Wow.

I read Dreadnought at the beginning of the year and loved it. Sovereign is even better. It just ramps absolutely everything up by about a billion. Everything is so action packed, so emotional and the stakes are the highest you can imagine.

There's not one but two villains for Danny to tackle in Sovereign. The first is Graywytch, back and even more horrible than she was in Dreadnought. I'd say she's the more personal conflict. She's a TERF that hates Danny for being trans and is willing to go to any means to strip Danny of her powers. In this book, she teams up with a billionaire (the titular Sovereign ) who wants to market superpowers to the wealthy and establish dictatorships where everyone else works for them. Now, I'm not saying that there are some frightening real-world parallels here, but there totally are, intentional or not.

Sovereign deals really well with its character-driven plot points -- Danny's anger issues (possible PTSD?), relationship with Sarah and legal battle with her parents -- and has some great commentary on gender, sexuality and discrimination. At the same time, this is an action-packed superhero story -- possibly one of best I've read. There's lots of world development, from Dreadnought's PR nightmares, a superhero convention, a false murder charge and two hugely ambitious mustache-twirlingly evil supervillain plans.

Sovereign is a superhero tour de force, and I loved this sequel even more than the first book.

This review will go up on my blog, Foxes and Fairy Tales, on 10 Aug.
https://foxesfairytale.wordpress.com/2017/08/10/review-sovereign

Round two of the Nemesis series, and the stakes are even higher than before. Nine months after her debut as Dreadnought, Danny is tired but loving the power of being a superhero. She's kicking ass and taking names and about to attend the world convention of superheroes. . . that is, until things start to go south. Quickly. Now her parents are fighting her emancipation, she's been framed for murder, there's a new supervillain, and Nemesis is coming to change the face of the planet.

First off, I love superhero books, particularly those that riff off any and all tropes. Capes. Costumes. Cool superhero names. Secret identities. The powers. Backstories. All of it. And I loved Nemesis, which takes the superhero genre and inserts some much needed diversity with the "first" transgender superhero (Danny is not the first, apparently there was another back in the 1960s in this universe).

Secondly—damn. This book just hit me right in the feels from the start, particularly after this week's military transgender ban. I really hope that more on Danny's experiences from this book (view spoiler).

Anywho. Lots of action. A diverse cast. Good dialogue and LOTS of emotions. I only wish it was longer.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

I really loved Dreadnought. Which is why I’m sad that I didn’t love Sovereign. I liked it. I liked it quite a bit, but it just didn’t live up to Dreadnought for me.

I think one of the reasons why I didn’t fall in love with Sovereign like I did with Dreadnought is because it has a lot more focus on the superhero side of things. One of the aspects I loved so much in the first book of this duology was the focus on Danny as a character, and her relationships with the people around her. Because Danny’s character and her relationships were mainly set up already in the first book I guess there was less of a focus on those aspects in Sovereign. And I sorely missed them.

Danny was a little more hot-headed in this book. I loved her for all her vulnerabilities in the first book so I suppose I missed that aspect of her personality in Sovereign. There were moments of vulnerability, with Calamity and Doc, but I just would have liked to see her retain some of that softness while she grew as a person and character.

As I mentioned before, there was a much bigger focus on the superhero and action aspects of the story in Sovereign. While I can appreciate the time and effort put into these kinds of scenes I don’t always enjoy them a lot – even in superhero movies these scenes are not my favourite. I think fans of big action sequences will definitely enjoy this element of Sovereign because they were incredibly well done and planned out.

The romance between Danny and Calamity was hands down one of my favourite things about Sovereign. I think they are such a cute couple, and even though they don’t always get along (mainly because of misunderstandings) I love how they are there for each other no matter what. There was one scene in particular that I really loved where Danny and Calamity are in the park together. It was just so sweet and I really liked it.

There were a lot of new characters and places introduced in Sovereign, but it never felt like an overload, which was great. Some of the new characters were ones you can love, and some of them are ones you can hate. I still hated Graywytch, for the record.

