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Blog Tour and Review: Charlie’s Hero by Nic Starr

June 29, 2015 by Devan Huff 5 Comments

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Posts feature books that may have been provided at no charge & may be sponsored. Post contains affiliate links & I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on links.As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

AboutTheBook

Title: Charlie’s Hero

Series: Heroes

Author: Nic Starr

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Bree Archer

Length: 200 Pages

Release Date: June 17, 2015

Blurb: Schoolteacher Charlie Matthews returns to his hometown, looking to regain a sense of community, reconnect with friends, and settle down. It looks like his dreams have come true when paramedic Josh Campbell attends an accident at the school. It’s love at first sight, and a romance begins.

But Josh’s reluctance to come out to the brother who raised him, puts pressure on their fledgling relationship. While Charlie understands Josh’s concerns, he can’t help growing impatient. After all, Charlie came out years ago.

It’s not until Charlie confronts his own parents and realizes he hasn’t come to terms with their rejection that he fully understands what Josh has to lose. But Josh is Charlie’s hero, and Josh will do anything to prove to Charlie that to be part of a family, he doesn’t need his parents.

CommonExcerpt

HE WAS in love. Totally, wonderfully, head over heels in love. Love with a capital L, hell, love in full uppercase. All it took was one look, one simple glance, and he was a goner. Of course the object of his admiration was classically handsome—tall and athletic, glowing with good health. Bright eyes, wide smile, waves of shining hair tucked behind perfect ears. He was like all Charlie’s dreams come true, with golden skin hugging strong muscles that strained on long limbs. But even if Charlie hadn’t been attracted to the man’s spectacular good looks, there was no way to overlook his actions.

CharliesHeroORIG-final-01 (1)When Charlie first saw him, he was kneeling on the schoolyard ground, tending to a little girl who was lying prone on the soft-fall rubber surface under the play equipment. She was one of Charlie’s second graders. Her right leg, bent at a strange, unnatural angle, gave a big clue as to her injury. Charlie hoped the leg was the worst she was hurt.

An efficient auburn-haired paramedic was treating her injured leg while the gorgeous guy knelt by her head, hands on either side of her blonde curls, keeping her still. He whispered into her ear, the words obviously having a calming effect—the little girl stared intently up at him, the hitch in her breathing the only evidence of any distress. There was a gentleness to his touch, despite the large hands, and caring in his tone as he concentrated on his patient. How could Charlie not fall in love with this glorious combination of caring, masculine beauty?

“Mr. Matthews. Mr. Matthews.” The urgent high-pitched voice and persistent tugging on his hand drew his attention reluctantly away from the scene unfolding in the playground. Shit, he thought, what the hell am I doing just standing here staring when I should be taking care of the other children, who are no doubt worried and scared? Dropping to one knee and looking Jennifer in the eye, Charlie gave her his full attention. “What is it, Jenny?” he asked, knowing she was going to voice her worry about her small friend on the ground.

“Is Alison going to be all right, Mr. Matthews?” she asked in a low and quavering voice. He replied in a way he hoped would calm her fears, by keeping his voice even and low.

“She’ll be fine, Jenny. Her mummy and daddy will meet her at the hospital, and Miss Bryant is going to go stay with her until they get there. Alison is in very good hands. See those paramedics?” He pointed toward the action under the monkey bars, and she looked across at the small group on the ground and nodded gravely. “Well, they’re very good at their jobs. They’re going to take Alison to the hospital so the doctors can put a cast on her leg. I’m sure she’ll be back at school in no time.”

“But she won’t be able to play,” she whispered, obviously still worried for her friend.

“No, she won’t,” he admitted. “At least she won’t be able to run around for a while, but she will be able to draw and play board games. I know you love to draw, so maybe you can play with Alison to make her feel better. I bet you’ll be able to write your name on the cast too.”

At that, Jenny met his gaze and finally smiled. “Really!” she said with excitement. “That’d be totally cool!”

They looked up as the paramedics wheeled past with the gurney. Little Alison was tightly strapped aboard. She was lying still, no doubt in shock, and holding tightly to the hand of Charlie’s hero. He only glanced their way for a second, obviously reluctant to take his attention away from the little girl who needed him, but that was enough. Their gazes connected, his warm brown eyes seeming to look straight into Charlie’s soul. The surge of emotion that flooded through him took him by surprise. The paramedic blinked and the spell was broken. They moved swiftly past Jenny and Charlie, then loaded the gurney into the back of the ambulance.

Charlie stood frozen to the spot, still holding Jenny’s small hand in his, and watched the ambulance leave. Finally he took a deep breath, turned back to the schoolyard, and started to round up any children still in the playground.

“Come on, everyone,” he called. “It’s time to get back to class.”

As the last stragglers made their way into the single-story building that housed the small group of classrooms, he knew he would be spending the afternoon reassuring the children. He decided that making get-well cards for Alison would be the best way of distracting the group of second graders.

