Thank you to Faber for my copy. In this heartfelt book, we journey alongside Orla, a resilient young woman who has navigated significant challenges during her childhood, including living with a violent father and a mother who has endured much. Their courageous escape to a domestic abuse shelter opens the door to a nurturing environment, allowing them to find stability with another mother-daughter duo. Throughout her story, Orla demonstrates a deep commitment to her family, often prioritizing their needs.

When Orla is presented with the exciting opportunity to join an intensive drama course, she experiences a compelling internal struggle between pursuing her passion and supporting her loved ones. Surrounded by talented performers, she not only shines by sharing new perspectives and offers assistance to others. This internal conflict adds depth to the narrative and encourages readers to reflect on the balance between personal aspirations and familial responsibilities.

Orla's journey is a poignant exploration of the sacrifices many make for family, highlighting the strength found in love and loyalty. While I occasionally found some aspects of the plot a bit challenging to navigate and struggled to connect with certain characters, the overall themes of the story are thought-provoking and inspiring. This exploration of personal sacrifice and the complexities of familial relationships offers valuable insights worth contemplating.

#BookJourney #Resilience #FamilySacrifice #DramaCourse #HeartfeltNarrative #LoveAndLoyalty #InspiringStory #DomesticAbuseSurvival #PersonalAspirations #ThoughtProvokingThemes

The rating I gave this book seems a bit harsh, even in my own mind, but it was a pretty ordinary book; not terrible or unreadable, certainly not amazing or earth shattering.
I think my problem is that there were two different stories, one about Orla and her family and the other about Orla and the Drama Workshop. The only thing connecting them was Orla and that just wasn’t enough. Honestly either one of the stories on its own with the other part included simply as a plot point would have been more enjoyable. In this book they were both included as equally important and, for me at least, it didn’t work. I felt like I was reading two separate books. They even felt as if they were written differently.

I enjoyed the story of Orla and her family more than the Drama Class bit. The characters in the family part were more alive and interesting. There was enough material (The Before, the two blended families, Orla’s interest in studying drama) to make it a complete book. The Drama Workshop part had flat characters that could have come out of any recent middle grade book. It didn’t help that I could never see what Orla saw in Cass that so completely consumed her. He seemed boring and self-obsessed. The ‘mean girl’ of this part, Pandora, wasn’t even all that mean. With a lot of work this part though, could also have been a complete book.

So, for me, it was an ordinary book. Not one I would go out of my way to read.

Alexia Casale delivers a beautifully crafted romance novel that perfectly captures the essence of young adult fiction. The story, filled with relatable characters and a compelling plot, draws readers into a world where love and personal growth intertwine seamlessly.

Orla has experience of living with a violent Father and her Mother has suffered. Thankfully the first time violence was shown towards one of the children she ensured they all left swiftly, seeking sanctuary in a domestic abuse shelter. There they met another Mother and daughter and they all set up home together. Life had been a struggle at first, but soon stability was restored. This had relied upon the 2 elder daughters helping a lot around the house and with the younger siblings whilst their mothers worked multiple jobs.
So Orla was accustomed to putting the needs of others before her own. When she is given the chance of an intensive drama course to pursue her interest in drama she is in two minds because of the interruption to her normal mode of offering help.
But despite her fellow performers being very experienced it is Orla who picks up on new angles to plays and who sees how others can improve, so she ends up helping others yet again.
This new taste of life is in stark contrast to her home life and creates some tension in both, but does Orla deserve to want things for herself? Orla finds herself torn in two by an impossible choice. Should she make life easier for her family, or herself?
This will possibly be an eye opener for many readers who surely contribute far less to the home situation than Orla is doing, but the dilemmas she faces are expertly conveyed in this well-written novel.

I don't normally read these types of novels however I was offered the chance to read this one and I am glad I did.

A really enjoyable, romantic novel which made me smile

the main character’s best friend (or step-sister? i honestly don’t know. i did not get very far into the story and i don’t really care) is named Roks. i hate that name. that name pissed me off so bad that i gave up on the book. the cover is gorgeous though.

Not That Kind of Hero is a charming and moving YA novel, perfect for anyone who has ever related more to the sidekick than the hero. The story follows Orla, a chronic people pleaser, as she navigates a two-week acting intensive and learns, for once, to prioritize her own needs and aspirations.

Honestly, while Orla was incredibly frustrating at times, I related to her on so many levels it was kind of shocking. I think, if I’d read this book at sixteen instead of twenty-six, I probably would’ve cried more than once.

The romance part didn’t disappoint either because Cass was, as expected, so charming and cute. However, the biggest strength of this book wasn’t the funny/adorable banter, it was the way this book handled heavier topics, like domestic violence, with care and nuance. While there are authors out there who would try to shock the audience with scenes of explicit violence, Casale manages to capture the exact emotions and fears very clearly without having to spell it out for us.

In the end, did I feel that Not That Kind of Hero might’ve been too ambitious, juggling so many characters and themes? Maybe. Did I thoroughly enjoy it? Absolutely. What can I say, I’m a sucker for heartwarming stories about (semi-)found families.

Someone is going to love this story, but I think I’m realizing that YA contemporary just may not be for me anymore. Not my cup of tea but I do feel like all the theatre kids will love this sweet story.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an E- Arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a beautifully done romance novel, it had that young adult element that I was looking for and enjoyed the feel of this. It uses the plot perfectly and the characters had that element that I was hoping for. It uses the romance concept perfectly and was glad everything flowed together. Alexia Casale has a strong writing style and was glad I read this.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for this ARC. A well written and moving book about family, limits we set ourselves and the impact of others. An enjoyable read for the target YA audience, slightly messy in parts but perhaps as a reflection of the characters who all bring their own messy and nonlinear approach to life. Thank you for the advanced read.

16 year old me would have DEVOURED this book. At times I thought to myself “this is a little over the top, Orla.” And then remembered myself at that age and was like “nope. This is too accurate.” The gentle, realistic romance had my feet kicking and the overarching theme of being afraid to dream big hit home. I relate to Orla so much at that age as someone that felt like they needed to take care of siblings and friends. That I was content letting others succeed and hold myself back. Having a book that would have told me it’s okay to do both-love those in your circle and still get to dream big would have been life changing.

dnf @ 20 %

i loved the whole concept 'be a hero not a sidekick' but unfortunately the execution was not good.

the writing was clumsy and not well structured. there was so many different characters not introduced properly or described making it hard to follow. dialogue was unnatural and repetitive at times.

i couldn't relate to main character orla and found her to be unlikeable. her constant moaning and negativity was draining to read.

orla is someone who’s life feels fulfilled by being the side kick, and never the hero even in her own story. always willing to help her found family so they can be happy, she feels content being in the sidelines, not really having anything for her own enjoyment.

as someone who’s always felt a little bit like the sidekick even in her own story, this book cut deep.

the characters felt the perfect amount of messy and the perfect amount of relatable, because i, too, felt that way before i started university, i too felt insecure about doing the right thing or what made me happy.

orla finally realizing that she doesn’t have to force herself into playing a particular part in orden for her to still feel like the main character was just the perfect ending to a spectacularly well written story.

<i><blockquote> Life isn't about a 'happy ending'. It's about a whole life filled with as much happiness as you can get from now until the end. So while I hope there's a long, long time to go before I'm done, when it comes to this chapter of my life I can truthfully say I have made myself a very, very happy ending indeed. </blockquote></i>

Thank you NG, the publisher Faber & Faber and Alexia Casale, the author, for giving me the opportunity of reading this arc.