My second-hand embarrassment meter is pretty high, but TJ Klune knows how to write uncomfortably, hilariously awkward in a way that I cannot put down. I love the dynamic between Nicky and his dad, and how proud Nicky is of his friends.

I thought I knew where the book was going—and sometimes you just need to read about teenage superheroes who want to ignore their responsibilities for one night so they can go to prom—but TJ still found ways to delight and surprise me.

A fun, romantic and adventurous sequel. Tj Klune does it again with wildly likeable characters and story.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Starting off, I absolutely ADORED this book so much. You all know I’m an avid TJ fan and this book did not disappoint !! There were times throughout the series that I was either laughing at what Nick Bell said or worried about the future events that would transpire. (and let’s be real, crying at some moments too). The characters warm my heart immensely and I loved getting the chance to see them grow throughout the school year. I’m always a sucker for how TJ can portray a certain group of characters. Along with this, TJ did a rly good job at sprinkling in tiny details and foreshadowing what would occur later on in the book; however there was still a surprise throughout! (Nick Bell is just a -little- slow in picking up what’s going to happen, ok? 🤚🏻😂). I seriously cannot recommend this book enough! Along with the first book, Flash Fire has great adhd, and lgtbq+ rep throughout. Plus who doesn’t love a great book with superheroes?😌

Also in full disclosure, the little extra chapter after the acknowledgments killed me 😩😩 TJ WHY DO U HAVE TO DO THIS ANDBFBDBSBA 🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️

A great sequel! I was kind of apprehension at first because I wasn't a big fan of the first, but this one actually held my attention. I loved that it picked up a few months after the last and the story just kept moving! New characters were added which is always great and we got to read about some of our old friends. I can't wait for the third one! This one, like the first ends on another AMAZING cliffhanger.

The cover art is stunning. I loved the first book and thought it was nearly impossible to write an even better second but here we are. I really enjoyed this book from the writing style to the charters it was all a win for me. I can't wait to get my first edition to get a reversible dust jacket.

I have never been disappointed by a TJ Klune book, and this one was no different. Reading this book was like reuniting with my old friends I haven't seen in awhile. Please be warned that this review will contain spoilers from The Extraordinaries. In Flash Fire, we are back with Gibby, Jazz, Seth, and Nick. After the events that occured on McManus Bridge at the end of Book 1, Seth must decide if he wants to be the savior of Nova City or hang up his suit for good. Nick is discovering new things about his past and his abilities. New superheroes are arriving in Nova City, and Seth and Nick might not have a choice but to get more involved than they ever were.

I can't tell you how many times I laughed out loud during this book. Nick is absolutely hilarious, and I love that the people in his life love him for exactly who he is. Seth is Nick's rock, they are incredibly adorable together. Jazz and Gibby got a lot more page time in Flash Fire, and I fell in love with them as individuals and together. The new characters introduced were well fleshed out and the villain just got more evil, even if we don't fully know what his motives are yet. The stakes are so much higher in this book and I need the third book! That ending was completely unexpected for me even though Klune's foreshadowing is sometimes so obvious in Flash Fire (on purpose and in a good way!)

Klune addressed police brutality in this book, as Nick's father assaulted someone in custody in the past and barely received any punishment for it. There was an obvious lack of lack of acknowledgement of police brutality and racism within the police in The Extraordinaries. As a white woman, I can't say if what Klune included in this book was an adequate representation, but I am glad that it was addressed.

Overall, I fell more in love with Nick and his crew in Flash Fire, and I am impatiently awaiting the third book already! Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Teen for an advance copy of Flash Fire.

Omg!! I was so excited when I got this ARC and I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed.. and I was right! TJ did it again.. talk about serious matters with love, humour and .. he just did it ok! Lol I’m gonna be honest Nick was a bit annoying (I get the ADHD thing and all but I had headache myself sometimes with his ideas lol) in the first book in my opinion BUT he grew a lot and I loved him in this one. Anyways I love him —all of him and Seth..(might’ve a lil crush for his bow ties and cravats lol) what to say about the girls! I love that we get to have more time with her. Especially Jazz, she is awesome well Gibby too.. and the end I was so mad and then WTF (I had doubts and then I was like ok no and boom!) now I have to wait for the next one and this one isn’t even released! Unfair 😂 this is my honest review : unfair I don’t want to wait lol
Thanks to netgalley for another book of one of my fav author.

