4 gnomes and a gnome hat out of 5 gnomes

This is one of my favorite series out there. I love the characters and world building. Plus these books have such cool covers too.

It’s awesome to once again read about these butt kicking Asian American superheroines. Love seeing Aveda/Annie's point of view for this book. Her and Evie continue to grow as superheroes and friends. Their relationship is dysfunctional at times but they're striving to improve it.

It really gets to the heart of who Aveda Jupiter/Annie is and lets you see her more down to earth side. After reading this you realize just why her and Evie are such close friends. I think it works so well because their relationship is definitely not perfect but they’re trying.

The relationships are really well done and I adore where the romantic relationships went. It was unexpected yet works so well. There were a lot of great surprises and twists in this book. Especially loved the happy ever afters for possibly two couples.

I can’t wait to read the next book that’s going to be all about Evie’s sister Bea, I just know it’s going to have some great drama. Plus I’m looking forwarding to seeing how this great story ends.

<span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>**WARNING - THIS REVIEW CONTAINS ADULT CONTENT**</strong></span>
Our scrappy teenage superheroes from San Francisco are back with <em>Heroine Worship</em>.

Annie Chang fights under her superhero name: Aveda Jupiter. She fights against the demons who have infested San Francisco from another world or dimension. And she fights alongside her best friend, Evie Tanaka. But jealousy is a pretty cruel demon on its own and Annie isn't enjoying being relegated to becoming Evie's side-kick. Adding to the feeling that she's in the backseat to Evie, is that Evie is about to get married, so San Francisco's eyes are all on her.

And to make matters worse ... is Evie's wedding dress haunted by a demon? Haunted, and only Annie has figured it out? Ripping away the dress in public only makes Annie look pathetic and desperate for attention. But Annie's got a plan to get the demon-possessed bridal dresses to attack her - she needs to get Scott to propose to her. It doesn't matter that he's been a little distant, or that they haven't even 'done it' yet - it's just to draw out the demons after all. What could go wrong?

What I like about this book (and its predecessor) is that it feels very topical. These superheroes aren't all-powerful or omniscient and that younger readers can relate to them. Being Asian-American young women also adds to the intrigue here as this (hopefully) reaches out to a new audience.

What I didn't like about this book is that it was ... well ... boring. There are almost 400 pages here and there isn't really a lot happening in those pages, except for Annie to, time and again, look like she's upset at playing second fiddle. We got that pretty quickly, we don't need constant reminders.

But it isn't entirely a story about jealousy. There's sex. Oh yeah ... there's sex!

I have to say, the sex in this book made me blush! And bear in mind ... I read and review erotica sometimes!
Two examples that I highlighted in my Kindle because they seemed a little too 'graphic' for a YA novel (you've been warned!):
<blockquote>when I’d made the commitment to being Aveda Jupiter, I simply didn’t have time to pursue such things further. I got myself a vibrator, learned all the best techniques for making use of it, and relied on that to relieve all urges and unwanted tension. After all, who knew what I liked better than me? Bringing another person into the equation seemed like an unnecessarily complicated proposition.

and

“I’ve grown rather fond of the bag o’ dildos. The fruit punch-flavored condoms came in really handy last night.”</blockquote>
I went back to look over my review of the first book and noted that I commented on the sex in that volume as well.

There's nothing wrong with sex in literature. Even in YA fiction! But when the lasting impression from a novel (or two) is that of the sex scenes, then perhaps there's a little problem with either the way it is addressed or presented. It's just a little bit too prominent, given the rest of the story. But perhaps that's intentional. Teens and twenty-somethings tend to think about sex a lot and author Kuhn is simply working within the teenage boundaries. Even so ... I didn't need it. I didn't need to be in the room while the kids got to it. Just let the door close. We know what happens.

