Review: 'I Need a Hero' by Emma Bennet (2015)

Romance writer Bronte Huntington has vowed she will never settle for anything less than ‘the one.’ When pleasant red-haired dentist Ryan moves in next door he just doesn't fit the bill. They have plenty in common but Bronte wants nothing more than friendship with him. 
Then it looks like Bronte’s dreams have finally come true when dashing Sebastian Fairfax rescues her on his horse after she has an accident in the countryside around her idyllic little cottage. Sebastian is tall, dark, handsome, and heir to a massive country estate! 
But is Sebastian the one? Or will Bronte’s romantic dreams of the perfect hero turn out to be as fictional as her novels? And will Bronte's temperamental cat ever stop getting in the way?!
One of the ongoing discussions within the world of books is that you should never judge a book by its cover, but I am sure I am not the only one to admit that I sometimes do. While I often pick up books without taking the cover into account (and have read some absolutely fantastic reads with covers I didn't particularly love), there are also numerous books I pick up because of the cover. And so far I don't think I've ever been really disappointed by a novel with a gorgeous cover, but perhaps that's just luck! Emma Bennet's 'I Need a Hero' has a stunning cover which alone would already have made me curious about this read, but I also really liked the promising blurb and was lucky enough to get a review copy of the book via NetGalley! It took me a bit of time to finally pick up the novel, but I was excited to check it out and hoped the inside would match the lovely book cover!
Romance writer Bronte Huntington knows everything about true love and heated passion, but so far she has been unable to find her very own Mr. Right. While she loves the quietness of the remote cottage she lives in, Bronte is pleasantly surprised when dentist Ryan moves in next door and they click instantly, but just as friends. Ryan is nothing like the perfect heroes Bronte creates on paper and this is even further confirmed when she is rescued by the handsome Sebastian Fairfax, heir to the local country estate. Sebastian seems to be everything Bronte ever wished for in a man, but as she spends more time with him she can't help but wonder: is he really what she has been looking for all this time...?
'I Need a Hero' was my first Emma Bennet read and it was definitely a read I ended up really enjoying! The book is quite a quick read with roughly 200 pages, somewhere between a novella and a full-length novel, but still the right length to really get to know some of the characters and work out a captivating storyline. I loved the sound of the plotline from the start; romance author Bronte who has been unlucky in love so far because she keeps on waiting for one of her literary heroes to jump off the pages and come and sweep her off her feet in real life. I liked Bronte a lot and could relate to her quite easily; which one of us hasn't dreamt of a literary hero becoming reality, right?
I do have to say I thought Bronte was a bit naive at times and I wanted to give her a good shake at certain moments. There are also some interesting secondary characters in the novel, such as Bronte's new neighbour Ryan, handsome heir Sebastian Fairfax, and Bronte's book club, which I'd love to read more about (perhaps another book told from the perspective of one of the other members?). I also loved the setting of the village and Bronte's remote cottage; it really made me long for some lovely Spring days! Overall, 'I Need a Hero' is an enjoyable and feel-good contemporary romance story that left me with a satisfied smile on my face; a promising first read for me by author Emma Bennet and I look forward to checking out more of her work!

Rating:8,5/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.