Reviews

I think this was a fantastic little trilogy and I'm honestly so excited to read the rest of TJ Klune's work. Also you'll leave this book stanning a man named Burrito Jerry so what more could you ask for?

invisible_universes's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted slow-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

4.0

It's a good end to the series. It's fun and the charecters are lovable and a lot of plot lines get tied up.

Personally I wish there was a little less of a focus on sex but it's a charecter development thing in this series so I guess it's fine. Just the whole thing feels a little cringey at times, which is pretty clearly on purpose but still uncomfortable. Also,

for all the unecessary tangents about dental dams, they didnt even use them when they ought to have???

On a more serious note, I didn't like the resolution for

Owen Burke. He was just a kid. An abused kid who had everything taken from him multiple times. And while I understand that he was given chance after chance to change his ways that he refused, I don't think a painful, terrified death was the right option for him. Yes he was a bad guy, but it says weird things about who you think is redeemable when even the woman who brainwashed the main crew was given a softer sentence than a queer teenager who was force fed pills until he was reliant on them and never had anyone in his corner. I understand that morality systems in superhero media are oversimplified for drama and it would be hard to let a killer of innocents become a good guy but Owen didn't deserve that fate. (Seriously! So many other villains get redeemed! I know he did bad things but COME ON he was a traumatized child you couldn' just throw him a bone?)

fernanda28's review against another edition

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4.0

I expected more...
Heat Wave is the conclusion to a series I accompanied for three years and I'm a little disappointed by the last book. The first installment of the trilogy was explosive, funny and awkward, in a good way, to the extreme, and while I understand the last book needed to be more serious I still think it was lacking something.
Still, it was a good book, T.J. Klune writes amazingly and I will keep reading every book he releases.

a_reader_obsessed's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5 Stars

A satisfying conclusion to this YA fantasy trilogy, I felt this matured with each book, as well it should as our teen hero Nick and his loyal friends all go through a lot, learning about life, love, and themselves!

When we last saw Nick and company, they were a solid incognito crime fighting team, and Nick was trying to come into his newly realized powers and potential responsibilities, all the while dealing with familial secrets and betrayals. [b:Flash Fire|55169010|Flash Fire (The Extraordinaries, #2)|T.J. Klune|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601189360l/55169010._SY75_.jpg|84697358] left readers wondering about the future fate of all Extraordinaires as nemesis Simon Burke introduced a seemingly benevolent offer to cure their powers for the safety of the public, hiding a yet to be seen but inevitable sinister self serving plan. Toss in an off kilter ex-boyfriend who had escaped prison and an unbelievable cliffhanger reveal, and there were many questions left to be answered.

Though this plot line started out nebulous and confusing, what unfolds was a scary twist. Many might not like this crazy development, but I felt it ultimately played out nicely, forcing the gang and their wonderful parents, friends, and family to really band together to fight Simon Burke’s evil maniacal agenda.

What I truly appreciate about these 3 books is that with Klune’s deserved popularity and move into a more mainstream avenue, I’m grateful that a bigger publisher in no way impeded his unique and trademark brand of humor, style, and over the top brazenness. This doesn’t hold back on touchy topics, the uncomfortableness of growing up, the squeamish/embarrassing but relevant challenges that all teens face, and Klune does it with frankness, truth, and outrageous hilarity and always with plenty of heart. It’s been a hot minute since I laughed so hard that I was crying, and then I soon found myself crying for real because of all the feels.

Overall, though some things in plot execution didn’t pan out as I wanted (do they 100% truly ever?), this still had a fitting conclusion that fell in line with the themes and messages of each book. Things can’t always end perfectly (tho it was pretty darn close), and that’s how life goes - sometimes it’s tough, sometimes it’s really really great, and often it isn’t fair.

Sooooo bad guys are going to do bad. Good guys are going to do their darnedest to stop them. There are certainly some setbacks, but this is fantasy fiction after all so don’t be too worried. Rest assured that our titular hero Nick definitely remains true to himself and learns plenty along the way as all YA stories go, leaving me with a big fat smile at the very end!

Thanks to the author for a copy in exchange for an honest review

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