Review: An Everyday Hero by Laura Trentham

From award-winning author Laura Trentham comes An Everyday Hero, an emotionally layered novel about redemption, second chances and discovering that life is worth fighting for.

At thirty, Greer Hadley never expected to be forced home to Madison, Tennessee with her life and dreams of being a songwriter up in flames. To make matters worse, a series of bad decisions and even crappier luck lands her community service hours at a nonprofit organization that aids veterans and their families. Greer cannot fathom how she’s supposed to use music to help anyone deal with their trauma and loss when the one thing that brought her joy has failed her.

When Greer meets fifteen-year-old Ally Martinez, her plans to stay detached and do as little as possible get thrown away. New to town and dealing with the death of her father in action, she hides her emotions behind a mask of bitterness and sarcasm, but Greer is able to see past it and recognizes pieces of who she once was in Ally. The raw and obvious talent she possesses could take her to the top and Greer vows to make sure life’s negativities don’t derail Ally’s potential.

After Greer is assigned a veteran to help, she’s not surprised Emmett Lawson, the town’s golden boy, followed his family’s legacy. What leaves her shocked is the shell of a man who believes he doesn’t deserve anyone’s help. A breakthrough with Ally reminds Greer that no one is worth giving up on. So she shows up one day with his old guitar, and meets Emmett’s rage head on with her stubbornness. When a situation with Ally becomes dire, the two of them must become a team to save her—and along the way they might just save themselves too.

First and foremost a thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for providing us a copy of this book so that we can bring you this review.

I have a huge weakness for these military stories so of course I was eager to read it. What I wasn’t fully prepared for was the pain and sadness I would experience for one of the characters that isn’t even a main character. I guess part of the reason is because as a parent to teens I can understand when they are going through so much, but for this particular teen she was going through even more. Though Greer was reluctant and not prepared for what she is about to experience with both Ally and Emmett it is great to see how they both help not only Greer but each other. Things happen that some how show all of them together that they need to get past some of their hardships and work together to help someone else. It was such a heartwarming story and great way to see things change and grow. I love these books and I can’t wait to see what else Laura Trentham has for us next.

I give this book 5 kisses.

Happy Reading… Adri