Some Kind of Hero [Paperback]

Sergeant Derek Rison had just returned home from his most recent tour of duty in Iraq to find his apartment destroyed by fire. He had no one that could take him in for a couple of days, so that in essence left him homeless for the immediate future. When one of Jordan Minx's customers revealed his current status, she gave no thought to it before she offered her home as a refuge to him. Derek couldn't believe his luck. He had never had such an immediate attraction to a woman before, but he decided to tread lightly. He didn't want to ruin their time together.

Derek had no control when it came to Jordan. He had barely time to get settled in her home before clothes were flying. He knew she reciprocated his feelings, but he didn't want to scare her off. He knew she was hiding a lot, and was hoping time would allow her to open up to him. Jordan was hiding her entire life from Derek. She had a boyfriend that supported her, and kept her grandmother in a care facility. They used to spend time together, but it had waned to only their sexual encounters. He was constantly initiating three-way sex with his friends, and she thought she had no choice but to participate.

When Derek found out about her circumstances, he wanted to get her away from him. They had only known each other a few days, but he was already thinking about forever. Jordan felt the same about Derek, but felt she owed it to Randy to try and work things out between them. After finding him with another man, she knew that she had to end things. She couldn't believe she had turned Derek away for this miserable human being. She chose her birthday to break up with Randy, but when he tried to force her to his will in front of his friends, she outed him, and he lost control swearing vengeance.

I actually liked this story, and Derek is such an appealing man. There were several very good scenes, but what I didn't like, comprehend, and couldn't come to terms with was Jordan's character. She more or less was a prostitute in every sense of the word stating she had to stay with Randy, but when Derek gave her an out, she still chose to stay with a man that pimped her to his friends on a regular basis. I couldn't invest myself completely in the story with that type of character on the canvas.

Derek Rison has returned home after two tours of duty in Iraq. He doesn't have an apartment anymore because of a fire and has nowhere to go. Resigned to spending the night in yet another motel and using money he really doesn't have, Derek is surprised when the trusting waitress offers him her couch for as long as he needs it.

Jordan Minx, while attracted to Derek, knows that her offer of a bed for the night can only be temporary. Thoroughly under the thumb of her freakishly controlling boyfriend, Jordan cannot afford to anger him. But, with Derek, she doesn't care. For the first time in a very long time, Jordan is being treated with respect.

Derek and Jordan begin an affair hot enough to melt the most frozen of icebergs. Their one argument? Jordan's adamant refusal to discuss her foul boyfriend Randy.

I was instantly intrigued by the blurb for Some Kind of Hero. This lasted until I realized why Jordan's boyfriend treated her the way he did. AND she let him. I found it genuinely disheartening to read Some Kind of Hero because I lost faith in Jordan's ability to be a worthy heroine to Derek's hero. I thought Derek was loyal to a fault and felt that realistically speaking, no man such as Derek would have put up with Jordan's other man and even worse, no man would allow the woman he loves to be treated as Randy treated Jordan.

Some Kind of Hero had the plot and premise to be a truly terrific book and it was a good read. But my aversion for Jordan's character interfered with my overall enjoyment. I even went back and reread Some Kind of Hero just to make sure I wasn't being overzealous in my perception of Jordan, and alas, the second time around I abhorred her even more. Some Kind of Hero was definitely not the book for me at this given time.

Talia
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed