Book Review: Heroine Complex (Heroine Complex #1) by Sarah Kuhn

Heroine Complex (Heroine Complex#1) by Sarah Kuhn (2016)

Genre: Fantasy, Fiction

Page Length: 378 pages (paperback edition)

Synopsis:

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 secret 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. (description from Goodreads)

Review:

This is a series I’ve been meaning to start for ages and I’m so glad I finally did! From the first few scenes where Aveda is saving the city from a battle with demon cupcakes (truly epic), I was hooked into the novel. Set in San Fransisco, the novel takes readers through the city, battles with supernatural creatures, and the Aveda’s home base where we meet the main cast of characters. When a demonic invasion threatens the city, can they save everyone before it’s too late?

The first installment of this series is so entertaining. I love a good urban fantasy series and this one hits all the marks for me. I enjoyed getting acquainted with the characters and seeing all of their superpowers at work. Being a superhero seems like is not all glamorous work as it seems on the outside. As we see through Eva and Aveda’s eyes there’s a lot that goes into being a protector of the city and having to constantly uphold an image. People hold superheroes up to celebrity status and are under constant scrutiny.

I loved the fantasy elements where Kuhn describes all of the supernatural aspects in a detailed manner. It made the action-packed scenes gripping and throughout the entire novel, I was eager to see where the story would take me next. I think my favorite character would have to be Evie and I liked how her character developed over the story. She’s someone who is so ashamed of the great powers that she has and struggles to accept them as a part of her. She works hard at trying to hone her skills and be more confident since she is usually one to hide in the limelight. She is struggling with a lot under the surface and she tries to navigate her feelings the best she can.

While there is a subplot of romance I also appreciated the narrative around Eva and Aveda’s friendship and how it has evolved over time until the present day where the story takes place. Sometimes there are fights that break out due to differences, and Eva has to challenge Aveda since she becomes a bit too caught up in her job and superficial. Eva has to check her and their friendship is challenged in many ways in this novel. But when they do work side by side they make one terrific duo.

I can’t wait to read the rest of this series. If you like fantasy novels with kick-ass heroines, action, and interesting characters Heroine Complex is the novel for you!

Final Verdict: