3.76 AVERAGE

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

My bad for not fully understanding the alien/monster nature of the superheroes because it threw me off! Was moderately into it, but when he turns it lost me. Turns out monster romance probably isn't for me, but surely is for someone. It was certainly very steamy!
heatherw25's profile picture

heatherw25's review

3.25
adventurous funny mysterious
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

i finished it. thats something.
simplyjennalea's profile picture

simplyjennalea's review

5.0
adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-paced
adventurous lighthearted slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

LIKED:

  • The lore that this book introduced was by far the most interesting part of the experience for me. I was very intrigued by the whole story of the Forty-Eight and the potential of the their stories. I don’t know if it really stuck the landing for me, but I’m presuming that Elizabeth Stephens is planning to write more books within this universe. 
  • Speaking more to this, the factions of the Champions vs the Villains being a predetermined dynamic from the development of the Forty-Eight as opposed to just developing naturally from interpersonal affectations is just an interesting twist on the usual superhero tropes. I think I would have loved to learn more about this and understand more of this dynamic, but again, I’m imagining she’s hoping to do more of this in future books. 
  • I loved the FMC’s family. It was kind of confusing how she fit into the mix when some of her backstory was withheld for ~*drama*~ but her brothers and parents were fun. 
  • This cover is stellar and the title is solid. It is so eye-catching and intriguing as to what this cast shadow means and also…why the heroes need PR. 

LAMENTED
:

  • However, the PR aspect of everything is really slept on. That was such an interesting aspect of the story that just kind of falls flat. It’s a bummer. 
  • I also just didn’t really care for either of the MCs. I didn’t dislike them, I just also found them flat. And their chemistry was very underdeveloped. And why he was so adamantly against her in their first meeting still confuses me. 
  • There were far too many side characters. It became very confusing, very quickly. Cut many of the FMC’s coworkers. And add more casual mentions of some of the heroes/villains. I mean, that’s really what we’re here for from the title, right? 
  • …And what was with the hero and villain names? Why was he called THE Pyro? Why wasn’t he just called Pyro? I get that if you shorten Pyromaniac to Pyro, then having the “The” at the front makes sense.. But it just felt so clunky. And there was another name that felt really awkward with the article before hand as well. It was just murky. 

LONGED FOR
:

  • More developed chemistry between the main characters 
  • More diving into the lore of the Forty-Eight (this DOES happen a bit more in the last act of the book) 
  • More discussions about the hero/villain dynamic and how the PR aspect of it all affects it


Will I read the next one?
: In this world? Quite possibly. I almost wish it wouldn’t be a romance, but like, I get it. That’s half the draw. I just thought the lore was so much more interesting. 

*Thank you to Montlake & NetGalley for providing this ARC!


Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous funny fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
kristinkravesbooks's profile picture

kristinkravesbooks's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH

Dnfing for now but might try again. Really struggling with his POV or to root for the romance.
adventurous challenging emotional funny tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes