Member Reviews
This was a fun, chaotic read. Nothing like jumping into a series with book 17! I loved the sound of the synopsis and decided to give it a try.
Some Kind of Hero was a fun, light, romantic suspense story that was rather light on the suspense. I enjoyed the overall storyline of Shayla and Peter, Peter and his daughter Maddie, and even with Maddie and her friend Dingo. There were some entertaining moments, some sweet and heartfelt ones, some drama, and action. It was a good read and I liked it well enough that I read it to the end because I wanted to know what happened and to get to the HEA. I thought Shayla and Peter had a decent romance happening but it all felt very fast paced and not very deep, but definitely sweet.
The first half felt drawn out with everything and everyone being introduced and I was having a hard time being fully invested because there was just so much information being given. It was easy to put it down and walk away. The second half came around and it totally picked up. The pace and flow were better, and it became exciting to read. Great ending which had a nice amount of action. It ended nice and neat and clean.
It was good but I had some issues. There were multiple POVs, so many that I felt it was confusing. Lots of characters were introduced and since this is book 17 in the series but the first one I’ve read, it felt like a lot and it gave it a very cluttered feel. Shayla was a writer and her main character talked to her in her head, it was pretty much her conscience but it happened so much that it felt like over kill and got old pretty quick.
I liked it well enough but I honestly don't know if I'd back track and read other books in the series. It was good but I wasn't blown away. I really enjoyed the light and fun aspects of it that made it entertaining however, I loved those moments. A solid 3 stars.
Complimentary copy received for honest review.
This is my first read by the author and I was a little disappointed because I wanted to like this book so much but I just couldn't get into it. The book started off very unusually by the hero Peter, flagging down someone and getting in the car with a total stranger to chase down his runaway daughter. I thought that was a little crazy but being a parent, I can relate to how desperate Peter was to find his child.
What really was throwing me was the bizarre behavior of the heroine, Shayla. She's a romance writer and has one particular character that she's written--and is currently communicating with in her mind--giving a running commentary of everything that's happening to Shayla, but it's all in her head. And she's constantly shushing it and responding vocally to the commentary of this character. And I'm wondering if this lady has some serious psychological problems. I mean, I can understand letting slip once or twice that she may be "talking" to herself, but there were several instances that she makes the shushing noise aloud and gets odd and curious looks from the people around her. I had to put this one down a couple times because I had no desire to finish reading and I hoped maybe it would get better, but it didn't.
I think that maybe I should have read the previous books or tried a different book from the author first. I felt lost in the story and I wasn't able to engage with the characters or the story. I would definitely recommend reading other books in the series first before trying SOME KIND OF HERO. I don't feel this experience will prevent me from reading Suzanne Brokmann in the future, but this book just isn't for me.
***I voluntarily read a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own***
It has been ages since I read a book by Suzanne Brockmann. It's an utter delight to read another one of her Troubleshooters books, I thought she was done with this series. So I requested this book from NetGalley and I am delighted to give this review. The reasons why I loved this book:
It's written by Suzanne Brockmann
It's another installment in her Troubleshooters series
SB's unique writing style. I'd forgotten how rambling and long her sentences are, then realized her style is similar to JR Ward, then realized that SB is the Ward's mentor and idol, so of course they are similar.
It involves yummy Navy Seals, enough said
Some of the gang appear in this book, namely Izzy, Eden, Lindsey Jenkins, Adam, the gorgeous gay Hollywood actor, and other new to me Seals that work with Peter.
The action in this book consists of a chase. Lieutenant Peter Green has recently acquired custody of his fifteen year old daughter, her mother having recently died. He jumps in the car of Shayla Whitman in front of the high school where Shayla had just left one of her sons. He had just seen his daughter, who was missing since the previous day, get into a car and leave the area. Shayla and Peter run off after the car and persecute it for some miles into a shopping mall's parking garage. Maddie, the daughter, was not found with the two guys in the car, so Peter and Shayla return to the school and try to retrace Maddie's steps. Shayla is a great resource for Peter because: 1) she's a mom; 2) she's a romance book writer and her mind is a brilliant place to behold.