Looking for a good book? Heroine Worship by Sarah Kuhn is the second book in the Heroine Complex and understands its YA audience - perhaps just a bit too well.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

"Asian-American superheroines Evie Tanaka and Aveda Jupiter protect San Francisco from perilous threats in the second book in Sarah Kuhn's snarky and smart fantasy trilogy • "The superheroine we’ve been waiting for." —Seanan McGuire

Once upon a time, Aveda Jupiter (aka Annie Chang) was demon-infested San Francisco’s most beloved superheroine, a beacon of hope and strength and really awesome outfits. But all that changed the day she agreed to share the spotlight with her best friend and former assistant Evie Tanaka—who’s now a badass, fire-wielding superheroine in her own right. They were supposed to be a dynamic duo, but more and more, Aveda finds herself shoved into the sidekick role. Where, it must be said, she is not at all comfortable.

It doesn’t help that Aveda’s finally being forced to deal with fallout from her diva behavior—and the fact that she’s been a less than stellar friend to Evie. Or that Scott Cameron—the man Aveda’s loved for nearly a decade—is suddenly giving her the cold shoulder after what seemed to be some promising steps toward friendship. Or that the city has been demon-free for three months in the wake of Evie and Aveda’s apocalypse-preventing battle against the evil forces of the Otherworld, leaving Aveda without the one thing she craves most in life: a mission.

All of this is causing Aveda’s burning sense of heroic purpose—the thing that’s guided her all these years—to falter.

In short, Aveda Jupiter is having an identity crisis.

When Evie gets engaged and drafts Aveda as her maid-of-honor, Aveda finally sees a chance to reclaim her sense of self and sets out on a single-minded mission to make sure Evie has the most epic wedding ever. But when a mysterious, unseen supernatural evil rises up and starts attacking brides-to-be, Aveda must summon both her superheroine and best friend mojo to take down the enemy and make sure Evie’s wedding goes off without a hitch—or see both her city and her most important friendship destroyed forever."

I still have to get to the first book, but I'm happy to see there's a second!

This book or shall I say both books (I had to read the first to know what's going on) was awesome and pardon my French kick ass! I loved the characters and their quirks and personalities. I am hoping to read the third book because I loved every page turn and have enjoyed the stories in equal parts. I hope you enjoy my review!

The sequel to the Heroine Complex series centers the other half of the dynamic superhero duo, Annie or as she is better known, Aveda Jupiter. Annie has had to face some difficult truths at the end of Heroine Complex, especially about how she was treating her best friend Evie. Now, in a demon-free San Francisco, Annie feels sort of extraneous and is itching to get some superhero action going. But when there is nothing to be done, she can’t help but wallow and try to be the best friend she can be. So when she is named maid of honor for a newly engaged Evie, her overachieving self throws all effort into making it a day for her best friend to remember.

Annie makes great strides in this book, starting from a place where she feels being Aveda is the best representation of herself and eschewing her past as an insecure girl. She keeps people at a distance and her perfectionist streak doesn’t allow her to admit flaws or let anyone see them. So when Scott is back in her life, she starts to fear falling back into the patterns of being Annie. When a new form of demon starts attacking brides everywhere, she takes up the charge to protect Evie from it, thereby hoping to prove how brilliant Aveda is, and how being Annie is not the right thing for her. A lot of her insecurities pop from being a woman of color, having the need to constantly please everyone in her life, while also maintaining her position as a cool collected woman. Being loved is not something that comes easily to her, and she learns to give up the facade of being perfect and just being herself.

The plot of this book is, well, ridiculous in some parts as it lends more to a comic style than a serious superhero movie (looking at you, DC) and there are some tropes I like and some that I don’t. Overall, though, it is a great sequel to an awesome book.

This series has the absolute best covers. Once again, this cover has actual scenes from the book beautifully illustrated. Thank you for this blessing, Penguin. Heroine Worship has all the humor and the delightful cast I fell in love with in book one, but this time the narrator is Aveda/Annie. There’s a strong emotional arc, but the plotting falls short in Heroine Worship.


