Fandemic

I'm always happy to have a new Bigtime story, even a novella instead of a full-fledged novel. However, because of the length of this one, I think it suffered a bit. There was less character and plot development than I would have liked. And while I enjoyed some time in Bigtime, it seemed truncated and shallower than it could have been.

However, I loved seeing ingenuity and brains save the day rather than superpowers. Piper wasn't really a character that had been on my radar before this but I'm glad to have gotten to know her better. She's one awesome ass-kicking lady.

I hope there will be many more adventures in Bigtime to come.

Read: November 2015

Fandemic focuses on Fiona Fine's assistant Piper, who has been a background character in the previous Bigtime novels. Here she gets her own story and her own romance with a superhero.

What I liked:
- I liked Piper as a character; she was smart enough to figure out the secret identities of most of the major superheroes in the city but also smart enough to keep that information to herself and play dumb around them.
- Estep's writing, as ever, was excellent and fast paced. The story is pretty short anyway but Estep's easy writing style and light-hearted tone helps to keep the pages turning.
- The references to Estep's other series - at one point Piper mentions the city of Ashville, which is where the Elemental Assassin show more series is set :)
- I liked that Piper doesnt gain superpowers of her own at any point and is able to save Kyle using her own wits and accepting her own limitations.
- The nice happy ever after ending!

What I didn't like:
- I thought Kyle was an idiot for breaking up with Piper for the reasons he did. He said that he didnt want to go out with her in case she loved his superhero side more than his regular side, but they had already been a couple for a year before she found out so why would he think that she was only with him because he was a superhero? She had already proven that wasnt the case.

Rating: 4/5 stars; I loved getting another instalment in a series I thought was finished and makes me hopeful for more Bigtime stories in the future! show less

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads.

Happily-ever-afters for everyone! This series may be about superheroes and ubervillains, but in Jennifer Estep’s BIGTIME universe even the little guy is deserving of finding love. In this installment its Piper and Swifte’s turn, and I think that pretty much everyone will get a kick out of this one because as a fellow reader you’ve either A) attended a book con, and can relate to Perez’s FANDEMIC condition, or B) have been waiting nearly three years for more BT.

This novel may have been shorter than some of the previous titles, but it was absolutely overflowing with little extras tailored specifically for Estep addicts. There’s shout outs to all three of her other series, an abundance of show more never-before-seen superheroes, more of Rascal—the puppy from #4—and an impressive Big Bad. The story starts off in a sex club, and ends in wedding bells; so needless to say, it’s far reaching for 43,000 words.

These books are as loud as their covers, and the author did a fantastic job of making Piper a larger-than-life character by transforming her crazed fandom into its own strength. As a result, the end battle was probably the one that I’ve had the most fun with to date. Swifte’s a decent guy, and even though he’s very flamboyant about his superhero status, I liked that their relationship and personalities were the focus instead of superpowers.

Piper & Swifte have a past which was a change from the prior couples; it gave the story more of a second chance at love slant which I enjoy whether it’s with someone new, or rekindling an old flame. I was happy that the two protagonists didn’t have the insecurities that some of the earlier characters in this series did, and although Swifte’s reason for breaking it off was kinda weak; it’s BIGTIME, and that means it’s supposed to be silly, so he gets a pass.

Let your inner geek out, read FANDEMIC! show less

Fun, but short

And a little weak on plot. More of a short story than a full novel in the series. Good for fans; not so good for newcomers.

Fun, but short

And a little weak on plot. More of a short story than a full novel in the series. Good for fans; not so good for newcomers.