The whole book is taken with the persecution/search for Maddie. Shayla took photos of the car and the two guys, so they start to investigate that, searching for all clues that may help them find out why Maddie went missing. No stone is left unturned, yet the search for Maddie leads them in a merry chase all over South California. In an attempt to contact Maddie, who had blocked Peter in her cellphone, Shayla helps Peter write a story about how he met her mother Lisa and fell in love with her. They send her daily installments and Shayla begs Maddie to connect via text to inform that she's safe They suspect part of the reason Maddie stays hidden from her father is that she doesn't know him and doesn't trust him. So they try to establish why he had been absent from her life for so long and that he does want to help her. So the daily installments of the Peter and Lisa story give us the back story, and feels like a flashback, but better and less confusing. This author is brilliant handling flashback scenes.
Shayla falls in love with Peter because he is honorable and reliable, very different from her ex. Peter falls in love with Shayla because of her writer's brain. I loved that he fell in love with a woman because of her beautiful mind, not her physical beauty, although it's stated that she is attractive. Another thing I loved is that this is an inter-racial relation. It's very unstated in the book but Peter is blond and blue-eyed, while Shayla has "beautiful brown skin and warm brown eyes". Maddie is of American-Japanese descent, from her mother's side. Her last name is Nakamura, which I loved. Her grand-aunt, Hiroto, which is a great character in this book, had been interned in Manzanar, one of the camps for Americans of Japanese descent, during World War II. This was a brilliant piece of American history and greatly added to the color of the story.
As per Maddie, I found her immature, sullen and stubborn. She was framed in a drug deal gone bad by her friend Fiona, who promptly disappeared, and she was running to find her and the money that was owed. She was with this guy called Dingo, a California boy with a fake Australian accent, who was easily dominated and ordered around by Maddie. Dingo was also honorable because once he found out Maddie's age, he kept her at a distance and helped her without taking advantage of her vulnerability.
So it's a story that has a lot of elements that could have been a hot mess of confusion but instead was a brilliant mix of different cultures, different living styles and people with one good purpose: give a hand to a friend in need. The generosity and helpfulness of this group of friends make me wish to meet them and get included in their tight group.
The Troubleshooters Series is one of my absolute favorite series and Suzanne Brockmann an automatic go to author. Some Kind of Hero is full of romance, hot chemistry, action, mystery, suspense, and fantastic characters. It also brings up a few issues that make you stop and think. I loved Grunge (Peter) and Shayla..... these two absolutely sizzle! I got to revisit characters from previous stories and I'm hoping for many more books in the series!
Who else is excited about Suzanne Brockman writing another Troubleshooter book. She return again in the Troubleshooter series, Some Kind of Hero.
Some Kind Of Hero will start off from the start. It will introduce both characters very sudden but urgent too. Pete is definitely a tough yet sweet SEAL member. He will always have everyone backs but he keeps his private life very secretly until recently. Recently, he had to take care of his child who he did not see in awhile since there was a falling out with the baby mother. Things will get complicated for him because his child gets missing and he needs to find asap, which his neighbor is willing.to help.
Shay’s is definitely a kind yet passionate women. She will always go the extra mile but she is pulling herself back since she had a tough go. She definitely had no problem in helping her neighbor because she knows how it is whenever you are worry about a child. But things will get intense with her neighbor, Pete because there is undeniably chemistry between them.
There is a strong chemistry between them that you want them to go for it. You cannot wait for their spark cause it is too cute to read. While they have chemistry, they are also working together to find his child no matter what.
Some Kind Of Hero will bring Troubleshooter element with hilarious moment mixed with sweet romance and suspense plot. Four stars.
3.5 Stars
I was worried that I would be out of the loop when I started this book, so I was hesitant to pick it up at first. It is a true standalone and I enjoyed it, but not as much as I think I would have had I been a loyal reader of the series. This is my first Suzanne Brockmann book and I can see the appeal that she has. It was funny, light, and a bit suspenseful all rolled up into a nice package. The characters were interesting and I wouldn't mind reading more from her.
As I stated before, I think if I had read the Troubleshooters series previously then I would have really enjoyed it. There were many couples mentioned, with MANY updates that I would have enjoyed had I already read their books. As it was, I felt like I was just getting a piece of the story with each of them and I wished I had more.
It's been a while since I've read any Suzanne Brockmann - my TBR list is bonkers and unless I fall utterly in love with an author I don't religiously read their every work - but I remember her books as being solid romantic suspense with sexy heroes, strong heroines and hot love scenes. So when I spotted this one on NetGalley I figured I'd pick it up. Should be a nice solid read to counter the run of eye-burningly awful ones I've had in the last couple of weeks, I thought.
Well.
Look, it wasn't bad.
