"heroes are definitely made not born"
Reviewed by Sandra Wurman
Posted August 25, 2014
Women's Fiction | Romance
So hard to decide which Susan Elizabeth Phillips story is my
favorite -- it would be like pitting one good friend against
another. My love affair with Phillips -- AKA SEP to her fans
-- started with DREAM A LITTLE DREAM -- funny how we all
remember our first loves. Then it escalated into an
obsession pouring over all the books in the Chicago Stars
series. By then I was absolutely hooked.
So needless to say I jumped at the chance to get my hands on
her newest gem - HEROES ARE MY WEAKNESS.
Once again we are drawn into a story that makes us laugh out
loud with the most outrageous characters and at the same
time pause to worry over their future. All SEP readers
become invested in their heart and minds with her books and
HEROES ARE MY WEAKNESS is no exception.
First we are introduced to Annie who seems fixated on her
red luggage that was carrying on a conversation with her as
she navigated along an unpaved road in the midst of a
blizzard. Hostile winters weren't anything new to Pelegrine
Island whose mainstay seems to be catching lobsters during
the harsh weather months and then vacationers during the
milder summer. Annie was on a mission while questioning her
sanity in returning to a place that didn't hold many good
memories.
Annie's teenage years on Pelegrine Island had been fraught
with problems that had at times put her in peril. But her
mother had a cottage there. Annie's mother was host to
undiscovered artists and her hospitality and support to
those artists often caused Annie to take pause. Annie
considered herself an artist too. She was looking for her
big break in show business as a character actress. She was a
realist. What she made up in lack of looks she more than
compensated with sass and intelligence. Annie had a real
creative soul but somehow her mother never seemed to notice.
After taking care of her ailing mother Annie was debt
ridden, jobless and searching for what her mother had spoken
of in her last moments -- a legacy. A legacy that Annie
would
find at the cottage in Pelegrine.
Annie, Jaycie, Theo and his twin Reagan had spent a lot of
time together on the island and the girls considered
themselves good friends. The thorn in Annie's side was Theo
who at times seemed to enjoy her company and at others was
practically hostile. Scary stuff happened to Annie and left
her with a healthy fear of Theo.
Now back on the island she knew it was going to be nearly
impossible to stay clear of Theo but she would try. Annie
wasn't the only one who viewed Theo as a threat. He had
quite a reputation. Looking at Theo now Annie was quick to
recognize the difference from when they were teens Theo
seemed caring but Annie still couldn't get past her fears.
And now back on the island Annie once again finds herself a
target.
The central theme of HEROES ARE MY WEAKNESS is finding your
true self -- not an easy task. It means facing your greatest
fears and acknowledging your strengths. Annie found an
incredible outlet for her imagination, creativity and
acting. On the island she also found a greater purpose for
these talents -- a way to help others -- surely a path to
her
very soul.
The cast of this story is amazing, complete with
personalities that are almost awe inspiring. Annie starts
out as an insecure almost fragile young woman who seems to
garner her inner strength through the characters in her red
luggage. Susan Elizabeth Phillips has Annie bloom right
before our eyes and Annie's awakening is just the tip of the
iceberg. Just wait till you meet Livia, Theo, the island
grandmas with special appearances from Annie's most special
friends. All will just knock you off your feet.
Be prepared to be absolutely astonished as Susan Elizabeth
Phillips once again magically transports us to a very unique
place filled with captivating people with a very colorful
and at times heartrending past but with the strength to move
toward a wonderful future. In HEROES ARE MY WEAKNESS
Phillips conjures up some of the best images I've ever
experienced.
SUMMARY
Deepest winter.
An isolated island off the coast of
Maine.
A man.
A woman.
Puppets. (Yes,
puppets…)
And…
A mysterious house looming over the sea
. . . 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 from a windblown cliff. 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.
What do you think about this review?
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