Title: Charlie’s Hero (Heroes #1)
Author Name & Publisher: Nic Starr (Dreamspinner Press)
Publication Date & Length: June 17, 2015 – 200 pgs
Schoolteacher Charlie Matthews returns to his hometown, looking to regain a sense of community, reconnect with friends, and settle down. It looks like his dreams have come true when paramedic Josh Campbell attends an accident at the school. It’s love at first sight, and a romance begins.
But Josh’s reluctance to come out to the brother who raised him, puts pressure on their fledgling relationship. While Charlie understands Josh’s concerns, he can’t help growing impatient. After all, Charlie came out years ago.
It’s not until Charlie confronts his own parents and realizes he hasn’t come to terms with their rejection that he fully understands what Josh has to lose. But Josh is Charlie’s hero, and Josh will do anything to prove to Charlie that to be part of a family, he doesn’t need his parents.
Charlie has a great life. He’s created a family for himself. I love that about his character. That, no matter what happened in his life, he was able to make it.
He has a shyness about him that I found very likable. Sometimes, when a character is written shy, they come off so shy that you do not truly get to know them, however, Charlie is written beautifully.
Josh- now he is a totally different story. Confident, smart, family man, loving brother, devoted friend and hot EMT. What more could a guy ask for? The connection that Tanner feels with Charlie is great! I was a little put off by how he viewed his brother – how he let his brother dictate so much of how he felt.
While I did love how devoted Tanner was to his family – despite how misguided it was, I truly loved, loved his EMT family. Those people were always there for him and I really liked how both characters were able to show themselves with them.
The melding of their lives was seamless and I really enjoyed this story. I can’t wait for the next one!
AvidReader
Handsome second grade teacher meets a sexy paramedic? It’s almost too perfect. But beneath the surface both Josh and Charlie are troubled men with complicated pasts.This is a sweet, simple story, but it is beautifully constructed. I fell in love with Josh and Charlie and I really loved their friends and co-workers. Little quirks bring characters to life. Starr makes both men’s relationships with their families complicated and difficult without creating villains.I really enjoyed the tiny details that made both men’s jobs believable and interesting. At times the plot rambles slowly without much direction, but the characters were compelling enough to keep my interest.I liked the contrast between the slow-burn romance and the steamy sex scenes between Josh and Charlie. It was great to see the two dependable professionals let loose with each other in private.
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Nic Starr lives in Australia where she tries to squeeze as much into her busy life as possible. Balancing the demands of a corporate career with raising a family and writing can be challenging but she wouldn’t give it up for the world.
Always a reader, the lure of m/m romance was strong and she devoured hundreds of wonderful m/m romance books before eventually realising she had some stories of her own that needed to be told!
When not writing or reading, she loves to spend time with her family–an understanding husband and two beautiful daughters–and is often found indulging in her love of cooking and planning her dream home in the country.
