Member Reviews
This was an amazing story! Could not put this book down. Would definitely recommend to romance readers. Note: I received an ARC in exchange of an honest and unbiased review.
Laura Trentham's Everyday Hero is a poignant and uplifting novel that delves into the complexities of military veteran life and the power of human connection. Trentham's writing is both sensitive and powerful, capturing her characters' emotional turmoil and resilience. The novel's exploration of PTSD is particularly poignant, offering a nuanced and empathetic portrayal of the condition.
The characters are well-developed and relatable, each with unique struggles and triumphs. Their interactions are heartwarming and genuine, fostering a sense of camaraderie and understanding. The novel's exploration of friendship, love, and redemption is inspiring and uplifting.
One of the novel's greatest strengths is its ability to evoke empathy and compassion for veterans. However, the numerous coincidences late in the third act feel forced and can make it difficult to suspend disbelief.
Despite these shortcomings, the novel's exploration of veteran experiences is commendable. Trentham does an excellent job of portraying the challenges faced by those who have served and the emotional toll it can take. The characters' journeys of self-discovery and healing are touching and relatable.
Overall, Everyday Hero is a beautifully written and thought-provoking novel that will stay with readers long after the final page. It is a testament to the power of human connection and the resilience of the human spirit.
An emotionally charged second chance romance that lets you leave the pain of the past behind. The time to heal pulls this hero to the happiness he deserves. Such a great story!
Book 2 in the Heart of a Hero series finds Greer back home after failing to live her dream. Due to her life choices she spends her time helping counsel grief patients. Now because this is a romance novel of course she meets a man there. But they both have scars, will they be able to help each other or will they not be able to let go and love?
From award-winning author Laura Trentham comes an emotionally layered novel about redemption, second chances and discovering that life is worth fighting for.
At thirty, Greer Hadley never expected to be forced home to Madison, Tennessee with her life and dreams of being a songwriter up in flames. To make matters worse, a series of bad decisions and even crappier luck lands her community service hours at a nonprofit organization that aids veterans and their families. Greer cannot fathom how she’s supposed to use music to help anyone deal with their trauma and loss when the one thing that brought her joy has failed her.
My thoughts:
Once I started I didn't want to stop. The story really hooked me. It was definitely an emotional rollercoaster.
Laura Trentham's writing is passionate and emotional. She sucked me into the story and I felt every single emotion. A great read.
A beautiful story! I breezed through this in no time and enjoyed every second. It has it all, humor, romance and drama
This book was incredibly emotional to read as someone that was married to a veteran. However, that didn't detract from the masterful storytelling of Ms. Trentham. Real, raw, and honest.
A definite five star read
This story really made me feel warm and gooey inside and I loved every minute of it. :) What a great love story about learning how to love someone at your lowest point and trusting that person to love you back. This is a military romance and Emmett's character arc was handled with honor and grace. I only read one other book by this author and I was curious if she could score gold with me again and she certainly did.!!!
First off, I want to say that is a great romance with a little fire to carry the heat. The book starts off with Greer in court for disorderly public conduct in a bar after catching her boyfriend in bed with another woman. Greer is a 30 year old woman who had big dreams to make it big in the Nashville music scene, but as she harshly learned, some dreams does not come true. Forced to return back home with her tail between her legs, she decides to move back home to find a new path. Emmett is somewhat on the same path, but Emmett moved back home to the ranch from the military minus one limb. Their first meeting is insane and you could just feel the chemistry jump off of the page. I was honestly and whole heartedly rooting for them to get together and I enjoyed their journey for love.
Although this book revolves around Emmet and Greer, the true breakout star was Ally and she had the best character arc that I have ever seen on a page. The progression of trust between her and Greer was so awe inspiring and it gave Greer's character such grit and wit. The exchange between them was hilarious and heart felt. The awesome thing about this book is the perfect balance of character development and romance. The characters were developing along with the wonderful story telling which I think that so many authors struggle with.
