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A review by halffast
Heartless Hero by Mary Catherine Gebhard
3.0
Neglected youngest daughter of a rich but toxic family is assigned a bodyguard to avoid any scandals before she's married off, but the guard is her ex-best friend who broke her heart several years prior. However, he's convinced she's the one who betrayed him, and intends to make her life hell.
This book ended up being a really interesting mix of tropes—bodyguard, bully, second chance, friends to enemies to lovers—set against a backdrop of uber elite society and all its inherent social machinations. The bully moments in the first part of the book were tough to read. Theo knew how to hit Abigail right where it hurt. The author did a good job of portraying Abigail's pain and frustration as she lashes out against a world where the odds are continually set against her. Girl is definitely a mess mentally, but no matter how awful things got, she knew she loved Theo with all her heart and Theo was so drawn to her in turn. Their connection was volatile but also at times so sweet.
The second half of the book got a bit muddled for me. Theo and Abby eventually figure out
I listened to this on audiobook and the voice actors did a great job. Teddy Hamilton in particular really sold me on Theo's character. One complaint I have (and this applies to audiobooks in general) is that it can be hard to tell when a character is thinking something in their head versus speaking it out loud. This book seemed to have more inner dialog than average so it was difficult to follow certain conversations between Theo and Abby.
This book ended up being a really interesting mix of tropes—bodyguard, bully, second chance, friends to enemies to lovers—set against a backdrop of uber elite society and all its inherent social machinations. The bully moments in the first part of the book were tough to read. Theo knew how to hit Abigail right where it hurt. The author did a good job of portraying Abigail's pain and frustration as she lashes out against a world where the odds are continually set against her. Girl is definitely a mess mentally, but no matter how awful things got, she knew she loved Theo with all her heart and Theo was so drawn to her in turn. Their connection was volatile but also at times so sweet.
The second half of the book got a bit muddled for me. Theo and Abby eventually figure out
Spoiler
they didn't betray one another, but they don't really discuss it and it doesn't resolve anything between them. Theo doesn't apologize for bullying Abby, and the two of them run hot and cold so many times I started to lose track of what they were fighting about. I also could not believe what Abby did with Theo just moments after his final "betrayal" and lost a lot of respect for her.I listened to this on audiobook and the voice actors did a great job. Teddy Hamilton in particular really sold me on Theo's character. One complaint I have (and this applies to audiobooks in general) is that it can be hard to tell when a character is thinking something in their head versus speaking it out loud. This book seemed to have more inner dialog than average so it was difficult to follow certain conversations between Theo and Abby.