Honestly, is there anyone who doesn’t love these books? They’re just too hilarious and Nick is simply one of the best book characters who ever got invented. You just cannot NOT love them!
Me and Nick? We think alike. He has the dirty mind of a 16 year old boy and so have I. I laughed my ass of reading this. The conversations are top notch, the humour is amazing. *chefs kiss*
Nicks fanfic is so cringey, I experienced a lot of secondhand embarrassment. I loved it, I cry-laughed already at the beginning of the book.

I love that TJ Klune actually listens to his readers and takes critique seriously. This series is about Extraordinaries, humans with superpowers, but also includes the police. Nicks father is a cop, and of course Nick loves and idolises his dad. But addressing the issues and problems, especially after the Black Lives Matter movement last year, is super important and I think TJ Klune did a great job in this book. It isn’t just addresses as an afterthought, there are proper and lengthy discussions. It gets mentioned over and over again. The POC characters in this book get a lot of space and screen time, are listened to and taken seriously.

I also love the ADHD rep in this. Having a hero with ADHD? Yes, we need that! I need that! Representation matters. The way Nicks friends and his dad talk about it is amazing too.

Also can we please appreciate TJ Klune not using stupid and expected drama? Just when you think “oh my god, now THIS is going to happen..”, it just doesn’t? Because these people actually talk? My mind was blown.

It was gripping, it was cute, it was hilarious.
I loved the new characters that were introduced and I fell in love even harder with the ones from the last book.
For me it felt a little like a typical second-book-in-a-trilogy (aka not a lot of action until the very end, more like a bridge between book 1 and 3), but I didn’t really mind that much.
What else is there to say, I loved it just as much as the first book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Teen for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Flash Fire by T.J. Klune is a fun and energetic second entry into The Extraordinaries series. While this book is full of all of the embarrassing and awkward moments readers would expect from our main character Nick, there is also a definite maturity to this book, both in tone and content, that I really enjoyed. Klune did an excellent job of progressing the plot while also addressing the issues with the first book.

One of the major highlights of this book for me was Seth and Nick's relationship, which I feel was so well written. Beyond the general excitement of them finally being together, I was frequently moved by the genuine love and trust they had for each other. YA books love to supply angst in the form of the dreaded miscommunication trope, but Klune handily flipped that narrative on its head. This was a breath of fresh air in the genre, and made the boys a couple you genuinely want to root for.

Another exciting element was the new characters introduced: Miss Conduct, a Puerto Rican drag queen who can conduct electricity, and TK, a powerful telekinetic with an identity shrouded in mystery. I was a big fan of both of these characters, and the dynamic they brought to the story. There was a pretty stunning plot twist surrounding one of them that has me hooked for book three!

A lot of conversation surrounding the first book was on the topic of police brutality, and its use in the story. In a statement he made last year, Klune promised to address those issues in Flash Fire, and stated: "If Nick were living in our world over the past few months, he would have a lot to say about police brutality and he would be on the right side of history." Klune definitely stuck to his word; the topic of police brutality was discussed frequently and at length in this book.

Generally, I was happy with the content of these discussions. At times it felt like Gibby and her parents were doing the majority of the emotional labor by representing the black voice of the conversation, but the alternative of having Nick be a white savior trope would have been infinitely worse, so perhaps there isn't a perfect solution on that front. I think the topic was approached with sensitivity, and I appreciate the hard stance that was taken against the police force in a way that was still digestible for YA readers.

Overall, I really enjoyed Flash Fires, and think it was an exciting sequel to a solid first book! I look forward to following the future of the series, and seeing what trouble Nick stirs up next.

ok first of all wow! loved it!
I did not expect the second book to be this good, while I loved The Extraordinaries I had some slight problems with it, like how some subjects were kind of glossed over, Nick's reactions to Seth being an extraordinarie and how he was angry his friends already had figured it out before him, so reading Nick's progress was really satisfying.
I don't know how much I can't tell without spoiling the book but I do love TJ Klune's way of showing friends and families values with a cringing sense of humor, I nearly threw away my kindle during a really awkward scene which you'll know when you read it!
amazing queer representation as always and so looking forward to the next book because I'm dying with that cliffhanger!

“Maul?” Nick said, outraged. “I didn’t maul anyone. It was a loving kiss that I placed . . . upon myself because I . . . deserved it?”

Flash fire is just as funny and a joy to read as the first book.
There were so many times I found myself laughing out loud.
Nick's dad is honestly the best! The way he can make a scene so awkward that you can't help but burst out laughing. The shit he puts Nick through (in a good way)

Watching Nick and Seth be all awkward with each other is adorable and everything you could ask for.

You get to see more extraordinaries showing up and what they can do.
And find out more about Nick's backstory which I loved.

There are more twist and turns and the ending!!!I need the next book.

