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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
It took me a while to get into Heroes Are My Weakness. It isn't the usual Susan Elizabeth Philips novel and yet that isn't a bad thing. It wasn't the light and frothy book I usually associate with her. It was a little darker with moments of lightness.
I recommend this book highly.
I recommend this book highly.
well the first chapters got these really annoying puppet talks, really annoying and then as soon as the puppet talks kind of lessen, there are all sort of really disturbed people and disturbing situations and disturbing actions and by the last chapters I really didn't like anyone in the story, not even the 4 year old and would have been quite ok if the whole island had kind of disappeared!!
though must say I did finish the book because I like Phillips' writing (and hoping for a miracle?)and would definitely read another book of hers, though maybe not in near future :)
though must say I did finish the book because I like Phillips' writing (and hoping for a miracle?)and would definitely read another book of hers, though maybe not in near future :)
While I don't normally give this genre (romance) anything above 3 stars, I have to admit that I really enjoyed this book.
Note that while in the field this year, quick, easy romance novels seemed to be the only thing I could read...but this author really stood out and I enjoyed her books!
Note that while in the field this year, quick, easy romance novels seemed to be the only thing I could read...but this author really stood out and I enjoyed her books!
I didn't know what to make of this book at first. I had tried reading it a few years ago but the sample was really weird. I thought I'd give it another shot and I'm so glad I did. I enjoyed the hell out of this book. Leave it to SEP to write a book with puppets in it and make me a fan.
This book had potential. Easily it could have been a 5 star read and on my rereading shelf if it didn't have certain pitfalls. It concentrated in the first half so much on characters background, the book didn't have space to build on development of the beautiful characters the author created. It had all the good and amazing scenes mixed with boring scenes , the excitement of reading the story waned.
I feel bad rating this because I actually didn’t finish it but it’s the creepiest romance novel I’ve ever read and I had to stop.
In this clearly Gothic novel-inspired contemporary romance, unemployed and down on her luck Annie Hewitt has to spend the next sixty days in a small cottage on a remote island on the coast of Maine, because of complicated arrangement in her recently deceased mother's will. Her closest neighbour just so happens to be Theo Harp, famous horror writer and her stepbrother for a time when they were teens. As a teenager, Annie had a big crush on Theo, but he was unpredictable and at turns kind and cruel, eventually turning her crush to terror. Now he's a widower, alone in the house up the road, trying to write his next novel. Has he changed, or is he still as scary as he was as a teen?
Annie's vow to stay as far away from Theo as possible is complicated by the fact that his housekeeper is her old friend Jaycee has injured her leg and is afraid she'll get fired if she's unable to keep up her duties while Theo is writing. So Annie steps in to help her, slowly befriending Livia, Jaycee's little girl, rendered mute after the traumatic incident where her father died. Having made a living as a ventriloquist, making educational puppet shows for children, Annie is able to use her puppets to gain the trust of the child.
Annie hasn't been long on the island before all sorts of creepy shit starts happening. She's initially convinced that Theo is to blame, but has her theories disproved rather quickly. Someone is threatening her, and trying to drive her off the island, but it's not Theo, who she finds even more attractive as a grown man than she ever did as a teenager. Is Theo the tragic romantic hero Annie has been waiting for her entire life, or is he the villain she believed him to be when they were teens together?
The first third of this book would have had me throwing the book against the wall if I owned it in a physical copy. Not willing to damage my precious e-reader, no matter how frustrating a book gets, I persevered, based mainly on Mrs. Julien's assurances that the book was enjoyable. Having read my fair share of Gothic novels, I also had strong suspicions of where the plot was going to go very early on, so be prepared for the fact that the plot isn't exactly surprising, if you, like me, used to inhale Gothic fiction as entertainment as a teen.
Annie, who was extremely slappable and twee as heck in the first part of the book, with her internal conversations with her own ventriloquist's puppets (which were almost deal-breakers in themselves, oh my God, puppets are creepy) got better as the plot developed, and it was clear that her mother did quite a number on her and her back story with Theo was explored, showing how right she was to be rather wary of him.
Theo wasn't exactly doing himself any favours in the hero department either. He first appears dressed in period costume, caressing a duelling pistol and acting sketchy as all get-out. He also doesn't really work very hard to dispel Annie's fears that he actually was a teenage psychopath (SPOILER! She may have been wrong about that). They're stuck on a tiny, snow-covered island, and neither has any real alternatives in the romance department. Of course they end up together.
