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“Hate is giving them too much power.��

What I expected to be a standard "millionaire takes poor girl to bed and they live happily ever after" book was so much more. Samantha Young has wowed me again. Hero was an amazing story.



Alexa is a PA who works hard for her success. Her mother passed away recently and it has caused her a great deal of grief. She has been reminded of the dark cloud hovering over her families history. After taking some time off to grieve, she returns to work to find that she has a major photo shoot to assist on. Imagine her surprise when the center of her families little black secret is standing in front of her.

"Today I’m shooting Caine Carraway for Mogul magazine’s Top Self-Made Men Under Forty. Caine is to grace the cover.��




Caine Carraway is a successful business man. He is a well known eligible bachelor. When he first meets Alexa, she seems flustered and obviously bothered by his presence.

When I found out there was a "big secret", I thought oh boy (insert eye roll and huge sigh). How many pages will I have to read to find out what the big secret is? How far will the heroine take the relationship before she reveals the big secret? After the big secret is revealed, how bad will the break up be? How long will it take them to get back together? To my absolute delight and surprise, Alexa turns my preconceived world upside down and reveals her true identity to Caine the moment she meets him.



I must stop right there and acknowledge my gratitude to Ms. Young. What a fresh and vibrant character. This heroine isn't afraid to lay her cards right out on the table. I knew right then this book was going to be special.

Caine is so taken aback by Alexa's big reveal that he fires the photography team instantly. In turn, Alexa is fired from her job. Instead of wallowing in her own misery, Alexa goes to Caine and asks him to get her her job back. Needless to say, there second meeting isn't much better than the first.

“What part of you being here is fair? I’m going to ask you to leave one more time, and if you don’t I will physically remove you.��-Caine

Alexa puts aside her sassy spunk aside in order to ask Caine to help her get her job back. Caine concedes and we think all will be well in Alexa's world. The fates have different plans for her. When Caine isn't able to get her her job back, he asks her to work for him.



Alexa and Caine working together is like fire and gasoline. They have the sins of their parents bleeding into their relationship. Their dialogue is sharp and quick witted. The day to day banter kept a smile on my face for days! As Alexa becomes acquainted with the true Caine Carraway, she finds that underneath the tough exterior is a kind hearted and passionate man. It doesn't take long for these two to come together! As they try to "keep things casual", things become more complicated!



Besides the central conflict between Alexa and Caine, Alexa has her own demons to battle. She has a grandfather that "secretly" spends time with her. The rest of her family doesn't acknowledge her existence. I immediately connected with Alexa because I have experienced a bit of this in my own family history. I never knew my father's family because they basically turned their back on my mom when she divorced my dad. I could relate to Alexa's plight and was quite inspired by her strength and perseverance. When Caine begins to make her want more, she knows that she has fallen for him!



Alexa and Caine work through the tensions of their past and begin a sordid affair. Alexa fears revealing their relationship would cause further issues with her family. Caine struggles with feeling more for Alexa than he should. He too has baggage weighing him down. He does everything he can to push her away.

“I don’t know what this is you’re trying to do, but you and I are not the same.�� He took another step back from me. “And I am not for you. I’m not your white knight. I’m just the guy who wanted to f**k you.��

There were so many amazing twists and turns in this read. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the secondary characters. Alexa's best friend and Caine's neighbor Effie were my favorites! Effie becomes Alexa's cheerleader. She is like Caine's surrogate grandmother and gives Alexa a mother's comfort as well!

"I could hear Effie in my head, urging me not to give up on Caine, urging me to keep pushing and pushing at him until he finally gave me his secrets."-Lexie

I lavished in the transformation in this story. Caine and Alexa were well matched and I couldn't put this book down. Alexa isn't afraid to bang down the walls that Caine has put in place.

"Being honest had been scary and it hurt, but at least I wasn’t a coward."-Lexie

When Lexie and Caine come together, it is smoking hot! Who doesn't love a good old fashioned boss/employee romance! The intimacy builds between the two and the emotions that these two evoked were breathtaking.



"The men who had come before him had always made me feel attractive . . . but not one of them had ever made me feel necessary. Vital. Not like Caine. Like if he didn’t have me this very second the world would come crashing down around him."-Lexie

I can honestly say this book has reminded me "don't judge a book by it's cover"! This was not your standard millionaire office romance! This book was chalked full of sexual passion, emotional intimacy, tension, and witty dialogue. It had what we call in the theater world "the perfect storm". A well defined beginning, middle, and end. A clear and concise conflict and resolution. The Epilogue was the icing on the cake. Well done Ms. Young! Well done!

"I’m not looking for something else from life. I’m not looking for more. I’m not looking for a great adventure. I’m not looking, because I found it. You are my more. You are my great adventure.��