Proud Hearts

**I received a copy of Proud Hearts by Phoenix Sullivan from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review**

Proud Hearts is book two in a four book series of Wild Hearts Romance Series, it can be read as a standalone or part of the series. I give it a solid 4.9 stars ratings because of the wonderful way it showed the reader how the pride of lions that Dee was filming reacted to the elder two lions, Brutus and Nana.

Deidre (Dee) Young has a grant that is running out and she signs a contact with a reality series, Living with.. so that she can finish her Masters degree documenting the Lion Pride she has been following for the year. Once she picks up Gary, Chris and their photographer Reena, she go back to camp to introduce them to the pride. But the difference between a reality show and actual daily life for the lions proves to be quite different for the crew. It takes a snake bite, wildfire, leopard attack on a cub and a hunter to show that Chris can do more than act. He slowly understands the pride and learns to become part of their family with the help of Dee.

Chris Corsair is a Hollywood star wishing for the big time and has never met a girl who couldn't bed but his current series has him with a wolf pack, swimming with sharks and now in Zambia filming a lion pride. Little does he know that there is more than just filming episodes with lions and having high ratings. There is the love that the pride has for their family and how they come to accept him to their pride because he rescues their cub, Caesar from a leopard. I love how the author shows their acceptance and thanks both Chris and Dee into their family.

This was an awesome book and a highly recommend reading Proud Hearts. It will give you the warm fuzzies every time the pride rubs their faces over both Chris and Dee.

What a unique plot. Good strong characters. I liked the story from start to finish.

Summary

Deidre (Dee) Young, in order to continue her research she has agreed to help a TV show “Living With..” where it will feature a family of Lions, a pride that she has been studying for eight months. Its the last thing she wants to do especially when she meets the cocky actor ‘Chris Corsair’ who gets on her nerves but at the same time makes her feel in ways she isn’t quite ready for. As Dee tries to share her passion with Chris, of this pride family and the way the politics of it work and how they do more than just laze around all day. A passion blossoms between them. But then Chris and Dee are forced to help one of the injured cubs who pride was forced to leave him when a fire threatened them and a leopard attacked. So they do the only human thing, and transport him away from danger and the pride finds them and bonds with both Chris and Dee but as their feelings for each other grow so does the danger of hunters and poachers who want the head of the pride “Brutus” and they will protect him even with their own lives if necessary…
Plot and Story Line

So…this book is different and fun and creative and I quite honestly enjoyed myself with this book and read it pretty quickly. Its not very long with under 200 pages so I just breezed through it. I was a bit nervous about the whole TV show theme, I wasn’t sure how that would fit right in this book, but it really did considering it wasn’t a full crew of people. Just 4 including Dee at the beginning. The story alternates with Chris and Dee’s rotating POV—which I don’t get to see very often and quite liked that aspect. The story flowed quite smooth for the most part. I wasn’t a fan of our hero especially in the beginning, and it wasn’t until the end that I start to really like him quite a bit. The romance was light and even though I enjoyed it, I didn’t feel a strong focus of it, at least as much as I normally liked. But what really drew me was their connection to this Pride of Lions. For some reason, this really pulled me into the story. Things really pick up once they save the cub lion. The lionesses especially really bond with Dee especially. I found these moments to be quite touching, playful and fun. Brutus was hilarious—and the way the other pride lions treated him—so good. He may be the lead male—but not the one in charge. I loved the dynamics of this story and seeing how it all fit together.
The Cover

It fits the story quite well—-I like the lions at the bottom with the couple pose at the top!! And it fits the theme for the series.
Overall View

Proud Hearts is a unique written romance set in africa among the lions, where two people find love in the most unexpected setting and thrive!!

What a fantastic story! This author really knows how to write well developed characters and a great story line to keep you wanting more and more. I am very excited to read more from this author.