Title: An Everyday Hero
Series: Warmest Wishes: Advent Calendar 2018
Author: E.J. Russell
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: 54 Pages
Category: Contemporary, Holiday Romance
At a Glance: As a holiday offering An Everyday Hero has all the right elements to satisfy any romantic. This story was a win for me.
Reviewed By: Sammy
Blurb: When Adam Tyler’s sister announced she was pregnant, Adam decided to move from Portland, Oregon, to Phoenix, Arizona, to fully embrace the uncle experience. However, he didn’t count on the move being delayed until three days before Christmas—and three days before his sister’s due date. And he definitely didn’t count on finding a scorpion in his bedroom. Cue the panicked calls to exterminators.
Garrett Strong doesn’t consider himself at all remarkable—his ex certainly didn’t think so—and Garrett’s pest-control business is circling the drain. Although Adam is his first new client in months, that isn’t the only reason Garrett goes above and beyond for him. He feels a real connection to the younger man and intends to do everything in his power to make sure Adam feels safe and welcome in Phoenix—venomous intruders notwithstanding.
Review: E.J. Russell does her best work when pairing two total opposites and letting them fall in love. An Everyday Hero is another great example of how two guys who might have never found the other attractive come to discover just how easy it is to fall in love when one of them wants only what is best for the other.
Adam has relocated to sunny Arizona where the local creepy-crawlies tend to become unwanted boarders, if your house isn’t impenetrable. When he discovers a nasty creature in his house, he calls the exterminator—only to find that most are booked out weeks in advance. Then he discovers Garrett Strong’s one-man pest control company. Garrett likes his job but lacks the tech savvy that he desperately needs in order to make it a success. He’s great at what he does, but no one knows about it, and Garrett hasn’t the faintest clue how to change that. Enter his latest client, IT expert Adam Tyler. What begins as an awkward clean-up of increasingly larger and more deadly wildlife, morphs into a sweet dance that leads to romance.
I really enjoyed An Everyday Hero largely due to the idea that an underdog can win, and someone who never viewed themselves as anything special can learn just how fabulous they really are when they are told often enough. Although I wished for a bit more time to develop the love angle between Adam and Garrett, the story was still quite sweet and entertaining.
As a holiday offering it has all the right elements to satisfy any romantic, and introduces the reader to a really lovable guy in the character of Garrett Strong. He was self-effacing, modest and just a genuinely nice man who was in desperate need of some good luck and a well-deserved break. The fact that Adam could get over himself fairly rapidly and see that about Garrett made this story a win for me.
You can buy An Everyday Hero here:
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