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marvelousmooch's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
4.25
katricia's review against another edition
1.0
Pacing was all over the place; felt more like a first draft than a finished work.
yvonneyeh's review against another edition
4.0
I've never read ace representation like this before and it's so refreshing wow
daenknight's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
iam's review
3.0
Action-packed sequel that I wanted to rate 3.5 stars, but ultimately I was bothered by too many things to give more than 3 :(
Content warnings include: internalized aphobia, mild violence, human experiments; mentions of minor character death, abduction, blackmail.
Content warnings can be found at the end of the book (bit of a weird choice imo, but at least they are there.)
This was a great continuation of The Sidekick Squad series.
Emma was a great protagonist: she's ambitious, smart and determined and knows her worth, even if some people are hell bent on focusing on her lack of super powers and thus want to exclude her from the efforts of the Resistance, despite Emma being one of the most if not the main driving force beind the group, making plans and organising stuff. But despite being the Mastermind, Emma is also very much a Do-er. She wants to be at the front of the lines, and there's never a boring moment with her, both for her friends and for the reader.
Not Your Backup is extremely plot driven, to the point where everything else kind of became secondary. There wasn't much about Emma and Bells new relationship, and Emma questioning her (a-)sexuality and her being aromantic, while handled well, was an easily forgotten side thing. Due to the heavy focus on the action, the more character-focussed plots were so minor that I was almost thrown when they suddenly became relevant. Emma is so constantly sure of herself that when one person talking down on her became too much I was confused because it seemed like such a tiny, minor thing before.
Still, it was very much in character, as Emma does tie her seeking space in with their (read: her) plans.
One part of the very fast paced style is that the scenes are very short. Transitions? This book doesn't know that word. Time jumps were hard to follow and the short scenes frequently felt disconnected. It didn't help that at times describtions of who was doing what, where they were, or what was happening around them were completely lacking, which made some events hard to follow. It was as if entire sentences of descriptions were missing.
What bothered me most was how repeatedly predictable some parts of the plot were. And I'm not talking about following a good ol' formula and thus being able to see what's coming - I'm talking about thing that were so blindingly obvious I was genuinely confused and a bit shocked to see that the character didn't immediately know but had to painstakingly combine the already fitting pieces over the next few pages/chapters instead of coming to the natural conclusion when it happened. It felt almost forced.
Overall there was just an unpolished quality to the book, especially the last third of it. Ultimately it was still a very enjoyable read that flowed easily and was a pleasure to read. I particularly enjoyed the middle part.
Content warnings include: internalized aphobia, mild violence, human experiments; mentions of minor character death, abduction, blackmail.
Content warnings can be found at the end of the book (bit of a weird choice imo, but at least they are there.)
This was a great continuation of The Sidekick Squad series.
Emma was a great protagonist: she's ambitious, smart and determined and knows her worth, even if some people are hell bent on focusing on her lack of super powers and thus want to exclude her from the efforts of the Resistance, despite Emma being one of the most if not the main driving force beind the group, making plans and organising stuff. But despite being the Mastermind, Emma is also very much a Do-er. She wants to be at the front of the lines, and there's never a boring moment with her, both for her friends and for the reader.
Not Your Backup is extremely plot driven, to the point where everything else kind of became secondary. There wasn't much about Emma and Bells new relationship, and Emma questioning her (a-)sexuality and her being aromantic, while handled well, was an easily forgotten side thing. Due to the heavy focus on the action, the more character-focussed plots were so minor that I was almost thrown when they suddenly became relevant. Emma is so constantly sure of herself that when one person talking down on her became too much I was confused because it seemed like such a tiny, minor thing before.
Still, it was very much in character, as Emma does tie her seeking space in with their (read: her) plans.
One part of the very fast paced style is that the scenes are very short. Transitions? This book doesn't know that word. Time jumps were hard to follow and the short scenes frequently felt disconnected. It didn't help that at times describtions of who was doing what, where they were, or what was happening around them were completely lacking, which made some events hard to follow. It was as if entire sentences of descriptions were missing.
