Hero

David and Seth #1-3

by Jessica Freely

David is lonely, bored, and a virgin. He lives through books, but fears life is passing him by. Then one night he's attacked by a gang and rescued by a real-life hero. Sexy, mysterious Seth seems to have stepped right off the pages of an adventure novel. Yet he has no place to call home. When David invites him in, a thank you dinner escalates into passion, and Seth makes all David's pent-up fantasies come true.

Seth wants nothing more than to spend the rest of his life loving and protecting David, but his brutal past makes that impossible. Just being around Seth puts David at risk and Seth will stop at nothing to keep him safe, even if it means breaking his heart.

David is determined to keep Seth off the streets and in his bed, but all is not as it seems. Seth has terrible scars he won't talk about, and sometimes, he wakes up in the night screaming. When David discovers Seth is linked to a murder, he's determined to learn the truth, but he may find out more than he wants to know. How far is David willing to go, to rescue his hero?

This is a reprint of the first three David and Seth stories -- Hero, Stay and Scars, originally published by Torquere. It's a prequel to Rust Belt, though some scenes overlap and are retold through the other character's point of view.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Jessica Freely can't resist a wounded hero. As a reader and a writer, her favorite stories are of soul mates finding redemption in each other's arms. Married to the love of her life in a beautiful relationship based on mutual goofiness, Jessica also warps minds as an instructor in Seton Hill University's Writing Popular Fiction MFA program. Her dog, Ruthie, doesn't seem to care that Jessica's an award-winning and best-selling author in multiple genres. She just wants to play tug of war with Jessica's pages.

Reviews

[Laurie (barksbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the way this woman writes her romances and I'm a sucker for both virginal and tortured heroes. Since this book features both I was destined to love it. It's not perfect but the romance is hot and sweetly tender at the same time, something difficult to come by in most of these books.

[Elizabetta · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars

David is rescued from an assault by the homeless guy he’s seen hanging around the neighborhood. When he brings Seth home, David finds out that a homeless person can have a whole life hidden behind the grime and tatters. Seth has been living on the street for a while and has a lot of secrets, if the scars on his back are any clue.

I’m confused about the ages of these guys, they seem really young, like, around twenty years old if not a little younger. They hook up really fast, too, and there’s way too much sex before David starts asking questions about what’s up with Seth.

Hey, wait a minute, this books seems really familiar… it is another version of Freely’s Rust Belt. In that piece the story is more developed, makes more sense, and there is a resolution at the end. I gave that one 2 stars; so this one gets a lower rating because it’s unfinished.

[Tristan · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnf@ ~38%

N4M

[Mandy Beyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

David is a lonely man, working in a bookstore, living surrounded by books in an economically deprived area. On the way home from work one night, he is attacked by three gang members, who upon discovering only $1 in his wallet, decide that they will rape him instead of robbing him. When the homeless man David once gave leftovers to rescues him by killing the ring leader with a piece of pipe, David welcomes the rescuer into both his home and heart. Seth, his rescuer, has a history of pain and loss to overcome, and constantly tries to leave in order to save David from himself. I liked both characters and felt that they could fit well together, but wished that the story had continued. However, there is a sequel, so maybe some of my questions are answered in it.

[Phaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve wanted to read this for a long time. Back then, I only had the second short story, so I knew I’d have to locate what comes before first, and then there was more and I just lost sight of it. Anyway, here we go.

It wasn’t bad. I feel a little distracted, so that might be to blame somewhat when I say that it also did not blow me away.

The thing is… the protagonists are both a little stupid. Concerning safety measures most of all. And general common sense to an extent.

David especially mystifies me. Are those contradictions part of his character or due to writing issues? It could go either way, really. He’s supposed to be short and shy and thin. But he shows more than once that he’s more than willing to pick fights for things he cares about on principle. That antagonistic side came as a surprise to me. The book also took until the last few pages to mention that he’s quite hairy. Now *snicker* this is no big deal wither way; it just surprised me again. As I said, these details may be intentional.