As any Gothic hero worth his salt, Theo has a number of issues from his past bothering him. He doesn't have a crazy wife in the attic (although there are revealing secrets up there), and he's probably not as volatile and psycho as Annie initially believed, but both he and Annie could clearly benefit from quite a bit of counselling.
While the plot was fairly predictable, and I really disliked the first third, the book got a lot better in the second half because Theo and Annie decided to work together to figure out who's trying to drive her off the island, and Annie really does have a very nice character development over the course of the book. Her interactions with Livia were especially good and as plot moppets go, the child really was quite engaging. If you like Gothic novels, pretty much all the tropes are here and gently tweaked. There's a nice local community and the plot resolves in a very sweet way - but I wish it could have been achieved without the help of ventriloquist's puppets.
Annie's vow to stay as far away from Theo as possible is complicated by the fact that his housekeeper is her old friend Jaycee has injured her leg and is afraid she'll get fired if she's unable to keep up her duties while Theo is writing. So Annie steps in to help her, slowly befriending Livia, Jaycee's little girl, rendered mute after the traumatic incident where her father died. Having made a living as a ventriloquist, making educational puppet shows for children, Annie is able to use her puppets to gain the trust of the child.
Annie hasn't been long on the island before all sorts of creepy shit starts happening. She's initially convinced that Theo is to blame, but has her theories disproved rather quickly. Someone is threatening her, and trying to drive her off the island, but it's not Theo, who she finds even more attractive as a grown man than she ever did as a teenager. Is Theo the tragic romantic hero Annie has been waiting for her entire life, or is he the villain she believed him to be when they were teens together?
The first third of this book would have had me throwing the book against the wall if I owned it in a physical copy. Not willing to damage my precious e-reader, no matter how frustrating a book gets, I persevered, based mainly on Mrs. Julien's assurances that the book was enjoyable. Having read my fair share of Gothic novels, I also had strong suspicions of where the plot was going to go very early on, so be prepared for the fact that the plot isn't exactly surprising, if you, like me, used to inhale Gothic fiction as entertainment as a teen.
Annie, who was extremely slappable and twee as heck in the first part of the book, with her internal conversations with her own ventriloquist's puppets (which were almost deal-breakers in themselves, oh my God, puppets are creepy) got better as the plot developed, and it was clear that her mother did quite a number on her and her back story with Theo was explored, showing how right she was to be rather wary of him.
Theo wasn't exactly doing himself any favours in the hero department either. He first appears dressed in period costume, caressing a duelling pistol and acting sketchy as all get-out. He also doesn't really work very hard to dispel Annie's fears that he actually was a teenage psychopath (SPOILER! She may have been wrong about that). They're stuck on a tiny, snow-covered island, and neither has any real alternatives in the romance department. Of course they end up together.
As any Gothic hero worth his salt, Theo has a number of issues from his past bothering him. He doesn't have a crazy wife in the attic (although there are revealing secrets up there), and he's probably not as volatile and psycho as Annie initially believed, but both he and Annie could clearly benefit from quite a bit of counselling.
While the plot was fairly predictable, and I really disliked the first third, the book got a lot better in the second half because Theo and Annie decided to work together to figure out who's trying to drive her off the island, and Annie really does have a very nice character development over the course of the book. Her interactions with Livia were especially good and as plot moppets go, the child really was quite engaging. If you like Gothic novels, pretty much all the tropes are here and gently tweaked. There's a nice local community and the plot resolves in a very sweet way - but I wish it could have been achieved without the help of ventriloquist's puppets.
Extremely enjoyable gothic romance that takes place on an island off the coast of Maine in late winter. I guessed a couple of the big 'secrets' in the plot but a couple of other twists left me surprised. The main character is a failed actress/puppet ventriloquist.
Annie Hewitt runs to Peregrine Island off the coast of Maine to recover from her mother's death and a bout of pneumonia. She doesn't realize Theo Harp is in residence at Harp House. She hasn't see him since she was 16 and her mother was married to his father. Theo and his twin, Regan, spent the summer with Annie and another island girl, Jaycie. Now, Regan is dead, along with Theo's wife, and Theo is locked in his turret trying to write a new novel and Jaycie is his housekeeper. Annie shows up with the puppets she uses in shows, trying to put her life back together. This was an utterly charming book as Annie and Theo resolve their issues and grow to trust and love each other. A departure from SEP's usual romances and it is better for it.