I was given the a copy of the Arc from NetGalley for an honest review.
I feel like this review was pretty all over the joint but I just don't know how to put it in actual words how much fun this series is to read.

Thank you Netgalley and Tor books for provided ARC.

My rating: 3 / 5

This book was simply not my cup of tea. But I'm sure that those who like a good Queer book, with all those details and special events of communities, will love it!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this, however, I didn't realize that this was a sequel to an existing book.

Flash Fire is a strong continuation of the first book. It has the same charm and humor that I love in books.
I was so happy to see Nick’s character development in this book. He is still the lovable idiot but has grown in so many ways.
Love all the representation this book brings and Nick and Seth are such an adorable couple that would risk anything for each other.
This book is especially strong at laying the groundwork for the next book in the series and getting all the players ready for the fight to come.

Thank you Tor Teen and Netgalley for this arc!

3.5*

This book was mediocre yet enjoyable. If you're into corny gay culture that lgbt instagram pages likes to profit off of and rom-coms, you'll probably end up loving this book. For me, the over usage of the word "queer" was really annoying to the point i had to physically cringe.

The plot line was much better than the first book and I had much less second hand embarrasment moments, so that was great. I liked their friendships and I'm so happy that they had the conversation about Nick's dad being a cop because it had been bugging me since the first book.

The plot twist felt really generic, but it was okay because the ending was good. My biggest issue with this book was making Nick the comic relief (even though he is the main character) which made it really hard for me to take him seriously. But maybe that was the point?

Overall, it was fun and easy to read. Except the fanfiction parts. I feel like this is a very petty comment to make but as a daily consumer of fanfiction, it was really cringe and I do not know why TJ Klune thought it was okay to make Nick write fanfiction about him and his boyfriend... And Nick constantly posting author updates was funny because the site that he was using was clearly AO3 and AO3 just. Doesn't work like that. 😭

Anyway, even though all the complaints I had I'll be reading the third book because at this point, I really am invested.

First, I want to thank NetGalley and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Yes this is YA and I don’t care! It holds such a great meaning to the lgbqt community and it is fun story! Some of the dad jokes are so bad they make you laugh out loud. This book puts a smile on my face and is a great escape from all the hate in the world. I loved the ending! Definitely looking forward to a book three!

Nick and co. are back at it again. Doing superhero things in a superhero world. And of course Nick has to be as adorably awkward and goofy as possible trying to figure out all that superhero drama. He has zero chill.

While this second installment didn't have quite the same charm as book one, it was still an enjoyable journey. It was nice getting to see Nick go through his junior year with his friends, especially knowing it's Gibby's last year there. It always sucks when older friends graduate before you. And it was great to see a group of teenagers who got along and didn't have unnecessary melodrama just for the sake of having unnecessary melodrama. Though, in all honesty, a little bit of relationship drama between Seth and Nick would have been great to see. Sometimes their "arguments" never seemed to really dig deep into major feelings. And that was true for a lot of the conflicts in this book. You'd go from one major revelation to another with no real downtime to let the emotions play out. It was almost too fast-paced.

But there was an introduction to a certain superhero that had me absolutely in love! The name! The powers! YASSSS! Nick was 100% correct in his excitement level. I could totally relate.

Sadly, the plot developments for this book were fairly predictable, whereas in the first book, I was totally surprised by the major reveal. I guess because there aren't any more secret identities floating around, the superhero trope I won't mention because of major spoilers had to come into play. Let's just say that it's a development that was set up at the end of book one about Nick's own backstory. Oh, and something I thought I'd mention is how the author addressed the police brutality plotline from book one. The author totally made the effort to fix elements of his story; however, I'm not sure if I was just aware of these changes because I knew he was going to fix it, or if it's something I would have noticed regardless, but sometimes the writing around those particular scenes felt a little drawn out and forced. But maybe that was just me. I do appreciate him making the effort though.

So did I have fun reading this story? Absolutely! There were chuckles and a couple of face palms, but I was slightly disappointed that no major plot reveals came about, or at least not ones that I wasn't already anticipating. However, I'm not the target audience here, so I think teens will really enjoy this addition to the series. It's definitely one comic book readers and Marvel movie fans will love, and it's also a great book to diversify shelves, both in terms of genre and characters. Overall, I'm still eagerly anticipating the conclusion to The Extraordinaries trilogy, and I can't wait for Nick to finally "take out the trash."

3.5/5 stars

*Note: I received an ARC of this book to review from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

***Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion***

What a fun and exciting follow up to Nick’s story! This book was everything I expect from a TJ Klune story; fun, humorous, and loveable. I also really appreciated the social commentary on bisexual erasure and racial discrimination from police. I felt that this is a topical issue that the author tried to get right in commentary to the critics of book 1. However I do feel that the entire weight of the conversation was put on one character, which happens all too often with marginalized communities. Always room for improvement for sure as we all work towards dismantling biases!

