I adore TJ Klune’s writing. I loved the first book in this series. Nick is just so adorably awkward and his relationships with everyone is just so sweet. The story line is also awesome! I love superheroes and this series hits all the points: evil millionaire, superhero, hidden secrets and powers…

All that being said, this book was good but I felt it wasn’t like the first. The first book had me on the edge of my seat both times I read it and I sped through wanting to know what happened. This book didn’t have the same gripping nature to me.

I think that was mainly because the pacing was a little off for me. This book started to lag for me around the 55% mark and I even had to put it aside for a week before I was able to pick it back up and finish it. It took me so long to read from about 55% to 75% which is where the action picked up and ended maybe 10% later.. it seemed too fast considering the whole book was leading up to that.

Fabulous writing as usual. I loved the house in the cerulean sea so I felt like I had to check this one out ! However I didn’t read the first book so I felt a little lost reading the sequel.

We love to see character growth. This was so cute and so much fun. The writing was beautiful, the story was exciting if a tiny bit predictable, and I'm still in love with these characters. What more could I want? Aside from book 3, obviously...

The sequel to Klune's The Extraordinaries was a fast and fun continuation of the story of Nick Bell (who is just the best) and his very close circle of peers and family. In this sequel, Seth is still battling his inner demons related to the huge responsibility that being an Extraordinary has, while Nick discovers some very interesting information about himself and his family history which puts a major strain on his relationship with his father (one of my favorite relationships in the books). Gibby and Jazz are amazing and Burke is the total wealthy egotistical "bad guy." The books ends on quite a cliff hanger and I will be anxiously awaiting news of the third in the series!

Absolutely and easily five stars! The first book was so good, so wholesome and fun, and this follow up was just as wonderful if not more so. The characters are all spectacular and the rep was so on point I could cry.

Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this one a little bit more than the first in the series. Nick annoyed me a little less, and I grew more attached to him, although there were many scenes where I was cringing at his expense.

I still love Seth! And his relationship with Nick is adorable!

While I was not surprised at the ending, I do like where it left off with a hint of what is to come in the next installment. Just like the first book, there was an excerpt after the acknowledgments, kind of like the final scene after credits roll in a Marvel movie.

Even though YA is not my go to genre, I did enjoy the first two books in this series. I’m sure this will be a favorite among many!

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Teen for an arc of this book.
Content Warnings at end of review

After the events of The Extraordinaries, Nick is all about Team Pyro-Storm and making sure he is the best boyfriend he can be. But other complications get in the way--and no, I'm not just talking about his dad's "helpful" sex advice.

I'm disappointed to say I didn't enjoy this sequel nearly as much as the first book. There were a lot of things about this book that Klune got right, and I appreciate the direction he was trying to go in regards to policing and accountability. I really enjoyed the plot, and I still really enjoy Nicky as a main character.

Where I think this book went wrong for me was all of the characters other than Nick. In the first book, Nick's random thoughts and humor are super funny, and they are well-balanced because all the other characters are very normal and believable. Unfortunately, in Flash Fire I feel like there was an homogenization of characters and they all started to feel really similar. Characters who are supposed to be adult and grounded said things I don't think they ever would have said in the first book, and instead of feeling like a well-rounded cast, everyone started to feel like they were Nick. It actually kind of felt like the entire plot was Nicky's fanfiction instead of just certain parts...and not in a good way.

There was also a lot about the plot that I thought was a little too predictable, and there were places where it really dragged. I feel like this could have been much improved if it had cut out about a fourth of the book, honestly.

This is still a very fun story and I will definitely keep reading the series. And of course, I love the queer squad!

Pub Date: July 13, 2021

Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Police brutality, Gun violence, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content

I have to start this review by saying that last year, The Extraordinaries took my heart in its hands and lifted it to the skies- it was one of the most fun, heartfelt, wholesome superhero stories I’d read. With characters of varying mental states, a friend group that was completely queer, and love triangle magnificence, it was a blast from start to finish.

