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A review by witandsin
Heroine Worship by Sarah Kuhn
4.0
Reviewed for Wit and Sin
Heroine Worship manages to be kick-ass, funny, and heartwarming all at once. It can’t be easy to have a heroine who was previously somewhat unlikeable and definitely demanding, but author Sarah Kuhn proves that she’s more than up to the challenge. Aveda is fierce, powerful, a self-confessed hurricane…and also loving, lonely, and more vulnerable than she lets on. I absolutely loved her.
In Heroine Complex, we got the story of Evie Tanaka, personal assistant to superhero Aveda Juipter (aka Annie Chang), Evie’s childhood best friend. This time around it’s Aveda/Annie’s story, and I loved seeing the reformed diva get her own book. Ever since Aveda and Evie saved San Francisco, things have been quiet, which means that all’s quiet at Aveda Jupiter, Inc. Not only that, all of San Francisco seems to have fallen in love with Evie, which means that she and Aveda are less co-superheroines than superheroine and former superheroine-turned-sidekick. Aveda is someone constantly trying to prove herself, to be the best, and between not having demons to fight and having everyone look at her like she’s still a diva, she’s going mad.
Aveda/Annie’s personal journey is the heart of Heroine Worship and I loved peeling back the layers of her character. She may have been a diva and a pretty bad friend at the last book, but Aveda doesn’t make excuses for herself. She’s determined to be the best friend to Evie that she can be and also protect her from anything that would upset or hurt her, and that isn’t always easy. Aveda tends to rush into things head first, which means that even when she means well she often screws things up. My heart actually broke for her more than once over the course of the story, as she takes a lot of hits. There were times I wished I could have reached into the book and stopped her before she made a mistake or her actions were misinterpreted. She’s on a quest to be the perfect friend and maid-of-honor to Evie, and at the same time she’s having an identity crisis and the denizens of her fair city aren’t looking too kindly on the mistakes she keeps making.
If feeling internally lost wasn’t enough for a now-outsider superheroine to handle, Aveda has a new problem on her plate: a demonic force seems to be attacking San Francisco brides. Non-possessed Bridezillas are frightening enough, so when you add in a demonic influence…let’s just say things get ugly quick. It’ll take all of Aveda and co.’s combined power to capture the demon, save San Francisco from evil Bridezillas, and get Evie and Nate down the aisle in one piece. The action sequences are fun, unique, and balance out the more serious storylines.
Heroine Worship has a lot of flash and dazzle, but there’s a lot of emotion packed into this story as well. Aveda and Evie have a couple of hurdles to overcome in order to repair their friendship, and I loved that Ms. Kuhn didn’t make things easy on them. Aveda also must face her feelings for Scott, surfer-mage extraordinaire and a longtime friend to both Evie and Aveda. Aveda and Scott have wonderful chemistry, but her fears and insecurities make her constantly push him away. I was absolutely rooting for these two to get together, and the romance storyline is just what I needed to round this story out. All in all, I adored Heroine Worship and I’m looking forward to seeing where Ms. Kuhn takes our kick-ass co-superheroines next!
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Heroine Worship manages to be kick-ass, funny, and heartwarming all at once. It can’t be easy to have a heroine who was previously somewhat unlikeable and definitely demanding, but author Sarah Kuhn proves that she’s more than up to the challenge. Aveda is fierce, powerful, a self-confessed hurricane…and also loving, lonely, and more vulnerable than she lets on. I absolutely loved her.
In Heroine Complex, we got the story of Evie Tanaka, personal assistant to superhero Aveda Juipter (aka Annie Chang), Evie’s childhood best friend. This time around it’s Aveda/Annie’s story, and I loved seeing the reformed diva get her own book. Ever since Aveda and Evie saved San Francisco, things have been quiet, which means that all’s quiet at Aveda Jupiter, Inc. Not only that, all of San Francisco seems to have fallen in love with Evie, which means that she and Aveda are less co-superheroines than superheroine and former superheroine-turned-sidekick. Aveda is someone constantly trying to prove herself, to be the best, and between not having demons to fight and having everyone look at her like she’s still a diva, she’s going mad.
Aveda/Annie’s personal journey is the heart of Heroine Worship and I loved peeling back the layers of her character. She may have been a diva and a pretty bad friend at the last book, but Aveda doesn’t make excuses for herself. She’s determined to be the best friend to Evie that she can be and also protect her from anything that would upset or hurt her, and that isn’t always easy. Aveda tends to rush into things head first, which means that even when she means well she often screws things up. My heart actually broke for her more than once over the course of the story, as she takes a lot of hits. There were times I wished I could have reached into the book and stopped her before she made a mistake or her actions were misinterpreted. She’s on a quest to be the perfect friend and maid-of-honor to Evie, and at the same time she’s having an identity crisis and the denizens of her fair city aren’t looking too kindly on the mistakes she keeps making.
If feeling internally lost wasn’t enough for a now-outsider superheroine to handle, Aveda has a new problem on her plate: a demonic force seems to be attacking San Francisco brides. Non-possessed Bridezillas are frightening enough, so when you add in a demonic influence…let’s just say things get ugly quick. It’ll take all of Aveda and co.’s combined power to capture the demon, save San Francisco from evil Bridezillas, and get Evie and Nate down the aisle in one piece. The action sequences are fun, unique, and balance out the more serious storylines.
Heroine Worship has a lot of flash and dazzle, but there’s a lot of emotion packed into this story as well. Aveda and Evie have a couple of hurdles to overcome in order to repair their friendship, and I loved that Ms. Kuhn didn’t make things easy on them. Aveda also must face her feelings for Scott, surfer-mage extraordinaire and a longtime friend to both Evie and Aveda. Aveda and Scott have wonderful chemistry, but her fears and insecurities make her constantly push him away. I was absolutely rooting for these two to get together, and the romance storyline is just what I needed to round this story out. All in all, I adored Heroine Worship and I’m looking forward to seeing where Ms. Kuhn takes our kick-ass co-superheroines next!
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.