#Review - #HeroFail by Lexie Dunne #Fantasy #Superheroes

Series: Superheroes Anonymous # 4
Format: E-Galley, 384 pages
Release Date: November 27, 2019
Publisher: Harper Voyager Impulse
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fiction / Superheroes

Gail "Hostage Girl" Godwin is back and ready to save the day—sort of—in #Herofail, the fourth book in Lexie Dunne's action-packed Superheroes Anonymous series!

She’s been in trouble before, but Gail Godwin has really stepped in it now.

Once a favorite plaything of supervillains everywhere, the former Hostage Girl has settled into interning for the world’s most famous superhero: the Raptor. Sure, fetching coffee comes with a side of fighting crime and night patrol hours are horrible, but that’s fine. Gail likes her boss, she likes her job, and things with her boyfriend couldn’t be better.

So of course disaster strikes the first time she dons the armor. One ill-timed photo later, she’s trending on every platform (and not in a good way), the Raptor is out of commission, and thousands are in danger. And when two of the worst supervillains in history battle for Top Evildoer of All Time, Gail’s stuck in the spotlight without a mentor or a plan. It’s up to her to uncover old secrets, fight the bad guys, and save the world (again).

Provided she doesn’t fall flat on her ass in the process.

 

#HeroFail is the fourth installment in author Lexie Dunne's Superheroes Anonymous series. If you haven't yet read this series yet, how come? No really! This is an extremely fun and entertaining series which features a bunch of superheroes, and super-villains, and a girl who was once kidnapped by nearly everyone who is a super-villain constantly for 4 years straight until she was dosed with a radioactive isotope called Mobium and found some curious abilities of her own. 

Former Hostage Girl Gail Godwin, who people still call her by that name in public, has become Raptor's apprentice. Gail, who has the ability to absorb abilities from superheroes, really does try to do the best she can under crappy situations. Some times she has to ask herself if it's all worth it, especially when she is caught in the spotlight and her identity is nearly exposed to the public. Number one rule of being a superhero, never allow your identity to be revealed. 

As Raptor, Gail is expected to work in the darkness, let nobody know who she really is, be fast, and merciless and efficient against villains. Gail has some interesting friends as well as enemies. From Angelica Rocha, who has taken Gail under her wing, and trained her, to Jessie Davenport, aka Razor, who chose Gail to become her apprentice, to Guy Bookman, the former superhero known as Blaze who is her love interest, as well as Razor, a villain who has decided that Gail is and will forever be her frenemy.  

When Tamara Diesel makes an unannounced entrance to a Davenport event, things go sideways quickly and people end up sprayed with a toxic gas. To make matters worse, Gail has to face the reality that one of the most dangerous, & one of the original villains, Rita Detmer, has broken out of prison and somehow managed to do something to her powers. Rita just happens to be Raptor's main nemesis. With Heroes and Supervillains battling for supremacy, and two major villains stirring up trouble across the nation, Gail will have to pull a rabbit out of her hat in order to survive. 

Gail struggles at times with her new role as a super-hero. After all, she's been dosed with Mobium, arrested, and sent to Detmer prison for something she didn't do, exonerated, and then chosen to become an apprentice superhero. For Gail, there are good days, & some days when Gail just wants to sit home and let someone else pick up the slack for once. But, Gail may be the only one who is able to stop Rita and Diesel from upending the world and saving her friends.

The ending leaves me with questions that I hope I am able to find answers to. The author says that she never thought she would see the light at the end of the tunnel. Is this the final book in the series? Or, will she write another book? I am all for another book, but I am not selfish in being depressed if the author chooses to walk away and work on something else.

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#Saturday Review - How To Save The World by Lexie Dunn (Science Fiction) @DunneWriting @HarperVoyagerUS

Series: Superheroes Anonymous # 3
Format: E-Galley, 336 pages
Release Date: October 4, 2016
Publisher: Harper Voyager Impulse
Source: Edelweiss
Genre: Science Fiction / Superheroes

In the third book of Lexie Dunne’s action-packed Superheroes Anonymous series, Hostage Girl returns once again to save the world.

Gail Godwin—once so famous for being kidnapped by supervillains, the media still calls her Hostage Girl—is done with superheroes and their shadowy schemes. She’s got a cute boyfriend, a great roommate, and she’s even returned to her old job. For the first time in years, life is exactly what she wants it to be.

