Heroine Complex

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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A few years back, the city of San Francisco was visited by trans-dimensional demons – they were unable to stay long before being driven back, but in their wake certain individuals were left with superpowers. Some powers were impressive, others were . . . well, let's just say less-so. Most didn't use their powers much, but some heeded the call of Ben Parker and used their abilities to serve the common good. Chief among them was Aveda Jupiter – who spends her days defending SF from further demon incursions as well as more mundane menaces.

Aveda is helped in her quest for justice (and good PR) by a fighting coach, a scientist studying demons and a PA. Her PA, Evie Tanaka, is her childhood best-friend and the only one who can weather her mood swings, demands for affirmation and schedule with good humor and grace (at least externally).

Events transpire, and Evie has to pose as Aveda at an event – and things go awry in a pretty significant way. Demons attack (while displaying some new characteristics that require a new long-term strategy for battling them) and Evie demonstrates a super-power of her own. In the next few weeks, Evie has to continue the ruse while learning how to use (and hopefully lose) her own power and learning how to adjust to a newfound confidence, level of esteem, a change in her friendship with Aveda, and even a love life – while trying to beat back the invasion force once and for all.

I'll be honest – the plot was okay, but almost entirely predictable by page 50 or so. But name the super-hero story that's not, right? Especially origin stories. What matters is how Kuhn told the story – with heart, charm, and wit. So that you aren't getting to various story beats saying, “Yup, right on time,” (or whatever unintentionally pompous thing you say to yourself when you get to a point in a book like this), rather you're saying, “Oh, I like how she did that,” or “that's a great take on X.”

The characters and the relationships between them are the key to this – none of them act their best, none of them are really hero-material, all of them ring true. These could be your friends (not my friends, mind you – there's not enough book talk, and a whole lot of things that happen outside of a house), or at least the friends of someone you know. If, you know, your friends are known for dressing in leather, beating up inanimate objects inhabited by pan-dimensional beings, and fending off the prying and gossiping eyes of a fashion/lifestyle blogger.

I don't think I've done the best sales job on this, but I'm not sure what else to say. Heroine Complex is light, breezy and fun – a quick and enjoyable read with characters you want to spend time with. A great way to kill a couple of hours – I'm looking forward to Book 2.