Hey, superhero fiction fans! August was a great month for the genre, and I’ve rounded up a ton of awesome new releases (though inevitably, I’m sure I’ve missed some). As usual, I haven’t read all these books personally, so be sure to read the samples and reviews before buying.
Transference
by Kate Jonuska
Professionally ruined, morally bankrupt and reflexively snarky, psychiatrist Derek Verbenk is a f*ck-up by even his own measure. Ethical transgressions have sentenced the once ambitious doctor to a career handing out prescriptions to rich housewives from his home office in Cherry Creek — until a new patient with a newfound power turns Verbenk’s life upside down and his soul inside out. Romping through Denver, breaking through barriers of privacy, social isolation and even politics, Transference is an odd-couple quest toward redemption full of wicked humor and radical honesty.
Masked (Superheros Undercover Book 1)
by J.D. Wright
Vada’s To-Do List:
– Turn 18 (check!)
– Register super name
– Order supersuit
– Attend superhero indoctrination
– Graduate high school
– Start kicking criminal tail
Vada Lawson can’t wait to be a superhero. Born into a family with special powers, she’s been training to fight criminals and villains her whole life. But her indoctrination into the underground super community is derailed when normals start breaking out in superpowers themselves.
Not trained to control their new abilities, the normals are frightened and vulnerable. Then their mutilated corpses begin turning up all over town. What the heck?
Somehow, with the help—and hindrance—of an annoying newly-minted super named Orion, Vada has to stop the chaos before it destroys her and everything she holds dear…and ruins her superhero debut.
The Fiasco In News
by Stephan Morse
When you’ve seen as many catastrophes as I have, “disaster” becomes a relative term. But when disaster hits, feel free to do what I do—hang your head while waiting for the tight-wearing crowd to arrive. That only works if your super power is the same one I have though. I’m an immortal walking magnet for superpowered problems.
This new guy, Ted—a fake part-time villain who’s in it for the ratings and excitement—wants me to be a field correspondent for his news blog, and his offer sounds good. If I can’t beat ’em, expose ’em. The problem is he has no idea what my daily life is like.
No one really does—but they’ll learn.
First Job (Minimum Wage Sidekick Book 1)
by Lucas Flint
In a world where superheroes are a business, sixteen-year-old Alex Fry gets the dream job of teenagers everywhere when he is hired by the famous superhero Rubberman as his sidekick. As Rubberman’s sidekick, Alex hopes to not only learn how to use his powers, but also save up enough money to buy his first car before he heads off to college.
But Alex gets more than he bargains for when a powerful supervillain with mysterious connections to Rubberman’s past appears in his city with a dangerous agenda. Now Alex must master his powers in time to help Rubberman defeat this supervillain before he succeeds in his vile plans.
Yet when Alex learns about the darker side of the superhero industry, he finds himself unsure whether to keep working for Rubberman or to stand against him for the greater good. If Alex makes the wrong choice, it will change his life—and the fate of his hometown—forever.
Modified: Volume 1
by Kat Stiles
Kate has enough problems – a boss that’s a little too friendly, a sex life that’s non-existent, and a cat with zero tolerance for late meals. The last thing she needs is to be kidnapped, even if it is by a hot Brit.
Afterwards, she’s mysteriously returned and has no memory of what happened. She learns, with the help of an eccentric sexy woman, that she’s been modified – given a power unique to her talents. Sounds cool, right? It would be if she knew how to use it without killing everyone around her…
Modified is a funny, sexy, geeky romp about the trouble of acquiring an unexpected and inherently evil super power. With offbeat characters, profanity, and a healthy dose of salacious thoughts, it’s an entertaining short read, volume one of a serial type series.
Pick up your copy today and get Modified!
Reader Discretion is Advised: If you are offended by strong language or sexual situations, for the love of God don’t buy this book.
Liberty Girl: Fight For Freedom
by Lisa M. Collins, Lou Mougin, and Richard C. White
She Was a Beacon of Justice During the Dark Days of World War II. She Continues Her Heroic Battle Against Evil Today. Then and Now, Liberty Girl’s Fight has always been the same – A FIGHT FOR FREEDOM!
Pro Se Productions Proudly presents the second book based on Heroic Publishing’s LIBERTY GIRL. With tales by Richard C. White, Lou Mougin, and Lisa M. Collins and based on concepts created by Dennis Mallonee, LIBERTY GIRL: FIGHT FOR FREEDOM takes readers to the core of this stunning heroine, revealing what makes her tick, why she wars against injustice, and how, no matter how powerful a force challenges her, she will never surrender freedom, hers or anyone else’s.
The Phobia of Renegade X
by Chelsea M. Campbell
Damien’s always been afraid of heights, but he’s never been afraid of fieldwork or of being in the spotlight. At least, he wasn’t before the gala—the one where his grandpa nearly caused a massacre and heroes from the League almost killed his best friend. Now he finds himself dreading the very things he used to love, and all he wants is to skate by in school, avoid fieldwork, and keep a low profile.