This book, in many ways, still has the sense of humor I loved about the first book. I love the relationships and the way that Seth and Nick interacted, the clear voice of Nick throughout the storytelling. I loved the way that the characters interacted with one another, the way Seth and Nick never seemed to succumb to a lot of tropes of newly-together characters in books. The fight scenes were epic, and a lot of the book was just plain fun.

The beginning didn’t grip me as much as I hoped it would. I found that a lot of the discussions of issues such as police brutality were very shallow and thrown in, feeling like last minute additions. But as I got into things, I found myself enjoying the plot more, finding fun in the drama. T.J. Klune never ceases to amaze me with just how fun and cliche he can be; there’s a final battle at a prom, for heavens sake! There’s a drag queen superhero in this book, which is something I cannot believe I have not seen until this moment, because it just made so much sense.

This book, in many ways, still has the sense of humor I loved about the first book. I love the relationships and the way that Seth and Nick interacted, the clear voice of Nick throughout the storytelling. Though obviously I had certain plot points and moments that in my opinion, didn’t stick the landing, this book is fu. It has heart. I love the way that T.J. Klune writes things that entertain and bring joy above all else.

All things considered, this book is cute and fun. It’s just not what the first one was for me. I will continue to read and adore T.J. Klune’s works. He’s doing the lord’s work, providing us with very gay versions of cliche stories. What a godsend.

What a great sequel to an already fantastic series. Lots of representation on all fronts, modern day issues being talked about in a way that makes it feel real. Love the dynamic of the parents and kids in the books, especially as they explore being a teenager and being part of a Superhero team. This book uses humor to really draw the reader in and keep the suspense to a perfect level. Nick is such a relatable character, and the love of the friend group between Seth, Nick, Gabby and Jazz speaks to the importance of high school friendships. I can’t wait to see what happens with everyone in the next book!

Nicky, yes!

Perfect sequel is perfect. The tone is a little different than The Extraordinaries; as the plot has a bit more seriousness and serious topics discussed. BUT the comedic writing and dialogue is still very much there. The heart of the story so pulled me in. Klune's storytelling is so refreshing. He knows what's what and I mean look at the characters he's given us and their relationships. I love Nick and Seth and Jazz and Gibby. And I absolutely adore Nick's relationship with his dad.
And something I find so much fun is that most of the plot is pretty obvious(where it's going), and it's so very much on purpose. Because we as the reader are like Nicky, open your eyes. But that's Nick, in a nutshell, can never see what's right in front of him(ahem, Seth).
All the feels here. I cannot CANNOT(!!!) wait for the finale(and quietly hope that this series is going to turn out longer than a trilogy).

A great continuation for Seth and Nick. A positive representation of the LGBTQ+ community.

This book doesn’t stand alone without book 1. Read that first. I’m looking forward to book 3.

Another mind blowingly brilliant book from TJ Klune, Flash Fire is the perfect follow up to The Extraordinaries. Fun and irreverent, this superhero series seems to be going from strength to strength.

Very little actually happens until the last chapter of the book, but the characters are so funny and engaging that I really didn't care. After finishing the last book, I said I wanted a book totally devoted to Nick dad, and this almost delivered that, providing pages and pages of Aaron being an amazing Dad. Even if the rest of the book weren't phenomenal (which it is!), I would recommend it on that basis alone...

This book has such immense heart, it feels like a warm hug. Everybody should be running to pick it up!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 Stars

In my opinion, it’s rare to find a sequel that surpasses the first book in a series in every way, but Flash Fire was able to do just that. I had very mixed feelings about The Extraordinaries and I was cautious when beginning this book, but I was pleasantly surprised with the content I received. The characters are so fun to read about, especially the side characters like Jazz and Gibby. The plot of this book was also much more captivating than The Extraordinaries, although I still found some of the plot twists predictable. TJ Klune balances the amount of humorous moments to the amount of serious ones really well, although it seemed a bit odd in some places. Overall, Flash Fire was a fun, mindless read and I can’t wait to see what Klune will do in book 3!

