Reluctant Hero
Character who doesn't want to be a hero but rises to the occasion
8 items found (3 series, 5 stories)
Jovias and the Exiled Seven
by Jose M Peralta
In the unseen war between Heaven and Hell, some of the most dangerous warriors are neither angel nor demon—but something in between. **Jovias and the Exiled Seven** is a dark supernatural thriller series that explores the fate of a group of fallen angels exiled to Earth after the ancient rebellion in Heaven. Stripped of their wings and their place in the celestial order, these beings walk among humanity for centuries, hidden in plain sight. Each exile carries the burden of their fall, struggling with pride, guilt, and the lingering pull of darkness. Among them is **Jovias**, once a formidable warrior in Heaven’s ranks. Unlike the others, Jovias believes exile is not merely punishment—it is a test. A chance for redemption. But Hell has not forgotten them. As demonic forces begin manipulating human history from the shadows, the Exiled Seven discover they are pawns in a much larger plan. A hidden hierarchy within Hell is working to weaken the spiritual boundaries protecting Earth. Cults rise, false doctrines spread through influential churches, and ancient demonic entities move closer to breaking through the veil separating realms. To stop it, the exiles must confront both **their enemies and their pasts**. Each member of the Seven faces a personal crossroads: - remain trapped in bitterness and condemnation - or fight for humanity and reclaim their purpose. Along the way they form fragile alliances with humans—detectives, scholars, believers, and skeptics—who slowly uncover the terrifying truth about the spiritual war unfolding around them. The conflict builds toward an apocalyptic confrontation in **Jerusalem**, where the forces of Heaven, Hell, and the exiled must collide. There, the final choice will be made: redemption… or permanent damnation. Some will fall. Some will be restored. And the fate of humanity will hinge on whether the exiles can prove that even those who once rebelled against Heaven can still choose the light.

A Crown of Ruin and Ruse
by Anie Ross
Ten years after escaping a life of servitude behind the Veil, Wren is dragged back into the shimmering, cruel world of the fae. Her captor is Fionn, a silver-tongued bastard prince from her past who remembers the magic in her blood better than she does herself. Fionn is crafting a masterpiece of manipulation to usurp the throne, and he needs Wren’s rare, touch-based mind-reading to harvest the secrets of his treacherous brothers. Forced into a secret coven of gifted women, Wren must master forgotten, ancient magic to survive a world where every smile is a snare. Caught between her hatred for the monsters who stole her life and a growing, dangerous desire for the prince who promises to change everything, Wren must decide if she is Fionn’s greatest weapon, his equal partner, or merely the latest sacrifice in his climb to the crown.

Notes on the Trouble Line
by Marco Velos
*Notes on the Trouble Line* is a literary crime novel about a streetwise young horseracing handicapper who becomes entangled with rival race-fixing mobsters. In the summer of 1982, twenty-one-year-old Michael Kipness claims he won big just in time to flee New York City. The truth: he stole money from his grandfather's mob associates. With enough cash for a stake and a cross-country train ticket, Michael heads west seeking refuge with his friend and mentor, Alfred, who is dying of AIDS. Alfred sees Michael clearly - a troubled young man whose gifts as a handicapper (attention to detail, memory, imagination, disciple) make him a brilliant storyteller. He challenges Michael to pursue his passion for the races and to tell his story honestly. At Seattle's Longacres racetrack Michael discovers his gift for reading horses makes him valuable to dangerous men. A notorious race-fixer wants Michael’s help fixing races. A local gangster with a taste for violence claims Michael’s expertise for himself. Back in New York the men Michael stole from want their money and revenge. The FBI wants him to inform against them all. The danger Michael faces is both physical and moral. He must use his nerve and his ability to read a trouble line to outmaneuver the men who are determined to control his destiny. Along the way, he meets Lisa, an intuitive counterpart who sees Michael is ways he is yet to see himself. Caught between loyalty, survival and the longing to make one clean bet, he must discover what honesty means in a world built on secrets and bad odds. My first novel, *Gloria*, was published by Simon and Schuster and several foreign houses, including Rizzoli, Belfond, MacMillan and Goldman. It received praise from the *New York Times*, *Washington Post*, and the *Los Angeles Times*, among many others. I’ve won several literary awards, including the Rinehart Prize for Fiction from George Mason University. *Notes on the Trouble Line* is set in the authentic world of 1980s horse racing. It will appeal to readers of Stewart O'Nan's *City of Secrets*, Frederick Exley's *A Fan's Notes*, and Don DeLillo’s *Underworld.*