Overall, Sovereign was a pretty solid conclusion to the Nemesis duology. I am quite sad that I didn’t fall in love with it as I hoped I would, but I would still recommend reading it if you enjoyed Dreadnought.

© 2017, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.

Sovereign is the sequel (out today) to Dreadnought, which came out earlier this year in January. Dreadnought revolved around Danny, who became a superhero in a world where superheroes, villains, and "gray" capes are widely known. When Danny became a superhero, she also became a girl, making her deepest secret apparent to the world around her. It follows her journey as a newfound superhero, also dealing with prejudice and parental emotional abuse (trigger warnings for both!). If that sounds intriguing, you should definitely go read Dreadnought now! If you want more information, I also reviewed Dreadnought here. Sovereign is set nine months after the end of Dreadnought. Danny is trying to juggle protecting the city, her first superhero convention, relationships with the police/her parents/friends, and a new supervillain on the scene. As she juggles all of these, she's also learning the limitations of her powers and trying to figure out what's going on with her friend Sarah. 

What I really enjoyed about this book was that, just like Dreadnought, there's a good mix of movie-worthy action and combat scenes and character development. Danny's relationships with those around her are really important to her survival as well as her emotional well-being. This is made apparent through what you see going on, rather than being told, which is also really great from a writing style perspective. It's nice to have some characters back from the previous book as well, and a few new ones to build on. 

The story also continues to follow Danny's experiences as not only one of the world's newest superheroes, but also as someone the world widely considers to be the first transgender superhero. In this vein, she has to learn how to "handle" the press, and try to make it known to the wider world that she is *not* the first transgender superhero, she's just the first to be widely recognized. She has a lot on her plate, essentially. Be forewarned that some of what she deals with is rough--and there are trigger warnings for torture and transphobia towards Danny.

Overall, this is a great superhero story. The writing is well done, the villain is properly scary in a way that mimics current society, and Danny's story is one you really care about. Her adventures are also interesting, and I had a very favorite subplot (that I won't spoil here) that was super sweet and cute. If you enjoyed Dreadnought, I recommend Sovereign. If you haven't read Dreadnought, then I recommend reading both!

Note: I received this book from Netgalley & the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really liked the first book, and wondered how the second one could be better. Now I know.

After accepting her new role as a superhero, it isn't hard for her to slip into the suit and become the savior that the people of New Port- and the world -need. But while things had a HEA after a terrible accident in the last installment, it seems that Dany isn't quite done with the bad days.

This totally got deeper and more personal, a whole lot uglier and scary. Cause it's really scary when you're having to bare the darkest parts of you that no one wants to even think about, let alone acknowledge. I loved that the story focused more on young Danielle and the things that weren't all wrapped up in the first book, and I appreciated seeing her struggles and acceptance with things that I hadn't even really thought about until they were brought up. I totally cried.

The writing was great, with Dany's POV seeming a little more mature and harder, which I thought was cool. I liked the new characters introduced, thought maybe one wasn't as fleshed out as the others, though in their defense, they rarely appeared. I loved that there was a movement for more trans superheroes to be acknowledged, that Dreadnought was not the first. It really made the world seem a little real for me just by bringing up such real life issues. It was an overall great read with action, endurance, heart and a slightly dry sense of humor that made me laugh about as much as I teared up. You must read this.

It's sad that I have to say this, but unfortunately, the second installment couldn't live up to its predecessor.

Danny has to deal with some serious problems in this book and I feel like the Danny from book one would've handled it better than this Danny. I also somehow lost my interest in the plot after a half of this book. The set up promised to be exciting but sadly, I couldn't really be bothered anymore after the first half. But I really liked the first half so that saved this book.

