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A review by ellelainey
Hearts of Darkness by Andrea Speed
5.0
Book – Hearts of Darkness
Author – Andrea Speed
Star rating - ★★★★★
No. of Pages – 200
Cover – Gorgeous! And perfect for the story!
POV – 3rd person, one character POV
Would I read it again – Yes!
Genre – LGBT, Superhero/Supervillain, Comics, Romance, Crime
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine
I was instantly hooked by the first line:
“Not for the first time, Kaede wondered what would happen if he decided to burn everything down. Just set it all on fire.”
After that, it only got better. I was instantly captivated by Kaede and, from the moment we met Ash, he was by far the most interesting character I've read in a while. Kaede is a complicated mix of an only child seeking a father figure, a young man who is fiercely independent and capable but that others misjudge based on his looks and age, as well as the added confusion of being a super villain's son and trying to find his niche in the world. On the flip side, Ash is an emotionless superrobot-human-superkiller-supersoldier. On top of all of that, he's highly intelligent, super aware and sensitive to Kaede while being completely unaware of the simplest, most basic human emotional concepts.
When it comes to the plot, I don't want to say much, because there's nothing I can really say without giving everything away. All I will say is that is was awesome, with a brilliant ending and some amazing superhero-supervillain twists and turns.
The attention to detail given to the superheroes and supervillains – from names, abilities and their inventions etc – was incredibly well done and pure genius, really. I loved the kind of detail that was given to Dr Terror, even though he wasn't a character that we got to see on page. We saw him in e-mails, through Kaede's thoughts and feelings, as well as exploring his inventive side through all of his gadgets.
I loved that, as well as individual superheroes and supervillains, there were actual conglomerates of them. The Brotherhood of the Red Dagger, The Black Hand, etc, who all took part in various aspects of the plot that actually came together in the end.
I definitely want to see these characters again in another story, somewhere down the line.
~
Favourite Quote
“The boy acknowledged that with a curt nod and then took a few steps forward before stopping again. He showed his hands – slender, long-fingered, a pianist's hands – to let Kaede know they were empty. Or at least appeared that way. Kaede thought the kid had a spray of freckles across his ghostly skin, but after a moment he realized it was just a sprinkling of blood.”
“If this man was telling the truth – and why would he lie? – he was so dangerous it would actually be difficult to quantify. He'd be the equivalent of a trained shark with Ebola-tipped missiles in a launcher on its head.”
Author – Andrea Speed
Star rating - ★★★★★
No. of Pages – 200
Cover – Gorgeous! And perfect for the story!
POV – 3rd person, one character POV
Would I read it again – Yes!
Genre – LGBT, Superhero/Supervillain, Comics, Romance, Crime
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine
I was instantly hooked by the first line:
“Not for the first time, Kaede wondered what would happen if he decided to burn everything down. Just set it all on fire.”
After that, it only got better. I was instantly captivated by Kaede and, from the moment we met Ash, he was by far the most interesting character I've read in a while. Kaede is a complicated mix of an only child seeking a father figure, a young man who is fiercely independent and capable but that others misjudge based on his looks and age, as well as the added confusion of being a super villain's son and trying to find his niche in the world. On the flip side, Ash is an emotionless superrobot-human-superkiller-supersoldier. On top of all of that, he's highly intelligent, super aware and sensitive to Kaede while being completely unaware of the simplest, most basic human emotional concepts.
When it comes to the plot, I don't want to say much, because there's nothing I can really say without giving everything away. All I will say is that is was awesome, with a brilliant ending and some amazing superhero-supervillain twists and turns.
The attention to detail given to the superheroes and supervillains – from names, abilities and their inventions etc – was incredibly well done and pure genius, really. I loved the kind of detail that was given to Dr Terror, even though he wasn't a character that we got to see on page. We saw him in e-mails, through Kaede's thoughts and feelings, as well as exploring his inventive side through all of his gadgets.
I loved that, as well as individual superheroes and supervillains, there were actual conglomerates of them. The Brotherhood of the Red Dagger, The Black Hand, etc, who all took part in various aspects of the plot that actually came together in the end.
I definitely want to see these characters again in another story, somewhere down the line.
~
Favourite Quote
“The boy acknowledged that with a curt nod and then took a few steps forward before stopping again. He showed his hands – slender, long-fingered, a pianist's hands – to let Kaede know they were empty. Or at least appeared that way. Kaede thought the kid had a spray of freckles across his ghostly skin, but after a moment he realized it was just a sprinkling of blood.”
“If this man was telling the truth – and why would he lie? – he was so dangerous it would actually be difficult to quantify. He'd be the equivalent of a trained shark with Ebola-tipped missiles in a launcher on its head.”