Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
What isn’t to love about a second chance romance that features a surprise baby? All the elements you love about those tropes are found in Michelle Fernandez’s Everyday Heroes offering, Distracted. In this story, Fernandez has done a superb job of showing the pain of reconciliation after years of heartache, along with the consequences of hiding a child of her biological parent. Intertwined with those ideas is the hope of finding family beyond your biology and acknowledging your part in hurting someone else. These are the fundamental aspects of Distracted. Add in a little romantic suspense to the formula, and you have a book that’s a page-turner.
What I liked a LOT about Distracted:
- The chemistry between Spencer and Sabrina. Fernandez makes it clear from the first chapter, and you quite frankly want to smack them both upside the head in their denial of it. It’s obvious, but Fernandez makes you pine for their coupling. Thankfully, when they finally fall into it, it’s fiery. She paces these moments out well for her reader, so you are “all in” with these two.
- The romantic suspense portion of the story is a page turner…until its resolution. Fernandez does a superb job of piquing our interest with the person threatening Spencer or Sabrina. However, as it unravels later in the story, it becomes clouded, and it feels a little underdeveloped at that point. That being said, I didn’t want to put the book down until it was worked out.
- Sabrina’s daughter is adorable. What’s not to love about a 6-year-old girl who loves unicorns. She lends the story lightness when it’s necessary to break up Spencer and Sabrina’s angst.
- The inclusion of Bromberg’s Everday Heroes. I’m sure, had I read all of the Bromberg EH prior to this book, I’d love turning the page to see who is revealed. As it is, it’s clear that Fernandez has firmly planted Sabrina and Spencer in this world, only adding further dimension to it. I mean, isn’t that the purpose of all of these great authors such as Fernandez adding to it?
- The revelation of Spencer and Sabrina’s story. It’s sometimes hard to read a second chance romance when the author chooses the first third of the book to tell the story of the past. Fernandez was keen in revealing their past in chapters scattered throughout their present. I prefer that type of organization over the first portion of the book laying out the extended details of their past. It felt balanced within the confines of Distracted’s story.
What I would have liked to see revised:
- As I mentioned above, I think the romantic suspense portion of the plot could have used a bit more work.
- The uneven depiction of Spencer’s interest in Sabrina. The “I can’t have her/I want to have her” wasn’t necessary for their present. There were times when he was pining for her and then would say he could just go back to his life. I prefer more consistency with that type of tension-building.
- The secret revelation. To be honest, it was underwhelming. I would have preferred more strife at that moment.
- Spencer mentions a drug dependency, but that portion of the story wasn’t fleshed out enough for it to be impactful. I would have loved to know more about that so I could feel the gravity of Spencer’s decision.
Michelle Fernandez’s Distracted is a fine addition to the Everyday Heroes World. She’s placed Spencer and Sabrina’s love story squarely in a world filled with hunky hottie heroes and heroines. If you love the angst of second chance, friends to lovers, surprise baby romances, then you will definitely want to read this book. It doesn’t disappoint.
Best,
Professor A
Professor Romance 