A review by adelaidemetzger_robotprophet
The Invisible by Amelia Kahaney

5.0

Okay. I’m just going to get it out.

Honestly guys, my eyes were brimming with tears at the end of this book and I couldn’t stop saying, “Holy crap--holy crap!” as I struggled through the climax--and when I say “struggled” I mean my emotions were at serious war with each other. The only time a book has ever made me so emotional I just want to throw the book out the window was whenever I read Karen Traviss, specifically her Republic Commando series. Traviss has been the only author to play with my emotions with calculated carelessness to a point where the only sound I can form out of my mouth is “NO!” and a lot of screaming. Not anymore.

Like I said about the first book, Amelia Kahaney is one smart woman. She is literarily intelligent and patient with the story and characters. You can tell that she’s got the Brokenhearted series well planned out and has much more in store for her superhero The Hope. One thing I would like more of in this series is Batman-esque villain/friend scenarios. No, this is not Batman, but it would be so awesome if certain characters we are acquainted with weren’t just altered slightly, but greatly and have their relationship dually changed with Anthem. I’m not going to spoil anything, but let’s just say that Ford has a new role that isn’t fully explained by the time this book is over and I wish they showed more of that. This makes me think that the next book will concentrate on Ford more.
Even though it wasn’t explained, I have a theory that Kahaney is pulling a Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde with Ford--a Harvey Dent/Twoface scenario if you will. The hybrid serum Jax injected him with cured him and what not, but when Anthem went to see him in the gym for the first time he was better she caught him yelling at the wall but no one was there. Ford then later explains that he’s “not himself” when something makes him angry or upset--he’s not the same person. Obviously another side of him has been awakened and he now has an internal battle with his inner demons that give him strength at the same time.
I’d like to get a flashback into Ford’s point of view in the third book to recap what he was going through when he briefly left the city in this book. I’d also like to get more insight into Harris Fleet(Anthem’s Dad)’s past. It is briefly mentioned toward the end but I would love to see more of what he had to go through before
he became a power-mongering crime lord
.

Unlike the first book, there is much more at stake with the new villain, The Invisible, making threats to the city and the lives of the people in it. I thought his reveal was creative and his back story and involvement with Anthem even more so. As well as before, Kahaney just SMACKED me in the face with those twists and turns--especially in the conclusion. Right when I thought, “Whoa, that was some reveal--” BAM! there’s another one around the next chapter. Because Kahaney has got a good head on her shoulders these kickers are 100% vital to the plot. Good God, I can’t even absorb everything that played out in the end! Every time I think about it my heart chokes, stopping the flow of oxygen to my brain, and then I suffer short term memory until I flip through the pages and it happens all over again. This book seriously effected me. No joke.

Now I have an actually NEW series to be anticipated for and I cannot wait!! Kahaney, please tell me you have the next one ready to rev once you’re done copyrighting it because I need the next one--like, now.