Heat Wave is the final book in TJ Klune’s The Extraordinaries trilogy, bringing Nick Bell’s story to a satisfying and heartfelt conclusion. This series has always been a fun, queer twist on superhero stories, balancing action, humor, and emotional depth, and Heat Wave continues that trend.

Nick remains as chaotic and endearing as ever, and his journey of self-discovery takes center stage. I loved how this book deepened the themes of identity, love, and responsibility, all while maintaining Klune’s signature wit. The romance is sweet, the friendships are strong, and the found-family dynamic remains one of the best parts of the series.

One of my favorite aspects of the book is how it doesn’t just focus on superhero action—it also explores what it means to be extraordinary in everyday life. Nick's growth throughout the trilogy is both realistic and touching, and by the end, I truly felt like he had come into his own.

That said, Klune’s humor and writing style can be very over-the-top at times, which may not work for everyone. There are moments where the dialogue and inner monologues feel a bit drawn out, but if you’ve enjoyed the first two books, you’ll likely love this one as well.

Overall, Heat Wave is a fantastic conclusion to an entertaining and heartfelt trilogy. It’s perfect for fans of queer YA, superhero stories with a twist, and books that blend humor with emotional depth.

Once again TJ Klune delivers an Absolutely heartwarming story, this time about kids with super powers! I love how Klune writes ya just as much as I love his adult books. If you want found family, hard truths, and a warm hug, pick up this series!

ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

When I first read The Extraordinaries years ago, I immediately fell in love. I loved all the characters, their unique voices, the romance and the focus on family, both blood and found. When I read Flash Fire, one of my most anticipated new releases of the year, I enjoyed seeing the story's progression and was very interested to see how this series would conclude.

While Heat Wave was a good ending to the series, it admittedly wasn't my favourite book of the trilogy. Maybe that's because my standards and expectations were very high after I rated the first two books five stars. My highlights had to be the Dad Squad which was such a fun addition, and also Nick's character and narration throughout the book. While he has grown as a character, his voice and charisma never changed.

I would highly recommend this trilogy as one which has every single book a consistent 4-5 star read. For me, this book leans more towards four stars rather than five but overall, I was pleased with how everything was tied up.

“Heat Wave,” the final installment of “The Extraordinaries” series, was just as fun as the two prior novels. The main character, Nick, is as joyful chaotic as they come. His coming-of-age story has plenty of cringe-worthy teen angst that makes you just want to hug the kid! And all of his wonderful friends!

Out of all the characters, the men who comprise “The Dad Squad” are by far my favorites, and they really get a chance to shine in this third installment.

This queer superhero fanfic storyline is so much fun! I thoroughly enjoyed the ride!

Who doesn’t love TJ Klune? His stories are so vibrant, and this is no exception. I went in with high expectations and he more than met them. I love this story!

I really enjoyed this series. I loved reading these books, and the inclusion of a character who has ADHD . It really gave me a glimpse at what having ADHD through Nick’s narration. I thought that this book would pickup where book two left off and was a bit disappointed that it didn’t. Overall I thought this was a good conclusion to such a fun series.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I did not realize it was part of a series when I requested and I should have done more research before requesting. I love this author so was excited about it but just did not realize it was a series. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

I’ll pretty much read anything TJ Klune writes and this was different. Such a good YA with a ton of good ethic/moral type lessons and LGBTQ representation!

While I love TJ Klune, I did not enjoy this book. It didn't feel like a good super hero story since the plot wasn't great, and there wasn't the expected romance I wanted either. However, while slow, I did make my way through it, and it took me more than halfway to start enjoying it.

