My Own Private Hero

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review. Also my tags may have spoilers in them so be forewarned before checking out full review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:📔📔📔📔📔
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥.5
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒
Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨

First Impressions
My Own Private Hero is the third installment in the "American Heiresses" series and this story features the show more last Wilson sister, Adele. This story packs quite the heart breaking forbidden punch. We have a story of a heroine learning who her identity is while at the same time being engaged and falling in love with his cousin who teaches her the beauty of passion and surrender and embracing life fully. We see how practical matches could also cause much pain when it wasn't returned.

First Line
Inside the lavish interior of the SS Fortune, steamings smoothly across the deep, dark Atlantic at night, Adele Wilson stood in her first class stateroom and gazed uncertainly at her reflection in the mirror.

The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Viscount, Damien Renshaw of Alcester
The Heroine: Adele Wilson

Summary
Adele Wilson is the practical of the sisters. All she wants is to find a comfortable home in England and marry as is expected of her. She isn't looking for adventure or a grand passion like her sisters have found, but she wants something calm and easy and predictable. She only wants her parents to be truly proud of her and be the easy child. But there is a part of her that she doesn't release that wants more even if she doesn't realize it. When she is kidnapped and held for ransom and then rescued by her fiancee's cousin, Damien there is a connection between them that is build. One that is packed with chemistry but also deep yearning. But she is to marry his cousin but Adele learns that love is full of its own pains and sorrows and she will have to make a choice .....marry someone she doesn't love or risk it all for love...

What I Loved
The plot of the story was really vibrant, it keeps you on the edge of your seat and you are anticipating every single moment that these two are together even though its forbidden. Now depending on your limitations when it comes to this type of dynamic will determine if you enjoy it or not. I was honestly good for her and Damien being together and they really don't do much sexually until closer to the end of the book so it worked for me. We see the torment that Adele goes through and the self discovery journey she goes on. I was really in tune with the struggles that the hero had been facing most of his life. Seeing how his past hadn't been an easy one and never felt like he was worthy of anything good or beautiful in the world was heartbreaking. But seeing him cross into the threshold of finding what matters and fighting for it was brilliant. Adele has her own journey and we see her go through a vast arrays of growth spurts in this book and its not always easy to see her go through it at times. I did love how the story turns out with the cousin to be honest. I was worried how that would effect future interactions especially with how close Damien was with his cousin, but the author really handled it quite delicately
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What I Struggled With
The heroine at times. I didn't really feel like she treated Damien too well at times especially when he was fighting for them and it seemed like she didn't know her love for him until he was practically begging for it and I wasn't a fan of that to be honest. Also some of the times where they would fight ....it seemed like filler. There was no true purpose in it, when it only hurt each other. I do think they didn't need the extra conflict in their relationship, it just didn't fit right within the story.

Overall View
My Own Private Hero is a story that delves into forbidden yearning, self discovery and healing and learning that love is worth the fight...

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Historical Romance-Victorian Era
Character Types: Viscount Hero, Rake/Rogue, American Heiress
Themes: Heart/Emotionally Touching, Angsty
Tropes: Forbidden Love, Love Triangle

Book Perspective
3rd POV

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Both

If you like these authors, I recommend This Book
Julia Quinn
Elisa Braden
Karen Ranney

Song This Book Inspires
Rodrigo's Doubts by City of Prague Orchestra

Recommendation For Reading Order
Yes---You could read these as standalone, but you will get more out of the stories if read in order.

Steam/Spice Explanations

Warmin' by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments. show less

From BackCover:
Could this love nonsense really be worth the trouble?

To Adele Wilson the answer is clear: of course not!

She has seen her two sisters dragged through scandal and heartbreak (not to mention every ballroom in London) to find the husbands of their dreams. And that's why she said yes to the first British lord who requested her hand. And why shouldn't she marry him? He is kind, honest, and not sentimental in the least. Unlike his wilder, taller, more mysterious cousin Damien Renshaw, Baron Alcester. Ignoring Damien altogether would be easy if he were the sort of man intent on seducing his cousin's betrothed. But he is clearly trying to resist her, and his suddenly proper behavior only makes him more tempting to the usually show more well-behaved Adele.

Indeed, Damien seems to be bringing out another side of Adele, a heady, passionate, exhilarating side. It seems that fate is contriving to teach her -- against her best intentions -- exactly what this love nonsense is all about ... show less