Scan barcode
pixelateddragon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
4.75
This book is so good, I know there are a lot of content warnings but it's such an amazing read and definitely worth picking up if you can stomach the injuries, violence, and body horror aspects.
My mother actually recommended this book to me after I complained about how disappointed I was with Assistant To The Villain, and this feels like a better-written (IMO) version of what that story could have been if it was set in the modern era and the main plot wasn't exclusively romance but instead about the complicated moral implications of a society with 'super-heroes' and 'villains', and data entry and the horrors of existing under capitalism (amongst other things). It explored and expanded on exactly what I wanted and expected from ATTV when I started reading it!
It also has a Bisexual MC! And multiple other lgbtq side characters + it has multiple very good and complicated platonic relationships as well as the beautifully done somewhat-romantic tension between the MC and her second boss.
It was all very good, and I'm excited for the sequel that's coming out later this year :].
My mother actually recommended this book to me after I complained about how disappointed I was with Assistant To The Villain, and this feels like a better-written (IMO) version of what that story could have been if it was set in the modern era and the main plot wasn't exclusively romance but instead about the complicated moral implications of a society with 'super-heroes' and 'villains', and data entry and the horrors of existing under capitalism (amongst other things). It explored and expanded on exactly what I wanted and expected from ATTV when I started reading it!
It also has a Bisexual MC! And multiple other lgbtq side characters + it has multiple very good and complicated platonic relationships as well as the beautifully done somewhat-romantic tension between the MC and her second boss.
It was all very good, and I'm excited for the sequel that's coming out later this year :].
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Body horror, Gore, Medical trauma, Cursing, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Murder, Torture, and Grief
Minor: Ableism, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit
relin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
A unique take on Superheros and the problems they cause. As seen as from the perspective of a villain's hench-person. Really cool world and walking through it was so good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Outing, Kidnapping, Torture, Body horror, Violence, Medical content, and Gore
Moderate: Alcohol, Infidelity, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Vomit, Pregnancy, and Stalking
bzliz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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
5.0
This book is a gleefully grim, gruesome, straight up gnarly take on the relationship between morality and power and how different heroes and villains really are. It is not going to be for everyone but I personally loved it. I saw this recommended by on TikTok by people who were let down by the lack of actual villainy in Assistant to the Villain and I’m so glad I finally got around to this.
Be mindful of the content warnings and be warned: there are no heroes here.
Anna’s journey begins as a temp Hench who focuses on data entry for minor villains. During a confrontation between her sleazy boss and Supercollider, she becomes collateral damage. While she recovers from her injury, she begins working on The Injury Report, which analyzes the cost of superheroism. Her work leads her to a job with Leviathan- a top tier villain with a personal score to settle- and there she begins her quest to dismantle heroes by haranguing them into showing their true colors.
Natalie Zina Walschots weaves a complex web of morality and makes us confront the reality that under the right (or wrong) conditions, we all become villains. What is power? What is vengeance? What is heroism and what is the cost behind every seemingly heroic action? The diverse cast of characters have a huge range of races, genders, sexualities, disabilities and super-abilities. Normally I love the simplicity of having things spelled out for me but here I like the ambiguity. Does Anna have powers? I don’t know. Does anyone truly deserve the consequences they face? Debatable.
The story does start a little slow to ease readers into the world but quickly ramps up into the politics of a world where children are tested for powers and essentially groomed into the perfect vigilantes. As I mentioned before, there are no heroes here and Anna absolutely flourishes with her confirmation bias once she starts the Injury Report because as far as we know, she doesn’t look into the cost of villainy. She is driven by pure spite after her encounter with Supercollider and I love her for it even if she’s not actually a loveable person.
I cannot recommend this book enough but for real, mind the content warnings.
Content warnings:
Blood, death, injury, violence (on page):lots of superhero type fighting with a bigger focus on the collateral damage and specific harm caused during conflict between people with special abilities. See later warnings for greater detail.
Body horror, gore (on page):visceral descriptions of injuries like shattered legs, spinal cord injuries, etc. Additional warning with spoilers for the end of the book: Because he is generally impervious to most damage, there are many, many pages of Quantum Entanglement using her powers to manipulate Supercollider’s body in on itself until he is a gross, fleshy ball that is somehow still alive. It is particularly gruesome and they have to carry the “body” around to meet the biometric requirements to get to Leviathan’s holding cell. It is super gross and not for the squeamish.
Medical content (on page):Anna endures the hospital and then separate recovery after Supercollider shatters her leg. After she’s become a big enough thorn in his side, she is kidnapped and in the midst of forced brain surgery when Leviathan and team rescue her.
Murder (on & off page):Hits are put out on several characters including Supercollider’s former sidekick and Quantum Entanglement’s former lover (and his partner). These occur off page but there is discussion of them and fallout from them on page. Supercollider intends to murder Anna on page a few times. There could be some debate about whether the pre-story off page death of Leviathan’s mentor was a murder but I’m saying it is.
Torture (on & off page):Anna is tortured semi off page during her captivity then is forcibly having her brain operated on when she is rescued. Leviathan is undoubtedly being tortured during his captivity but only the residuals like too-bright lights are on page.
Car accident (on page):cars are thrown by the heroes constantly with no regard for who is around or who is in the vehicle. During the climax, multiple characters are thrown into cars so hard the metal wraps around them so I think that counts here.
Emotional abuse, gaslighting (on & off page):Supercollider and his crew kept Quantum Entanglement held in a support role to make him look good and then framed her for the murder of her former lover to discredit her to the public.
Kidnapping (on page):Anna is abruptly kidnapped at the start of chapter 4. Leviathan’s death is faked while he’s held in captivity which I’m calling kidnapping adjacent so it’s worth mentioning.
Infidelity (off page):Quantum Entanglement cheated on Supercollider with plenty of people. This is planned to use against them but he already knew about it and tolerated her indiscretions to save face.
Panic attacks (on page):Anna has panic responses to certain things that remind her of Supercollider and she outright says there are times she has to hide in a closet to have a panic attack before getting back to work. The description here is less frequent and less lengthy than the violence.
Sexism (on & off page):Anna’s first boss, E, uses her in his presentation to show diversity because he wants to be presented as progressive villain even though it’s not genuine. Off page, Quantum Entanglement is forced into a support role to make her male counterpart look better. Gendered insults are used- “bitch” off page, which she repeats on page to Anna, and “cunt” on page, during the climax of the book.
Toxic relationship (on & off page):Quantum Entanglement and Supercollider definitely have a toxic relationship and a case could be made for Anna and Leviathan also. It’s not the focus by any means.
Vomit (on page):Anna’s date near the beginning vomits when an injured man gets in their cab. Nausea is mentioned many times throughout but that odd the only specific instance of vomit.
Be mindful of the content warnings and be warned: there are no heroes here.
Anna’s journey begins as a temp Hench who focuses on data entry for minor villains. During a confrontation between her sleazy boss and Supercollider, she becomes collateral damage. While she recovers from her injury, she begins working on The Injury Report, which analyzes the cost of superheroism. Her work leads her to a job with Leviathan- a top tier villain with a personal score to settle- and there she begins her quest to dismantle heroes by haranguing them into showing their true colors.
Natalie Zina Walschots weaves a complex web of morality and makes us confront the reality that under the right (or wrong) conditions, we all become villains. What is power? What is vengeance? What is heroism and what is the cost behind every seemingly heroic action? The diverse cast of characters have a huge range of races, genders, sexualities, disabilities and super-abilities. Normally I love the simplicity of having things spelled out for me but here I like the ambiguity. Does Anna have powers? I don’t know. Does anyone truly deserve the consequences they face? Debatable.
The story does start a little slow to ease readers into the world but quickly ramps up into the politics of a world where children are tested for powers and essentially groomed into the perfect vigilantes. As I mentioned before, there are no heroes here and Anna absolutely flourishes with her confirmation bias once she starts the Injury Report because as far as we know, she doesn’t look into the cost of villainy. She is driven by pure spite after her encounter with Supercollider and I love her for it even if she’s not actually a loveable person.
I cannot recommend this book enough but for real, mind the content warnings.
Content warnings:
Blood, death, injury, violence (on page):
Body horror, gore (on page):
Medical content (on page):
Murder (on & off page):
Torture (on & off page):
Car accident (on page):
Emotional abuse, gaslighting (on & off page):
Kidnapping (on page):
Infidelity (off page):
Panic attacks (on page):
Sexism (on & off page):
Toxic relationship (on & off page):
Vomit (on page):
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Medical content
Moderate: Kidnapping, Car accident, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexism, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Toxic relationship
spineofthesaurus's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Classism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Torture, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Violence, Ableism, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Excrement, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Grief, Abandonment, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Vomit
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Xenophobia, and Sexual content
erebus53's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is a book that I picked up as a recommendation from a guy I met in school (hi!). I don't typically seek Super Hero books, but this one definitely has all the twists that I need for it to be a really rewarding read. As I looked at the cover I noticed that it has the endorsement of Seanan McGuire (aka Mira Grant) which I wondered at, but after reading 10% of the way into the book I began to see some of the same sort of stellar background Disability narrative as I had noticed in "Into The Drowning Deep" by Mira Grant. Props for the use of the word "neuro-atypical". I should use that more.
