Heroes Are My Weakness: A Novel

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Overview

New York Times bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips is back with a delightful novel filled with her sassy wit and dazzling charm. 

He's a reclusive writer whose 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 his characters with his bare hands. She knows a dozen ways to kill an audience with laughs. But she's not laughing now.

Annie Hewitt has arrived on Peregrine Island in the middle of a snowstorm and at the end of her resources. She's broke, dispirited, but not quite ready to give up. Her red suitcases hold the puppets she uses to make her living: sensible Dilly, spunky Scamp, and Leo, the baddest of bad guys. Her puppets, the romantic novels she loves, and a little bit of courage are all she has left.

Annie couldn't be more ill prepared for what she finds when she reaches Moonraker Cottage or for the man who dwells in Harp House, the mysterious mansion that hovers above the cottage. When she was a teenager, he betrayed her in a way she can never forget or forgive. Now they're trapped together on a frozen island along with a lonely widow, a mute little girl, and townspeople who don't know how to mind their own business.

Is he the villain she remembers, or has he changed? Her head says no. Her heart says yes.

It's going to be a long, hot winter.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062106117
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	08/26/2014
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	144,620
File size:	649 KB

About the Author

Susan Elizabeth Phillips is a New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, and USA Today bestselling author, known for her lighthearted, sparkling, and addictive contemporary romance novels which include the Chicago Stars series, the Wynette, Texas series, and multiple stand-alone books. She has published more than twenty books including It had to be You, First Star I See Tonight, and Dance Away with Me. Her novels have been published in more than 30 languages and appear on bestseller lists worldwide. Visit Susan’s website at www.susanelizabethphillips.com.

Hometown:

Chicago, Illinois

Place of Birth:

Cincinnati, Ohio

Education:

B.F.A., Ohio University

Website:

http://www.susanephillips.com

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/01/2014
Returning to Moonraker Cottage, her childhood summertime haunt on Maine's remote Peregrine Island, ventriloquist Annie Hewitt wants to stay only long enough to fulfill the terms of her inheritance and find a mysterious legacy left by her mother. She definitely doesn't want to have anything to do with popular author Theo Harp, the stepbrother whose cruel betrayal almost killed her as a teenager and whose twisted horror novels prove he's only gotten worse. When their interests collide, the aftermath is unexpected, throwing everything Annie believes into chaos. Old secrets, renewed passions, and hidden scandals combine with rapier wit and smart, sharp comments from Annie's puppet alter egos in this nonstop, red herring-laced romance. VERDICT In a stunning change of pace, Phillips reveals a brilliant flair for the gothic as she channels the Brontës, Daphne du Maurier, Victoria Holt, and Phyllis Whitney in a riveting, updated tale featuring a brooding, dangerous hero, a threatened (but definitely not classically helpless) heroine, and a chilling, foreboding setting (complete with a windswept cliff-top mansion). An unforgettable, deliciously spicy romance that readers won't want to put down. Phillips (The Great Escape) lives in the Chicago suburbs. [See Prepub Alert, 5/19/14.]

Library Journal

★ 06/09/2014
When 33-year-old ventriloquist Annie Hewitt returns to a Maine island and the isolated cottage where she spent her teenage years, she only expects to recover her health and search for a legacy left by her mother. She doesn’t expect to find widower Theo Harp in the manor house on the hill, or Jaycie Mills, the quiet woman who once saved her life, working as his housekeeper and raising a mute four-year-old daughter. Phillips (What I Did For Love) uses hints and references to Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca to create a sometimes tense atmosphere, using the structure of the older book to both fulfill and subvert the reader’s expectations. Theo fulfills his role as the stereotypical brooding hero, and Annie is much more independent than her counterpart as she learns about her past, helps Jaycie’s daughter overcome trauma, and investigates the mysterious occurrences that are trying to drive her off the island. Details of smalltown New England life round out this powerfully successful homage. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Details of smalltown New England life round out this powerfully successful homage.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“realistically quirky yet all too relatable characters, polished writing, tart humor, and an abundance of potent sexual chemistry. [...] another romance to treasure from one of the genre’s superstars, and proof positive that good things come to those readers who wait.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Heart-wrenching and uplifting, with witty dialogue, emotional depth, and details that give substance and texture to an already entertaining, engrossing story.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“In a stunning change of pace, Phillips reveals a brilliant flair for the gothic as she channels the Brontës, Daphne du Maurier, Victoria Holt, and Phyllis Whitney [...] An unforgettable, deliciously spicy romance that readers won’t want to put down.” — Library Journal (starred review)

From the Publisher

realistically quirky yet all too relatable characters, polished writing, tart humor, and an abundance of potent sexual chemistry. [...] another romance to treasure from one of the genre’s superstars, and proof positive that good things come to those readers who wait.

Booklist (starred review)