Review Haunted Heroine (Heroine Complex, #4) Expressed By Sarah Kuhn Format Printed Matter
there was ever a series that needed more books, it was this one, I was excited when Haunted Heroine got announced, and now that Ive read it I can say for certain that the excitement was well deserved, Haunted Heroine was a fantastic addition to the Heroine Complex series, It was an excellent continuation for the characters of the seriesand as they embarked on the next chapter in their story, they were literally and figuratively being haunted by things from the past and present.
With this kind of story, it was an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish, and I was rooting for the characters every step of the way,
Haunted Heroine is told from the perspective of Evie Tanaka, one of my favorite characters, Her POV is what introduced the series, and her perspective was just as delightful to read from as the first time around, in Heroine Complex, While the beginning was looking at her futurewith her husband, Nate, and her pregnancymuch of the story explored Evies past, That also included an old relationship that has haunted no pun intended Evie in previous books in the series, It had affected her relationships with others, as well as how she saw herself, So it was great to see it finally addressed, Plus Kuhns handling of the emotional side of the character arcs was fantastic, It was one of my favorite aspects about the story, and I felt like a lot of the lingering plot threads from previous stories reached a satisfying resolution.
It was also great to see how the other characters in the series were adjusting to changes in their lives/ what they were currently doing after the end of the third bookincluding Evies younger sister, Bea, Aveda, and everyone else.
Evie and Avedas friendship has always been one of the highlights of the series, even with the ups and downs, I liked how they were both still working on their friendship, but there was never a doubt that there was a bond there,
Overall, I liked Haunted Heroines story, It took place in October, and the settingMorgan Collegewas different from the more familiar urban city setting of San Francisco, The grounds of the college afforded for something of a spooky atmosphere, and it was a perfect place for the latest mystery to play out,
Haunted Heroine is one of the best books Ive read so far this year, If youre a fan of this series, then this one should be on your TBR list,
This copy of the book was provided by the publisher DAW Books via netgalley for this review, thank you!
sitelinkThis review is also posted on my blog, Our Thoughts Precisely
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.
I really enjoyed this book, I havent read the first three in the series but I didnt feel lost at all, Im sure there were little things I missed, but the author did an awesome job explaining enough of the story so far that I didnt feel like I was not getting the full story.
The tone of this book reminded me of Scooby Doo and also the fun single episode arcs in Supernatural, This is a huge compliment coming from me, The supernatural mystery was well thought out and had a lot of depth to it, There were some serious twists,
I loved all the ghost and demon mythos, Very unique and cool.
I also liked that not everything was wrapped up, Theres a bigger story arc and I cant wait to see what happens in the next book, This series is actual magic! Seriously, every book in it is like a hug for my heart, with a side of awesome superhero action! And in this one ghosts!!! Talk about throwing in the drama for the fourth book! No fair Sarah for making me cry so much.
This book picks up aboutmonths into Evie's pregnancy which was revealed in Book! So we get to know more about how Evie feels about the whole thing.
Like with all the other books, Aveda and Evie are pulled into an investigation, this time on Evie's old college campus, Ghosts are haunting the buildings and they aren't being very nice, Aveda and Evie get to know some new friends while doing the ghost hunts and even new enemies,
I found that this new story arc was really intense Sarah really focused on the emotional tensions between the characters, especially Evie and Nate, I look forward to seeing what is going to happen next, While I wish that the library had the print rather than the audio of this book, it was enjoyable and seeing Evie revisiting her college years and college self was surprisingly introspective, what with ghosts and hauntings and tongueincheek glimpses at college life.
I loved the dynamic between Evie and Aveda and their in disguise antics, Some of Richards mannerisms were a bit, . . much, but oh so frustrating to hear,
Is this the end A spinoff in the same universe might be fun, DNFedchapters in because I didn't pay enough attention when I saw a new Heroine Complex book and clicked download, thinking it would be about another character getting a romance and doing some superheroing.
Actually this is about Evie, the heroine from book one, as she faces parenthood, which, since I liked this series for the romance more than the plot, I don't think is going to be for me.
Based on what I read, this has the humor and the characterization of the earlier books, and, as long as you're not primarily interested in romance or you don't mind a romance sequel with baby, I think you'll enjoy this.
Kuhn's a talented writer, for sure, and I look forward to what she does, but I'm going to check out of Heroine Complex, unless maybe there's another romance.
Were back to Evie with this one, which usually is a plot return Im not too in favour of, but this is more Evie sorting out her stuff.
This book is feels. So many feels all the way through, By the end, I needed both a carpet ball and spam musashi AND Id had to look up a Taco Bell menu which didnt help because I got a UK one, but I get the idea.
Theres even a table of cheese at one point a WHOLE TABLE,
Okay, so I work in academia and Ive taught the subjects mentioned here, And fan shaming, which is a huge part of the shitty teacher characters schtick, is absolutely not cool, I mean, Ive referenced and recommended the Heroine Complex series in class, so pretty clear where I sit in this, Were desperate to get students reading beyond the norm I deliberately recommend Ready Player One because of this and tell students to read, enjoy, and think about its message carefully afterwards which they frequently do.
So ugh, hes gross, and feels very real as a result, As a games theory lecturer Im constantly aware that people think my subject is trivial, Anyway it felt alarmingly close to the wire, even if he is just a big bad ole parody, that dude has been chasing me round university since I started teaching.