Something similar went on with Seth, wherein he had a polished way of speaking most of the time, which felt at odds to his circumstances. Not because he’s homeless, but because he lacks education on a fundamental level (making me wonder why he never went to school while he lived with his grandmother).

Also, I am awfully certain it was not meant to be but I found the averted prostitution scene (minus the aftermath) hilarious. Instead of chilling and heartbreaking. Go, figure.

As for the ending? I’m aware that this (moderately sized) volume consists of what used to be the three short stories, but did it really have to end like this? I need more resolution here.

Luckily there are two longer books after this one. I hope that’ll help. Interestingly enough, the next book is supposed to cover the events of this one as well. A sort-of-sequel, but omitting and adding certain things. Maybe that will make it better?

[Ebook Addict Reviews]

Hero wasn’t quite what I expected. I thought it was a sequel to Rust Belt as it was released that way Loose Id. But after writing my original review for Hero I found out something and felt it only fair to rewrite my review. I realized that Hero wasn’t just Rust Belt from David’s point of view as I thought. It was actually the first story in the series with Rust Belt being the sequel. Hero covered scenes that were either not mentioned or just glossed over in Rust Belt, which I enjoyed, but I’m not really one for reading the same book from one point of view and then turning around a reading the same book from someone else’s point of view. So, I’m afraid that colored my view on this story.

I was originally disappointed in Hero, before realizing that it was actually intended to be the first book of the two and not the sequel. So I guess I understand why things were done the way they were with Hero being the story from David’s point of view and continuing on with Rust Belt from Seth’s point of view but I can’t say I really enjoyed Hero as much it didn’t have the emotional connection for me that I felt when reading Rust Belt.

Having read both Rust Belt and Hero and really liking Rust Belt. I can say you could read Rust Belt without reading Hero and still enjoy the story a lot and not miss out on anything if you didn’t read Hero, but if you’ve read or have already read Hero than you will definitely want to continue on with the second book Rust Belt as it continues on in more detail where Hero leaves off.

Reviewed by Theresa

[Heidi Belleau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really readable. After reading "Broken", which was fantastic, this story didn't quite live up to the same standard of character development and exploration of issues. It just didn't go as deep and wasn't quite as affecting. The conflicts didn't hold as much interest.

However, on its own merits "Hero" was very, very enjoyable from start to finish. Great escape fiction. The sex scenes were almost comically frequent, but they were 1. super hot, 2. varied, so I never got bored or frustrated with them.

This book didn't change my life or change the genre, and I don't know how memorable it will be a week from now, but if you're looking for a book to lose yourself in for a night, this one definitely fits the bill.

[Tj · Rating 2 out of 5]

I understand there is a different version, Rust Belt, that actually is better than this version.

I liked the story and everything but the characters didn't ring true to me. They sometimes acted so young but am not certain of that. Also for all that Seth went through he still seemed way too tender of a guy. The two also get together really fast, I mean REALLY fast, and I just didn't see the connection between the two.

I liked the concept of the story but the story itself, at least in this book, just didn't work for me.

[Bookbee]

I was surprised that this story mirrored Rust Belt so closely, just from a different POV. There were a few new elements but not enough that it should be a different book IMO, although it does stop at a much earlier point than Rust Belt. Not what I expected at all and as such, I don't feel right rating it.

[jules0623 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

One star taken off for the way-too-fast-paced beginning (jesus, I got whiplash) and half off for the sex (which was so hot, but you can have too much of a good thing and in this case, I'd rather have had more plot and smoother transitions).

I have it on very good authority (thank you, Heidi!) that this is a great series but even without that endorsement, this one intrigued me enough to want to read the rest.

[Mara Ismine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think this is really contemporary, but the alternate reality differences are so slight that it might as well be (or I'm missing some US reference that makes it contemporary in a deprived area). A pleasant read.