But that's kind of damning with faint praise for an author as well-known as Brockmann, isn't it? And faint praise is about all I can muster, because about three days later, I'm having to wrack my brains to remember the names of the principal characters. The hero's jailbait daughter and her older boyfriend were far more interesting than the Navy SEAL and his neighbourly girlfriend.
There were some hefty info-dumps about the internment of Japanese Americans in WWII, which while quite intriguing to those interested in history, also came off as lecturing. Including subject matter which the author finds interesting is all very well but you have to find a way to make it interesting to the reader, and we saw Manzanar through the eyes of a teenage girl who saw it not as the national disgrace it is and the site of the internment of some of her family members, but as a possible place to hide out from trouble. It made it hard to care, about Manzanar and about the character who just came off as a disrespectful little brat by that point.
Brockmann also falls into the series trap many authors fall into of including characters from her previous books (which is fine) but making whole chunks of the book actually about them and told from their PoV (which is not). I didn't give a toss about Izzy Zanella, whoever he was. If you're writing a long-running series, you need to make it new-reader-friendly. Or even old-reader-who-missed-that-book-friendly, because otherwise the reader can get the feeling of having just stumbled into an exclusive club where everyone but you knows the secret handshakes.
One other thing which as an author I found really problematic; Shayla, the MFC of the book, is a romance author who has conversations out lout with Harry, one of her characters who lives in her head.
This isn't the funny, quirky, charming trait of authors it was made out to be. A lot of authors do differ psychologically from the majority of the population and our mental issues aren't something to make a joke of. Not cool, Ms. Brockmann. Not cool at all.
Some Kind Of Hero has its good moments; the love scenes were as hot as I expected and Peter and Maddie were very believable as the estranged father and daughter trying to come to terms with each other. At the end of the day, though, I can't say any more than 'it was okay', and therefore I'm giving it 3 stars.
There are a large number of great authors and out of that group everyone has their favorites that just always deliver for them. You disappear into their fictional worlds with no difficulty and love all the characters no matter how long you have been away and it always feels like you just visited yesterday.
One of my favorites is Suzanne Brockmann and her latest romantic suspense SOME KIND OF HERO (Troubleshooters, #17) delivered. Once again she gave me a noble and hunky Navy SEAL to fall in love with right along with a unique heroine and a fast paced suspense plot. Even though this is the 17th Troubleshooter book, it can easily be read as a standalone, but I don’t know why you would not want to meet all the other great characters in this series.
Lieutenant Pete Greene “Grunge” whips BUDs into SEALs that are ready for anything. What he is not ready for is the sudden guardianship of his sullen 15 year old daughter, Maddie after the death of her mother. They are strangers that are having serious difficulties relating to each other. Before Pete can connect, Maddie gets into serious trouble with a girl she thought was her friend and disappears. Pete knows she is in trouble, but does not know how much and is desperate to find and help her.
Shayla Whitman is a romantic suspense author and Pete’s neighbor. She has seen him around with his daughter, but has always been too intimidated by his hero worthy looks to introduce herself until she finds out Maddie is missing. Being a divorced mother of two boys, she knows the terror of having a child missing and at risk and wants to help in any way she can. As Shayla and Pete work to find Maddie and figure out who she is running from and why, Shayla can’t believe she is actually living a real life romantic suspense story.
These two are just perfect together. They both have been hurt in love before and need to learn to trust and open up again. Maddie and her buddy, Dingo make great secondary characters. I really loved when Shayla kept sending Maddie text stories of her mom and Pete’s relationship to make her understand that Maddie and her dad did have common ground; they both loved her mother.
Once again, a great addition to the Troubleshooter series! Strong, fully developed characters introduced in this book and a few friends from previous books. A suspense plot that keeps the tension high and the pages turning. A must read series for me!
Fast paced suspense with quirky characters. The character inside Shay's head was a bit annoying and I thought it was weird that Pete never called her out on talking to herself. Other than that it was pretty enjoyable. Had some good sexy times and a decent HEA.
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed revisiting the Troubleshooters series and meeting new team members. I enjoyed the WWII connection, it made me want to revisit the first of Brockmann's Troubleshooters titles that infused a WWII story in with the modern day story. I did not feel the characters were quite as developed or the plot as tight as Brockmann's earlier work but this title is still a welcome addition to the series.
Suspenseful fun read with a touch of sweet romance. Ready to meet a hero like "Grunge". Looking forward to the next book in the series.
