Hot Mama

A skinny fashionista that eats everything in sight? An only child who doesn't play well with others? A name dropping insider to the world of superheros? I think I've met (and hated) this woman before (except for the "superhero" part). I wasn't sure if Jennifer Estep had bitten off more than she could chew trying to turn Fiona Fine into a sympathetic heroine, but she did a masterful job. She even paired her with a flashy hero that could keep up with Fiona's fire, rather than dampening it. My issues with this book stemmed from an unexpected source, switching from KARMA GIRL's "outsider" narrator to Fiona's perspective led to a deluge of Bigtime name dropping, which in turn amped up the silliness of the novel over all. Add that to some obvious (and acknowledged) misses on the "Who's got a secret identity?" question, and this book wasn't an out of the ballpark hit for me. Luckily, I found Fiona and her Johnny charming enough to want to keep going.

Full review at All Things Urban Fantasy. ( )

I finished this book a few days ago and am finally getting around to reviewing it... (I've been busy...)

This book was REALLY cute. I didn't know how I'd feel reading about Fiona, as she was sorta the uber-beyotch of the last book... But I really enjoyed delving more into her character. She's a fun one, that's for sure! And Johnny Bulluci? Heehee... Carmen was really serious about how DUMB superheroes are about their secret identities. Like how do they not know who each other are? It's so incredibly obvious! But whatever. It's a fun world to write a story in!

I thought the issues between the female and male leads were really good—believable within the context of the story and not dragged out like some books are. The whole book was CHEEEEESY beyond belief, as I was totally expecting, based on the previous book in the series.

I'm excited to read the next book about Bella Bulluci. I wouldn't have pegged her as a future main character during book 1, but makes more sense after book 2. I wonder if there are going to be any future books..... Hmmm... ( )

This is the second in the Bigtime series and they remain good light reading. I didn't like this one quite as much as Karma Girl, mainly because this main character got on my nerves more. (I think it was well written but Fiona is just kind of annoying.) The main conflict was really well handled and didn't feel forced or false. ( )

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy:
www.allthingsurbanfantasy.blogspot.com

A skinny fashionista that eats everything in sight? An only child who doesn't play well with others? A name dropping insider to the world of superheros? I was worried that over-the-top, in-your-face Fiona Fine was going to be a hard sell as a sympathetic heroine, but Fiona’s loyalties and vulnerabilities won me over very early in the book.

On top of learning to love Fiona, Estep matches her up with Johnny Bulluci, a flashy hero with “heartthrob playboy” written all over him. Rather than dampen Fiona’s personality, he compliments it, and I enjoyed watching these two go head to head. Johnny’s grief over his father’s murder allows Fiona to demonstrate how much she’s grown since KARMA GIRL, further cementing my girl crush. Though my concerns about Fiona as a sympathetic heroine turned out to be unwarranted, her narration of the story ultimately didn’t work for me. The switch from an outsider narrator in KARMA GIRL to Fiona's “superhero born and bred” perspective led to a deluge of Bigtime name dropping, which amped up the silliness of the novel over all. That humor was, unfortunately, hit or miss for me. Add to that some obvious (and acknowledged) misses on the "Who's got a secret identity?" question, and HOT MAMA wasn’t able to stand up to KARMA GIRL in my estimation (though to Fiona’s defense, you’d go nuts assuming *everyone* has a cape and a secret identity).

While those few shortcomings knocked the book down a bat for me, I found Fiona and her Johnny charming enough to carry me through to the end (and their chemistry is noteworthy enough to warrant a look if you’re on the fence). I’ll leave it up to book three in the series, JINX, to see if the Bigtime series overall works for me. Maybe a heroine born to a superhero family without the useful powers will be the perfect mix of insider/outsider narration for me.

Sexual Content: Explicit sex scenes. ( )

Second in the Bigtime series, this one is a little more romance-y than the first, but it's still got that comic book feel as well. Estep plays with superhero tropes, poking gentle fun at the fact that NO ONE ever seems to recognize the superhero - even when it's someone they're around all the time. ( )