I mentioned earlier that Emmett's military story was handled with honor because while Emmett is rough around the ages, you can't doubt that he has a heart of gold. The story is told with such detail and grace that you are literally sitting with him during the war. There are enough details shared that you can see and also feel his experience during this terrible time that caused him to lose a limb.
I don't know if you have heard or read yet, but I loved this story. I just live for romances with great character development, a strong female character, and broody, yet lovable male lead. I give this story five stars because I want to and I just love this story through and through. So grab your tea and drink up because this is "under the blanket" kind of read.
This is book 2 of the Heart of a Hero Series. Greer ends up back home and having to do community service hours in her home town. There she meets a teen, Ally, who needs help after she lost her father during his active duty service. Greer knows that she need to help her, but she's not sure how. She and a man that she meets, Emmitt, must team up to help Ally because no one fights alone.
AN EVERYDAY HERO - Laura Trentham
#2 in the Heart of a Hero romance series
WARM AND UPLIFTING - 4.5 stars
Plot - 4 stars - When Greer gets into trouble in her hometown, she is assigned community service by providing music therapy at a local support group. She is given some tough cases, and she is determined to help despite her initial reluctance.
Writing - 4.5 stars - I was drawn into the story from the very beginning. The characters are well-designed, and I was already rooting for Greer even before I knew her well. And the military-connected support group was a different twist and added a lot of depth to the story. The romance was almost secondary, although it also made this book much more warm.
Characters - 4.5 stars - This is where the book really shone for me. Greer is basically a warm and loving person, but she has lost her excitement over her life because of disappointments in her musical career. But she's determined and strong, and I enjoyed watching her come back from her unhappiness. Emmett is a disabled war veteran who is angry at life and its unfairness. He has a strong core, but he's lost his way and needs some help coming back. I loved them together since they bring out the best in each other.
Title - 4 stars - This title fits the theme of the book, focusing on the fact that heroes are not always those who come back from war, but also on the small things that everyone can do as a kindness to each other.
Cover - 4.5 stars - This is a beautiful cover, showing the peacefulness of home, but with a subtle nod to patriotism with the red, white, and blue chairs on the beach.
Overall - 4.5 stars - This is such a warm book, with a strong positive message of kindness. We mostly followed two military-connected people who needed help finding their way. And Greer used tough love to provide support and friendship. I loved the way they worked together and interconnected, in more ways than one. Another excellent book in this series. I'm looking forward to more, hopefully.
An Everyday Hero by Laura Trentham is the second book in the contemporary romance Heart of a Hero series. This contemporary romance series is centered around characters having involvement in the U.S. military. And the series can all be read as a standalone if choosing to do so with each book having new main characters.
Greer Hadley has wanted to be a songwriter and now at thirty is seeing that dream slip through her fingers as each day passes. To make matters worse at this low time in Greer’s life she has been sentenced to community service. Greer gets sent to a nonprofit that works with veterans and their families telling her that she can use her music to help.
After arriving at the non profit Greer gets paired up with a troubled teen that hasn’t responded to anyone else. At fifteen, Ally Martinez, is dealing with the loss of her father in action and acting out and Greer sees parts of herself in the young girl. Greer also is assigned Emmett Lawson, once the town’s golden boy but now the shell of his former self after his time in the service. As day’s pass Greer finds herself growing closer to them both.
The Heart of a Hero series is the type of books that will take readers on an emotional roller coaster. Reading about these characters and their pain as they rebuild their lives I found it was smart to keep some tissues handy at all times. I loved watching the story unfold and the emotional and physical growth. I’m not sure if there will be any more books to the series but having loved the first two it would be one I’d happily come back to if there were.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
I loved the characters and the storyline development of this book. It was absolutely one of my favorites so far and I can't wait to delve in to the next one that this author writes. The storyline was simple, enjoyable, and entertaining. The characters were complex while being completely entertaining.
