My thanks to Quercus Books Jo Fletcher Books for an advance review copy via NetGalley of ‘Constance Verity Saves the World’ by A. Lee Martinez in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in the Adventures of Constance Verity trilogy, originally published in the USA in 2018 and now released in the U.K..

After reading ‘The Last Adventure of Constance Verity’ I knew what to expect both in terms of pacing and Martinez’s enthusiastic combination of various genres.

The plot follows on from ‘The Last Adventure’ and as I don’t wish to enter into spoiler territory, I won’t mention plot details. I will note the addition of new characters including Larry Peril, mild mannered son of evil-genius Lady Peril, and henchagent, Apollonia. Both were welcome additions to this ensemble cast of quirky characters.

Overall, it was great to immerse myself once more in Connie’s wild life and to learn more about her history. The focus here was slightly less frenetic than in the first book though the final chapters contained an epic showdown worthy of a classic Bond villain or more likely Dr. Evil given the comic slant inherent in this fun series.

The final book in the trilogy is to be published next week and I look forward to seeing how the story resolves.

A fun follow up to "The Last Adventure of Constance Verity" and one which actually goes better. If you enjoyed the first then you'll enjoy this one too as our protagonist has more adventures with the same silly humour which ran through the first. Well worth a read.

The first book in this series was fun, but, I felt, maybe a little too cartoonish and thin on character development. Constance Verity Saves the World fleshes out its protagonists to a much more satisfying degree while still maintaining Lee Martinez's trade-mark fast-paced action and humour.

Our super-heroes need a bit of angst in their lives to be convincing and elicit audience sympathy - that's why Batman makes for better movies than Superman, and why Marvel hits the spot more often than DC does. This time round, Constance Verity's character is spiced up with all sorts of problems, romantic and professional, and those around her are also given greater depth. A much more satisfying mix all round.

What happens when a natural born heroine becomes a common person ? This book happen.
I had fun and enjoyed it, Constance is a very funny characters and the plot kept me reading.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine