Review: Hero of My Heart: A Loveswept Historical Romance by Megan Frampton

Hero of My Heart
by Megan Frampton
Publisher: Random Loveswept 
Publication date: April 8, 2013
Genre: Historical Romance
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In this emotional and powerfully erotic tale of love and redemption, a tender vicar’s daughter and a tortured war hero discover that sin may be their only salvation. When Mary Smith’s corrupt, debt-ridden brother drags her to a seedy pub to sell her virtue to the highest bidder, Alasdair Thornham leaps to the rescue. Of course the marquess is far from perfect husband material. Although he is exceedingly handsome, with a perfect, strong body, chiseled jaw, and piercing green eyes, Alasdair is also too fond of opium, preferring delirium to reality. Still, he has come to Mary’s aid, and now she intends to return the favor. She will show him that he is not evil, just troubled. Mary was a damsel in need of a hero, but Alasdair’s plan is shortsighted. He never foresaw her desire to save him from himself. Alasdair is quite at home in his private torment, until this angel proves that a heart still beats in his broken soul. The devil may have kept her from hell, but will Mary’s good intentions lead them back to the brink—or to heaven in each other’s arms?

Hero of My Heart was a delightfully fast paced romance with flawed, lovable characters that I easily connected with. Megan Frampton wove an engaging tale about the power of love, trust and redemption. I consumed this in a single sitting and found it to be the perfect read for a rainy evening.

Tragic events in Alasdair Thornham life have caused the Marquess to find himself addicted to opium. We meet him in a gambling hall as he is contemplating ending it all when fate intervenes. A man struts in with Mary Smith on his arm; offering to sell her virtue to the highest bidder. It is clear the young woman is in shock, and being held against her will. The crowd goes wild bidding for her but Alasdair steps in and wins her. He plans to save her by marrying her. The tale that unfolds is sweet, and action packed as these two lost souls find purpose.

Mary Smith is a vicar’s daughter and when her father passed her greedy half-brother spent what comforts they had on booze, women and gambling. When he gets desperate he decides to sells her.  Mary finds a surprising hero in the dark, brooding and deliciously handsome Marquess. Mary was funny, a thinker and planner. She tends to see the good in others, but she isn't a fool either. Alasdair has serious issues and instead of dealing with those feelings he prefers to escape into the void opium provides. He doesn't think he is worthy of saving but I did grow fond of him and he has redeemable characteristics. Villains and secrets keep thing interesting as these too set out on their journey to Scotland. Told in present tense it goes back and forth between perspectives helping us gain insight into the characters emotions but at times it pulled me from the tale. Both characters drew me in and I found myself hoping for a happily ever after.

The premise for Hero of My Heart was a good one, with twists, secrets and danger. While I adored the characters, I had issues with historical accuracy in their speech, some of the repeated phrases and the redundancy the perceptive provided. Alasdair is addicted to opium and this thread didn't feel developed enough and was simplistic in its handling. This isn't a demon that you easily shake and while we do see some of the withdrawal symptoms and lapses it wasn't accurately portrayed. Why am I saying it was a good read then you ask? The characters made this enjoyable, and I connected with them. If I let the issues go at its heart this was an entertaining read and I found myself swept up in the events. 

Hero of my Heart was an entertaining historical romance. A quick, easy escape novel and if you do not take it too seriously it is highly enjoyable.

Three cups of coffee out of five