Annie’s not as easy to love as Evie. That’s actually what the whole plot is about. Evie was funny and quirky, where Aveda’s defensive and controlling, even when she doesn’t mean to be. Now that the crew defeated the demons decisively in Heroine Complex and sealed off the portals to the demon world, they don’t have a whole lot to do. Aveda built her whole identity around Aveda Jupiter, and now she feels like she’s back to being just plain Annie Chang, and she’s chafing.

Kuhn does a great job with Aveda, who can be a tough character. She’s so strong and fierce and outspoken and confident that people forget she has her own weaknesses and fears. She’d tried her best to forget that herself. For basically all of the book, she’s going through an identity crisis, and she needs to learn to re-embrace Annie Chang, because going on full-on Aveda Jupiter made her a bit of an asshole and also wasn’t a healthy solution to self-loathing. It’s a relatable journey, especially in how she struggles with natural impulses. A lot of the bad things she does, she does with a desire to help, forgetting that what she wants isn’t necessarily what other people want.

Aveda and Scott have a pretty cute romance, but there tropes aren’t my catnip like Evie and Nate. Scott and Annie have both had feelings for each other for years, but, thanks to misunderstandings and grudge-holding, they’ve never acted on them. Kuhn does write great sexy scenes, but there aren’t as many of them in Heroine Worship as Heroine Complex. It is awesome that Scott doesn’t let her run away once they finally make it happen.

However, plotwise, this book has problems. The stakes are so low, considering that they’re fighting one demon as opposed to hordes in the first book. It doesn’t help that the demon ends up targeting brides and turning them into bridezillas, which is both silly and surprisingly sexist for a book promoting female superheroes. Literally the whole plot was a disappointment, but I enjoy the banter and sass of everyone enough that I was still entertained.

Heroine Worship wasn’t my favorite to the degree that Heroine Complex was, I still love this crew, and I am excited for more of this series. I already massively ship Bea and the boy she hates.

I found this book to be quite interesting, but not something I would pick up and read again. Heroines are a sadly neglected source for book material and these two in particular provide good examples of diversity.

I really enjoyed the character and the superhero story full of adventure. I which the pacing was a little but more exciting but I think it's a fun and engaging read. I didn't love it as much as the first book in the series but I am definitely invested in what is coming next.

If you read the first book and enjoyed it check this one out. I would definitely recommend to fans of superhero stories, especially if you are looking for one with diverse female heroes and strong friendship themes.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Please note that this review may contain spoilers for the first book, Heroine Complex.

Heroine Worship is the 2nd book in Sarah Kuhn’s Heroine Complex series. In the first book, aptly titled Heroine Complex, our main character is Evie. Evie is assistant to superheroine Aveda Jupiter, her best friend since kindergarten, although in recent years Evie had become more like a servant to Aveda. In her book, Evie finally starts to emerge from her introverted shell and into her own superpowers that she has been trying to suppress for years, and in the meantime, finds romance and her voice.

I have to admit, I liked book one, but I struggled to read it as more than just a casual read, meaning I put it down constantly and it took me awhile to get through. Not quite sure if this was actually the fault of the book, but I had a hard time getting into the rhythm of it. This was not the case with Heroine Worship. In this 2nd book, the point of view switches to Aveda Jupiter (aka Annie Chang). I wasn’t particularly enamored of Aveda/Annie in the first book. She was sort of made out to be a vapid, barely tolerable jerk. And she was constantly a douche to the person who was supposed to be her best friend on the planet. I now know she sort of had to be that way to set up book two, but you really wanted to strangle her at times. So, it piqued my interest when I discovered that Aveda/Annie was actually our main character for the 2nd book. I figured that this was her chance to become a fully fleshed out character.

In Heroine Worship, Aveda is trying to redeem herself for past misdeeds and become a more attentive and better person, not to mention better friend all around. As Evie gets engaged to Nate, the romantic leading man in the first book, Evie asks Aveda to be her maid of honor. Determined to prove to Evie that she is still a great best friend, and person, she decides she is going to become the best maid of honor there ever was. Of course, things definitely do not go as planned as someone is possessing brides to be in San Francisco and it is up to Aveda, Evie, and the rest of the team to figure out who and why before San Francisco is taken over for good.