In a world of Supers, this is a story that feels like it was inspired by movies like The Incredibles. In that film, superheroes are banned from openly using their powers because they cause too many lawsuits and too much collateral damage. I can't help but feel like this is one of the few superhero stories I have read that asks the question "but what about real physics?". There is no guarantee that grabbing a falling person is going to SAVE them - you grab them wrong they may end-up with a spinal injury and die on the spot. You stop them too fast and they might as well have hit concrete. In this kind of world, Anna works as a temp.. a Hench. The agency that she is hired through manages help for super villains - anyone from drivers, hitmen, body guards, consorts, and militias, to secretaries, programmers, baristas, makeup artists, and greeting staff. Super Villains can have expensive tastes.
After standing about being a token female in a publicity lineup of Henches for a bad employer called The Electric Eel ("really.. call me E") Anna finds herself trapped in a hospital bed recovering from a complicated spiral fracture of the femur, as a result of being man-handled by a clumsy superhero. This injury leaves her with a permanent limp. During her long recovery, holed up on a friend's couch, she latches onto the idea of running the numbers to quantify just how much damage this hero causes - which she then blogs about. She catches the eye of that superhero's nemesis who is impressed by her efficiency. This nemesis is a mysterious villain known as Leviathan. Anna is off down a rabbit hole of statistics and strategic planning for the big-bad, but the employee benefits are top-notch.
Natalie Zina Walschots describes hospitals in a way that feels real; the disempowerment, sleep deprivation, pain and lack of lucidity, days that blend together in a fog. Even rehabilitation after a broken bone is recounted with the appreciation of physiotherapists that you hate while they are helping you, because of the necessary brutality of the discipline. The observations are visceral and sardonic.
It's clear that the author loves wordplay.. there are a few (wonderful) bad puns, but I'm left wondering if the decision to make the main character's surname Tromedlov (a name that in an American accent sounds like "traumaed love") could possibly be because she knows what it's like when people think your surname sounds like something else (wall-shots?). As I can't find a whole heap of information about the author, this is pure conjecture on my part.
I noticed more than one reference to New Zealand (my home <3 Aotearoa ahau!) in this book. The author is Canadian but has obviously had dialogue (kōrero) about Māori tattooing practice, with someone at least, as one of her supporting characters is wahine Māori and has moko kauae (lip/chin tattoos). In The Auditor's number-crunching of collateral damage from a superhero, she likens him to an earthquake, and uses similar formulae that have been used to account for the loss of human life hours in natural disasters such as the Christchurch Earthquakes (in my hometown). Ooof.. that blind-sided me a bit. Quoting the number of hours lost to that earthquake I couldn't help but think... "uh - some of those were mine?!". As I relocated out of the city, and threw my life upside down a bit, as a direct consequence of that seismic activity, that hit close to home.
This story is underpinned by a lot of personal relationships that grow and change throughout. The setting is queer-norm and there are non-binary, trans- and various sorts of queer characters. The main character is interested in various types of people, but this only adds to her angst as she finds that living a life on the dark side can get risky for her, and riskier for any person she gets close to. As some of the supers are barely human it seems silly that they be limited to cis-het norms anyway. There's some mention of sub-dom play in there too. Cool to have some elder rep in this as well, and an account of elder-care facilities for folk with super-abilities, yet failing physical and cognitive function.
A Feminist narrative is very blatant as Anna is dubbed "the Auditor" (*shudder* SUPERvillainous!) by an abusive guy, and she develops a working relationship with another woman with superpowers who has been a sidekick, so overshadowed that some of her powers have been attributed to her (male) partner. It seems that the hero narrative must be maintained for the public good.. even if she has to do all the heavy lifting.
The double standard seems obvious to the audience.. well.. me. The Auditor is furious that another woman is being sidelined by an oppressive partner, all the while she herself is a support character to Leviathan's main. Even though she's coming up with all his best plans, she still feels like she's not the one running the show. I can only hope that's going to be explored more in the second book.
