Over the years, the adventures of superheroines Aveda Jupiter and Evie Tanaka have become the stuff of legend–and now they’ll be immortalized in their very own TV show!
The pair head to LA for filming, but Aveda struggles to get truly excited. Instead, she’s preoccupied wondering about the fate of the world and her role in it. You know, the usual. Now that Otherworld activity has been detected outside the Bay Area, Aveda can’t help but wonder if the demon threat will ever be eradicated.
When the drama on set takes a turn for the supernatural, Evie and Aveda must balance their celebrity commitments with donning their superhero capes again to investigate. And when the evil they battle reveals a larger, more nefarious plot, it’s time for the indomitable Aveda Jupiter to rise to the occasion and become the leader she was meant to be on a more global scale–and hopefully keep some semblance of a personal life while doing so.
The next book in Sarah Kuhn’s Heroine Complex, Hollywood Heroine features Aveda Jupiter. In the last book, it was Evie that needed to confront her demons but this time it’s Aveda who must figure out both the literal demon who’s plotting against them and her internal demons. She must confront her own fears and work with her team in order to defeat the supernatural evil facing LA and Aveda.
One of the reasons I so love this series are the characters that author Sarah Kuhn creates. They are dynamic, powerful, women of color in a world that is far too often critical of those women. She creates complex women who must tackle racism and discrimination just like in the real world. That combination helps build heroines for other women of color to believe in, to read about, and love. It also opens the eyes of those of use who are white. While I love diversity in all flavors, I also know I can’t truly understand the experiences of women like these, except for reading books that depict them and their struggles. There are far more authors writing these characters, especially authors of color. I appreciate the perspective and truly felt like I learned a lot from these characters. The best part of the novel was Aveda fighting for her voice in the white driven Hollywood with an evil both supernatural and real world.
As I said the characters are complex and real as is the plot of the story but what it also has is fun and action. Sarah Kuhn knows how to build in action packed scenes that have you staying up late in the night to read. Her characters kick the world in the tail and are indomitable. They also are friends and comrades, building on their relationships with each other and their husbands. I especially loved getting to know more about Aveda (Annie’s) relationship with her husband. It is always great to see positive relationships instead of the typical romance where people fight and break up.
Overall, the story is dynamic and real, the characters are positive and learning all the time, complex and the action is packed with fighting evil. If you enjoy women superheroes fighting the supernatural, I highly recommend both the series and this book.
Rating: 5 out of 5 bats.