TJ Klune is a master of allegory and metaphor with his humorous and heart warming stories. He tackles tough topics within fantastic world building and brilliant characters. Quirky, fun, and fantastic. A great YA fantasy with LGBTQ+ representation that will appeal to a broad audience.

Once again, Klune has given me life with this novel.

Nick is still the amazingly adorable and hilarious kid that we all know and love. I seriously want to be his best friend for real. Also, yay for more Jazz because she cracks me up! All of the awesome characters are back in this sequel, though I will say that Seth was less impressive to me this time around. I'm not sure if it's because he's supposed to be the polar opposite of Nick, but he felt a little flat here. He was completely overshadowed by everyone else, especially by the new characters that are introduced. But I do have hopes he'll get better in the next book.

While I am trash for this series and am already planning to listen to the audio version as well (the narrator deserves an Oscar for his work on the first book!), this sequel lost a tad bit of the quirky lightheartedness of the original. The extremely important topics of police brutality/reform and racial justice were addressed, as promised to by the author, but it seemed a bit shoe-horned and less organic than I was expecting. It played a major part in the story which made the book have a completely different tone than that of the first one. After a really amazingly hilarious first chapter, the jokes weren't as prominent and I felt super heavy and a little down by the change in tone for the rest of the novel. For other books that works but it seemed misplaced somewhat here.

All in all, I thought this was a really great book and after that cliffhanger (OH. MY. GOD.), I'm already dying for book three!

This is a sequel to The Extraordinaries, which was also a book that I really enjoyed. This book continues to follow Nick, who is a nerodivergent, superhero enthusiast, fan fiction writer. I always love Nick and his humor and the on brand humor of a T.J. Klune book.

I don't want to go too into depth with this review since it is a sequel and so most if what I would discuss would be spoilers if you haven't read the first book. I will say, I really enjoyed this even more so then the first book. I loved that some of the foreshadowing that was done in the first book was revealed in this book and I love being right about my suspicions. I love that we had more growth of all of the characters and this also widened the family circle to include more of the parents, who are notthing but loving and supportive. I loved that we also had a whirlwind cliffhanger that makes me need the third book immediately.

Honestly, this was SOOOOOO enjoyable and just brought me to a really happy place emotionally. I feel like T.J. Klune's books always feed my need to feel the acceptance and love they radiate. This author has nourished my heart and left me feeling light and excited for the next book in this series.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure how I feel about this one. TJ Klune can be a little hit or miss for me. I read the first book in anticipation of this one, and I kind of had a feeling I wouldn't enjoy it. The premise just was not really for me. I'm still glad I got a chance to read it although I didn't feel very attached to the plot or characters. I think TJ Klune is a pretty good writer, but sometimes the pacing is off in their books. This book didn't keep me consistently engaged throughout, so I can't rate it very highly.

So happy to have gotten the sequel to the amazing first book! I was so excited to read this one.
First of all let me just say the characters were absolutely amazing! I especially loved getting to see Nick again in this book, and his character is as good as I remembered from book one! The relationship was amazing, of course. I could not put this book down. Often times, I read books for the characters, and the plot is just an added bonus. However, in this book the plot was so good I felt so drawn into the story (of course the characters were amazing too, don't get me wrong)!
Overall this book is amazing, and will completely draw you in from the very beginning. Great characters, plot, and a story you will not want to put down.

Thank you to Tor and Netgalley for this e-arc.

I was not familiar with TJ Klune until I heard about his controversial statements. I was disappointed to hear that he profited off Canadian Indigenous trauma by using a tactic of cultural genocide as an inspiration for his novel, House in the Cerulean Sea. Sadly, I also recently discovered that the author has made problematic remarks surrounding police brutality in the past. When I requested Flash Fire sometime last week (I love reading LGBTQ fiction), I didn't realize it was written by the same author. That was my own mistake. I tried to read this and didn't enjoy it at all, and I don't want to support Klune.

What a great sequel to an amazing YA superhero story. TJ Klune has such a way of creating characters that pull at your heart and stomp on it. Um, I need the last one NOW.