This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
The Perfect Hero by Victoria Connelly
The circus has come to town…
Die-hard romantic, Kay Ashton, runs a B&B in the seaside town of Lyme Regis and is dumbstruck when the cast and crew of a new production of Persuasion descend. Kay can’t believe her luck- especially when she realises that heart-throb actor, Oli Wade Owen, will be sleeping under her very own roof!
Meanwhile, co-star Gemma Reilly is worried that her acting isn’t up to scratch, despite landing a plum role. She finds a sympathetic ear in shy producer Adam Craig, who is as baffled by the film world as she is. Kay thinks the two are meant for each other and can’t resist a spot of matchmaking.
Then, when Oli turns his trademark charm on Kay, it seems that she has found her real-life hero. But do heroes really exist?
After reading Victoria Connelly’s previous book, A Weekend With Mr Darcy, I couldn’t wait to read her new offering. The Perfect Hero centres around main character Kay, who after losing her mother and a very good friend within months of each other, decides to up sticks and change her life. She has been left some money by her friend, and after quitting her job, she moves to Lyme Regis to open a B&B.
A few months after opening, she receives a knock on the door from a woman looking for rooms to rent. Kay agrees to it but little does she know that she’ll be renting her B&B out to a load of film stars. Now Kay is a daydreamer and one of life’s great romantics, so when all of these actors turn up on her doorstep, she can’t help but get a little carried away with herself.
Once everyone has been settled in, Kay is introduced to the actors and more importantly, the leading man, Oli Wade Owen. She has had a crush on him ever since she seen him in one of his previous films. I’m all for romantic heroes, I love a book even more if the leading man appeals to me, yet I couldn’t really take to Oli, he seemed a bit too quick to show Kay the charm and pay her compliments, and with me that doesn’t sit right. Adam, the shy producer, was more my type of romantic hero. He’s sweet, unassuming and the perfect gentleman. Listen to me, it sounds like I should be living in Jane Austen’s era the way I’m going on!
Another character that I couldn’t help but love was Gemma. She’s landed the leading role in the adaptation of Persuasion, and is so far from your typical actress that you can’t help but be charmed by her. She is very shy and doesn’t feel that she deserves the role, and with an overbearing actress for a mother, she is reminded of this almost on a daily basis. Gemma soon comes into her own though and I was rooting for her all the way through the book.
The Perfect Hero is a brilliant escapist read that you can’t help but love, with its seaside settings and intriguing characters. What will appeal even more to readers is the unexpected twist towards the end of the book. Now I’m not saying anything else, so you’ll just have to read it for yourself!
I’m giving this an 8/10!
P.S I defy you not to love Nana Craig, I mean who doesn’t love a straight talking OAP with an eclectic taste in fashion! x
More About The Perfect Hero