Book Review - DEAR HERO

 Author: Hope Bolinger & Alyssa Roat

Pages: 432

Review: 

This book is the most emotionally devastating read of this year for me. It’s funny and also heartbreaking. A hero and a villain who flirt, argue, traumatize, bond and accidentally heal each other???

“I’m tired of pretending that I’m fine when I’m breaking in places no one can see.”

• Online banter
• Emotional vulnerability
• Slow Burn
• found family
• Opposites Attract 
• Villain-hero 

“You say you’re a villain, but I’ve met heroes who cared less than you.”

The emotional intimacy & tension is so strong. And the slow build?? OH MY GOD. It is EVERYTHING. I genuinely sat in silence after reading this book because it had taken me on such a emotional ride that I didn’t know how to come back to real life now.

Both Cortex and Vortex are surrounded by people yet they have this feeling of loneliness with them. For both of them, the messages become a lifeline, and soon after their insults become a base for their connection. The book explores loneliness a lot but still the author balances it with sarcasm. You don't realize how isolated they both are until you catch the moments where the humor breaks it. The moment it hits you, it hits HARD.

“I didn’t mean to trust you. It just… happened. Like breathing.”

Before the romance, chemistry, hero/villain falling in love trope that makes your heart skip a beat, there is friendship that’s built on understanding and honesty they haven’t given to anyone else. The texting format makes their bond more intimate. 

The climax is where everything you love about these characters comes together in a most unforgettable moment.

“Every time you talk, it feels like you’re stitching pieces of me back together.”

Rating:      5/5

Book Description:

"There's an app for everything, even meeting a new nemesis."

Up-and-coming teen superhero Cortex is on top of the world— at least, until his villain dumps him. If he's going to save his reputation, he needs a new villain to fight, and fast. Meanwhile, the villainous Vortex has once again gotten a little overeager and taken out a hero prematurely. Will any young hero be able to keep up with her? Maybe she should work on finding a steady relationship with an enemy she won't kill in the first round.

Enter Meta-Match, a nemesis pairing site for heroes and villains. The two match right away, and after throwing punches at each other behind coffee shops, practicing their fight choreography, and hiring henchmen to do their bidding (mostly just getting them coffee), they realize they have a lot more in common than names that annoyingly rhyme. After all, they're still rising through the ranks in their respective circles, and their reputations need good press.

But not everything in the superhero world is as it seems. Can a hero really trust a villain to do the right thing? And can a villain trust a hero not to screw them over? As darkness from the past threatens them both, they may need each other for the fight to come— one with much higher stakes than their choreographed meet-ups on weekends.

Told entirely through texts, transcriptions, and direct messages, this darkly humorous chat fiction rom-com goes behind the scenes of the superworld.

About The Author:

Alyssa Roat lives in the cornfields of Indiana, but she hopes to soon discover a portal to a fantasy world where she will run a bookshop for magical creatures. For now, she is a multi-published author and has worked in a wide variety of roles within the publishing industry as an agent, editor, writer, and publicist. She has two black cats who allegedly have never been fed in their lives and occasionally help her write by walking across the keyboard. Her name is a pun, which means you can learn more about her at www.alyssawrote.com or on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook as @alyssawrote.