The Heart of a Hero by Susan May Warren

The Heart of a Hero by Susan May Warren ISBN-13: 9780800735852 Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: Revell Released: June 2nd 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
Jake Silver may not be able to put the memories of his time as a sniper and Navy SEAL behind him, but at least he can put his skills to use as a part of the Jones Inc. rescue team. Saving the life of pediatric heart surgeon Dr. Aria Sinclair on Denali helped too. Now he can't get her out of his head, and when he hears she is in the path of a hurricane down in Key West he can't help but jump on a plane to rescue her.

Aria has dedicated her life to helping children born with defective hearts. After all, she was one of those children. Now driven to succeed, she lives a lonely, stressful life. One she would have lost on Denali if it hadn't been for Jake. Jake is exciting and handsome, but he's also dangerous, and she's already lost one person she loves. She can't bear it again.

It's not until she finds herself trapped in the middle of a category 4 hurricane that she can admit she needs Jake desperately. With their very survival in the balance, can they hope for a second chance at life . . . and love?


My Review:
The Heart of a Hero is a Christian romantic suspense novel. This is the second book in the series, and Jake and Aria's romance really started in the previous book. I'd recommend that you read that book first if you want to fully understand their complicated romance. My main problem was that Ham and Signe's romance was a part of this book, especially as this information will have to be repeated in Ham's novel, anyway. (Plus I didn't find their past "romance" very romantic since Ham insisted on finding and trying to rescue Signe when she kept telling him not to. Stalker?)

Rescuer Jake dashes off after Aria when he realizes she's facing a hurricane. They're trapped with the hurricane hitting... Then suddenly we're following Ham as he thinks about the mission he was supposed to complete that didn't go as planned, how he wasn't able to talk to the guy he wanted to talk to, and about his painful past with Signe. He thinks, he talks, but there is no suspense. Ham's scene's broke the built up suspense for me. The suspense from all of the physical danger was built up again, only to be broken again due to a Ham scene.

I also discovered that I can accept pushing the limits of what is humanly possible when it comes to a talented team working together to rescue people. However, Jake was usually acting as a one man army...er, Navy. He pushed the limit of what I could accept, then pushed it again, and again, and again. Superhero! There were some very suspenseful scenes, but Jake's ultimate success was never in doubt. While the romance moved forward as they came to accept that it was okay to be happy, Jake and Aria still had some major issues to work through. I assume this will continue to develop in the next book.

Really, the story wasn't a romance so much as Jake coming to terms with how he felt that he had hurt people due to poor on-the-spot decisions and how Aria felt guilty over having her sister's heart. Their growth and healing was well done as was the Christian content. A lady that Aria rescued kept explaining to Jake (and Aria) that God's forgiveness doesn't have to be earned, just accepted. There was no sex or no bad language.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.