Sandy M’s review of Everyone Loves a Hero by Marie Force
Contemporary Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 1 Feb 10

I’ve been wanting to read Marie Force since I picked up her Love at First Flight. I love that cover and title, as well as the back cover blurb. And now I love Ms. Force’s writing, and  I’m going to be picking up more of her books much more often after reading Everyone Loves a Hero.

Cole is an airline pilot who is on the backside of his 15 minutes after saving a fellow pilot suffering a heart attack and bringing their flight down safely. The media frenzy that then follows him for months is not his thing. He can do without the morning shows, the interviews, the pictures, the women coming on to him. Especially after he meets Olivia. Cole is in the right place at the right time for another rescue, taking care of the jerk harassing Olivia at the airport magazine shop where she works. The jerk gets in a good shot, knocking Cole for loop, and though he’s fuzzy-headed and cross-eyed, Olivia is the loveliest woman he’s ever seen. Is there such a thing as love at first sight? Cole would like to find out and two week later, after healing from his concussion and other injuries, he seeks Olivia out but is told she doesn’t work at the shop anymore.

But fate is on his side and Cole runs into Liv before he leaves the airport. He arranges a date with her, and they hit it off just as they did weeks before. And that’s the beginning of the end of Cole’s womanizing ways. Olivia is the real deal for him. It’s convincing the lady herself that they can make a go of it that’s difficult. What a childhood Olivia had that also spills over into her adulthood, and that’s the crux of her fears. Her mother lost twin babies years earlier, which has caused her agoraphobia, which has led her to spending every last dollar her husband makes on anything and everything she can conceivably buy on QVC or whatever’s handy to do so. Olivia has never understood how her mother could turn her back on her other children, though she does understand the grief due to such a tragedy, and she vows to never be like her mother. This causes problems, of course, with her romantic relationships, waiting for something bad to happen to end it. The early scenes with her mother are so horrible for Olivia when she learns exactly how the woman’s behavior has affected her father and their life as a whole. So very emotional.

But when Olivia decides to let go and enjoy Cole and all he has to offer, a first for her, they have a wonderful time together. He encourages her to focus on her art. She discovers how making love really can be. Surprises both big and small fill their lives as they get to know one another. The love scenes are moving and intense. Cole knows this is what he now wants in his life while Olivia is in amazement that something so wonderful is happening to her. I love their joy with one another, all punctuated with Olivia’s apprehension about such goodness weaving its way through her world.

I like the fact that Cole is well into his 30s. That’s a huge plus for me. I always like an older hero – yes, that’s my age talking! – who has some maturity under his belt. At this stage in his life, Cole knows what he wants and goes for it with Olivia, soothing her fears away as much as he can. He tries so hard not to give up, but that same maturity makes him realize maybe love isn’t enough. I had a feeling that there would be an incident while Cole is flying, but I’m glad to say Ms. Force doesn’t give us the usual airplane crash to keep us on pins and needles forever to find out his fate and agonize with Olivia, waiting for her to realize what she can lose. It’s not strung out over chapter after chapter after chapter. It’s succinctly packed with emotion, especially from Olivia’s point of view, that jumps off the page.

There’s everything to like about this book. Mostly a lot of fun. So go with it! You will not be sorry.

Grade: A

Summary:

Everyone loves a hero. That’s the problem.Hero pilot Cole Langston is learning to live with—and enjoy—his newfound fame and the rabid female attention that comes with it until a lucky punch knocks some sense into him and opens his eyes to true love.

When his copilot suffers a heart attack in flight, Cole lands the jetliner in a blizzard and revives the stricken captain. Catapulted to national hero status, Cole has more women vying for his attention than he knows what to do with. They all have one thing in common: they try without success to bring this happy-go-lucky pilot down to earth.

Then comes an airport altercation, a punch to the face, and the lovely Olivia—a shy, timid artist who does what no other woman has ever managed to do: steal Cole’s well-protected heart. With women coming on to him everywhere they go, Olivia struggles to believe that Cole is ready for a committed relationship. His biggest problem is getting rid of all his extra ladies before the only one he wants figures out that she’s one of many.

Read an excerpt. (scroll down and click link)