BookReview

Charlie is a school teacher with a bit of a crush.  When a small girl is hurt on the playground, she is attended to by an EMT who catches his eye.  When he stumbles upon that same EMT a few weeks later, he figures now is his chance to ask for a date.

Josh is a self confident EMT but in his social life he is rather insecure.  He lost his father at a young age and was raised by his brother.  He is terrified of coming out to Andrew and losing the only family he has left.

Charlie knows what losing family is like so he is very patient with Josh but he is definitely chomping at the bit to meld their lives together for a happily ever after

This is not a complicated story. Boy meets boy.  Boy dates boy and starts falling in love. The melding of friends and family happens slowly and eventually there will be a happily ever after. It is sweet and realistic and relatively angst free. An enjoyable read that left me smiling.

There were a few things that made me stop and scratch my head, though. I am not sure Charlie would have moved back to his home town after his parents disowned him. Literally threw him out and won’t speak a word to him but they live in the same relatively small town.  It didn’t seem like a realistic choice.

I loved Josh’s sweet character but thought there was too big a difference between confident at work Josh and timid at home Josh. It is probably possible but it raised a flag in my brain.

I didn’t like Andrew at first. I thought he was cruel and lived through Josh far too much.  However, you do figure out at the end why he acts like he does.  I liked him much more by the end of the book.

There were time I thought the book went a bit too slowly but that is the nature of the story.  It is a realistic falling in love. There is dating and life and trips to the grocery store and those aren’t always wild and crazy. There is plenty of heat between Josh and Charlie to add a little zip to the storyline and I found that I really enjoyed seeing how things played out. All in all.  A very nice book!

BuyLinks

DREAMSPINNER PRESS (eBook)

DREAMSPINNER PRESS (Paperback)

AMAZON US (affiliate link)

AMAZON UK

AMAZON AUSTRALIA

ALL ROMANCE eBOOKS

BARNES & NOBLES

KOBO

GOOGLE PLAY

AboutTheAuthor

Author PicNic Starr lives in Australia where she tries to squeeze as much into her busy life as possible. Balancing the demands of a corporate career with raising a family and writing can be challenging but she wouldn’t give it up for the world.

Always a reader, the lure of m/m romance was strong and she devoured hundreds of wonderful m/m romance books before eventually realizing she had some stories of her own that needed to be told!

When not writing or reading, she loves to spend time with her family-an understanding husband and two beautiful daughters-and is often found indulging in her love of cooking and planning her dream home in the country.

You can find Nic on Facebook, Twitter and her blog. She’d love it if you stopped by to say hi.

AUTHOR LINKS

Website & Blog: http://www.nicstarr.com

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Nic-Starr/e/B00MAWRRQG/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicki.nicstar

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/NicStarrAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicstar000

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/nicstar000/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8139967.Nic_Starr

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Winner’s Prize: $20 Amazon/ARe Gift Card.

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TourScheduleJune 17:

Multitasking Mommas Book Reviews

Hearts on Fire

Gay.Guy.Reading And Friends

June 18:

A Celebration of Books

The Purple Rose Tea House

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents

June 19:

Bayou Book Junkie

Prism Book Alliance

Because Two Men Are Better Than One

June 22:

Nessa’s Book Reviews

Diverse Reader

My Fiction Nook

June 23:

MM Good Book Reviews

Divine Magazine

Love Bytes Reviews

June 24:

Bike Book Reviews

The Novel Approach

Elisa – My reviews and Ramblings

June 25:

BFD Book Blog

Drops of Ink

Man2ManTastic

June 26:

Eyes on Books

Foxylutely Books

Gay Media Reviews

June 29:

Nautical Star Books

Louise Lyons

Sid Love Writes

June 30:

Rainbow Gold Reviews

Molly Lolly: Reader, Reviewer, Lover of Words

LeAnn’s Book Reviews

Devan Huff
Devan Huff

Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: Contemporary, Dreamspinner Press, Male/Male, Nic Starr

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nic Starr says

    June 29, 2015 at 7:20 PM

    Thanks for taking part in the tour and for the lovely review.

    Reply
    • Devan Huff says

      June 30, 2015 at 7:11 AM

      Happy to be part of it!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. #Tour: CHARLIE’S HERO by NIC STARR | Creative Minds says:
    June 29, 2015 at 1:10 PM

    […] Nautical Star Books review Charlie’s Hero by Nic Starr and say that this is “realistic falling in love” <3 […]

    Reply
  2. Have you entered to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card yet? | Nic Starr says:
    June 30, 2015 at 8:17 PM

    […] Review at Nautical Star Books –  An enjoyable read that left me smiling…. It is a realistic falling in love. […]

    Reply
  3. Andrew's Promise by Nic Starr - Nautical Star Books says:
    September 6, 2015 at 11:46 AM

    […] better understanding of the characters if you read Charlie’s Hero first.  Read my review of Charlie’s Hero or just dive right in to Andrew’s story.  I received one copy of this book at no charge from […]

    Reply

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