TJ Klune has this habit of writing characters that I can’t help but love and this series is certainly no exception! This book also has some of my favourite tropes: found family and childhood friends to lovers. The realtor ship between Seth and Nick is a refreshingly healthy relationship in a YA setting.

I found many of the twists pretty predictable (which is nice sometimes), but the ending took me by total surprise. It is a very fast read and offers a lot of great plot points and character development for Nick. Overall I found this read enjoyable. I can’t wait to see what comes next!

Flash fire, the sequel to Extraordinaries was everything I hoped for and more. Right from chapter one I was laughing uncontrollably with stitches in my sides, cringing from second hand embarassment and falling helplessly more in love with all these characters. But it’s not just giggles and fun, T J Klune also does not hold back from discussing some tough topics like Aaron as a police officer assaulting a man in custody and how he got off with barely a rap on the knuckles. I wouldn’t say it was resolved perfectly but I appreciate the fact that the abuse of power and how race plays into it was discussed honestly.
But moving on to my favourite characters, Nick was as chaotic as ever but we also see so much growth to him. We see him taking responsibility, being more mindful while also still being innately himself. I loved his character arc and I am so excited to see how it progresses in the next instalment of the story.
Gibby, Jazz and Seth along with their parents/guardians get more page time in this book as well and I loved getting to know them better. Their friendship is the biggest highlight of this book. I loved it!!! And the little things like wanting to go to prom and picking up their prom dresses just emphasises the fact that they are just kids placed in extraordinary situations doing the best they can to enjoy their teenage years as well as save their city. I also loved seeing the adults stepping up and being there for our teen heroes and heroines which is kind of rare in the YA book I have read. We usually only see teens having to fend for themselves or keeping the adults out till the very end when it’s too late for them to help but here we see something different . The parents are cautious and worried but at the same time incredibly supportive and helpful. It made these characters and the story all the more endearing.
We also get to meet some new superheroes both good and bad and they have raised the stakes so high. The book ends on a massive cliffhanger and the situation has grown more dire and the villains more villainous but also with this small glimmer of hope. I literally cannot wait another year for the last book because I need to know that all my babies would safe and happy and living their absolute best life.
If you loved Exrraordinaries, I definitely recommend checking this sequel out with even more wild shenanigans from Nick and co, a few more good guys to root for, a few more antisuperheroes to root against and a whole lot of fun, giggles, action and of course plenty of second hand embarrassment.

Flash fire, the sequel to Extraordinaries was everything I hoped for and more. Right from chapter one I was laughing uncontrollably with stitches in my sides, cringing from second hand embarassment and falling helplessly more in love with all these characters. But it’s not just giggles and fun, T J Klune also does not hold back from discussing some tough topics like Aaron as a police officer assaulting a man in custody and how he got off with barely a rap on the knuckles. I wouldn’t say it was resolved perfectly but I appreciate the fact that the abuse of power and how race plays into it was discussed honestly.
But moving on to my favourite characters, Nick was as chaotic as ever but we also see so much growth to him. We see him taking responsibility, being more mindful while also still being innately himself. I loved his character arc and I am so excited to see how it progresses in the next instalment of the story.
Gibby, Jazz and Seth along with their parents/guardians get more page time in this book as well and I loved getting to know them better. Their friendship is the biggest highlight of this book. I loved it!!! And the little things like wanting to go to prom and picking up their prom dresses just emphasises the fact that they are just kids placed in extraordinary situations doing the best they can to enjoy their teenage years as well as save their city. I also loved seeing the adults stepping up and being there for our teen heroes and heroines which is kind of rare in the YA book I have read. We usually only see teens having to fend for themselves or keeping the adults out till the very end when it’s too late for them to help but here we see something different . The parents are cautious and worried but at the same time incredibly supportive and helpful. It made these characters and the story all the more endearing.
We also get to meet some new superheroes both good and bad and they have raised the stakes so high. The book ends on a massive cliffhanger and the situation has grown more dire and the villains more villainous but also with this small glimmer of hope. I literally cannot wait another year for the last book because I need to know that all my babies would safe and happy and living their absolute best life.
If you loved Exrraordinaries, I definitely recommend checking this sequel out with even more wild shenanigans from Nick and co, a few more good guys to root for, a few more antisuperheroes to root against and a whole lot of fun, giggles, action and of course plenty of second hand embarrassment.