provided by the publisher via Edelweiss.
My least favorite of her books. Initially the puppets were annoying but they are essential to the story. Typical girl meets boy love story.
Do not recommend.
Do not recommend.
For me, SEP has lost her magic with this one. I devoured her earlier books, especially the older books in Chicago Stars and Wynette Texas series. The romance and sexual chemistry doesn't fire anymore I guess. I am so disappointed as I couldn't wait to get to this book. This sounded tired, with puppets trying to pick up the pace. The plot drags quite a bit in places. I ended up skimming quite a bit and found the climax of the book to be a bit of a let down. It was mostly rather annoying. The whole thing felt forced, and swamped with pop psychology. The heroine's puppets were disturbing, to say the least--I liked the idea of her as a puppeteer, but her relationship with them was definitely over the top. I suppose this just wasn't my cup of tea.
Heroes are my Weakness by Susan Elizabeth Phillips is a 2014 William Morrow publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
When I start a book by this author it's a strictly fan girl approach. I don't doubt for a minute the book will be good. When I saw this book had a Gothic tone I was especially exited.
Annie Hewitt arrives a the cottage on a small secluded island in Maine that she inherited from her mother, who recently passed away. Annie spent summers here once upon a time, but the memories are not pleasant. When she sees there is no running water or heat, she is forced make it over to Harp house in order to make arrangements to get the cottage in liveable condition.
“Everything was sharp angles: the peaked roofs, shadowed eaves, and foreboding gables. How she loved this Gothic gloom when she'd come to live here the summer her mother had married Elliot Harp. She'd imagined herself clad in a mousy gray dress and clutching a portmanteau gently born, but penniless and desperate, forced to take the humble position of governess. Chin up and shoulders back, she'd confront the brutish ( but exceptionally handsome) master of the house with so much courage that he would eventually fall hopelessly in love with her. They'd marry, and then she'd redecorate. It hadn't taken long before romantic dreams of a homely fifteen year-old who read too much and experienced too little had met a harsher reality.”
But, Annie's going through a bad patch, her mother's health issues having drained her bank accounts, her job as a ventriloquist is at a crossroads after she and her partner split. However, the voices of her puppets are an extension of herself, each with their own personality. Coming to the cottage is something she really didn't have much choice about and due to a strange codicil in her mother's divorce years ago, she must live in the cottage for 2 months out the year. But, the last person on earth she expected to encounter on the island was Theo Harp... a man who once tried to kill her.
“He descended slowly. A Gothic hero in a pearl gray waistcoat, snowy white cravat, and dark trousers tucked into calf- hugging black leather boots. Hanging languidly at this side was a steel barreled dueling pistol.
In the dim gray light, his hair was raven black; his eyes a pale, imperial blue; his face chiseled and unsmiling, everything about him the embodiment of nineteenth century haughtiness. She wanted to curtsy. To run. To tell him she didn't really need that governess job after all.”
Annie and Theo had a very complicated past together in their teenage years. Now they are both hiding out on the island for one reason or other. Each holds their cards close to the vest, but for Annie, her secrets could have painted a target on her back. There is a legacy her mother left her, but Annie has yet to figure out what that is. However, someone on the island is just as eager to discover it. With Theo's dark background and their shared past, Annie is immediately wary of Theo.
If this isn't enough drama for you, add a young mother with a small child who refuses to speak, a slew of medical emergencies on the island and the mystery of what took place between Annie and Theo all those years ago.
I think for some who have read SEP in the past, this book might be something of a departure from what you are used to. I happen to love Gothic flavored stories so of course I was all in. The book is modern Gothic, but pays homage to the Jane Eyre style of storytelling. Dark, brooding, misunderstood heroes with an air of danger about them is always interesting because the reader is not quite sure if they trust him or not and neither does the female protagonist. This creates a edge of suspense and mystery, especially when it looks like there is a real threat out there. While Jane Eyre was obviously the inspiration here, but I also thought I picked up a little Northanger Abbey too. I had to laugh on more than one occasion, especially at Theo who was actually pretty cool despite his troubled life and the self inflicted guilt his carried by blaming himself for the actions of others. But, of course Theo is a hero- Annie's hero through and through.
