Reviews

I really loved the concept of this book, the play out we get to see with anxiety, PTSD and panic attacks through our main cast especially in a college setting was also great to see. However, there are some things I kind of saw as unanswered or unresolved. One that kind of keeps spinning in my head is the main characters older sister like what happened there?
But wait, the banter ! The dialogue and the love confessions just got to me. The friendships too, like I really really loved the dynamics between Astrid and David and then Astrid and Wally (big bro little sis vibes). And I loved the little developments we get towards the end regarding time and the Ferris Buller reference ??? Stan!
Yes indeed Astrid was definitely a Cameron.
All in all, I think what really got to me with this book was the relatability towards the emotions that surge of losing time or not distributing it for a more “productive” plan. Especially in college where you’re literally basing your time there to start your path into the “real world” and into real adulthood. And Astrid having multiple schedules and literally scheduling when Max was gonna ask her out made me laugh and also made me flabbergasted because no, no I don’t want to live like that to accomplish my dreams. I want to also live happily in this moment, enjoying the journey but also eventually the destination. And in the end Astrid finally understood that too.

okevamae's review

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4.0

Astrid is preternaturally good with time – she always know what time it is down to the second and she has every day planned in advance, down to the minute. She needs these skills to compete as a double major pre-med student and get into a good medical school. Every day, she’s juggling labs and clubs and studying – and carving out time for her boyfriend, Max. It’s hard enough to schedule time for a relationship, but Max sometimes doesn’t show up for dates, or has to disappear with a flimsy excuse. Turns out he’s got a good reason for all those excuses – he's secretly been moonlighting as a superhero. And once she knows his secret, Astrid has one more time commitment to fit into her schedule – a series of training classes designed to prepare her for her dangerous new role as a superhero’s significant other.

Something about this book did not connect emotionally for me in the beginning to middle, and I had a hard time figuring out what it was at first. This sense of detachment turns out to be deliberate, as Astrid tends to force down her emotions because she doesn’t have time to deal with them. Her level of driven-ness is irritating at times, but the author does a good job of weaving her personality into her backstory so that it feels like a natural progression from her history and her anxiety.

Astrid and Max are cute together, and I very much appreciated the scenes from the past that explained not only Astrid’s history, but their history together. There were a couple of little details that stretched my suspension of disbelief but overall, I really enjoyed the book.

Representation: POC characters, LGBTQIA+ characters, bi/pan major character, main character with anxiety

maria_fernanda's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Overall, I give this book a 4.5 star rating.

Writing wise, some sentences could be reworded for the story to flow smoother.

As for characters, David is hilarious. Honestly, at some points, specifically the beginning, he was the only thing keeping me from not DNFing this book since at the beginning, the MC was a little cringey. However, I came to ignore it as I got to know more about Astrid and her story.

While I’m not a premed student like Astrid, I genuinely felt connected to her, especially when it came to time management/having her life planned out, which you’ll come to know is her whole this. She schedules time for everything, even the tiniest, most insignificant things, and while I’m not that organized, I get it, especially after her a little backstory about how we come to know why she schedules everything.

And Max? An absolute sweetheart and the ideal boyfriend in my opinion. I loved his character from the very beginning and that never changed, it just grew along with story. He saw Astrid for who she truly was even when she wasn’t sure of herself.

Life is scary, it genuinely is, especially when looking toward the future that is unknown to absolutely everyone, unless you’re a superhero that can look to the future. And while we may not need a near death experience to help you put life into perspective, we all fear it deep down, it just takes one little thing to unlock that part.

Other than that, there are a few instances were certain words are repeated. In some cases, it is clear that the repetition is used for purposely since it adds to someone being under stress. However, there are other aspects were some words are repeated and there is no need for it, making it seem like a mistake, meaning that the words could be deleted.

There’s one little formatting error when it comes to characters. The error being that at some point, some characters are sharing the same line when really, each character deserves their own line/paragraph, whether they have dialogue or not.

In the ends, this book is not only how teaching you how to date a superhero, but also how go through life, whether it’s in the dating aspect or not.

Ps: I love superhero’s, so in way, I knew I’d end up liking this book. I absolutely adored the found family aspect. Additionally, i wished that Eleanor’s friend could’ve woken up from the coma she had been in for years since it kinda never lead to anywhere, the friend was more of a way to show the kids in the Program that skills to protect yourself are needed, especially when dating a superhero. I actually loved that chapter and I hoped that more would be added, but nonetheless, a great story that could one day be something more.

izzys_internet_bookshelf's review

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1.0

1/5

I feel like this year there have been a lot of books that have disappointed me or didn't reach my expectations. Which obviously sucks because I was so excited to read this book. There isn't a lot of superhero books out there but the format of this one just made it confusing for me and it became hard to follow really quick.

annamickreads's review

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3.0

If you liked "Spider-Man: Homecoming" but ever wondered what it looked like from Liz's point of view, this is the book for you!

A sweet, slice-of-life superhero story in which straight-A overachiever Astrid discovers her boyfriend is actually a superhero. The story flips back and forth in time between the present (her sophomore year of college) and the past to fill in the gaps of Astrid and Max's relationship but also Astrid's life.

Because the main character is the superhero's girlfriend, the story is reflected on the difficulties of maintaining a relationship with a superhero - especially when you're someone who has every hour of every day outlined down to the detail. Astrid must learn to be more flexible while also not compromising herself. The story is also set in NYC!!

I thought this premise was really fresh and interesting, especially because there really SHOULD be some sort of group or coalition for Significant Others of Superheroes. They need a support group. But I also wish that the flips back and forth in time weren't so seemingly random (maybe the first half of the book freshman year then a time jump??) because despite the chapter titles, it did get a little confusing.

sebbyreads's review

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is such a love letter to the supers genre and as a lifelong superhero lover, I devoured it. It centers more on being a ordinary human on the outskirts of superhero life than it does on the actual supers aspect, so if you're looking for an action filled adventure book, this might not be for you. But as someone who would happily comb through hours and hours of content about all the little parts of life in a super world, this was perfect for me.

The characters are all phenomenal too and it's so much fun to have college aged protagonists in a lighthearted book like this. I really wish publishing would give us more of it! Astrid was very relatable to all us anxious overachievers, David was such a fun, caring but realistic friend, and Max is just an absolute sweetheart. And the whole rest of the cast of characters are all fun and lovely in their own way as well. I could read far more in this universe and be happy as a clam.

At times the plot was very predictable (though, c'mon, that's a staple of the genre) and while I didn't really need a ton of action, the end still felt a little too rushed, which is why I can't quite give it the full 5 stars, but I really did love this and am looking forward to seeing what else Cristina Fernandez does.

chenoah97's review

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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