me an entire day to process my thoughts because after reading this, all I can think about was, . . Nick in his skintight quantum armor or the lack thereof, . . Nick and his incinerating stare which doesn't burn you, well literally, but does spark something inside you, Be it this kind Or this Doesn't really matter which kind, does it Or his perfectly ogleable butt or how he cooks with precision and perfection or both his butt and culinary skills in the same thought either is desirable.
. . Or his despicable fashion sense at home or his deadpan sense of humor, Uhm, endearing muchYeah, all these are enough to cloud my thoughts and, . . Heh. I should have written paragraphs by now but you can't really blame me, Okay, enough of Nick but not really, Let's get the ball rolling, shall we Insert perfect transition to my 'smart' review again, not really Clears throatAll Nickfangirling aside, this was one of the most unique books I've read to date.
The world that Alex Gabriel created was insanely well thought of, It's a futuristic universe with superheroes and challengers living normally, or close enough, But it's not what makes this book unique, It's how Gabriel made a mockery out of the hero/villain business but in a ridiculously smart, wacky, funny kind of way.
With over the top heroes and
their challengers, completely absurd subplots, and with the way Gabriel made all these seem normal, what more can you ask for rightWrong!Because while the macro side of things worked well for this book, Pat and Nick's romance was even more delightful to follow.
Don't even ask me why it worked for me, Both MCs are awkward with each one on a different side of the awkwardness spectrum if there is even one, But goodness gracious hallelujah, their chemistry was sizzling, It was arousing but without letting the adorable, dorky, cute, and awkward factors go, More than half of the book, I was giggling and bedrolling like a lunatic,
"Patrick West. " Nick spoke so quietly the words were hardly more than a soft exhalation, "Student. Swimmer. Fan of lurid supernatural romances, linore, and BadMadRad, Casual gamer. Admirer of Jaguar, fictional warrior princesses, and soprano witch queens, Lover of historical buildings. Idealist who wants to build cities where people can live well, Owner of strong opinions he never hesitates to defend, no matter how obviously wrong, Quick to laugh. Spontaneous and unselfconscious, except when he thinks too much, or tries too hard, Talks too much, with hardly any filter between the brain and the mouth, Adaptable, Outgoing. Unreserved. Loud. Talented. Wholehearted. Foolhardy. Stronger than he thinks. Wiser than he seems. "Sigh I mean who does that It's like reading wedding vows or something, But this very accurately describes why I love these two oafs, And I say that very fondly, This was sweet, actionpacked, and nerdfully satisfying, Most of all, it's genuinely funny with lots of heart to last a grand hoagie/challenger showdown of the century, After about reading, the book will suck you in like quicksand, I LOVED the beginning of the story, This book is also very different from lots of other MM books, its creative and new, The narrative voice, the voice of a young villain who is starting to have feelings for a super hero, is crazy and funny and would cheer you up, and their relationship, even in the fantasy world of minions and heroes, feels realistic.
"I know you, too," Pat blurted, breathless, "Nicholas Andersen, aka Silver Paladin, Brilliant engineer, inventor, and allaround tech geek, Lover of hypotheticals and logic puzzles, Focused and intense. More comfortable with machines than humans uncertain of how to interact with people outside of familiar patterns and situations, Thoughtful and kind without noticing, Subtle, dry sense of humor, Passionate about the greater good, driven by the need to help, to use his advantages for everyone's benefit, Alone in his own inner world, Serious and wound tight. Eager to learn, to know more, to experience new things, Scary smart. Courageous. Honest with himself as well as others, Observant. Openminded and adaptable. Sweet. "
These are some of the things that make this book so good,
However, I should complain a little about its length, very descriptive voice of the narration, and the unsatisfying end.
As I mentioned earlier, the story starts by creating a wonderful situation for the hero/villain coming together, but it also makes a prostitute/nonprostitute misunderstanding.
And these two are different stories by themselves, and it makes Pats secrets too much! I just wanted Pat to tell Nick the truth, the lengthy fighting scenes at the end were unnecessary.
And Im not sure about what happened after that! The ending seemed unresolved!
But generally this was an enjoyable read, with unforgettable characters :
Gaaahhhh!.
Stars! LOVED this BOOK!
Hilarious! Irreverent! My god this was so much fun to read! The real world meets the comic books.
Superheroes and villains, or hoagies and Challengers fight each other and knock down buildings, Villains take turns seeking world domination or simply doing away with the travesty of chain book stores, Their sons and daughters must serve on minion duty for other challengers/villains, Heroes bicker with each other, All fights are televised. And no one seems to die, And it's all as funny as hell!
In the middle of all this, Patrick West son of the Dread Serpent Serpentissima finds himself working as night manager for the genius billionaire superhero/hoagie Nicholas Andersen, the Silver Paladin.
Nick mistakes Pat for a hooker, one thing leads to another which leads to a big ole fight between superheroes and Serpentissima.
Of course this all ends in an HFN for Pat and Nick,
Saturday morning cartoons and comics meet MM romance and RL, Yes!
This has to come out in audiobook! ,stars
I'm sad that I've come to the end of this I don't want to leave these characters behind! I really want to read more in this world and would love to see a sequel.
. .
