ARC Review: Heroine Worship by Sarah Kuhn

Title: Heroine Worship Series: Heroine Complex #2 Written by: Sarah Kuhn Published: July 4, 2017 by DAW (Penguin Group) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: Once upon a time, Aveda Jupiter (aka Annie Chang) was demon-infested San Francisco’s most beloved superheroine, a beacon of hope and strength and really awesome outfits. But all that changed the day she agreed to share the spotlight with her best friend and former assistant Evie Tanaka—who’s now a badass, fire-wielding superheroine in her own right. They were supposed to be a dynamic duo, but more and more, Aveda finds herself shoved into the sidekick role. Where, it must be said, she is not at all comfortable.  It doesn’t help that Aveda’s finally being forced to deal with fallout from her diva behavior—and the fact that she’s been a less than stellar friend to Evie. Or that Scott Cameron—the man Aveda’s loved for nearly a decade—is suddenly giving her the cold shoulder after what seemed to be some promising steps toward friendship. Or that the city has been demon-free for three months in the wake of Evie and Aveda’s apocalypse-preventing battle against the evil forces of the Otherworld, leaving Aveda without the one thing she craves most in life: a mission.  All of this is causing Aveda’s burning sense of heroic purpose—the thing that’s guided her all these years—to falter.  In short, Aveda Jupiter is having an identity crisis.  When Evie gets engaged and drafts Aveda as her maid-of-honor, Aveda finally sees a chance to reclaim her sense of self and sets out on a single-minded mission to make sure Evie has the most epic wedding ever. But when a mysterious, unseen supernatural evil rises up and starts attacking brides-to-be, Aveda must summon both her superheroine and best friend mojo to take down the enemy and make sure Evie’s wedding goes off without a hitch—or see both her city and her most important friendship destroyed forever.

*** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review. This fact has not changed my opinion. ***

This is a really fun superhero story. It's full of action and adventure, complex characters, and an interesting science fiction world. However I didn't love it as much as the first book for some reason.

One thing that I do really love about this book is the characters. I'm really enjoying getting to know them over the course of these two books. They are definitely complex and interesting characters. In Heroine Worship we switched perspectives and got to go inside of Aveda/Annie's head. At first I wasn't sure how I would feel about that but I really liked it. She has such a distinctive voice and it added to the fun element of the book. It also helped us get to know here so much better. Hearing and seeing directly from their perspectives always helps empathizing and making a character more complex. That is absolutely what happened here. In the beginning of the book she's a pretty unlikable character but she has really great growth throughout the book and I totally loved her by the end.

But the heart of this book is the connections with the characters. First we have the fantastic friendship between Aveda/Annie and Evie. A lot of this book is about Aveda/Annie trying to be a good friend. I love seeing how strong their friendship is and that they care and support one another no matter what. There is also romantic relationships. Evie and Nate should be the focus here but because Evie isn't our narrator that was replaced by Aveda/Annie and Scott. They had a fantastic slowburn throughout the book and I enjoyed the way it developed. But I will say, I missed some of the other secondary characters. I would have liked more from Bea and more from Lucy in this book. I get that without Evie as the MC we lost some of Bea but I felt like her and Lucy were not involved at all. I really missed Bea. But I have a feeling she'll be our MC for the third book and I am definitely excited about that.

As far as the plot goes, this was definitely a book full of action and adventure. Just like everything that involves superheroes there are all kinds of action scenes and crazy fights. But this has always been a series that doesn't take these sorts of things to seriously. It's much more on the silly side. Sure they are fighting demons and saving the world but it's cupcakes and bridezillas. I love this about the series and I liked it about this book. There's also a pretty decent mystery to it. Although there wasn't enough clues for my liking. It's wasn't super predictable but it also wasn't very solvable.

But I will say, I didn't totally love the pacing with this book. I think I had much of the same issues with this one as I did with the first book. It always starts with a bang and then comes crashing down. From there it's a slow start until it builds to a strong conclusion. It's not a particularly long read for an Adult SciFi/Fantasy coming in at just under 400 pages. But I have read longer books in less time. I think it's just a series that is more on the slow side. That isn't a bad thing but it also isn't what I usually prefer.

On the whole, this was a good read. I really enjoyed the character and the superhero story full of adventure. I which the pacing was a little but more exciting but I think it's a fun and engaging read. I didn't love it as much as the first book in the series but I am definitely invested in what is coming next.

