Sometimes, at the end of a long day at work, the most satisfying thing to do is read a fun romance novel.  I like romance novels because they always have happy endings.  I can count on it.  Bestseller novels can be gripping, but I hate investing my time in 300 pages of a book that has the hero (or heroine) die at the end.  There are enough depressing things in real life – I don’t need them in the books I read to escape reality.

“Heroes Are My Weakness” is a good example of a fun, engrossing romance novel.  It has some suspense in it (is the hero really trying to kill the heroine?), a mystery to solve (what did her dying mother mean when she said her legacy was in the cottage?), and a charming but realistic picture of life on a small island off the Atlantic coast in winter.

The heroine, Antoinette or Annie, is a ventriloquist that comes to the island after her mother dies to grieve, recover, and deal with the legacy her mother has left her somewhere in the cottage.  Annie’s ventriloquist puppets are her alter-egos and they provide both comic relief as well as sage advice in different circumstances.  When Annie encounters Theo Harp it is hard to know whether he will be the hero or a psychopathic killer.  As the story develops, Annie turns out to be a fearless, loyal, independent and generous woman who can take care of herself and also help those around her.

I loved the gothic feel at the beginning of “Heroes Are My Weakness.”  I have always had a weakness for gothic novels.  It was a fun change from other contemporary romance novels.  In the end, Annie finds her hero and rescues her hero in turn.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips is an author I have always enjoyed.  She infuses her romance and suspense novels with humor and realistic characters.  Everyone has their flaws and their struggles, but they manage to overcome and find love amidst the mess of life.  “Heroes Are My Weakness” is another good book written by an interesting author.