This was such a fun book! It was a fast-paced, action-adventure romance, with a touch of urban fantasy, that also features prominently superheroines who are women of color. It is partially about the rise of this dynamic superhero team, which is made up of more than just Evie and Aveda, but it is also largely about personal relationships. Aveda has been trying to suppress Annie for so long because she felt that Annie was insecure and not at all like the flamboyant, outspoken, tough woman Aveda Jupiter portrays and what she believes the people want. In the course of the book she has to come to terms with the fact that Aveda is just a facet of her personality, but Annie is, in fact, still the real her and in the course of discovering that, she realizes that the she totally rocks. She also discovers she has a found family in her superhero team, who truly love her even though she drives them crazy from time to time. Annie starts to allow herself to be open to all relationships, including a romantic relationship that was set up in the first book, and the healing of the relationship with her family, particularly with her mom.

As an added bonus, this book contains a bunch of geeky pop culture references. You can tell Sarah Kuhn is truly a geek girl at heart and loves what she does. Being a geek girl myself, I personally loved all the references. There were even a few I had to look up. So, if you enjoy books where the writing style is quick, smart, and snappy, the romances are cute, and the friendships are real, then I highly recommend delving into this series. The third book in the series is set to release sometime in 2018.

Happy reading!!!

A wonderful sequel that explores Aveda Jupiter's inner emotional landscape. It packs a punch with action, humor, and heart. Aveda/Annie's character growth was deeply satisfying, and I can't wait for the third book to see how Bea's superpower develops.

A fun sequel, this time told from the POV of super heroine Aveda Jupiter//Annie Chang.

And though we have a new supernatural big bad to find and defeat (which operates through a squadron of Bridezillas in a series of cinematically slapstick scenes), the central issue is that dichotomy between Aveda Jupiter, and scaredy-nerd Annie Chang who will never be good enough for her turbo-charged high achiever-oriented parents.

She also has to resolve her equally hot and cold feelings toward Scott, hers and Evie's childhood friend, who she thought for years was into Evie. There are lingering feelings even though Evie is clearly absorbed with half-demon Nate, who proposes marriage early on. (view spoiler) Resolving that sexual intensity with Scott is only half the equation, especially when Aveda is desperate to smother her geeky, backward Annie self.

Meanwhile there is Evie's wedding to plan, and Aveda/Annie plans to make it the Best Wedding Ever in order to make up for all her shortcomings . . . even if what Evie really wants isn't the Best Wedding Ever.

It's a fun, fast-paced, very cinematic story with heart-warming themes of family and diversity as well as finding one's true love. At times the girls seemed emotionally more high-school aged in their exchanges and their idiom (does anyone, even teens, say 'totes' anymore?) but then that would be a stage in geeks growing up, to be ten years behind everyone else emotionally, while still coping with all the crazy having to do with powers and demons, portals, and angry Bridezilla gangs roaming around.

Then there is weird Maisie and her Pussy Queen shop, naughty lingerie, and Maisie's saccharine blog . . .

Jumble it all together and add up to a fun read.

With legitimately crazy bridezillas, amusing incident reports, and a dab of romance, HEROINE WORSHIP manages to follow in the footsteps of HEROINE COMPLEX nicely. Clever and entertaining, HEROINE WORSHIP is an excellent entry in the urban fantasy genre.

My biggest complaint about HEROINE WORSHIP was the switch in narrators from Evie to Aveda/Annie was mildly annoying. Evie was less narcissistic, and at times Aveda's inner monologue got repetitive and grating. I do understand that she was working through some changes in her life, but sometimes it felt the author was dragging it out a bit much. However, because of the switch in narrators, it felt more like a stand-alone novel instead of the second in the series, making it easier for somebody to pick HEROINE WORSHIP up without reading HEROINE COMPLEX.