The Resonance Series
by Anie Ross
*For fans of Harry Potter, dark academia, magical university, and rivals-to-lovers.* Gwen O'Dorchaidhe thought her life was going to plan as the perfect heir to a pureblood line of sorcerers. Until the ordinary, untaught, *American* Chosen One entered her life, challenging everything she was raised to believe about potential. Breaking curses and challenging the outdated rules of sorcerer society is just another year at Cairn-Gait Conservatory.

Sleeping Dragon
by Kevin Konzen
*A sweeping historical portal fantasy of prophecy, dragons, and the destiny of medieval Ireland.* What if a stroke didn’t end a man’s life—but sent him back to medieval Ireland, where prophecy says he must ride a dragon and save a hidden kingdom? Kristopher Knight was months away from retirement when a sudden stroke changes everything. He wakes in 14th-century Ireland, trapped in the body of a young Anglo-Norman nobleman, John de la Roche. The land is divided by conquest and fragile alliances. When he is kidnapped by Donal MacCarthy, the Irish King of Desmond, Kristopher soon discovers his arrival was no accident. The king’s daughter pulls him into the hidden realm of Agartha, a world on the brink of war. An ancient prophecy speaks of a man out of time—and of a dragon that must be awakened. To save a kingdom – and perhaps a nation – Kristopher must embrace a destiny he never sought if he ever hopes to return to the life he once knew.

après SKI SCHOOL
by Dan Joe
Après Ski \[ah-prey-skee\] His life is a total mess; hers isn’t. He’s never once been accused of overachieving and she doesn’t date losers. So when a potentially life-changing promotion is dumped on his lap, it appears his laid-back snow bumming days might be over, that is if he wants to prove he’s serious about her. *It might help if everyone would just be honest, but that doesn’t seem to be a running theme here*. Can Winston Mac change his ways before it’s too late? Before Erica is swept off her feet by country music’s hottest badboy at the most exclusive mountain party known to man? Will his old college rival spoil all the fun by setting him up and stealing the promotion out from under him? Will a knockout Norwegian supermodel show up just to test him in ways he didn’t think possible? *Love-triangle, anyone?* Or will his people-pleasing ways, ADHD and debilitating caffeine addiction get the better of him, forcing him to accept his role as a world-class loser? *Let’s hope not.*

Lifnos Cozy Mysteries
by Lisa Troy
On a fictional Greek island, Anastasia Livanitis solves murders and other crimes with her ghostly sidekicks, and her journalist best friend, Nikos.

Eat The Rich
by Judah Ray
In 1955, a secret experiment at the Large Hadron Collider tore open a doorway to another realm.\ \ Extradimensional beings came through, possessed the top scientists and military officials in the room, and kept the portal open.\ \ One of the first crossed over and took a human infant as its host. That infant was Christina.\ \ The only issue is that Christina forgot what she was, and the others could not enter or control her, but she could see them. So they declared her unstable and institutionalized her.\ \ Years later, world leaders, billionaires, media figures, and political dynasties are all possessed. The New World Order is not a conspiracy theory. It is literal possession.\ \ A decade later, Christina escapes and resurfaces in Berlin. The forces that have tracked her since childhood want her reclaimed or eliminated.\ \ With the help of Jory, who has been able to see the entities inside people since surviving a near-death experience as a child, Christina uncovers a power structure that has ruled humanity from within for generations.\ \ When she learns she is one of them, she must choose between her own kind or the man she loves and the humanity she chose to protect.\ \ They have ruled the world from inside us.\ Now one of their own stands against them.