In a world of Supers, this is a story that feels like it was inspired by movies like The Incredibles. In that film, superheroes are banned from openly using their powers because they cause too many lawsuits and too much collateral damage. I can't help but feel like this is one of the few superhero stories I have read that asks the question "but what about real physics?". There is no guarantee that grabbing a falling person is going to SAVE them - you grab them wrong they may end-up with a spinal injury and die on the spot. You stop them too fast and they might as well have hit concrete. In this kind of world, Anna works as a temp.. a Hench. The agency that she is hired through manages help for super villains - anyone from drivers, hitmen, body guards, consorts, and militias, to secretaries, programmers, baristas, makeup artists, and greeting staff. Super Villains can have expensive tastes.
After standing about being a token female in a publicity lineup of Henches for a bad employer called The Electric Eel ("really.. call me E") Anna finds herself trapped in a hospital bed recovering from a complicated spiral fracture of the femur, as a result of being man-handled by a clumsy superhero. This injury leaves her with a permanent limp. During her long recovery, holed up on a friend's couch, she latches onto the idea of running the numbers to quantify just how much damage this hero causes - which she then blogs about. She catches the eye of that superhero's nemesis who is impressed by her efficiency. This nemesis is a mysterious villain known as Leviathan. Anna is off down a rabbit hole of statistics and strategic planning for the big-bad, but the employee benefits are top-notch.
Natalie Zina Walschots describes hospitals in a way that feels real; the disempowerment, sleep deprivation, pain and lack of lucidity, days that blend together in a fog. Even rehabilitation after a broken bone is recounted with the appreciation of physiotherapists that you hate while they are helping you, because of the necessary brutality of the discipline. The observations are visceral and sardonic.
It's clear that the author loves wordplay.. there are a few (wonderful) bad puns, but I'm left wondering if the decision to make the main character's surname Tromedlov (a name that in an American accent sounds like "traumaed love") could possibly be because she knows what it's like when people think your surname sounds like something else (wall-shots?). As I can't find a whole heap of information about the author, this is pure conjecture on my part.
I noticed more than one reference to New Zealand (my home <3 Aotearoa ahau!) in this book. The author is Canadian but has obviously had dialogue (kōrero) about Māori tattooing practice, with someone at least, as one of her supporting characters is wahine Māori and has moko kauae (lip/chin tattoos). In The Auditor's number-crunching of collateral damage from a superhero, she likens him to an earthquake, and uses similar formulae that have been used to account for the loss of human life hours in natural disasters such as the Christchurch Earthquakes (in my hometown). Ooof.. that blind-sided me a bit. Quoting the number of hours lost to that earthquake I couldn't help but think... "uh - some of those were mine?!". As I relocated out of the city, and threw my life upside down a bit, as a direct consequence of that seismic activity, that hit close to home.
This story is underpinned by a lot of personal relationships that grow and change throughout. The setting is queer-norm and there are non-binary, trans- and various sorts of queer characters. The main character is interested in various types of people, but this only adds to her angst as she finds that living a life on the dark side can get risky for her, and riskier for any person she gets close to. As some of the supers are barely human it seems silly that they be limited to cis-het norms anyway. There's some mention of sub-dom play in there too. Cool to have some elder rep in this as well, and an account of elder-care facilities for folk with super-abilities, yet failing physical and cognitive function.
A Feminist narrative is very blatant as Anna is dubbed "the Auditor" (*shudder* SUPERvillainous!) by an abusive guy, and she develops a working relationship with another woman with superpowers who has been a sidekick, so overshadowed that some of her powers have been attributed to her (male) partner. It seems that the hero narrative must be maintained for the public good.. even if she has to do all the heavy lifting.
The double standard seems obvious to the audience.. well.. me. The Auditor is furious that another woman is being sidelined by an oppressive partner, all the while she herself is a support character to Leviathan's main. Even though she's coming up with all his best plans, she still feels like she's not the one running the show. I can only hope that's going to be explored more in the second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Violence, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Infidelity, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Grief, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, and Terminal illness
Minor: Animal cruelty
kingcrookback's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
It's an interesting premise, I'll give it that. Superheroes and -villains as concepts come with certain pressing logistical and moral quandaries, which is why pieces like this book and The Boys are created and then proliferate. How does one calculate the cost of one's actions? How valuable is "the greater good," all told? I actually really liked some of the execution. In particular, I liked how Anna not being able to unsee the human cost of superheroes as an institution is something of an allegory for the real-life experience of realizing how damaging the institutions governing one's daily life often are and not being able to shake the burden of that knowledge. Additional props to Walschots - Anna's experience of being disabled, being frustrated with her body's limits and worried about being seen as an unbearable burden by her friends, really hit home for me, as a disabled person.
