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emtheauthor 's review for:
Black Widow: Forever Red
by Margaret Stohl
As a hardcore MCU fan, I was both ecstatic and terrified for this book. After all, Natasha Romanoff is one of the best female characters ever, in my opinion, and I was so scared that any author would get her character wrong. Thankfully, Margaret Stohl pulled through on that front. I imagined Scarlett Johansson in every scene and could almost hear her voice as she spoke. It was a nice look into the storm behind the pretty face that the movies only offer a glimpse of and I felt it did the amazing actress and character justice.
Ava was a wild card for me, as I didn't expect that the novel would focus so much on her, but eventually I understood why she was such a key part. At first I was annoyed because I'd expected a Black Widow story but by the end I saw that maybe Ava's and Black Widow's story were one in the same. While I mostly liked Ava, something about her greatly annoyed me at times and I can't pinpoint why. Maybe too much of an attitude? Overall though, I thought she was cool and entertaining and proved to be a great counterpart to Natasha and her story.
As for Alex, I adored him. Completely. His character was well-written and believable: not the perfect hunk but not the complete clumsy nerd that somehow charms the girl. A good mix. Flawed but wonderful. I loved him. However, while the relationship between Ava and him was awesome, it moved waaaaaay too fast. Blah. For claiming to need no one in the world, Ava was pretty comfortable with Alex holding her hand and poking her in the ribs all the time pretty fast. I know they had a 'connection' but come on. It's a good thing I was rooting for them so much or else it would've ruined it for me.
As for the plot, it was very fast-paced (maybe a little too much at times) but truly reflected the Marvel Universe. I loved the cameos from other favorite characters and how integrated everything was, making it feel liked it really belonged in MCU. However, I was confused about the chronology. Obviously the Avengers have become a thing so it's after that movie, but it's common knowledge that Coulson's alive so....not really sure about that. The rest of it, though, was great. Some of it felt predictable but so many plot twists happened that I didn't see coming--a sign of a good superhero story. It was entertaining and fun but Not cool, Margaret Stohl. Not cool.
Rated 4/5 for fun characters, great writing, surprising plot twists, and excessive fangirling
Ava was a wild card for me, as I didn't expect that the novel would focus so much on her, but eventually I understood why she was such a key part. At first I was annoyed because I'd expected a Black Widow story but by the end I saw that maybe Ava's and Black Widow's story were one in the same. While I mostly liked Ava, something about her greatly annoyed me at times and I can't pinpoint why. Maybe too much of an attitude? Overall though, I thought she was cool and entertaining and proved to be a great counterpart to Natasha and her story.
As for Alex, I adored him. Completely. His character was well-written and believable: not the perfect hunk but not the complete clumsy nerd that somehow charms the girl. A good mix. Flawed but wonderful. I loved him. However, while the relationship between Ava and him was awesome, it moved waaaaaay too fast. Blah. For claiming to need no one in the world, Ava was pretty comfortable with Alex holding her hand and poking her in the ribs all the time pretty fast. I know they had a 'connection' but come on. It's a good thing I was rooting for them so much or else it would've ruined it for me.
As for the plot, it was very fast-paced (maybe a little too much at times) but truly reflected the Marvel Universe. I loved the cameos from other favorite characters and how integrated everything was, making it feel liked it really belonged in MCU. However, I was confused about the chronology. Obviously the Avengers have become a thing so it's after that movie, but it's common knowledge that Coulson's alive so....not really sure about that. The rest of it, though, was great. Some of it felt predictable but so many plot twists happened that I didn't see coming--a sign of a good superhero story. It was entertaining and fun but
Spoiler
I will never ever ever ever get over Alex dying. Ever. Yay for plot twists but that was too far.Rated 4/5 for fun characters, great writing, surprising plot twists, and excessive fangirling