But avoiding his fears isn’t as easy as he hopes, especially when the school decides to send him and his best friend to hunt down a dangerous criminal. And as if that isn’t bad enough, it turns out he also has to pass a flying test if he wants to make it through the school year, even though his debilitating fear of heights means it’s pretty much impossible.
In order to pass the test and catch a criminal, Damien accepts help from unlikely allies. But when his mission goes south and he accidentally lets a terrible weapon fall into the wrong hands, he’ll have to overcome his doubts and save his friends from a psychotic killer bent on using his worst fears against him.
Atlas
by E.J. Free
Sam Skylar just wants to live his own life, tending the fields and raising the horses on Doc Locklear’s Saskatchewan ranch.
Providence, however, has other designs. The destruction of his hometown drags Sam back to the world he hoped to escape, a world of politics and distrust, of limits and agendas. When attacks come from all quarters, will even Sam’s incredible powers be enough to save him, and the world?
League of Lesbians: Origins: A Lesbian Superhero Story
by Em Stevens and Jea Hawkins
Psssst… Don’t be fooled by the pretty purple cover. This isn’t exactly a “happy” story.
What is it, then?
It’s a story about six friends and the night that changed their lives forever. It’s the foundation for tales of hurt, tales of revenge, and tales of love. Oh yeah, there are some bad-ass women with super powers, too. But all heroes have to start somewhere, right?
This is the origin story of the League of Lesbians.
King Cage and the Slaughterhouse Blues: A Superhero Urban Fantasy Novel
by Mike Stop Continues
“First it eats, then it drinks, then we’re screwed…”
Legendary graffiti artist King Cage just wants to paint. To hell with fame and fortune, no matter what his sidekick says. But when a blue djinni breaks free of its portrait, the King is forced to venture into the upstairs world, pitting his own need for privacy against the djinni’s need to eat.
With an art dealer under his heels and the NYPD’s best on his tail, the King must distract his pursuers from the djinni while hunting it, both above ground and in the wild world below. But with every kill, the djinni gets a little smarter, a little stronger… and much, much larger.
Will the King put an end to the djinni’s gargantuan appetite, or will he—and all of New York City—be consumed by it?
King Cage and the Slaughterhouse Blues is a gritty, superhero adventure that fuses Godzilla’s explosive action with Neverwhere’s mystical underground in this gripping fight-to-the-death. If you loved Cloverfield, Project Nemesis, or Ghostbusters, you’ll love book two of The King Cage Chronicles.
Sentinels: The Omega Superhero Book Three (Omega Superhero Series 3)
by Darius Brasher
Great superpowers come with greater enemies.
Now that twenty-year-old Theodore Conley is the licensed superhero known as Kinetic, he must bring to justice the mysterious dark forces that killed his family and are trying to stop him from becoming the world’s greatest champion. The problem is that the path to justice is blocked by the Sentinels, the world’s most powerful team of Metahumans.
With the help of superhero detective Truman Lord and Theo’s friend Myth, Theo struggles to locate the Omega weapon, an ancient artifact that is Theo’s only hope against the Sentinels and the key to unlocking Theo’s full superhero potential.
It’s not just Theo’s life at stake in this quest.
The fate of the entire world hangs in the balance.
The Power of Mercy (The Superheroine Collection Book 2)
by Fiona Zedde
To her family, Mai Redstone is weak. Her shape-shifting power is nowhere near as impressive as their abilities to literally alter the world around them. But when she puts on the costume to become Mercy, a rooftop-climbing chameleon with a thousand disguises and at least nine lives, she feels almost invincible.
When a local politician is murdered and the police call Mercy in to help, the stability Mai has built out of past pain threatens to crumble. The dead politician turns out to be her uncle, a man who made her childhood a living hell. Caught between giving a medal to the killer and being forced to find the murderer for her family, Mai must make the difficult choice between family loyalty and self-preservation.
Mercy is a blade that can cut both ways.
Rise of a D-List Supervillain
by Jim Bernheimer
Cal Stringel returns in the fourth volume of the D-List Supervillain series! One of the few heroes he respects has been captured, and now Cal must rely on his wit, technical skills, and a healthy dose of The Big Lie, to pull off a daring rescue from inside a villain’s base.
Along the way, he and his team of New Renegades will have to worry about an imposter, human/animal Manglermal hybrids, a naked woman, an evil scientist, a terrifying plan, and the ever intrusive presence of Big Brother. Can Cal keep the fact that he’s really alive a secret? What hidden truths has Aphrodite been holding onto and how will it change their relationship?
All these questions await Cal, but most importantly, why are you still reading the description? You should already be reading chapter one!
Kristen Brand 