Rating: 4.25 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Josh Whitlock is an alien, with superpowers granted by his passage close to a star while en route to Earth. Josh is humanoid, newly 21, and frustrated that his overactive Kid Quasar hero complex has him constantly needing to rush off and rescue a person, a street fair, a country… Josh rarely receives accolades for his good deeds, and can’t keep a job or complete his degree due to his unpredictability. Josh is living in his mom’s basement, totally disgusted by a fellow hero, Comet Boy, who seems to have a million sponsors and is always rescuing an actress or a K-Pop band. Josh is going out on a date with Rick, the son of his mom’s friend, just so his mom will get off his case.
It turns out that Rick is a nice guy–except he’s a publicist for Comet Boy! Ugh. Josh just hates that sell-out. Unfortunately, it’s a winning strategy and Josh decides he could use some cash. He reaches out to Comet Boy’s agent and gets a whole slew of bogus “rescues” that he’s constantly messing up. But, it could pay the bills and lands Josh–in his Kid Quasar persona–some fair weather friends. It’s bittersweet, because these people still only want him for his persona, and he’s feeling less and less connected to the folks in his orbit. Except Rick, who it turns out really is a decent guy.
Confessions of a Former Teen Superhero is a sweet, funny, and irreverent look at superheroes. I adored Josh, who has so many mundane troubles his powers can’t resolve. His ethics are solid and he’s all-over a decent man who starts to be corrupted by the fame he’s gaining due to Rick’s machinations. The deeper Josh sinks, the more Rick is repulsed by Kid Quasar – and the more Josh really wants to build a relationship with him. I loved how Josh tried to turn his attitude around, and I wished the ending hadn’t been such a cliffhanger situation. Still, I really liked the pace of the story and voice of the characters. It’s funny and entertaining, and has a touch of realistic romance. I’d absolutely read on to figure out how Josh managed to get his life together in the wake of some big villain attacks that have unexpected impacts on Josh’s powers. This one is highly recommend for fans of superhero romance stories.
