13+

This is superhero satire and I love it so much! It might be the first one I have read which actually acknowledges throughout the book how toxic and weird it is that superheroes always have a love interest which is used as bait and regularly helpless in villain situations.

The world is a parallel universe (it is explicitly set in 2024) but superheroes exist and the HPA are the organisation that controls them and is essentially the superhero base. The Diviner (the only female superhero which the HPA acknowledges) is an oracle who produces prophecies of disasters in certain locations from which new superheroes will emerge. The HPA made me simmer with anger throughout, their leader Ron King ‘King Ron’ a former superhero who now leads them is such a chauvinistic man (I think they actually use that term in the book as well). He constantly sees women as weaker and thinks they can only serve as Love Interests. He is incredibly charismatic and our mc struggles to unite the different versions of him which is very realistic because he is an absolutely amazingly written character (even if I hate him).

It was so creepy the little things that were side details that the HPA did. Like Jenna’s sister Megan mentioned that the HPA like it when the Love Interests die young so that the superheroes can have their eternally twenty something love interest for merch and trauma etc. Megan Jenna’s sister is my favourite character but I cant give any spoilers so just let me say she is absolutely just so girlboss but also loves her sister and is so protective.

The essential basic plot is that Blaze a new superhero rescues a young woman (Jenna Ray) who is about his age and so the HPA and the media all assume that she will become his Love Interest. Jenna heartily disagrees with this despite finding him later attractive. I am trying really hard to not give spoilers but I do wish the author had stuck a little harder to the original Jenna’s mindset of this is never going to work between us.

Anyway we have feminism, superhero satire, an amazing supporting cast and a really evil corporation so lets do the stars!

World – 4/5 – I enjoyed it!

Plot – 4/5 – it was rapidly paced and a little predictable but I did enjoy it a lot as we uncovered the HPA’s toxicity.

Characters – 5/5 stars!

Romance – 3/5 – Soft Romance– not my favourite thing about the book, it almost undermined the message – there is romance but it feels like it is a subplot that is growing throughout the book which was nice.

Things to be aware of: sexism is the big one but I think other that its just manipulation and deception – I say just! Some fantasy violence but nothing really in a 13+ – I think you could read it younger but maybe wouldn’t enjoy it as much if you hadn’t had as much of the content it satires.