Heroes are My Weakness - Review

Heroes Are My Weakness by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Rating: 3 Stars

Source:  Library

Description:  The Dead of winter.
An isolated island off the coast of Maine.
A man.
A woman.
A sinister house looming over the sea...
He's a reclusive writer whose macabre imagination creates chilling horror novels.  She's a down-on-her luck actress reduced to staging kids' puppet shows.  He knows a dozen ways to kill with his bare hands.  She knows a dozen ways to kill with laughs.
But she's not laughing now.  When she was a teenager, he terrified her.  Now they're trapped together on a snowy island off the coast of Maine.  Is he the villain she remembers of has he changed?  Her head says no.  Her heart says yes.
It's going to be a long, hot winter.  (from Goodreads)

Genre: Romance

Why I Picked This Book: I enjoy Susan Elizabeth Phillips' books and the mention of a creepy house and hints of Rebecca was more than I could resist.

My Impression: This was a tough one.  There are very few authors that would've made me finish this book and Susan Elizabeth Phillips is one.  Her books frequently have an ick factor but she's so innately readable I can never resist them and this one was no exception.  It took me a long time to warm up to it.  I almost DNF'd it at my 50 page mark as the Greek chorus of puppets (Annie's a ventriloquist and her different puppets voice their opinions in her head A LOT) was just not for me.  Than the first sex scene landed in ick territory and almost got a DNF.  And somewhere in the middle we hit a monotonous part where it was the same old story on repeat for about 100 pages - Theo is surly, Annie is suspicious, weird things are happening, puppets are talking, and repeat - and I wasn't sure I could go on.  But each time I got to that point I'd think one more chapter and then I'll stop but I never did.  I'd read the next chapter and then before I'd know it I'd read the next and once I got to the 2nd half I just wanted to find out what was going on.

I liked the evolution of the relationship between Annie and Theo and the secrets were explained in a satisfying way.  The subplot involving Jaycie and Livia was at times heartbreaking but it was nice to see Annie start finding her footing through them.  While the whole legacy does end up being explained it felt very much like an afterthought and Annie accepted a major life development very quickly and then it's pretty much immediately dropped.

I have more negative than positive comments about the book itself but through it all it was very readable and I did keep wanting to find out what was going to happen.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Yes I will though I'll be a little more cautious if one of the main characters is a ventriloquist

Would I Recommend this Book?:  If you like Susan Elizabeth Phillips' books than it's worth picking up.  This isn't the first one of hers I'd try though.

Challenges Met? Library Challenge