What bothered me most was how repeatedly predictable some parts of the plot were. And I'm not talking about following a good ol' formula and thus being able to see what's coming - I'm talking about thing that were so blindingly obvious I was genuinely confused and a bit shocked to see that the character didn't immediately know but had to painstakingly combine the already fitting pieces over the next few pages/chapters instead of coming to the natural conclusion when it happened. It felt almost forced.
Spoiler
like the stuff with the new meta-humans? they were literally just talking about the research, then suddenly new meta-humans show up, and they are all oh no where could they possibly be coming from?! Or when Emma is looking for Patricia in a very specific place, where she then meets a woman of the same age called Trish.... and doesn't immediately realize that this is Patricia, because, hello, common nicknames??????Overall there was just an unpolished quality to the book, especially the last third of it. Ultimately it was still a very enjoyable read that flowed easily and was a pleasure to read. I particularly enjoyed the middle part.
amandaexe's review against another edition
3.0
I still love this universe for its unique aspects, and I still really like the characters. The last third of this book was the exact amount of action and adventure I expect from this series, and it was just as fun and engaging as it was in previous books. However, I finished reading it feeling a little betrayed.
I really like Emma's character, and I was excited to read about how her relationship with Bells was going to develop. But this book felt like filler, and it didn't do Emma any justice. Most of the plot could have been solved in about a hundred pages, but the middle was stretched out so thin it made the characters look like bumbling idiots. How could they not have realized what was going on? It was obvious from the beginning?? I really didn't like how some plot points were questioned over and over again, even when the answer couldn't have been more obvious. I also did not like how Abby was portrayed in this, but I'll let that slide in the hopes it will be better fleshed out next book. Some other things that happened were also a little anti-climactic, and I didn't really like them.
Like I said in the beginning, I still think this series is fantastic. It's just that this book in particular is one massive filler, building up for what I hope is the grand finale in the next book.
I really like Emma's character, and I was excited to read about how her relationship with Bells was going to develop. But this book felt like filler, and it didn't do Emma any justice. Most of the plot could have been solved in about a hundred pages, but the middle was stretched out so thin it made the characters look like bumbling idiots. How could they not have realized what was going on? It was obvious from the beginning?? I really didn't like how some plot points were questioned over and over again, even when the answer couldn't have been more obvious. I also did not like how Abby was portrayed in this, but I'll let that slide in the hopes it will be better fleshed out next book. Some other things that happened were also a little anti-climactic, and I didn't really like them.
Spoiler
Captain Orion's death was... strange. I don't think it's a good idea to get the big bad from previous books and just... get rid of them off-screen without a single ounce of dignity.Like I said in the beginning, I still think this series is fantastic. It's just that this book in particular is one massive filler, building up for what I hope is the grand finale in the next book.
lenahe's review against another edition
adventurous
3.5
The representation on this series is fantastic, and the characters are fun and interesting.
I do wish the overall plot had moved a bit faster, and that the MC had more autonomy to move the plot and take action.
I do wish the overall plot had moved a bit faster, and that the MC had more autonomy to move the plot and take action.
juphip's review
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
This books series almost bums me out because it has the potential to be reaallllyyy good but like sooo many editing and writing errors among the 3 books out and like it just feels like a first draft among all the books. It’s such a cool idea and I like the queer and diverse characters. I would love for each one of these books to be returned to by the author and just redone. Specifically the third it just really went in random directions losing a plot line.
arsenic's review against another edition
3.0
Je suis mitigée sur cette série. J'aime la diversité, les personnages et les super-héros en général mais pourtant, je suis pas à fond... les persos sont sympas, j'ai bien aimé suivre les interrogations d'Emma. Par contre, la Résistance m'a ennuyée, Deirdre est super reloue à mettre Emma de côté parce qu'elle n'a pas de pouvoirs alors qu'elle écoute les autres jeunes.
Le monde est intéressant mais je me sens pas investie dans le truc. Alors que certains passages sont prenants... C'est peut-être aussi parce que j'ai pas relu les autres tomes avant. Je sais pas trop.
Le monde est intéressant mais je me sens pas investie dans le truc. Alors que certains passages sont prenants... C'est peut-être aussi parce que j'ai pas relu les autres tomes avant. Je sais pas trop.