I laughed so hard that I started crying while reading this. It was just the humorous book I needed to get me out of my reading slump. After the events of Flash Fire, Nick’s dreams of becoming an Extraordinary have finally come true. In the final installment of TJ Klune’s Extraordinaries series, Heat Wave, Nick must juggle his training as Guardian, his growing relationship with Seth (#PyroStormIsBae), and the bane of all high schoolers’ existence: preparing for college. Oh, and did I mention the burden of all superheroes: saving the day (and not looking like a total goof while doing it)?

you will cry laughing

As per usual, Nick is hilarious. I’ve always empathized with his hectic narration style and zany personality, given my own struggles with ADHD. I’ve also suffered from second-hand embarrassment on Nick’s behalf probably a million times, given how much his family and friends love to embarrass him (“Nicky, no! Nicky, YES!”) He has a habit of bouncing around like a ball in a pinball machine, but as much as they love to embarrass him his friends and family help calm him down when needed (and remind him that having ADHD is not a death sentence).

Every character adds something to the story, and it’s quite a diverse cast. On the surface, Heat Wave is a story about superheroes. In contrast to some of the more popular mainstream movies, heroes come in all shapes and sizes in Nova City (instead of looking like magazine cover models). You’ve got the middle-aged mom, the drag queen, the bow-tie bespectacled nerd…There are also those supporting the “Extraordinaries” (akin to the ‘man in the chair role’) and you’ve got a whole range of characters in that role as well. I’ve gotta say, out of all the superhero stories I’ve read (both published in traditional format and fanfiction), Team Lighthouse is one of the best teams (and team names) ever.

all the feels with the relationships

There are so many heartwarming relationships in this book (both platonic and romantic), and it makes my heart happy to see it. Both straight and queer relationships deserve representation in books. While Seth and Nick’s relationship is undoubtedly at the forefront of the story, there’s also the love between Gibby and Jazz, and the relationship between Seth’s aunt and uncle. There are also familial relationships between Seth and his aunt and uncle (there’s a heart-melting adorable moment between Seth and his uncle early on in the book), and Nick and his dad. Nick and his dad’s relationship was by far the most amusing, and Aaron Bell is now on my top ten book dads of all time list.

Micheal Lesley delivered an uproariously funny performance for the audiobook narration and masterfully brought the many layers of Nick’s personality to life. Heat Wave is a perfect ending to the Extraordinaries trilogy (though I certainly wouldn’t say no to a spin-off featuring Gibby and Jazz). While this book is classified as a young adult novel, I do want to note there is a BUCKET load of sexual innuendos. Young readers who are not ready for that might want to hold off on reading this.

in conclusion

Altogether, if a series filled with amazing storytelling, lovable characters, and top-notch storytelling sounds like something you’d enjoy, then I highly suggest you check out this series – you won’t regret it!

TJ Klune is a master of all. Heat Wave is the third installment of the Extraordinaries and I am here for it.
Though this is young adult, I love this series.
TJ Klune is an automatic read for me no matter the genre or subject.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was the perfect ending to this series. It was funny, heartfelt, tense, and all around wonderful. The epilogue was also perfection.

"Nicky, no."
"NICKY, YESSSSSS!!!"

Nick Bell is the narrator none of us knew we needed. I absolutely loved being back with Nick and seeing what shenanigans he gets up to with Seth, Jazz, and Gibby, not to mention his father. Nick's relationship with his dad is #goals - I mean can you imagine looking at your parent with a straight face after you blared gay porn in the car while you were inside?! The openness these two have (or are forced to have) about relationships and sex is healthy and positive for today's teens to see.

The fact that we have a main character who has ADHD and manages to live a fairly normal life (ok, so he's a superhero) is one that hasn't slipped past me. It seems for years ADHD has been something that is looked down on so to see this main character have ADHD and own it? Yes, please. Give us more of this.

This book in audio form is *chef's kiss* the.best.
Forever re-reading this series just so I can spend more time with Nick.

WAIT HOW HAVE I NOT SENT FEEDBACK FOR THIS.