A few months ago, Marlene sent me Dreadnought, the first work in this series, and I was impressed by author April Daniels’ debut book. Sovereign picks up at some time not-to-far in the future from the end of Dreadnought: our heroine Danielle is still a minor, and still wrestling in court with her parents for her emancipation. Meanwhile, the “cape” community of metahuman superheroes has begun to accept her, as she’s pulled off some pretty heroic saves for her community of New Port, with some help from the android Doctor Impossible, and her friend Calamity. But there is a looming threat out there in space, headed for Earth, which threatens to upset the normal order of things, and if someone tries to harness that threat, think of the damage they could do…

Escape Rating A: April Daniels continues to develop her chops as a writer, and her deeper exploration of Danielle and her friends is a strong point for her. In my review of Dreadnought, I called it a “rollicking adventure,” and this tale continues the tradition–there are a lot of subplots going on here, and keeping track can be a bit of a challenge if you’re not paying attention.

One of the high spots for me was Danielle’s relationship with Calamity. Our heroine has had the hots for her for a while, which was hinted at in the prior work, but Danielle was quite certain her feelings weren’t reciprocated, and as a result, she missed some useful clues. The ah-hah moment for her–and what follows–is really beautiful and tastefully done.

Another strong spot, in my mind, is in our cast of villains. There’s a stretch of time where it’s kind of unclear who or what our story’s antagonist is; the problem isn’t, of course, quite what it seems to be at first glance, and it’s only as things begin to unravel toward the end of the story, that you realize what’s really going on. The chief villains are appropriately nasty and fanatical, and when given the opportunity, treat Danielle with enough savagery that there’s no chance whatever they’ll be redeemable to the reader. As a mostly-invulnerable “tank,” Dreadnought is hard to harm, physically, at least in a permanent sense. Instead, they find a way to attack her that prods at the core of who she is. Reading that section of the story was particularly stress-inducing for me, as they were pushing a button that affects me, as well. I was pleased to see how Dreadnought escaped the villain’s clutches!

In the end, we have a “Chekhov’s Gun” situation: That thing this villain said, while they were doing this and that? It’s important, and when you put all the pieces together near the end, that’s when you realize just how important. This level of foreshadowing is a step up for author April Daniels, as I didn’t notice that in the last book. In a book 70-ish pages longer than the last one, she’s managed to fit in a lot more story, and it’s wrapped up nice and neat at the end, with no leftover story to tell.

I’ll be watching for more great stories from April Daniels, either in Dreadnought’s world, or whatever new worlds she may choose to create for us. Sovereign is a fantastic second effort from her, well worth a read.

Sovereign is rough and dangerous, a near-constant battle for Danny. A battle to save the world, to prove something to those who look down on her. To confront her past and to free herself from it. To survive.

After battling Utopia, Danny has sort of settled into being a superhero. She's patrolling, taking down criminals and villains. She has a love-hate relationship with the media, she's trying to distance herself even more from her parents, and things are really awkward and strained with Calamity. Maybe it's not the best, but things are going okay. Danny's alive, in the female body she's always wanted and superpowers flowing through her. Making her feel powerful. But is that enough?

So much of what happens in this book to Danny is a punch to the gut, to the heart. She just wants to belong, to finally belong, but there are so many factors trying to push her into spaces she doesn't want to be in. Her parents, those who don't see her as a viable superhero because of her age, those who don't want a transgender superhero. Those who want to rule the world like a dictator with an iron fist, who want to control with power while those without would live in servitude. Danny's own demons, her nightmares and her childhood traumas and her issues that she doesn't always want to face. If you enjoyed the first book, you'll surely enjoy this second book.

This was so good. I mean the whole thing was great but there are tons of reviews focusing on a plot recap so I just want to talk about how much I really love all the little details and the thought that was put into it.

I love that they introduced a nonbinary superhero and also that they specifically touched on how the media has latched onto Dreadnought as the 'first' transgender superhero - which obviously isn't true - and that this is causing a little bit of tension in the trans/nonbinary community.

