Hero by Samantha Shannon

Hero by Samantha Young
Series: No
Publisher: NAL Trade
Publication Date: January 3rd 2015
Source: NAL Trade [Netgalley]

Alexa Holland’s father was her hero—until her shocking discovery that she and her mother weren’t his only family. Ever since, Alexa has worked to turn her life in a different direction and forge her own identity outside of his terrible secrets,. But when she meets a man who’s as damaged by her father’s mistakes as she is, Alexa must help him.

Caine Carraway wants nothing to do with Alexa’s efforts at redemption, but it’s not so easy to push her away. Determined to make her hate him, he brings her to the edge of her patience and waits for her to walk away. But his actions only draw them together and, despite the odds, they begin an intense and explosive affair.

Only Caine knows he can never be the white knight that Alexa has always longed for. And when they’re on the precipice of danger, he finds he’ll do anything to protect either one of them from being hurt again…

Ever since I was introduced to Samantha Young last year and binge read all of the books from her On Dublin Street series that have been released so far, I've been dying to get my hands on more of her books. So when this one became available on Netgalley, I couldn't stop myself from requesting it.

Hero follows Alexa Holland who believed for years that her father was a hero, until she found out the truth about him and what he'd done. Caine Carraway wants nothing to do with Alexa or the Holland's after what happened to his mother, but Alexa is refusing to let him push her away. Caine is determined to hate her but finds himself drawn to her. 

I love main characters like Alexa Holland. Alexa is stubborn, determined, strong, fiery and a smart-ass. She refuses to back down and is determined to find a way to make Caine hear her out. Alexa has lost her mother; she doesn't speak to her father and her grandfather is the only Holland that knows Alexa exists. She's being kept a secret for her own family. 

Caine Carraway is determined to hate Alexa - and to make her hate him. He has a history with the Holland family and wants nothing to do with her, but he can't help but be drawn to her. He can be a bit of a jackass, but that's only because he's trying to hide his true feelings. He can be sweet and hilarious when he wants to be, but he's also powerful and extremely protective. He can also get insanely jealous which got on my nerves a bit, but it's definitely not the worst case of jealousy I've read about. 

I adored the relationship between Alexa and Caine. Caine offers Alexa a job as his PA (after accidentally getting her fired) he begins to test her by throwing everything at her and having her running around after him. He tries his hardest to make her hate him. There was so much sexual tensions between them it was unbelievable. Caine manages to deny his attraction to Alexa for so long, but there's no denying chemistry like theirs. They had quite a few steamy encounters. 

Both Alexa and Caine have their issues. Alexa hates her mother for staying with her father. She hates her father because of what he did and she has to make sure to keep herself a secret from the rest of her family. It's such a horrible and strange situation for her to be in. Caine still struggles with what happened to his mother and is keeping a lot of secrets about his past that we eventually find out. And I felt so bad for him when he told Alexa about his past. 

Overall, Hero was a steamy, quick read that I flew through and completely adored. I think Hero is definitely my favourite Samantha Young book so far! I can't wait to read more of her books now.