If you like romantic thrillers with a healthy dose of laughter then you'll love Some Kind of Hero. Romance author Shay, the heroine of this story, is blessed with the company of Harry, an imaginary character who stars in the novels she writes. Harry is irreverent to say the least and takes perverse pleasure in making completely inappropriate comments at completely inappropriate moments. Put Harry and Shay aside and you have completely gorgeous Lieutenant Pete Greene, US Navy SEAL and father of fifteen year-old Maddie, who has gone missing. Pete, AKA Grunge, and Shay are dynamite together both in the bedroom and out on the road as they try to find Maddie.
This story is fast-paced, turn-the-page drama that had me glued from the start. It's full of plot twists and is very much edge of your seat reading. I loved it!
As always Suzanne Brockmann writes a real page turner. Her characters are wonderful- heroes with flaws. The dialogue is funny and you can hear the characters voices as you read. Amazing story with a different type of couple as the romantic lead. Highly recommend.
Navy men don’t come tougher than Lieutenant Peter Greene. Every day he whips hotshot SEAL wannabes into elite fighters. So why can’t he handle one fifteen-year-old girl? His ex’s death left him a single dad overnight, and very unprepared. Though he can’t relate to an angsty teen, he can at least keep Maddie safe—until the day she disappears. Though Pete’s lacking in fatherly intuition, his instinct for detecting danger is razor sharp. Maddie’s in trouble. Now he needs the Troubleshooters team at his back, along with an unconventional ally.
Romance writer Shayla Whitman never expected to be drawn into a real-world thriller—or to meet a hero who makes her pulse pound. Action on the page is one thing. Actually living it is another story. Shay’s not as bold as her heroines, but she’s a mother. She sees the panic in her new neighbor’s usually fearless blue eyes—and knows there’s no greater terror for a parent than having a child at risk. It’s an ordeal Shay won’t let Pete face alone. She’s no highly trained operative, but she’s smart, resourceful, and knows what makes teenagers tick.
Still, working alongside Pete has its own perils—like letting the heat between them rise out of control. Intimate emotions could mean dangerous, even deadly, consequences for their mission. No matter what, they must be on top of their game, and playing for keeps . . . or else Pete’s daughter may be gone for good.
Suzanne Brockman was the woman responsible for getting me started on reading romance novels. Over the years, her books have changed and evolved. I enjoy books that have kids in it because I think they make them richer, more real and just have an overall better feel to them. This one was no different. I loved the characters. Maddie's a little bit of a brat, but if you can look past that and see some of the pain, I think you'll see a great character. This started out a little slow, which is why it took me a little while longer to read than most books. I kept putting it down to read others. However, by the 30 percent mark - it picked up its pace and I was in the swing of it. Overall, it's a wonderful addition to the Troubleshooters Series and worth picking up. You don't have to read all the other books in the series to read this but I don't see why you wouldn't want to. This was a great addition.
I received an ARC from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own and do not reflect anyone else's
Plenty of drama and suspense in this entertaining read. Pete is trying to raise his teenage daughter on his own after the death of his wife. Shayla is his neighbor with two teenage boys. When his daughter disappears Shayla is there to help him but can they find her before someone else does? I really liked this read, great chemistry and an exciting story.
I enjoy Suzanne Brockmann, a lot. And, I have read most, if not all, of the books in this series. She intertwines multiple characters and events seamlessly, and in a way that is a lot different than any other writer I can think of, hence why I enjoy her. There is a trick to writing about a lot of characters, and this many books into the series there are a lot of characters, without losing the plot of the story. In this one, while there were places it didn't work as well as it has in her other titles, it was effective and interesting.
Peter and Shay are the central characters of this story, although there are numerous appearances of characters from earlier books, which is fun if you have read them and not a distraction if you haven't as this book is self contained and can be read as a standalone.
Shay is a romance writer and I was looking forward to the edge this was going to give the novel. I did enjoy when they decided to try out one of the scenes from her book, just to see if it was possible. But, I thought the internal dialog with one of her characters, and the fact that she answered him, was odd, a little off putting, and it pulled me out of the story.
I get the idea of Harry, but the execution of it pulled me out of the story enough that i felt there was a connection that I was missing with Peter and Shay, and that the romance wasn't quite what it could have been. I think, for me, the time for them to build their relationship was so short that the inclusion of the rather odd internal dialog caused the relationship to feel like it was stalling. And, being pulled out of a book when the relationship takes place quickly can make it difficult to maintain that connection with the characters.
