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A review by dtrumps
Heroes Are My Weakness by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
4.0
Originally posted on Gone Pecan
Annie has run out of options. She’s recovering from a sickness and her mother’s death, which has her in dire financial straights. She’s run to the one place she doesn’t really want to be, but it is the only place that she has left, her mother’s cottage on Peregrine Island. The island holds a lot of memories for Annie, most of them bad. She was almost killed there one summer by the one person who she loved more than anyone in her short life, Theo Harp.
These days, Annie is a failed actress, but has made a name for herself as a ventriloquist. She has four dummies and has conversations with them in her mind in their distinct voices & personalities. They are her conscience, kind of. It’s not as weird as it sounds, though it did take a little getting used to. Annie also has a thing for the gothic novels she grew up reading and this colors a lot of her early experience in the novel, including her deep distrust of Theo.
Theo, all brooding masculinity, is very reminiscent of Heathcliff in Bronte’s Wuthering Heights (a book I dislike immensely, by the way). He lives at Harp House, a grand estate on the island, while Annie is holed up in a smaller cottage on his property. Theo makes it very clear that he wants nothing to do with Annie and he doesn’t want her around, but Annie defies him and keeps showing up at his home because she is helping his housekeeper and her friend, Jaycie, who is injured, to do her work because she feels that she owes Jaycie, who saved her life. Annie is also enamored with Jaycie’s daughter, Livia, a mute 4 year old. Annie’s work as a ventriloquist comes in handy when trying to interact with the little girl.
Overall Thoughts:
I had a little bit of a hard time getting into this book because Annie was irritating at times. She was scared of what Theo could do, because he had a history of cruelty, but she baited him, too. Annie continually blamed Theo for the things that were happening, but kept returning to his home, despite her suspicions, which I thought was very contradictory. If you suspect he’s that bad a person, keep away from him, really.
This book was an attempt by Susan Elizabeth Phillips at a gothic romance. It was pretty effective. There was some spooky elements and heavy romance, all of which I liked. It was different than her other books because of the spookyness, but right on the money with the romance.
Holy cow, the romance was HOT. Their first sexual encounter…left me a little speechless. In a very good way. Wow. And their chemistry was smokin’. I have to say that heroes are my weakness, too, Annie, and Theo was a hero. It was very interesting to me how SEP would redeem Theo of his actions as a teenager and the way that played out was very well done. I love heroes. I love the good guy. I have never really been a big fan of the bad boy or the boy that needs fixing. But Theo intrigued me in a way that had me questioning my moral compass. Could I forgive him for what he did simply because he was pretty and poetic? I was ashamed of myself. But at the same time, I let myself off the hook because I knew there was a method to his madness.
There is another mystery in the book about who is trying to get rid of Annie and being so threatening to her and the resolution to that was unexpected, but it made sense. SEP’s characters are always very layered and evolving and this book did not disappoint me. I really appreciated the way the book was not like all the other romances out there, there was mystery and it was a little darker, but it was well done and I wish I could find more books in this subgenre. It was compulsively readable. And the ending is probably one of my favorite romantic resolutions of all time. Right up there with Kristan Higgin’s end to Just One of the Guys, which is probably my favorite romance of all time.
4.25/5
Annie has run out of options. She’s recovering from a sickness and her mother’s death, which has her in dire financial straights. She’s run to the one place she doesn’t really want to be, but it is the only place that she has left, her mother’s cottage on Peregrine Island. The island holds a lot of memories for Annie, most of them bad. She was almost killed there one summer by the one person who she loved more than anyone in her short life, Theo Harp.
These days, Annie is a failed actress, but has made a name for herself as a ventriloquist. She has four dummies and has conversations with them in her mind in their distinct voices & personalities. They are her conscience, kind of. It’s not as weird as it sounds, though it did take a little getting used to. Annie also has a thing for the gothic novels she grew up reading and this colors a lot of her early experience in the novel, including her deep distrust of Theo.
Theo, all brooding masculinity, is very reminiscent of Heathcliff in Bronte’s Wuthering Heights (a book I dislike immensely, by the way). He lives at Harp House, a grand estate on the island, while Annie is holed up in a smaller cottage on his property. Theo makes it very clear that he wants nothing to do with Annie and he doesn’t want her around, but Annie defies him and keeps showing up at his home because she is helping his housekeeper and her friend, Jaycie, who is injured, to do her work because she feels that she owes Jaycie, who saved her life. Annie is also enamored with Jaycie’s daughter, Livia, a mute 4 year old. Annie’s work as a ventriloquist comes in handy when trying to interact with the little girl.
Overall Thoughts:
I had a little bit of a hard time getting into this book because Annie was irritating at times. She was scared of what Theo could do, because he had a history of cruelty, but she baited him, too. Annie continually blamed Theo for the things that were happening, but kept returning to his home, despite her suspicions, which I thought was very contradictory. If you suspect he’s that bad a person, keep away from him, really.
This book was an attempt by Susan Elizabeth Phillips at a gothic romance. It was pretty effective. There was some spooky elements and heavy romance, all of which I liked. It was different than her other books because of the spookyness, but right on the money with the romance.
Holy cow, the romance was HOT. Their first sexual encounter…left me a little speechless. In a very good way. Wow. And their chemistry was smokin’. I have to say that heroes are my weakness, too, Annie, and Theo was a hero. It was very interesting to me how SEP would redeem Theo of his actions as a teenager and the way that played out was very well done. I love heroes. I love the good guy. I have never really been a big fan of the bad boy or the boy that needs fixing. But Theo intrigued me in a way that had me questioning my moral compass. Could I forgive him for what he did simply because he was pretty and poetic? I was ashamed of myself. But at the same time, I let myself off the hook because I knew there was a method to his madness.
There is another mystery in the book about who is trying to get rid of Annie and being so threatening to her and the resolution to that was unexpected, but it made sense. SEP’s characters are always very layered and evolving and this book did not disappoint me. I really appreciated the way the book was not like all the other romances out there, there was mystery and it was a little darker, but it was well done and I wish I could find more books in this subgenre. It was compulsively readable. And the ending is probably one of my favorite romantic resolutions of all time. Right up there with Kristan Higgin’s end to Just One of the Guys, which is probably my favorite romance of all time.
4.25/5