I absolutely devoured this book, just as I did with the previous two in the series. TJ Klune's humor and heart is on full display in this trilogy, and I love Nick and Seth so much. They are my children. Jazz and Gibby, too. This little group made me feel more platonic love from the page than I even knew possible. Klune is always so incredible at creating supporting characters, and Jazz and Gibby are no exception (along with their parents). Each character's voice is so distinct, I just love them all.

I don't want to say I called the "twist," because I think Klune was very obviously foreshadowing it in earlier books, but it was still absolutely fascinating to watch it play out.

The romance, the action, the found family, the heroics... I love this trilogy so damn much, and I love these characters.

I guess the one good thing about forgetting to review this for this long is that I am now thinking about it again and I will be going to reread them now.

"In the third installment and conclusion to this fun Extraordinary 's series Nick, along with his friends and family team up to keep the people of Nova City safe.

The beginning of this book was a bit slow and dragged. Though this plot line started out nebulous and confusing, what unfolds was a scary twist. Many might not like this crazy development, but I felt it ultimately played out nicely, forcing the gang and their wonderful parents, friends, and family to really band together to fight Simon Burke’s evil maniacal agenda. At the halfway point the tempo of the book picked up and the flow was much better. The end of the book flew past with a very satisfying conclusion. As always Klune had me laughing out loud at different points. I love Nick's stream-of-conscious ramblings. I also enjoyed that a book about superheroes was able to discuss such serious issues of loss, queer pride, social justice, and found family. "

This series has been so good. I love a superhero moment and this book was amazing! It can be cringey at times and a little uncomfortable to read but overall I found it was more sweet and fun.

I started reading HEAT WAVE some time last summer and got stuck about a third into the book when I ran into elements of mind control. This is primarily a personal preference, but I have to admit that mind control is one of the things I'd rather not read about.

The first two books of THE EXTRAORDINARIES trilogy were such a fun and wild ride as we follow Nick, Seth, Gibby, and Jazz along their adventure. I love these precious babies! If you also love fierce, disaster queer teens, you'd especially love the epilogue of this series like I did.

In HEAT WAVE, I feel like the plot itself has less nuance and more magic—in an ex machina kind of way—than its predecessors. While we did get a nice grand finale and resolution, everything fell a little flat for me. It didn't help that they had a great plan that wasn't revealed when they were actively talking about it, especially with the book being in Nick's point of view, it felt especially odd for the whole thing to be glossed over just to retain the shock factor later on when they execute the plan. Another gripe I had was something also present in FLASH FIRE, which is the repeated occurrence of cissexist languages about anatomy, albeit unintentional. It didn't feel very on brand of them as the whole story is not only just about superheroes but also filled with queer joy.

However, if you're here for the ride of messy superqueeroes, this series does not disappoint!

[content warnings: mind control / manipulation, on-page oral sex between two consenting minors, blood, cissexism, forced mediation, police brutality, racism, kidnapping, conversion therapy (for Extraordinaries), fire, child abuse, murder, drowning (past), misgendering (by minor character, called out by other minor character), discussions about sex, impersonation]

* I received a digital review copy from Tor Teen via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

TJ Klune is always an automatic buy author for me and when I got my hands on an early copy of Heat Wave, I was absolutely elated! As always, TJ Klune's writing is magical and beautiful and his characterization is candid and life like. I can't wait to read the next book in this series!

You absolutely can NOT go wrong with TJ Klune.
His YA series The Extraordinaries has been an incredbly fun ride and I was really looking forward to the conclusion in Heat Wave.

This book delivered on wrapping up every open bit of plot and giving all of our main characters their HEA. It was playful, fun, goofy at times and all-in-all a really entertaining read that is perfect for younger audiences and Klune fans.

This trilogy has definitely been a ride and one that I have enjoyed! Nick, Seth and this whole crew definitely have a forever place in my heart. I really loved seeing Nick and Seth grow up and grow together and how the relationships develop in this series. I also truly love TJ's flare for the dramatic and how he can tie it all up in the end! Overall a fantastic conclusion and series.