However, because I listened to the audiobook and the narrator's character work was lacking, I don't think the gravity of this story was quite balanced with its humor and absurdity. The voices that she gave these characters (aside from Anna) often lacked emotional modulation, and some of them were so grating that 1) it was impossible to take them seriously even in genuinely somber scenes and 2) I'm surprised I didn't just straight up DNF.
However, because I listened to the audiobook and the narrator's character work was lacking, I don't think the gravity of this story was quite balanced with its humor and absurdity. The voices that she gave these characters (aside from Anna) often lacked emotional modulation, and some of them were so grating that 1) it was impossible to take them seriously even in genuinely somber scenes and 2) I'm surprised I didn't just straight up DNF.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
Moderate: Murder, Kidnapping, and Medical content
Minor: Sexism, Ableism, Alcohol, and Infidelity
harpoonholly's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
I was tearing through this book, addicted to what would come next and each chapter's last sentence demanded me to continue, that culminated in not that much. Male ego?
It was an enormous build up to nothing. I feel cheated. The final chapter didn't do what the end of each previous chapter did; it didn't make me want another installation on the heels of finishing.
This was an audiobook and the actor would benefit from practice in voice variance. I could tell thr characters apart mostly, but only Anna's wasn't annoying.
I'm disappointed and irritated. I don't regret reading it, not like I regret reading others, but I need a palate cleanser.
It was an enormous build up to nothing. I feel cheated. The final chapter didn't do what the end of each previous chapter did; it didn't make me want another installation on the heels of finishing.
This was an audiobook and the actor would benefit from practice in voice variance. I could tell thr characters apart mostly, but only Anna's wasn't annoying.
I'm disappointed and irritated. I don't regret reading it, not like I regret reading others, but I need a palate cleanser.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Confinement, Infidelity, and Medical content
starlitpage's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity
Moderate: Death, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Medical content, and Confinement
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Misogyny
revengful_mariner's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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
4.25
No one was clear-cut good or evil, they were all multifaceted people with motivations and personalities, driven by idealized emotions like hope and compassion but also human one’s like spite and pride. While villains were better employers than heroes and were more honest about their intentions, they were still villains and that came through beautifully. I was more scared of Supercollision, the hero/antagonist, than Leviathan, the villain/protag’s boss, but Leviathan was still scary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Body horror, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Cursing, Infidelity, Blood, Death, Car accident, Confinement, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Excrement, Pregnancy, and Sexism
starsnotshadows's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-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
5.0
Oh boy, this book is like someone took the "and that was my villain origin story" meme and made it a writing prompt and it WORKS! The sort of cultural reckoning in this setting reminds me of the beginning of The Incredibles when heroes are being held accountable for the collateral damage that they do.
There were times that I had to remember that the main character is of course on the side of villainy because some actions she tak aren't exactly morally sound. I'm so used to clear cut good guys that I momentarily thought it was a fault of the book, but I think it actually speaks to the writing that I was disagreeing with the main character in some points.
I think there was a good balance of seeing the villains' points while also recognizing where things started to push into grayer territory. I also think that the romance element was done well; it was compelling, but not overwhelming.
There were plenty of plot points that went different than I expected but not in a random/annoying way. And the ending was quite surprising as well. Would definitely reread and read more from this author!
There were times that I had to remember that the main character is of course on the side of villainy because some actions she tak aren't exactly morally sound. I'm so used to clear cut good guys that I momentarily thought it was a fault of the book, but I think it actually speaks to the writing that I was disagreeing with the main character in some points.
I think there was a good balance of seeing the villains' points while also recognizing where things started to push into grayer territory. I also think that the romance element was done well; it was compelling, but not overwhelming.
There were plenty of plot points that went different than I expected but not in a random/annoying way. And the ending was quite surprising as well. Would definitely reread and read more from this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Moderate: Kidnapping and Gore
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Infidelity, and Confinement
Body horror is mostly in the last chapter of the book. Very brief mention of suicide also in the last chapter. Kidnapping is not extensive but is mentioned a decent amount. Violence/injury/gore noted because you know, superhero fights