I didn't dislike this book, but it isn't one of my favorites by Ms. Brockmann, although I do recommend it.
Some Kind of Hero is a sweet romantic suspense with a sexy single dad Navy SEAL and a smart, romance writer heroine. Shayla is driving down the road when she sees her new neighbor, the hot Navy SEAL Peter, trying to flag down someone to help him chase down a car he just saw his daughter get into. Shayla, with her mom instincts in full effect, screeches to a halt and comes to his rescue. As the chase is on to find Maddie, Peter's daughter, the two bond of single parenthood to teenagers and insta love abounds.
I really like Some Kind of Hero. It's got some action, some steamy times (when Shayla and Peter try to "mythbust" some of her love scenes, I was laughing my ass off!), some nice emotional moments and a well rounded cast of secondary cast including Peter's SEAL team buddies: Izzy, and a bunch of guys named John, Maddie's aunt Hiroko and Maddie's boyfriend Dingo, who turns out to be absolutely adorable! I found myself rooting hard for Shayla and Peter to earn their HEA and fell in love with Peter's brand of SEAL sexiness that isn't too over the top alpha or controlling. I had a harder time with Maddie, she's such a typically obnoxious (stupid!) teenager that I wanted to smack her more than once, and Maddie's mother Lisa, who was found to be a pretty horrible person, thank God she wasn't physically around to cause more drama, though. Shayla is a delight, although her inner and outer, dialogue with one of her fictional characters, Harry, an FBI agent, drove me nuts sometimes and kind of took me out of the story. Aside from that, though, I like Shayla and found her to be strong, sweet and more than Peter's equal romantically and parentally.
I am looking forward to more from Suzanne Brockman and her Navy SEAL team!
Some Kind of Hero was a fast paced, action packed read that basically took off from the first paragraph. I enjoyed every minute! This is part of a series, but it’s not necessary to read the previous books, because each story is a standalone.
The story opens as Navy SEAL Lieutenant Peter Greene flags down romance writer Shayla Whitman to “follow that car”! A car that contains his missing teenage daughter, Maddie. The game is afoot as they say as Shayla is dragged into trying to find Maddie with Peter, and figure out why she left in the first place. Not that Shayla minds, Peter is one hunk of a man, smart and fun in between all the worrying. A caring father and sweet, chivalrous man. Her writer’s brain conjures up all kinds of hot scenarios, but in reality, she doesn’t think Peter would be interested.
Peter is immediately taken with Shayla. She’s effortlessly pretty, and her clever mind captures his attention right away, but it seems Shayla wants him to stay firmly in the friend zone. Or does she? Peter is dazzled by her strategic thinking, honed by plotting out romantic suspense novels, and he’s attracted to her more and more as they try to track Maddie down.
Maddie got herself into a dangerous situation. Lucky for her she has her badass SEAL dad, and a crafty romance novelist there to help whether she wants it or not.
Some Kind of Hero was super fun, and while I did have to wait a while for these two to figure out they shared the same feelings, it was worth it when they finally clued in. Smoking hot!
I loved the fact Shayla was a romance writer! Being an avid reader, it was interesting to get the other side of things, the writer’s perspective through her.
I binge read the first three books of the Troubleshooters series a while ago, but then probably had to get to a review book, got distracted and just never got back to it. Some Kind of Hero reminds me just why I was so addicted in the first place. Suzanne Brockmann writes top notch romantic suspense! I loved both Shayla and Peter, and the interesting cast of secondary characters. Even Maddie and Dingo’s POV sucked me in! I’m definitely getting back to the past installment soon!
Super happy with this Troubleshooters installment.
Lieutenant Peter Green has his teenage daughter come live with him and when she goes missing, he along with his neighbour Shayla and his team mates go searching, uncovering all sorts of things.
Shayla is a writer with voices in her head lol but not in a cray way, more in a way that helps the humour in the book. She's a Mum with teenagers herself and when her and Peter are thrown together their attractiveness to each other builds.
The best thing about Suzanne Brockmann's books are the ride you go on as a reader, there's usually two or three connected stories, thrilling adventure and best of all the growing attraction of the two main characters. This one also has visiting characters that are as familiar as family if you've read the previous books, the characters Maddie run off with are just as entertaining and following their story is also thrilling.
Not traditionally the same as the first Troubleshooters but the guys still came together when needed.
Thank you Suzanne, I LOVE your Seals!