A Hero's Heart in Review / Write / Read Club (Indie & Self-Published)

Sep 04, 2025 Kat rated it it was amazing

I loved this spicy and suspenseful second-chance romance! Jarrett has always felt like the black sheep of his family. His father preferred his brother and after Jarrett got into some trouble and left town, he managed to turn his life around, but couldn’t tell anyone, because by then he was undercover. He also lost contact with Marissa, his high school girlfriend, who later married his brother, and is now his widow. I loved the family tension in this one, with Jarrett coming home to pay his respe ...more

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Jun 23, 2025 Andrew Baltasar rated it it was amazing

Jarrett and Marissa’s story pulled me in from the start. The chemistry between them is undeniable, even after everything they’ve been through—addiction, heartbreak, and the death of Jarrett’s twin brother (who was also Marissa’s husband). The suspense element with Jarrett hiding from a cartel adds real stakes, and I loved the emotional depth—especially his rocky relationship with his parents and his desire to reconnect.

Marissa is strong, smart, and kind, and her son is such a sweet addition to t ...more

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Jan 11, 2025 P.J. Ashton rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, thriller

I won't worry about rehashing the plot, as the blurb does a very good job at describing A Hero's Heart. In this review, I'll focus on my thoughts regarding plot, characters, prose and spice because that's why we're here, right?

The plot is really fast-paced and engaging enough to keep the pages turning. It's an easy read and will keep you entertained for a couple of hours. The overall plot is pretty conventional, but works. I won't spoil, but the foreshadowing was enough for a short novella to wo I won't worry about rehashing the plot, as the blurb does a very good job at describing A Hero's Heart. In this review, I'll focus on my thoughts regarding plot, characters, prose and spice because that's why we're here, right?

The plot is really fast-paced and engaging enough to keep the pages turning. It's an easy read and will keep you entertained for a couple of hours. The overall plot is pretty conventional, but works. I won't spoil, but the foreshadowing was enough for a short novella to work out who before it was spelled out in the second to last chapter. The 3rd act was thrilling with non-stop action.

However, this leads me to a couple of issues I had. 1st - the wire, the way the MC was discovered made no sense. I looked up the year the book was written - 2013 and surely the DEA had better tech than strapping a visible wire to someone's chest. He needed to be discovered for the plot to happen, but it seemed a stretch. I remember watching the wire back when it first aired in 2002 and even the Baltimore police in that show didn't use that tech. It seemed twenty years out of date. 2nd - The first fight. I don't want to go into spoilers, but let's just say something happened which allowed the concluding fight to have stakes - more numbers to be subtle about it. But, it didn't work for me. These are minor gripes and I think a little bit more explanation in those scenes could make them more plausible.

The prose was excellent. Amber paints the scene effectively, creating the feeling of Christmas. Her character narration was different, Marissa was believable - pining over the man she loved and regrets losing, while fighting it due to not wanting her son to be hurt. Her confession struck hard. Jarrett - another character with regret - again with walking away from her, but also his other life choices. At first, he's cold, trying to distance himself, but she gradually melts the ice in his heart. A lot of the dialogue was great and the way Amber interjects dialogue with thoughts is great. It's easy to follow who's speaking. Some of the dialogue is a bit on the nose though, with characters speaking to the reader rather than each other - telling us information they should really know. However, it is a novella so you can forgive these few examples, decisions made in order to keep the pace moving.

Both characters were real to me, as were the secondary characters. Dad, a no nonsense gruff ex-police officer - his arc is typical of the genre, but works. Mum is a little underdeveloped and doesn't really change, however she has a caring voice. The son, he reads mostly like a real seven year old. A force of nature in the way he's moving about, and that he seems to do what he wants no matter what mum says. Most of his dialogue is believable for his years, however, he did use some words that didn't ring true. It's so frustrating instead of it's annoying., can't handle it. Granted, there are some seven year old kids who might use frustrating, so it's a very minor gripe. Marissa was full of life, she pushed him because she loved him. She wasn't blind though and she always put her son first. She wanted him but wasn't in denial about who he was and what he could provide. She was also a bit different, full of passion and had a dominant side, which worked when it came to the end fight, however how it ended was weaker because we only saw from Jarrett's pov, so it seemed a bit convenient. I would have liked a cliffhanger to Jarrett's scene, then a switch POV scene to Marissa's POV to see how she got past the challenge - rather than spoken dialogue. Other than that, the dominant side of her worked. Jarrett was good, balancing warm with cold, he wants Marissa and was an idiot to return because of the danger he'd put her and his family in, but his over-confidence worked, sometime bordering on arrogance and that suited the character. He was an ex-addict and it worked that Marissa also became his drug of choice. I don't know if the author meant this parallel, but it really worked and you can see it in the way he lusts for her and the way it hurts him as he tries to distance himself. Lastly, the bad guys - not much to say, generic, run of the mill antagonists you find in this genre, providing enough stakes to keep the tension up. I liked it that they came in a little earlier, around the 60% mark, which gave enough time to ramp up the tension and the ending.

Lastly the spice. The scenes were passionate. There are two, both written with a hunger. Descriptive and flows well. You can really picture it. The rest of the book is Christmas wrapping for these scenes, and although Christmas comes early in this book, you won't be disappointed lasting until the end! That's all I'm saying!

Overall, a wonderful, novella and I highly recommend it. ...more

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