I love all the thought that is put into Dreadnought's flight powers and how she operates in outer space. I mean it would be really easy to just be like 'yeah and they she flew into space and punched some stuff and came back down because SUPER POWERS' but she has to like calculate her trajectories and leave at certain times etc and how even though she doesn't have to breathe in space she needs to have oxygen stored in her lungs [I'm assuming to keep them from collapsing? although I could be off base there]. Really a lot of thought has been put into her powers in general and I like that although at first glance she seems like this unbeatable over-powered character, she still has a lot of blind spots.

I'm always here for a good round of super hero politics [I mean, if it's done WELL. Side-eying you, Civil War] so this was a really fun story for me, but I don't want to spoil you guys by getting too into it. My only complaint villains-wise is that I felt Graywytch seemed a little ...cartoony? I mean I know there really are people like her out there and I think it's great to make the point that cis women are often leading discrimination against trans women and that it's not only men who can be prejudiced, but she still just felt more like she was reading out a script to make her Maximum Evil than acting like a real character.

Overall the book was great and also Sarah and Danny are adorable and Sarah is just amazing in general and I can't wait for the next one!

Sovereign is the second book in the Nemesis series, which follows the transgender superhero Danny Tozer. Danny is male-to-female and when she was granted the powers of Dreadnought, her body finally mirrored the way she felt on the inside. Danny is great at her job, but she has a lot of anger for a teenager. She’s been through a lot, even with superhero powers, and everything seems to be mentally and emotionally catching up to her, even if her physical strength just gets better.

I loved the first book, Dreadnought, so I was really excited to read the sequel. I thought this one was just as good. I love the intricacies of superheros, the villains, and everything that goes into making these books. Daniels has an amazing imagination. While this series is fully developed, with a lot of great information, there are never any info dumps. Things are revealed as needed and it works! As for Sovereign, I really loved the journey that Daniels takes Danny on in terms of her anger and past traumas. I felt it was handled well, and as realistically as possible when dealing with super humans.

If you haven’t read Dreadnought yet, please do, and if you have, then I hope you’ll continue with Sovereign.

After reading Dreadnought, I was ready to immediately jump into Sovereign. This sequel was fantastic! It was full of twists and turns and so much action- not to mention relationship goodness. Kinetiq was amazing, and I honestly would not mind a spin-off book with them as the main character. I enjoyed getting to see Calamity and Doc again too.

I highly, highly enjoyed Sovereign, and if you liked Dreadnought then you’ll like it too. That being said, this book didn’t quite hold up to the first one. While Dreadnought certainly left room for a sequel, it felt like a complete story that stood on its own. Sovereign felt a little less cohesive and didn’t hold the urgency of the first book. Despite my nitpicking, I’ll certainly pick up anything else that April Daniels writes, whether it is another Dreadnought book or something entirely different.

Rating: ★★★★

DNF this book because of what the author said on Twitter.

While I liked the first Nemesis book and rated a 3.5, bumped up to a 4, I genuinely, flat-out <i>loved</i> this book. The first book was cute and fun; the sequel is interesting and intriguing and so complicated, especially as far as character arcs go. Danny, in particular, goes through such a freaking fascinating character arc. You see her nine months after the events in Dreadnought, and how the power and fame has changed her, both in good and bad ways, and then how much she still has to learn in her personal and professional lives.

Plus, super hero politics, you guys. I'd read a whole book about them.

<b>tl;dr</b>: Liked the fun of the first one, <I>loved</i> how complicated, compelling, and dark the sequel was.

Sovereign is the thrilling sequel and conclusion to the Nemesis duology. The story follows a young transgender girl, Danny, that inherits the previous Dreadnought’s powers after he is killed in a battle with a supervillain. In the first book, Danny had to deal with her new appearance, her abusive family and the superheroes from the Legion, as well as the ultimate supervillain the world has ever known. In Sovereign, Danny faces new challenges in the faces of new and old foes alike, including one that threatens to rip the world apart.