As the book went on though, I became more used to Aveda's narration and got into the story. The plot line was more interesting in this installment, I felt, with a mystery and some very interesting things happening around the group. And the dynamics of the friend group again were a highlight for me. I liked how the women interacted with each other - how they felt so real and authentic. The changes Aveda went through felt as real as they could as well, being that we're talking about superheroes. She dealt with family issues, relationship confusion, and jealousy of her friend - all things that most people can relate to. So, while she was a bit over the top about most things, in the end, I really felt like I understood her and where she was coming from.

Also, I love how HEROINE WORSHIP has a diverse cast of characters without it feeling forced. There's different ethnicities, different sexual orientations, and different superpowers. 😉 It's refreshing in a world of urban fantasy where a lot of time the heroine is a straight white girl surrounded by sexy men. HEROINE WORSHIP gives us a glimpse into a world that looks a lot more like ours and definitely benefits from this representation.

All in all, HEROINE WORSHIP is a welcome addition to my library and well worth the read.

Heroine Worship is the follow-up to Kuhn's Heroine Complex, which I was admittedly underwhelmed by. However, Heroine Worship worked for me in a way that the first book did not. For me, the character of Aveda Jupiter / Annie Chang was much more interested simply because she wasn't a "likeable" character in the first book. I really liked how complex Aveda / Annie was, what with her insecurities and take-charge attitude. I'm a sucker for a flawed character, and Aveda was exactly that. Readers of the first book will recall Aveda's diva-like behaviour, which hasn't completely disappeared, but we get to delve into exactly why Aveda is the way she is.

In addition to some superb character-development we also have the zany quirkiness that appealed in book one. There's a puppy demon on the loose and it's up to Aveda and her co-heroine Evie to shut it down, with the lovely assistance of their team / family. Humour and pop culture references abound and will be sure to appeal fans of the superhero genre.

Heroine Worship was a fun addition to the world that Kuhn has created. It was light and fluffy in it's own way, but with an unexpected depth when you take a look on the cultural commentary that is interspersed throughout the novel.

I loved the first one in this series, Heroine Complex. It was fresh and different and I had connected with Evie. But Heroine Worship was different. It follows Annie Chang aka Aveda Jupiter.

There’s still just as much danger and mystery throughout this story. Their dealing with the portal and some puppy demons. Even though it was intriguing. I didn’t get that sense of urgency like I needed to finish this story right away. Kuhn is a fabulous writer. But I felt that Annie aka Aveda has a lot of internal dialogue. I know that she’s struggling in a sense with her identity but I just wanted her to be Annie. She should be loving herself and not try to portray someone else. Her relationships have been strained because of that.

As the story moves on, you see them all start to work together. Which was good to see, there wasn’t all the drama between them. Unfortunately, though, the magic that was in the first one, wasn’t there this time. I didn’t emotionally connect with Annie aka Aveda Jupiter. It’s hard to really fully get into it, without that connection.

Overall, I give this Two Boundless Stars. It was ok but it could have been better.

I love me a good super hero book! Right off the bat, the characters were awesome. Even eating breakfast, they were awesome. I kind of lost interest a little bit with the whole wedding thing. I'm not a big fan of contemporary fiction and the story had that kind of vibe with a super hero twist. The book picked back up though, when the supernatural evil things start attacking. That's my kind of fun right there.

This was a fun book and I think fans of paranormal and contemporary fiction will enjoy this book.

A quick summary for the two books in this series would be “superhero story meets chick lit."

This volume in the series centers around superheroine Aveda Jupiter, otherwise known as Annie Chang. In the last book, Aveda’s assistant and best friend, Evie, developed her own awesome superpower, and now Aveda is feeling more like a sidekick than a hero. Also, Aveda has realized that she didn’t treat the people around her very well in the past, particularly Evie, and she resolves to do better. When Evie gets engaged and asks Aveda to be the maid of honor, Aveda sees her chance to show Evie how much she means to her by being the best maid of honor ever. But Aveda’s ideas for the wedding don’t exactly match Evie’s, and since Aveda’s approach to any problem is to bludgeon it into submission, the road to the wedding is a rocky one. And that’s without the demonic activity that seems to be driving San Francisco’s brides into ever more extreme behavior.