ARC for honest review with no compensation received from NetGalley 4.5 stars
Everyday Hero is book 2 in the Heart of a Hero series by Laura Trentham an another awesome read!
Greer Hadley has made some bad decisions and has some bad luck that lands in community service at a nonprofit for veterans and families. There she meets Allie Martinez a 15 year old and veteran Emmett Landon.
What happens next is second chances, romance, redemption and so much more!
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I ended up not finishing it, as it wasn’t working for my current read mood. But I definitely have some patrons in mind to recommend this one to.
Nice, Solid Romance.
Laura Trentham gives her readers a nice, solid romance with An Everyday Hero. The is the first book in the series that I've read, so I don't know about continuing characters, however I sure liked the ones I met in this sleepy little town.
Greer Hadley needs to catch a break here sooner or later. The girl has been pursuing her dream for years without any luck. Forced home, she finds herself on the other end of the law and in a place she never thought she'd be of any help. Greer sees first hand that there are others worse off than her and tries to give it her all to help them out.
I liked Greer from the get go. She's been kicked around a bit and feels sorry for herself every so often, but can still open up enough to help others. Even ones that don't want or appreciate her kind of help, such as the young Ally or the stubborn Emmet.
Emmet was hilarious. Sure he's a kind of a downer right now, but his dry sense of humor was still intact. There is nothing I like more than some witty banter and when he meets Greer, it's full steam ahead with making her as uncomfortable as possible.
The book is well written with strong characters, as well as a nice handful of supporting characters. While the storyline is a slightly predictable, there were a few curveballs that helped keep my interest from beginning to end. The book reads as a standalone with a nice epilogue.
Reviewed for Renee Entress's Blog
Book two in series.
Greer in need of second chance lands in her uncle's court room. She is sentenced to community service
Emmett, is hold up in his cabinet. Punishing himself for not protecting his men.
Great story about digging deeper you never know what you will find.
Bonnie is cutest!!
I really loved this book.
Greer was just a woman tried her best to make her dream come true, so when she finds herself back in her hometown she's frustrated and angry which leads to her getting in some trouble and having to do community service. Her plan is to go through the motions, get her community hours signed off and move on with her life. But once there, she meets Ally, a troubled teenager who is determined to keep everyone at bay. Ally doesn't need anyone, especially not Greer. But little by little Greer get through Ally and they form an unlikely bond.
Which is exactly how to attempts to get through Emmet. Except Emmet doesn't want anything to do with Greer, his family or anyone in town. He just wants to be left alone with his alcohol so that he doesn't have to endure the survivor's guilt that eating him inside. Thankfully, Greer is as stubborn as they come and soon enough these two are becoming friends.
And it's beautiful to see them together. Just coming in to their new selves. Accepting their new reality. Connecting. Falling in love.
I appreciated every element the author brought to the page. There was a wide range of emotions that led me to get to know the characters and the intricacies that made who they truly were and what it was that they yearned for the most. There was humor that was brought about through Emmet and Greer's early stand-offs and subsequent bickering once they got more comfortable with each other. And the most important for me, the connection between these two. It was great to see it on the page, watching it grow, becoming something they were not necessarily looking for but something they came to need from one another.
I loved it. I loved it all! The highs, the lows and everything in between. An awesome read.
I'll keep this short and sweet;
I’ll start this review by saying this one spoke to me as soon as read the blurb.
This was a roller coaster for sure. From crying to smiling, it had it all. Story about loses, heartbreak, broken and damaged people who found each other and helped to fell healed.
This story showed me the meaning of friendship, trust, tough-love and simply letting some else caring our burdens every once in a while.
I read it in one sitting and couldn’t get enough of it.
***Review copy received by NG for an honest opinion***
This was a very well written story filled with emotion, wonderful characters and sweet romance. It's a story that will touch you to your core and leave you wanting more. Awesome story!