In my review of the first book I said that the writing is “engaging and easy to follow”, which may have been true (thank you, my dear failing memory), but I felt like it wasn’t as true for this book. Maybe it’s because of the time passed or because of different circumstances, but it was harder for me to get into Sovereign because the writing, for me, was a little bit too… mechanical? Detached? There was also quite a bit of telling and not a lot of showing when it came to introducing us readers to the new technology in the books. That being said, there were some parts where the writing seeped emotion and mainly in the scenes where Danny struggles with her inner conflicts.

Since I’ve now mentioned Danny and her conflicts, let’s take a seat and talk about that for a minute. Danny is a beautiful character because she is flawed. She’s not your typical righteous superhero that always keeps her own emotions in check in favour of doing The Right Thing. I mentioned in my previous review how the characters were a little too black/white good/bad for me, but Sovereign makes up for it. We see a side of Danny that is raw and painful and angry. There is so much emotion pent up inside her from a live lived in fear that results in some brash actions, but not into a supervillain origin story. What I really appreciated was how the narrative allowed Danny to feel all those negative emotions, but not let her get consumed by them.

I really just focused on Danny while reading and that’s why I can’t say too much about the other characters. I still love Calamity. I still very much want to punch Graywytch in the throat. Not much has changed, honestly.

What kind of fell flat for me was how easily the Nemesis storyline was wrapped up. After such a big build-up, I expected it to be explored a bit more, but perhaps that could be done in a different book entirely. Nevertheless, I’m really happy with the ending the characters got.

Overall, Sovereign is far from the perfect conclusion, but that does not mean it was a bad one either. While reading I had a recurring thought in my head how this story would work so much better as a graphic novel – the world felt too complex and that didn’t translate too well on paper. That being said, it’s been an honour to go on this journey with Danny and witness how she grows into herself.

Sovereign by April Daniels

Pros: great characters, interesting plot, complex issues

Cons: some interactions annoyed me, a bit heavy handed at times

Nine months have passed since the events of Dreadnought, and Danielle has a contract to protect New Port City. She’s begun to love the feeling of power being a superhero provides, beating supervillians into submission in ways that Doc Impossible finds worrisome. Her relationship with Calamity has soured, though she’s not sure why, and multiple work and family issues occupy her thoughts. Soon after she hears news that Nemesis, the asteroid that creates quantum instabilities, is nearing Earth, a new supervillian emerges with a plan to harness its power for nefarious purposes.

I have mixed feelings about this book. There were several opening scenes that annoyed and/or made me uneasy. While some of these were dealt with in detail and worked out later on, others didn’t get much attention beyond the initial mentions.

In the first book Danielle was predominately characterized by optimism. Though her life was pretty terrible, when things got tough she constantly believed they would get better again. Dreadnought focused very specifically on Danielle’s concerns as a young woman coming of age in challenging circumstances. Sovereign broadens the outlook to show that most issues in life are complex and people can’t always be characterized as simply good or evil. Her sudden liking of violence and her enjoyment of beating people up was a little scary to read. While she’s in the pay of the government, she goes outside that purview on more than one occasion. The idea that might makes right is not ok, even if you’re the hero. Some would say, especially then. The book does deal with this, and I was happy with how the ending focused on the fact that emotional trauma doesn’t just go away with time.

I was impressed with how the author handled Sarah and Danielle’s relationship. I loved seeing young people talk frankly about their feelings and fears instead of drawing out the misunderstandings.

I enjoyed Kinetiq’s group work, but her first interaction with Danielle in the book kind of annoyed me. While I understand Kinetiq’s annoyance/anger that Dreadnought took credit for a group fight, their lack of consideration for Dreadnought’s age or current circumstances and insistence that she use every public appearance to push the transgender agenda ignores the fact that Dreadnought, as an acknowledged transgender superhero, already pushes that agenda.

Graywytch was an even more horrible character in this book than the last, though she doesn’t spout slurs this time. Reading about a TERF (Trans-exclusionary radical feminist) was painful. I find it hard to attach the label ‘feminist’ to women who believe transwomen aren’t ‘real’ women, as if there’s only one experience of womanhood and all ‘real’ women share it. But it’s good to face it in fiction, as it’s often through fiction (and other types of media) that people learn empathy and compassion, and that society collectively becomes more socially aware.

