An Everyday Hero (Heart of a Hero)

by Laura Trentham

At thirty, Greer Hadley never expected to be forced home to Madison, Tennessee with her life and dreams of being a songwriter up in flames. To make matters worse, a series of bad decisions and even crappier luck lands her community service hours at a nonprofit organization that aids veterans and their families. Greer cannot fathom how she’s supposed to use music to help anyone deal with their trauma and loss when the one thing that brought her joy has failed her.

When Greer meets fifteen-year-old Ally Martinez, her plans to stay detached and do as little as possible get thrown away. New to town and dealing with the death of her father in action, she hides her emotions behind a mask of bitterness and sarcasm, but Greer is able to see past it and recognises pieces of who she once was in Ally. The raw and obvious talent she possesses could take her to the top and Greer vows to make sure life’s negativities don’t derail Ally’s potential.

After Greer is assigned a veteran to help, she’s not surprised Emmett Lawson, the town’s golden boy, followed his family’s legacy. What leaves her shocked is the shell of a man who believes he doesn’t deserve anyone’s help. A breakthrough with Ally reminds Greer that no one is worth giving up on. So she shows up one day with his old guitar, and meets Emmett’s rage head on with her stubbornness. When a situation with Ally becomes dire, the two of them must become a team to save her - and along the way they might just save themselves too.

• ISBN10: 1250145554
• ISBN13: 9781250145550
• Publish Date: 1 March 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 25 June 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Saint Martin's Griffin,U.S.
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[chymerra]

For some reason, I have been reading a lot (and stress, a lot) of military-themed romances lately. I am not a massive fan of them. 90% of the book I have read, the soldiers come back from battle with PTSD or missing limbs, which is fine by me. But, by the middle or the end of the book, the love of a good woman makes their PTSD go away or they miraculously come to terms with how they lost their limbs. Not realistic, and that is the main reason why I stopped reading them. But, then I picked up the first book in A Heart of a Hero series and read a book where things didn’t go away. The hero and the heroine had to deal with their issues. That reason alone, I decided to read An Everyday Hero. I was impressed with what I read and the tact that the author showed when writing about PTSD in veterans.

The plotline for An Everyday Hero was medium paced. That allowed the author to develop the main character’s personalities and relationships with each other. It also allowed for the two main plotlines to be able to mature and then merge. I loved it.

I loved Greer. She had one of the more epic introductions that I have read, ever. I loved her sass and her wit during the book. She was the right choice to send over to get Emmett off his butt. I did find her character a little too much at times, but she was larger than life presence in the book. Her interactions with Ally were gold also.

Emmett made me cry several times during the book. His guilt and regret over what happened to his sergeant were palpable. I didn’t quite understand why he was so angry at his father at first. But as the book went on, I was able to piece things together. His character growth throughout the book was incredible. I loved seeing him at the end of the book, knowing what he had come from.

Emmett and Greer’s romance was medium paced. There were a few chapters of “does he/she or doesn’t he/she” going on for me. I liked that the author paced it that way, though. It allowed for Emmett and Greer to build their friendship. As for the sex, the author chose to be semi-clean with this book. I say semi-clean because while they do have sex, she didn’t go into detail. I loved it. I feel if she went into detail, it would have taken away from the more critical parts of the book.

The storyline with Ally was heartbreaking. But, I was surprised that when Ally told Greer about the online bullying, that Greer did nothing about it. She didn’t mention it to Angela (the head of the music therapy program). Instead, it was just dropped. I felt that it was an essential part of Ally’s story. It, along with the other issues, showed how tough she had it. I was a little disappointed about that. But overall, I did enjoy how Ally’s character grew during the book. I also enjoyed the twist that was revealed almost at the end of the book. I saw it coming, but I still enjoyed it.

The storyline with Greer, her community service, music therapy, and her issues was excellent. I loved seeing Greer grow during that storyline. I loved seeing her rediscover her love of music as she helped Ally.

The storyline with Wayne (who skeeved me out) was dropped after Greer invoked Emmett’s name. I was a little disappointed because up until that point, I thought he was going to turn out to be a “bad guy.” Plus, I wouldn’t say I liked that Greer had resort to using Emmett’s name to get Wayne to back off. It didn’t sit right with me.

I was also confused as to how An Everyday Hero fits in the A Heart of a Hero series. Other than Karen and Ally coming from Fort Knox, there was no connection to the other book. Maybe I missed something.

The end of An Everyday Hero was bittersweet. From the minute Emmett helped the foal be born to the not so surprising epilogue, I was a mess. The twist with Ally happened during that time. I will say that Greer’s parents were saints and that Emmett’s father ended up being not such a bad guy. The epilogue was a little predictable. I guessed everything that happened. Still, it was a great ending to the book.