His ignominious end felt like justice,
Long live the heroines! I was over the moon thrilled when I learned that the "Heroine Complex" series would go beyond a trilogy, The fact that the first novel of this continuation circles all the way back to the perspective of Evie Tanaka my favorite of the three heroines made it all the more thrilling for me.
I found it fascinating for Evie and Aveda to spend most of this story away from the other members of their team and on a mission of personal proportions for the former back at the school she was originally pursuing a Master's before dropping out.
Fans of the series will have known since the first book that Evie's power originally came to light literally after catching her thenboyfriend cheating on her at the school library.
The fact that Sarah Kuhn gives a payoff to a detail about Evie that I originally thought would be unexplored backstory was incredible,
If you couldn't already tell from the fabulous cover for this novel, there are ghosts in this story, and without saying too much, let's just say that they're not always the kind of ghosts of those who've passed away.
The way Sarah factored in that for lack of a better word "haunting" thought experiment really paves the way for Evie with coming to terms with her past, while on the brink of a future that will certainly change things up for her.
It was a compelling position Sarah put Evie in, all the while bringing the same spunk, humor, and badassery the "Heroine Complex" series is best known for.
This is a fun and fast paced series with likable characters, I looked after reading this galley copy and I see theres a novella called Unsung Heroine that is set between booksandso you might want to get that before reading this if youve been loving this series too!
If you havent read this series yet and you like your urban fantasy character driven this might be one to try for you.
My caveats are I dont think this is a series Id recommend to most male readers and while it isnt sex filled the author doesnt hold back when there is a bedroom scene so skip if that would bother you.
Content warnings:
Ive been a
fan of this series since the very first book, and I was so happy to see that this book was once again from Evies POV after a book each from Aveda and Beas POVs.
After the bombshell in the last book, I was very interested to see how Evie was going to handle everything, and this book did not disappoint, This is the fourth book in the Heroine Complex series and I wouldnt recommend reading these out of order, These books are heavily character driven, and each book builds on the relationships of the last one,
“The two of you undercover” Bea snorted, “Sounds like a classic Aveda Jupiter schemethe chance of shenanigans is off the charts, ”
Evie has the perfect life a great career as one half of the Evie Tanaka/Aveda Jupiter superhero duo, a healthy best friend relationship with the other half of that duo, a marriage with the love of her life, and the reassurance that the little sister she basically raised is all grown up and doing well, and now shes surprise! pregnant.
So why does everything seem to be falling apart Besides the allday nausea and the need for constant naps, Nates treating her like a science experiment and she cant help think about the baby without a sense of dread.
So a little time away for a weekend trip with Aveda to the college she attended grad school at is perfect, right Dropping out of grad school after burning down the library when she lost control of her fire powers was a turning point in her life, and perhaps going back will help her realize just how far shes come from that overwhelmed and sad kid.
But besides her out of control pregnancy hormones, the ghost sightings at Morgan College have suddenly turned violent, and Evie and Aveda decide to go undercover as TAs to investigate.
Can confronting the ghosts on campus also help Evie confront the ghosts of her past
A large part of Evies journey had been accepting her emotions instead of suppressing them, and by extension also accepting her superheroine powers.
Its no shock that being given a chance to relive her grad school days brings up all sorts of emotions for Evie, especially around her relationship with her old professor and boyfriend, Richard.
Hes frankly a dirtbag of the first order who had no qualms about having a relationship with one of his own students and belittled her constantly, Its especially gross because in his role as a pop culture professor, he puts down women of color for enjoying media that centers and empowers them, After all, it cant be great unless it was written by an old white guy, right While Evies wrestling with why and how she ever put up with this guy, it also doesnt help that shes having communication problems with her husband Nate.
As primarily a romance reader, this did hit a few of my HEA alarm bells its generally accepted that once a couple gets their HEA, they stay in love forever with no issues but at the end of the book, I felt like it was necessary.
Both Evie and Nate have messy pasts and lots of even more messy emotions, and learning to own them is just as essential in their relationship as it is for the rest of Evies life.
I love the partnership between Evie and Aveda, Theyve both grown tremendously over the course of the books, and it was wonderful to see how Aveda navigated being supportive of Evie while also calling her on some of her behaviors.
There is, in fact, a lot about the power of friendship, and not just the main characters, Theres several super sweet friendships among the group of female and nonbinary college students that Evie and Aveda fall into and they made a nice foil to their own relationship.
“Id come back to Morgan College to close the door on the past, but Id been going out of my way to avoid it, to pretend like it didnt bother me.
To act like Scared Mouse Evie had been left so far in the dust, she didnt even exist anymore, ”
But what I loved most about this book was its take on the “women can have it all!” narrative that, obviously, if we want it enough, we can figure how to have a career, a romantic relationship, and a family without shortchanging one or all of them or ourselves.
Evie cant help but compare Sad Mouse Evie as she calls her grad student self, who was exhausted all the time from juggling her responsibility for kid Bea, TAing classes, and trying to finish her own coursework, to her presentday self.
What would life have been like if shed been able to live in the dorms with her best friend, attend raucous dorm parties, and make late night runs to Taco Bell Was dropping out of grad school and going to work as Avedas assistant really the best path for her life Evie has clung to a certain interpretation of those years of her life, and its only while shes back at college with motherhood on the horizon that shes finally forced to deal with it.
Its a very timely realization about the importance of rage, and about using your voice to speak up for others and, most importantly, yourself,
Overall, I absolutely adored this book and the chance to catch up with Evie again, and Ill be eagerly looking forward to the next one!
I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley.
This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review, .