This is a bit of an unconventional romance,but it worked for me. The start up is a little slow and the pace through out is never fast, but I think that is the style the author was going for. Still, there were a few times I did hope things would pick up a little. Some parts of the plot were predictable and I did guess at what was happening on the island and why Annie was a target. But, this is really a small complaint because I was pretty impressed with the author's foray into this genre and found it quite refreshing to read something out of the ordinary for a change. 4 stars
When I start a book by this author it's a strictly fan girl approach. I don't doubt for a minute the book will be good. When I saw this book had a Gothic tone I was especially exited.
Annie Hewitt arrives a the cottage on a small secluded island in Maine that she inherited from her mother, who recently passed away. Annie spent summers here once upon a time, but the memories are not pleasant. When she sees there is no running water or heat, she is forced make it over to Harp house in order to make arrangements to get the cottage in liveable condition.
“Everything was sharp angles: the peaked roofs, shadowed eaves, and foreboding gables. How she loved this Gothic gloom when she'd come to live here the summer her mother had married Elliot Harp. She'd imagined herself clad in a mousy gray dress and clutching a portmanteau gently born, but penniless and desperate, forced to take the humble position of governess. Chin up and shoulders back, she'd confront the brutish ( but exceptionally handsome) master of the house with so much courage that he would eventually fall hopelessly in love with her. They'd marry, and then she'd redecorate. It hadn't taken long before romantic dreams of a homely fifteen year-old who read too much and experienced too little had met a harsher reality.”
But, Annie's going through a bad patch, her mother's health issues having drained her bank accounts, her job as a ventriloquist is at a crossroads after she and her partner split. However, the voices of her puppets are an extension of herself, each with their own personality. Coming to the cottage is something she really didn't have much choice about and due to a strange codicil in her mother's divorce years ago, she must live in the cottage for 2 months out the year. But, the last person on earth she expected to encounter on the island was Theo Harp... a man who once tried to kill her.
“He descended slowly. A Gothic hero in a pearl gray waistcoat, snowy white cravat, and dark trousers tucked into calf- hugging black leather boots. Hanging languidly at this side was a steel barreled dueling pistol.
In the dim gray light, his hair was raven black; his eyes a pale, imperial blue; his face chiseled and unsmiling, everything about him the embodiment of nineteenth century haughtiness. She wanted to curtsy. To run. To tell him she didn't really need that governess job after all.”
Annie and Theo had a very complicated past together in their teenage years. Now they are both hiding out on the island for one reason or other. Each holds their cards close to the vest, but for Annie, her secrets could have painted a target on her back. There is a legacy her mother left her, but Annie has yet to figure out what that is. However, someone on the island is just as eager to discover it. With Theo's dark background and their shared past, Annie is immediately wary of Theo.
If this isn't enough drama for you, add a young mother with a small child who refuses to speak, a slew of medical emergencies on the island and the mystery of what took place between Annie and Theo all those years ago.
I think for some who have read SEP in the past, this book might be something of a departure from what you are used to. I happen to love Gothic flavored stories so of course I was all in. The book is modern Gothic, but pays homage to the Jane Eyre style of storytelling. Dark, brooding, misunderstood heroes with an air of danger about them is always interesting because the reader is not quite sure if they trust him or not and neither does the female protagonist. This creates a edge of suspense and mystery, especially when it looks like there is a real threat out there. While Jane Eyre was obviously the inspiration here, but I also thought I picked up a little Northanger Abbey too. I had to laugh on more than one occasion, especially at Theo who was actually pretty cool despite his troubled life and the self inflicted guilt his carried by blaming himself for the actions of others. But, of course Theo is a hero- Annie's hero through and through.
This is a bit of an unconventional romance,but it worked for me. The start up is a little slow and the pace through out is never fast, but I think that is the style the author was going for. Still, there were a few times I did hope things would pick up a little. Some parts of the plot were predictable and I did guess at what was happening on the island and why Annie was a target. But, this is really a small complaint because I was pretty impressed with the author's foray into this genre and found it quite refreshing to read something out of the ordinary for a change. 4 stars