I give Heroine Worship by Sarah Kuhn 8 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. This was a good read. If you read the first book and enjoyed it check this one out. I would definitely recommend to fans of superhero stories, especially if you are looking for one with diverse female heroes and strong friendship themes.

Have you read Heroine Worship? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

ARC Review: Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn

Title: Heroine Complex Series: Heroine Complex #1 Written by: Sarah Kuhn Published: July 5, 2016 by DAW (Penguin Group) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: Being a superheroine is hard. Working for one is even harder.  Evie Tanaka is the put-upon personal assistant to Aveda Jupiter, her childhood best friend and San Francisco's most beloved superheroine. She's great at her job—blending into the background, handling her boss's epic diva tantrums, and getting demon blood out of leather pants.  Unfortunately, she's not nearly as together when it comes to running her own life, standing up for herself, or raising her tempestuous teenage sister, Bea.  But everything changes when Evie's forced to pose as her glamorous boss for one night, and her darkest comes out: she has powers, too. Now it's up to her to contend with murderous cupcakes, nosy gossip bloggers, and supernatural karaoke battles—all while juggling unexpected romance and Aveda's increasingly outrageous demands. And when a larger threat emerges, Evie must finally take charge and become a superheroine in her own right... or see her city fall to a full-on demonic invasion.

*** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ***

I will read almost any novel about superheroes. Add diverse female superheroes to the mix and I am absolutely on board. And Heroine Complex did not disappoint. It was an action-packed read with kickass female heroine, complex themes about power and fame, plus a great story of friendship.

One of the things that immediately attracted me to this story was the characters, the put upon assistant of a superheroine who had powers as MC sounded so interesting and it definitely was. Evie was a fantastic main character in an understated badass sort of way. She's kind of a reluctant hero which I love but when push comes to shove she cares about people and do whatever it takes to protect them. She has great development throughout the novel. Then there is Aveda/Annie, the self-proclaimed savior and hero of the city. She is the opposite of Evie in every way and what immediately comes to mind when you think badass female protagonist. But she was far from cliche. I really liked the way the author played with traditional character tropes to make complex and compelling characters.

But that wasn't the only thing that Sarah Kuhn played with when it comes to superhero tropes. There were all kinds of great themes explored here. One of the things I love about superhero stories is when it deals with the idea of good and evil. Here it explores that a little but it went deeper than that. Here it was more about powers and what to do with that power. There was a whole plot line dealing with whether or not it was best to use the powers your given even if they are dangerous which I really enjoyed. But the best thing was more about how that power can go to your head. A lot of this book explores the idea of fame and being in the spotlight. It was a fantastic analysis of that concept especially when it comes to heroes and the age of social media and Internet stardom.

 The characters also lead to some really great exploration of relationships. I loved seeing Evie and Annie/Aveda's friendship tested throughout the book only for them to come out of it stronger. That was really the heart of the story. Plus there was the relationship with Evie and her sister Bea, which had similar conflict and heart. And for fans of romance there is a great one here. There are some pretty steamy kissing scenes and a great romantic lead that had even my black heart swooning. There was honestly just so many great relationships in this book that grounded the book and helped you to connect with the story. It also really helped to balance the character development with the plot development.

 But don't be fooled, this was a really action-packed read. Being a book about superheroines it should come as no surprise that there were tons of action scenes. The book opens up on a great fight scene so you definitely know what you're in for. From there it builds to a thrilling conclusion with narrow escapes, epic battles, and tongue-in-cheek encounters with more than one antagonist/nemesis along the way. There was also a really great mystery, including some elements I solved and some that caught me totally off guard. I really enjoyed the plot development here.

But that be said, as great as the plot development was, I did have some concerns with the pacing. It had a bit of a slow start after the first scene and it took me a little while to really get into it. Then there was a bit of an up and down with the rising action and it kind of lulled me into a false sense of security with the climax making me think it was over only to have an even bigger moment very late in the game. That really is my only criticism though.

On the whole, Heroine Complex is a fantastic read. It's a complex story about superheroes full of action and adventure not to mention great characters and heartwarming relationships.

I give Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn 9 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy. This is definitely a great read. It does a great job in balancing a plot-driven story with character-driven moments that connect you with the protagonists. Basically it has something for everyone. It's a great read for superhero and science fiction fans.

Have you read Heroine Complex? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!