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A review by iam
Cameron Wants to Be a Hero by Anyta Sunday
4.0
3.5 stars
Loved the romance and main couple's dynamic in this one, but not so much the overbearing (and frankly, predatory) side-characters.
Read this review and more on the blog!
Content warnings include: sexual harassment and assault, sex on-page, cheating (not between main couple), vaguely implied homophobia; Mentions of: death of parents, accident that led to disability.
Cameron Wants to be a Hero is the second book in the Love, Austen series, but can absolutely be read as a standalone. The book is a retelling of Northanger Abbey, which I have not read, so I cannot judge based on that. There sure were a lot of quotes from Jane Austen time-y books.
Like the previous book in the series, it had lovely illustrations after some of the chapters!
My favourite part of the book was the dynamic between protagonist and love interest. Cameron was anxious in many ways and a bit awkward, while Henry was outgoing, confident and sure of himself. I loved seeing Henry repeatedly offer his hand to Cameron, giving him the support and understanding it took for Cameron to come out of his shell, all while always respecting his boundaries and checking in with whether he was comfortable.
This was especially important since there were so many side character that absolutely didn’t do that, who didn’t respect Cameron’s space or decisions. There were so many scenes where people walked all over Cameron (and others), straight up ignoring his wishes and boundaries when he verbalises his lack of consent to whatever what was going on. It made me angry a lot, and unfortunately barely any of those scenes had any sort of consequence, be it for the characters or this horrible behaviour even being acknowledged.
The worst part of this was that Cameron being treated badly by selfish or malicious people who simply didn’t care about his wants, was put on the same level as quirky misunderstandings that serve as obstacles the main romantic storyline has to overcome. It felt like it was presented like a somewhat silly but ultimately harmless pebble in the stream of the story, when it really wasn’t.
The other elements of the plot, like the big (possibly haunted) mansion, Cameron’s creative aspirations, the issues both Cameron and Henry have with their living and dead families, and the drama around the side characters, were interesting for the most part, but all of it felt very pushed to the side at the end. There wasn’t really a conclusion to most of these, though granted, in some cases it didn’t need an explicit one.
Overall I enjoyed the actual romance part of the book a lot. The way the main couple’s relationship developed was so lovely, and so were their interactions, as were all interactions between them and their close siblings. However, most other interactions left a bad taste in my mouth, which felt jarring in comparison to the more light-hearted atmosphere this series seems to aim for.
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
Loved the romance and main couple's dynamic in this one, but not so much the overbearing (and frankly, predatory) side-characters.
Read this review and more on the blog!
Content warnings include: sexual harassment and assault, sex on-page, cheating (not between main couple), vaguely implied homophobia; Mentions of: death of parents, accident that led to disability.
Cameron Wants to be a Hero is the second book in the Love, Austen series, but can absolutely be read as a standalone. The book is a retelling of Northanger Abbey, which I have not read, so I cannot judge based on that. There sure were a lot of quotes from Jane Austen time-y books.
Like the previous book in the series, it had lovely illustrations after some of the chapters!
My favourite part of the book was the dynamic between protagonist and love interest. Cameron was anxious in many ways and a bit awkward, while Henry was outgoing, confident and sure of himself. I loved seeing Henry repeatedly offer his hand to Cameron, giving him the support and understanding it took for Cameron to come out of his shell, all while always respecting his boundaries and checking in with whether he was comfortable.
This was especially important since there were so many side character that absolutely didn’t do that, who didn’t respect Cameron’s space or decisions. There were so many scenes where people walked all over Cameron (and others), straight up ignoring his wishes and boundaries when he verbalises his lack of consent to whatever what was going on. It made me angry a lot, and unfortunately barely any of those scenes had any sort of consequence, be it for the characters or this horrible behaviour even being acknowledged.
The worst part of this was that Cameron being treated badly by selfish or malicious people who simply didn’t care about his wants, was put on the same level as quirky misunderstandings that serve as obstacles the main romantic storyline has to overcome. It felt like it was presented like a somewhat silly but ultimately harmless pebble in the stream of the story, when it really wasn’t.
The other elements of the plot, like the big (possibly haunted) mansion, Cameron’s creative aspirations, the issues both Cameron and Henry have with their living and dead families, and the drama around the side characters, were interesting for the most part, but all of it felt very pushed to the side at the end. There wasn’t really a conclusion to most of these, though granted, in some cases it didn’t need an explicit one.
Overall I enjoyed the actual romance part of the book a lot. The way the main couple’s relationship developed was so lovely, and so were their interactions, as were all interactions between them and their close siblings. However, most other interactions left a bad taste in my mouth, which felt jarring in comparison to the more light-hearted atmosphere this series seems to aim for.
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.