This was such a fun read with a really likeable MC, The whole premise of the heroes/hoagies and villains/challengers etc was a bit different to the usual, I loved the voice of Pat and the humour in general was just spot on, It was great to see Nick's uptight character relax through the story and when the guys get together, the sex is REALLY hot.
The characters were all really interesting I loved Pat's relationship with his sisters and the insights we got into some of the heroes and challengers.
The romance here was nicely developed through the story but we left off when it was just getting slightly more serious, so I hope we get to see the development of their relationship in future.
The only niggle I have with this is that for some reason I kept getting distracted and reading other things and then coming back and reading more of this one during about the middle third.
. . I don't know if it was just the reading mood I was in, or perhaps some parts were slightly slow I'm not sure, but either way I ended the story loving it and would even put it on my list of books that I would happily read again at some point.
I'm excited to read more by this author! I LOVED THIS BOOK
“Im adorable, dude.I loved every page of this story every single ridiculous moment, . .
A total dazzler. We talked about this, remember”
I want to wrap myself up in this story like a warm fuzzy blanket!
It was silly without being overly absurd.
. .
It was romantic without being sappy, . .
Just normal guys in extraordinary circumstances, . .
Plus a lot of hot, sexy, sweaty moments :
This book somehow managed to take a story about heroes and villains and turn it into a tale about regular people doing regular things.
. . with um ya know interesting day jobs :
This is a world where showdowns between beings with superpowers are as ubiquitous as the Starbucks on the corner.
Super Heroes and their dreaded rivals have constant throw downs, and the general population has gotten pretty used to ducking and covering when someone with a cape shows up.
. .
Patrick West
Pat snorted, “If only you knew how wrong you are, See, the entire world is populated by these really weird dudes, and Im the only normal one, Nobody but me ever seems to get that, ”Full Time College Student,
Part Time Minion,
Accidental Rentboy, . .
Pat is the blacksheep of the family, . . He's the youngest child of the Dreaded Serpentissima a snake woman known for her plots of world domination, . . But to Pat and his three older sisters, she's just Mom, . . She was out conquering the world but still made it home for family dinners, She plotted elaborate schemes but tucked her kids in at night, . . She even checked under their beds to make sure no super heroes or Hoagies were lurking under there,
See, it all depends on what side you're on, Admittedly, Pat's perspective is a little more skewed than your average college student, All three of his older sisters are following in their mother's villainous or Challenger footsteps, but Pat is studying to be an Urban Planner.
Makes since really, when you consider that every other day a skirmish between Hoagies and Challengers breaks out and the resulting mayhem levels a building or two.
. .
But hey, Pat's family has accepted mostly the fact that he has no interest in entering the family business, and even though he has to pull 'minion duty' every now and then, everyone pretty much supports his boring lifestyle.
He's just a normal college student going to frat parties, striking out with hot guys, wearing flannel, using the word 'Dude' entirely too often.
. . Oh, and he's working a night job to make ends meet, . . and that's exactly where the trouble starts, . .
Nick Andersen
Nick was bad with people and had weird habits and questionable opinions, but he was terribly good and heroic at his core, all selfless and noble and shit.Part Time Super Hero,
It was pretty disgusting, actually, . .
Genius Scientist,
Billionaire, . .
Nick is the kind of genius billionaire that pretty much stays in his giant mansion working on superhero things.
His only social interactions occur when talking to his house's AI program, or making grand superhero speeches in front of city hall.
As a result, the man has zero social skills,
Sure, Silver Paladin Nick's superhero alter ego is one of the best and brightest hoagies around, but without the costume, he's just a nerd.
Ok An incredibly hot nerd
Ok An incredibly hot, kind of adorable, totally rich nerd, . .
Pat managed to get a job as the night manager of Anderson's estate nothing nefarious, Pat needed the cash, the hours worked with his class schedule, and the AI pretty much runs the entire house, so there's lots of time for Pat to study.
Pat has been spending his shifts quietly studying in the nightkitchen with barely a peep from the rich, neurotic dude that owns the place Pat makes the guy'sAM perfectly symmetrical pizza and that's about it.
. . Until one night
One night the AI gets a new request to "send up a guy" not knowing WTF Nick wants, Pat puts down his books and enters the secret lab of Silver Paladin.
. . Poor Pat had no idea how he got so lucky finally getting to see the awesome lab that only a billionaire genius scientist could create.
. . and the fact that said scientist begins undressing and tells Pat to do the same, . .
Who in their right mind would turn down all those lickable abs
Not Pat, that's for sure,
The result
This wasnt the kind of thing that happened in real life bizarre and unlikely misunderstandings like this were the stuff of straighttoDVD romantic comedies.Pat's mind might have been clouded by several layers of lust, but the guy isn't stupid.
Plus, Pat Pat of all people Who on earth would mistake Pat for a hooker
Silver Paladin, apparently
He figures out that when Nick asked the AI to "send up a guy" he really meant send up a hooker, and tada Patrick showed up.
Not a bad arrangement really I mean, Pat would have sex with Nick for free!
Eventually our boys graduate to dating like normal human beings.
. .
Well, as normal as these two can possibly be, . .
The result will make you laugh, make you smile, and give you the warm fuzzies,
Final Verdict:
The author provided me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.