I didn’t think the book dealt with the Magma and Doc issue well. Both characters have valid complaints about what happened to the Legion, and sometimes there’s no right answer that pleases everyone. While Doc was under outside control and therefore wasn’t personally responsible for the murders her body committed, Magma does have the right be angry that Doc’s lies left the Legion at a disadvantage, and feel betrayed that she never shared who her mother was. The book takes Danielle’s POV that Doc wasn’t to blame and Magma should just get over it. But this ignores that he and Chlorophyll were left permanently disabled because of that attack. I think it’s understandable that they don’t want anything to do with Doc anymore.

In terms of world-building, the author mentions several of the laws that govern superhero work. Things like the ability to buy bystander insurance and that there are legal work limits for superhero minors. One issue that wasn’t mentioned, that I’d be curious to learn the answer to, is whether superheroes have to pay for property damage incurred during their legally sanctioned missions.

The book has a lot of excellent fight scenes, in a variety of settings. They propel the plot along and keep the pacing quick.

The plot itself was quite interesting. There’s a lot of different super powered people in this one, on all sides of the fence, and it was fun learning their different powers and where they land on the varied political spectrums.

While I didn’t like this book as fully as I did the first one, I was impressed that the author dealt with some difficult issues that many superhero books ignore. I thought Danielle’s development made sense given her life experiences, and am curious to see what the next book has in store for her.

When I read April Daniels’ debut novel, Dreadnought (https://geoffwhaley.com/2017/01/19/dreadnought-april-daniels/) I lamented the length of time I had to wait until the second in the series came out. What I didn’t realize then or now was that it was only in January of this year that I read Dreadnaught and less than five months later I was able to request Sovereign, the sequel.*

Sovereign picks up not long after the events of Dreadnought and Danny is coming more to terms with her powers as Dreadnought and coming more to terms with her transition. As much as I enjoyed this book, it’s not as strong as the first. It really felt that Daniels got too heavy-handed with the queer politics, as fascinating as they were, and it distracted too much from the story for my taste. I get that it’s an integral part of the story, but it honestly just felt too much like a crutch.

I also struggled a bit with Danny being a pain. If there’s one thing I struggle with when it comes to Young Adult novels is the growing pains and basically being pains in the asses. It doesn’t help I’m watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as I write this, but seriously. I know I wasn’t the nicest or most understandable teenager, but were we this angsty and self-centered?

I know I gripe about it above and below, but one of the cool things Daniels chose to do in this book was to introduce a genderqueer character, Kinetiq, who uses gender neutral pronouns.

“Being genderqueer is hard. Being Iranian-American is hard. Being a superhero without a steady paying gig is also hard.” (Loc. 289)

This was cool in that it gives a good example to provide to ‘old school’ writer show to write something from a gender neutral perspective. I’m also not sure if Daniels did this on purpose, but it was interesting that Kinetiq has employment issues like many non-binary/cis individuals. Daniels didn’t go into this so it’s my total projecting, but we’ll see where it goes.

I feel like I have a vague idea of where the series/trilogy is going, but I’m not 100% sure. Daniels appears to have wrapped up the drama with Graywitch, but you can never be certain. The one piece of queer politics/information that I found to be most interesting was the inclusion of the acronym TERF or Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist (Geek Feminism Wiki). It was a concept I was familiar with, but not one I’d heard in those terms:

“The answer comes to me immediately: She’s a TERF—a Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist, though I hesitate to use the word feminist in there. The difference between an actual feminist and a TERF is sort of like the difference between your average white dude and the KKK. She thinks I’m some sort of monster just because I’m trans, and in her mind, spite is its own reward.” (Loc.1135)

I think the white person and KKK is a bit dumbed down, but it does seem like a relatively decent comparison I guess.

