Reviewed by Cindy
TITLE: Never a Hero
SERIES: Tucker Springs Book 5
AUTHOR: Marie Sexton
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 149 Pages
RELEASE DATE: July 5, 2019
BLURB:
Owen Meade is in need of a hero. Sheltered, ashamed, and ridiculed by his own mother for his sexuality, his stutter, and his congenital arm amputation, Owen lives like a hermit, rarely leaving his apartment. He hardly dares to hope for more… until veterinarian Nick Reynolds moves in downstairs.
Charming, handsome Nick steals past Owen’s defenses and makes him feel almost normal. Meeting his fiery, determined little sister, June, who was born with a similar amputation, helps too. June always seems to get her way—she even convinces Owen to sign up for piano lessons with her. Suddenly the only thing standing between Owen and his perfect life is Nick. No matter how much he flirts, how attracted to Owen he seems to be, or how much time they spend together, Nick always pulls away.
Caught between his mother’s contempt and Nick’s stubbornness, Owen makes a decision. It’s time to be the hero of his own story, and that means going after what he wants: not just Nick, but the full life he deserves.
REVIEW:
I wasn’t sure about Owen Meade when I first met him. I mean, I get that he had a ton of issues that he was dealing with but I wasn’t sure that it was enough to justify his “dramatic” take on his own life. But as the story progressed, I found myself understanding him better and I came to like him a lot.
Then again, Nick Reynolds has his own kind of drama and while I can once again understand it to a certain degree, I didn’t like the way he “seemed” to play with Owen again and again before finally coming clean about his own problems.
Owen’s reaction to Nick’s big problem was honest and I really liked how the author didn’t just gloss it over and have him say “that’s okay, it’s no big deal” because it really is a big deal. Watching Owen wrestle with how to deal with what tells him is one of the best parts of this story.
When I was done this book, I realized that the best thing about it was that these men were both flawed in so many ways and the author didn’t shy away from showing us that. It makes them more human to the reader and therefore you can relate to them so much easier.
Nick’s little sister June is hilarious, but sometimes heart-wrenching as well. Her strength and attitude become a kind of inspiration to Owen and I think it’s part of the kick in the pants he needs to start to take control of his own life.
I won’t say much about Owen’s mom, but even though the writer sort of tells us why she is the way she is, her behavior is still unforgivable and I wanted to kick her in the ass for most of the story…and still do when I think about her.
Sometimes I struggle to write a review of a story because I don’t want to give away too much about it because the whole point of it is to tell people what I think and hopefully convince them to read it for themselves. Even when I don’t like a story or have issues with it, I try hard to not give away too much because in the end, it’s just my opinion and I don’t know everything.
This book didn’t start out with a lot of promise for me, but little details like Owen’s reluctant hopefulness and Nick’s sweet heart kept me reading and I’m really glad that I did. In the end, the story left me smiling and I think it will do the same for you.
RATING: 
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