Both this book and the first in the series are comic takes on superheroes. Any plot that revolves around demon-infested wedding dresses driving women into raging bridezilla mode isn’t asking to be taken seriously.

The silliness of the plot doesn’t extend to the exploration of the relationships between the characters, though; they are treated realistically. Aveda has a lot to learn when it comes to how she interacts with Evie and her other friends, with her parents, and with Scott, the guy who could be more than a friend. From my perspective, it’s those relationships and Aveda’s growth in the course of the novel that really make the book worth reading.

If a book that embraces the idea that superheroines are chicks, too, sounds like a fun read to you, you should give this series a try.

An eARC of this novel was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As much as I loved Sarah Kuhn’s first book in her series, Heroine Complex, I simply could not work my way through Heroine Worship. Although both books feature the same set of protagonists, and I love the superhero world she created, we spent the second book inside the head of the character I liked least in the first book, and that includes the demons. I just didn’t want to spend another minute there.

Heroine Worship is the second installment in author Sarah Kuhn's Heroine Complex series. Heroine Worship picks up a few months after Heroine Complex. This is a series that is set 80 years after Demon Princess Shasta sent her humanoid demons through a portal which shut immediately. When the portals shut, it killed the invasion team, and sent their powers into various San Franciscans Evie Tanaka and Annie Chang. Annie aka Aveda Jupiter is the protagonist for this book, and to say that she deals with a whole lot of issues, would be the understatement of the year.

Three months ago, Evie and Annie worked together to stop the Apocalypse. They destroyed a power hungry demon princess (Shasta), won a karaoke contest, & kicked demon cupcakes all over the place. Three months later, San Francisco is free from demons, and that is a huge issue for a character who is trying to reform her character's public persona. Aveda needs action. She needs to be out and about, not having second breakfast's or dreaming about kicking the ass of a gigantic demon made out of cereal. 

Aveda was San Francisco's only Asian American superhero once. She was bold, wore unique & eye catching outfits, while wearing her signature pony-tail. She looked utterly fabulous in the process. Hench the Devil Wears Prada selling point. 
That was until Evie Tanaka, her best friend since forever, came into her own powers and helped Aveda save the world. Evie, with her fire wielding abilities, has become a superhero with her own reputation that led to Aveda agreeing to share the spotlight. But, after three months of no sign of imminent demon attacks, or portals being opened anywhere around the city, Aveda is forced to deal with some soul searching. 

It's time to find out who she really is, and who she really wants to be. That includes exploring her relationship with Scott Cameron, the teams resident mage. The fun really begins when Evie gets engaged to marry Nate Jones, who is 1/2 demon, and the teams resident demonology expert. Oy, I nearly forgot. Evie & Aveda have their own team of misfits which also includes Evie's sister Beatrice Tanaka, and Lucy Valdez, the teams weapons expert & trainer. We could, in theory, also add Sergeant Rose Rorick of the SFPD since she is tied to Lucy. 

With the announcement of Evie's engagement via demon princess and blogger Maisy Kane, things really get interesting. Annie wants to be the best maid of honor ever. She wants to make sure Evie has the best dress, and the best of everything for her big day. She is a bull in a china stop and nobody can stop her. Except maybe one person. Annie's story is a curious one. While the story is a way to highlight the things that have pushed her into a unwanted conflict with her best friend, Annie also has to deal with her own parents. 

Annie would be called a bitch to her face in the real world because she is assertive, a bit manipulative, aggressive and headstrong. But, that's because they haven't met the real Annie. The real Annie stood up to bullies who tried to hurt her best friends. The real Annie makes mistakes because nobody is ever perfect. Annie's acceptance leads to some really interesting moments with Scott. I am curious as to who will be the protagonist in book 3. My bet is that Bea will be it since she too is coming into some fascinating times.