Where both the book and Daniels’ strengths lie are in converting what’s happening today into fictional hilarity. The villain of the book, Sovereign, goes on and on about things that many people would agree with at this very moment. And let’s face it you could pretty much replace Sovereign with Trump and it wouldn’t be that too far of a stretch. It’s kind of scary really.

Recommendation: Although nowhere near as strong as the first book, it was still a good read. I think Daniels has a bit of work to do sorting out the character and the politics. Don’t get me wrong it’s interesting and they are intricately linked, but I really feel like the politics of queer identity was a bit heavy-handed this time, whereas the first time it was refreshing.

*I received a copy from the publisher in return for my honest opinion. No other goods or money were exchanged.

I loved the first book so much that I gave it a 5-star rating and was absolutely thrilled to be approved for an ARC of the second book - so how did I fare? It's complicated!

I thought after weathering all the ups and downs of Dreadnought, I was prepared for the sequel, but I was SO wrong. This book hurt me on a deep spiritual level because of how much pain and suffering the protagonist went through, and yet I couldn't stop reading. I was up til 3am finishing this off because I needed to know how it ended and if it would all be okay for Danny at any stage EVER. 

Spoiler warning: there is light at the end of the tunnel! But you're gonna feel like a train ran over you by the time you get there.

Props to the author for an addictive and compelling novel - I'm going to be bold and say this is the pinnacle of YA storytelling and we need more like it. I LOVE that the plot is complex and labyrinthine and you need to pay attention otherwise you may get lost! Sometimes I find YA a little too simplified or issues skimmed over because it's for 'young adults', so it's great when authors aren't afraid to load on the convoluted story arcs and heavy themes and trust their audience to keep up.

I still love Danny as much as I did when I first met her in Dreadnought - she's only fifteen, but her resilience, her steadfast determination to do the right thing and refusal to back down in the face of adversity shows such astounding maturity. And yet she's not flawless, she's still a believable, well-rounded character; we see her grappling with the morality & ethics of being a superhero, how she saves the day but enjoys the violence and danger a little too much. It's exciting to follow Danny's journey because I never knew which side she would land on, whether she'd give in to the recklessness of her inner  adrenaline junkie or if she'd pull back in time. 

The diversity in this series also continues to impress - of course we have Danny herself, a trans protagonist, but we're also introduced to Kinetiq, a Iranian-American gender-queer character. I thought it was cool how Kinetiq's introduction shed some light on the world's view of superheroes and how even people with superpowers were still marginalized because of their background; Kinetiq's massive battle and eventual victory over a 300-foot tall rampaging fire-breathing psycho was overshadowed by Danny, because she's 'a pretty white girl with an easy-to-understand narrative'. If that had been the only appearance Kinetiq made, I would've thought nothing of it and been glad for the inclusion of a nonbinary character, but instead April Daniels continued to feature them and in fact Kinetiq became part of the main cast! I'm used to the one 'token' character, and it's such an amazing feeling when you get MULTIPLE characters representing different ethnicities, sexual orientations and diverse backgrounds. A feast instead of the usual famine!

But what frustrated me was some of the returning characters, specifically Calamity and Doc Impossible. Their relationships with Danny were a highlight in Dreadnought, but in Sovereign, both of them failed Danny badly in the first half of the book and I would feel more forgiving if I thought we were meant to recognize these as flaws, but instead it felt like we were supposed to sympathize and forgive them for their shitty behavior because they turned it around later because Danny never calls them out for it or apologizes straight away as if she's in the wrong.

Calamity abandoned Danny, stopped responding to her calls or acknowledging her, and even when they did run into each other, she was judgmental and touchy - jealousy and insecurity are NOT good reasons to treat people like crap! If it was implied that her PTSD after the events of Dreadnought were responsible, I would totally understand, but the way it plays out instead is that she's so overwhelmed by her crush that she can't behave decently to Danny and then tries to guilt-trip her about the distance between them when she's the one ignoring Danny's calls. 

