A review by napkins
Love for the Cold-Blooded, or The Part-Time Evil Minion's Guide to Accidentally Dating a Superhero by Alex Gabriel
5.0
Oh my god this book was exactly what I needed: light and hilarious and staying just this side of irreverent without being "zany" or "wacky", sweet and romantic without losing the humor or sarcasm, and a story set in a world of superheroes that flirts with the ideas of sides and outlooks and circumstances without being judgmental or moral. All in all, a fantastic, fun read, but also stupendously long.
It reminds me in all the best ways of the heyday of Shousetsu Bang Bang: a great story told by nerds for nerds where it's clear the author loved what they were writing. A story with a fresh outlook on circumstances and situations we've seen over and over, an answer to the "well, what if this" we're familiar with from fandom but told in their own world and imagining and executed flawlessly.
I'm in love with the fact that Pat's family is so supportive and great at every turn - in the midst of all the superhero showdowns, it's the human moments between Pat and Nick and Pat and his family that really make the book shine, and when two people are just as likely to meet in a coffee shop as they are on a rooftop because one's been snatched up by a supervillain (sorry, challenger, and besides, she's an old family friend, you know how that is), or in a secret (okay, not so secret, no one wants to be waiting forever once a showdown is ready to take place and you're ready to set plans into action) lair, it brings a sense of balance and really grounds the setting, making it all the more charming.
It reminds me in all the best ways of the heyday of Shousetsu Bang Bang: a great story told by nerds for nerds where it's clear the author loved what they were writing. A story with a fresh outlook on circumstances and situations we've seen over and over, an answer to the "well, what if this" we're familiar with from fandom but told in their own world and imagining and executed flawlessly.
I'm in love with the fact that Pat's family is so supportive and great at every turn - in the midst of all the superhero showdowns, it's the human moments between Pat and Nick and Pat and his family that really make the book shine, and when two people are just as likely to meet in a coffee shop as they are on a rooftop because one's been snatched up by a supervillain (sorry, challenger, and besides, she's an old family friend, you know how that is), or in a secret (okay, not so secret, no one wants to be waiting forever once a showdown is ready to take place and you're ready to set plans into action) lair, it brings a sense of balance and really grounds the setting, making it all the more charming.