3.5 Stars

I needed more action/suspense.
But all in all it was a good read.

I had some trouble connecting with the relationship between Audrey and Gabe. The adult scenes were Nice.

I think the pace needed to be faster and less filler.

There were some great parts and some slow parts.
I didn't notice any editing errors.
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dnf @ 25%

welp, this was... something...

I discovered this series because it always on the same lists as Whiteout by Adriana Anders (one of my all time faves!)
but Not a Hero didn't lived up to expectations
first of all this book opens up with child molestation scene
then some man rescues (and kidnaps!) said child and couple of others and raises them in wilderness. oh, also he's "survivalist" and preparing for war/natural disaster/apocalypse?? absolutely unhinged
then when these kids all grown up that man commits suicide because he got cancer??? wtf??
and that's only chapter one!!

in second chapter where heroine gets introduced she gets assaulted in her bedroom (because she's a uni librarian who does reserch for some writer/journalist and he discovers some shady business) and runs for her life to remote Alaskan town where she meets MC

I suffered until chapter 8 because I thought it'll imporove, but after heroine gets assaulted at her job and hero takes her home, checks on her health and then while they're talking he puts her on his lap without any reason? like they met 3 days ago and had no development between them?? and this romance isn't insta love/lust either. so there are no reason for it imo

basically, I didn't like it and won't continue the series ( )

Audrey is an introvert, self described nerd, librarian and researcher, when her research for a conspiracy theorist ends with her being violently beaten and barely escaping with her life, she flees to Alaska with a fake I.D. to heal and hide.

Gabe and three other boys were rescued from pedophile foster father by a 'military survivalist' and raised to live off the land in Alaska. His mother wanted him to be a hero and he tried but became disillusioned after betrayal and the loss of most of his team. and the 'sarge.' Mako had one dying wish for his 'boys,' he wanted them to protect and revive a town called Rescue. His brothers connive to bring their Gabe, a retired SEAL and former LA cop back to Rescue to help them with the legacy Mako left them.

When Gabe meets 'Julie' aka Audrey, he knows she's lying to him and he hates it, but it doesn't stop him from falling into bed with her.

Audrey is an introvert but it was so sweet watching her bloom as she was taken in by Rescue's quirky residents. There's a lot going on and a lot of different groups in the town, some of them dangerous but I loved getting to know this new world Cherise Sinclair created. The only thing that didn't feel right was how quick they fell into bed with each other, I wish the author had given it a few more days before that set of circumstances led where it did.

**SPOILER**

There were a few editing issues but the big thing that niggles at me is when Gabe gets attacked by five men and catches them on video, he doesn't arrest them. It made no sense to me and even though I know the author needed Baumer free for later events in the story it still threw the story off for me. Otherwise I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.

More of my reviews can be found at https://wyldheartreads.wordpress.com/
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This is a review from Once Upon a Time, I Read a Book! Be sure to pay me a visit on my site, take a look around, show some love, follow me, whatever.

Not a Hero is the first novel of a new series from Cherise Sinclair. While the Sons of the Survivalist series is a spin-off from The Masters of the Shadowlands series you don’t really need to read the previous series to understand this one. Just wanted to get that out there first so I don’t forget. Moving on!

This story is about rescue. Gabe rescuing Hawk, Mako rescuing Gabe, Cazador, Hawk, and Bull, Gabe and his brothers rescuing Mako from his PTSD and seclusion, Mako setting up his will so the brothers would rescue the town of Rescue, Alaska, this list goes on, but I don’t want to tell you the entire story right here. That kind of defeats the purpose of writing a review to make you want to read the book, right?

Audrey is an interesting character in that she does online research jobs for people and she stumbles on to a crime and uses the things she’s learned in her research to survive on the run from the Big Bad. I loved the colourful characters that comprised the citizens of Rescue. My favourites include Dante and Lillian, both friends of the late Mako who adopt both Gabe and his brothers and Audrey when she arrives in Rescue. Dante is like a sweet old papa bear and Lillian is a fiesty old mama bear and I love them so much! Also, I love all that is Bull, he's just awesomesauce. That's right, I said it. I am that person. Bull is awesomesauce and I want to keep him.

Not a Hero was a relatively quick read amid packing up my apartment last month, it was entertaining but a bit predictable. Yet I found it enjoyable and had a good laugh at the moose incidents. Not a Hero has all I like in my brain-reset books. A little danger, some suspense, romance, action/violence, and some laughs. And if you knew my family, you would understand that moving is a stressful time for us so this was the ideal book to return to after a day of packing boxes and all the stress I went through.

Now, as per usual, I have content warnings for you! If you feel that forewarned is forearmed, all you need to do is click the reveal button and you have the content and trigger warnings. As always, please practise care in your readings if any of these might be problematic for you, and if you have any questions about them, please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about them! Please note that these warnings do contain some spoiler material, so they're hidden with spoiler code. (button code on my site)

*CONTENT WARNINGS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*
This book contains attempted sexual assault on a child, PTSD flashbacks around children, violence, gun violence, attempted murder, sexual assault but not rape (two instances of groping, and another where men are tearing at womens' clothing), kidnapping, alcohol consumption, violence against a women (slapping), a smidge of gore in self-defence, off-page murder, a cult (y'all know how I love cults) and a dirty cop (added this because, we don't all have great experiences with cops and my family was affected by a dirty cop once upon a time but the state police investigated and cleared my relative, so it should be mentioned because not all cops are good and bad cops traumatize so let's recognise that with adding a warning, mmmkay?).
*END WARNINGS*

Overall, I'm giving Not a Hero 4 stars for entertainment and 3 flames for heat. I rather enjoy Ms Sinclair's books and while Not a Hero steps away from kinkdom, she doesn't lose her flair, so I definitely recommend this book to y'all and hope you give a look. Let me know if you've read this or any of Ms Sinclair's work in the comments! Oh, and be sure to visit this page for an excerpt from this book! ( )