Meanwhile, Doc became an alcoholic, and I would go easy on her if it weren't for the fact that SHE'S AN ANDROID AND COULD PROGRAM THIS PROBLEM TO GO AWAY. If she wanted to wreck her own life, that's her prerogative, but she was fostering Danny and still couldn't pull herself together enough to provide her with a stable home! She actively endangered lives because she was too drunk to function properly and gave Danny incorrect flight coordinates, with the implication being this wasn't the first time, but that wasn't enough to motivate her to do something about it. 

Even once these ladies wised up and provided the love and support that Danny deserves, they had some really odd moral codes at work - a constant theme throughout the story was whether or not Danny's violence was justified. It's an interesting question and one I wish more superhero stories would consider, but it was unnecessarily inserted into the story over and over at really inappropriate times. Danny would be fighting a supervillain and finally, after taking beating after beating, she'd gain an advantage and nearly manage to kill them (justifiably so), but then one of her teammates would pull her back at the last second because it would be 'murder' and they have to be 'better than that'...so then the villain escapes and causes more chaos & destruction and more people die.

Ummm? No? That's not murder? It's SELF-DEFENSE. It's preventing more loss of life! If you're weighing the life of a murderer who is actively trying to kill or enslave millions against the FATE OF THE WORLD, there is no question that killing them to prevent their plans coming to fruition is the right thing to do. And yet Danny had people preaching at her over and over that she can't take a life, it made no sense to me at all. 

In Summary

Things I didn't like:  the decisions made by some of the characters perplexed and exasperated me, and it seemed contrived to add some drama or insert unnecessary obstacles to prevent the story from finishing too soon.

Things I liked: fantastic lead character, insightful and thought-provoking world-building, intelligent plot-lines and an ending that rewards the reader handsomely.

Within the first few pages I could tell I was going to enjoy Sovereign and even more than the first one (always the true mark of a good sequel in my opinion).

I am so pleased I was approved for the sequel to Dreadnought because everything I enjoyed in the first, was amplified in the second. Daniels brings a nuanced complexity to everything in this book: Danny’s powers, her relationships, and her own identity. Right from the get go, Danny is under more pressure than ever before and she’s beginning to crack. Who can blame her? Suddenly thrown into this superhero world she has had immense challenges and incredible opposition.

However, in this book, Danny comes against enemies of all shapes and sizes, one of them being herself. This is by far my absolute favorite part of the book, and what stays with me even days after finishing. When overnight we have the powers to fulfill all our fantasies, good and bad, it becomes a struggle. The challenge to remain a white cape, and not succumb to punish those who hurt us and escape justice is monumental. With this comes responsibility, loneliness, fame, and loss. Danny’s narrative voice is genuine, funny, and heart-warming making us empathize with her and allows us a first row seat into these growing pains. Her transformation through this process makes the entire novel more complicated, more adult feeling, than the first as Daniels explores very real issues of power, corruption, and justice.

This time around, Danny has a few friends to help her who are super cool and diverse. We still had our Calamity, even more complicated after the first book, and Kinetiq (a non-binary cape). My only complaint with these is that we don’t see them enough! I want more of them, especially Kinetiq and Codex. Their interactions are some of my favorite.

(Also I cannot get over how cool a superhero convention would be! Like that just makes my inner self so happy. It would be flat out amazing).
I really appreciated how twisty this plot was. While I thought the first was pretty cunning, I think that Daniels outdoes herself with this one. Not only are our supervillains humorous and dangerous, but the events in Danny’s life are important to the plot and her character. Additionally, the ending is really great and I wonder if there’s a third in the making.

Sovereign teaches us, among many things, that sometimes the worst villain is ourselves. We may fight a lot of battles in our lives, and it is important to hold onto what is true about us. There is a great propensity within all of us to become twisted into a black cape, minus the super powers of course, and our normal challenges of fear, insecurity, and anger can be dangerous forces to be reckoned with. But we define ourselves by our actions in the face of this black hole that threatens to whisper in our ear. In these moments, is when a true war begins, and one that becomes imperative to decide if we succumb or stand up to the darkness, for good, and ourselves.