But when a figure from her past resurfaces, he brings with him a plague that changes the game for every superhero and villain out there. Now Gail must team up with both friend and foe to help save the world she thought she had left behind

Gail Godwin, aka Hostage Girl, returns in How To Save The World, the THIRD installment in author Lexie Dunne's Superheroes Anonymous series. Gail has returned to her former job at Mirror Realty, but that doesn't stop supervillains from showing up out of the blue to see the infamous Hostage Girl. Gail even has her own best enemy forever in Razor, who chomps at the bit to take Gail on one on one. But, that will have to wait after Gail, Angelica Rocha (roommate & trainer), and boyfriend Guy Bookman (aka War Hammer) learn that Doctor Mobius is alive and that's not necessarily a good thing.

When Gail and friends learn that Mobius is being ransomed to the highest bidder, she has to make a difficult choice that might send her right back down the rabbit hole and up against even more power villains who may change the world if they're not stopped. Gail, who spent 4 years being kidnapped by a variety of supervillains, really isn't a fan of Mobius. Especially after his formula, Mobium, transformed Gail into, well, a superhero in her own right. Gail now has enhanced hearing, can absorb the abilities of other superheroes, and has the ability to involuntary transport.

Gail is done with Davenport as well. She's done with being treated unfairly. She's done with them putting her in Detmer for something she didn't do. She's done being a pawn in a game between to sadistic villains who pushed Gail to the limits. But, she knows that there will be a time that she will need to finally put on a mask and suit and become the superhero everyone, including her mentor Vicki Burroughs (Plain Jane) knows she can be. And, she still has some resentment towards her ex-Jeremy Collins, who while still alive, lies in a coma.

For those who are new to this series, I say hello, and welcome! I do hope you choose to pick up this series. It is a series that is humorous as well as serious at times. There is plenty of action, plenty of romance, and plenty of twists that author Dunne tosses out like candy to children on Halloween. This is a series that even the secondary characters are fun to read about. Not only is Gail surrounded by superheroes, but she also is friends with reporter Naomi Gunn who has scooped up stores that Gail and her friends didn't have access to. This series gets better and better as the series goes on. My only snarky comment abut this entire book is the ending that just left me, well, speechless. Thanks, Lexie!

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*Book Review* Supervillains Anonymous by Lexie Dunne (Fantasy)

Series: Superheroes Anonymous # 2
Format: E-Book, 192 pages
Release Date: June 30, 2015
Publisher: Harper Voyager Impulse
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy

New superhero Gail Godwin, the one and only Hostage Girl, is in big trouble: her nemesis Chelsea is loose, someone close to her is dead, and everybody thinks Gail did it. To make matters worse, Davenport Industries has thrown her into a prison that just happens to be full of the very same supervillains who used to kidnap her on an almost daily basis.

Outside, things aren’t going all that great either. There’s a conspiracy that runs all the way to the bedrock of the superhero community, and it’s affecting everybody Gail loves. With her friends in the crosshairs, it’s up to her to escape and get to the bottom of things. Subterfuge, crime-fighting, and running away from everybody you know should be a cinch, right?

Wrong. Gail faces off against hero and villain alike just to stay alive, and you know what they say about supervillains. If you can’t beat them…join them.

Gail Godwin, aka Hostage Girl, returns in the sequel to Superheroes Anonymous. The story begins right where its predecessor left off. Gail is in big trouble. The powerful Davenport Industries, under Eddie Davenport, believes that she is an accessory to the murder of her friend, and trainer Angelica Rocha at the hands of supervillian Chelsea. Gail finds herself in the one place where she has more enemies, than friends; Detmer Maximum Security Prison for Supervillains. This is the place where almost everyone who is locked up, has tried kidnapping Gail to use in their own nefarious plans.

Gail, for the uninitiated, has been forever altered by a drug that makes her faster, stronger, more perceptive, and able to quickly heal most damage. But, the problem is that she's been told so many lies, that she has no clue who to trust, or what the real truths are. Can she trust her supposed boyfriend Blaze, or her trainer Plain Jane to keep her safe while she learns about her abilities? What does the original female supervillain Fearless want with Gail? Why is Chelsea nearly unbeatable? Will Gail go to the dark side, or will she have enough restraint to become a superhero for the good?  

Except for the whole stealing a cover from another published author, Sidekick by Auralee Wallace, this book definitely has a whole lot going for it. I dare say that it might even be better than the first installment. There is a whole lot more action. I loved the look inside Detmer Prison, and the fact that Gail has some frenemies. I like that Gail has some real friends who help her struggle through the story as well as uncovering a major conspiracies as well as learning about her new powers.

Wondering, however, what happens next. Is there another book in the works? The ending leaves some wiggle room for further adventures, but it also feels more like the second half of book number one with only 192 pages. I guess I will leave this open ended for now, and hope the author posts a response to my question.

**I received this book for free from (Harper Voyager Impulse) via (Edelweiss) in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

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