Book Blurb:
Masked by J.D. Wright
Release Date: August 15th 2017
Limitless Publishing
Vada’s To-Do List:
- Turn 18 (check!)
- Register super name
- Order supersuit
- Attend superhero indoctrination
- Graduate high school
- Start kicking criminal tail
Vada Lawson can’t wait to be a superhero. Born into a family with special powers, she’s been training to fight criminals and villains her whole life. But her indoctrination into the underground super community is derailed when normals start breaking out in superpowers themselves.
Not trained to control their new abilities, the normals are frightened and vulnerable. Then their mutilated corpses begin turning up all over town. What the heck?
Somehow, with the help—and hindrance—of an annoying newly-minted super named Orion, Vada has to stop the chaos before it destroys her and everything she holds dear…and ruins her superhero debut.
No one ever said that being a superhero was easy…
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Nick couldn’t take it anymore. The entire morning had been one shock to his system after another. The nice long weekend in his giant but silent house had made him all but forget about the weird run-in with Janet. He’d spent the entire time working on his homework and enjoying the peace and quiet. But after only five minutes at school, he was rudely reminded that he must be losing his mind. The voices came like a whirlwind into his head, one after another. So many that he couldn’t decipher whose thoughts belonged to who. He couldn’t even separate his own thoughts from the others. There were so many, and every one of them was as loud as the other, washing over him like waves of pounding noise. Being in class gave no relief, either. The other students may not have been talking aloud, but every one of them was thinking, loudly. Nick heard too many things that he never wanted to hear and a lot of mundane thoughts that no one cares about. ...I wonder if I forgot to lock the door this morning......Oh, man. I’m not sure if I’m ready to do this. What if I get pregnant? But Luke is so cute, though......Mrs. Yates has such nice tits...Nick actually agreed with that last sentiment, but he couldn’t be sure who had said it. ...Only thirty minutes left. I really need to pee......Nick is too good for Scarlet. What does he see in her? She’s such a bitch......This class is about as useless as my stepmother...There was just so much noise. Nick pulled his hood up, but it did nothing to block the sounds. Every single thought that crossed someone else’s mind entered his. He didn’t give a damn about someone’s new pet lizard. And while he appreciated the girl across from him’s glances and thoughts of admiration—at least, he was pretty sure those belonged to her from the way she watched him—he didn’t want to know what other people were thinking. What had caused this? Was it some sort of mental illness? Was he imagining these things? He couldn’t be sure he was even hearing real thoughts. He considered quizzing someone, but he was almost too afraid to confirm what he suspected. He was reading people’s minds. Hearing their thoughts. Without even trying. And it was excruciating.
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My Review:
5 Out Of 5 Stars
Genre: Another-World, Mystery, Romance, Supernatural, Suspense, Teen--
Vada has been waiting her whole life for her 18th birthday, the day she could register her Super name Majestic and start her life of being a hero. In case you couldn't tell, Vada is not your average teen, but what do you expect when both your parents are famous heroes? But when a drug gets out at a party and normal people start developing powers, Vada is the first to investigate the issue. Will her first mission be her last?
I am a sucker for superheros and pretty much anything "nerdy", so when I first heard about this story I knew I had to read it. AND then I saw the cover and fell in love with the design, with bright colors and strong characters and I was a goner (yes, I am a cover snob, but it's just so pretty!) I will admit that my expectations were incredibly high and I was a little leery since this was my first book by J.D. and I had no idea what to expect. In case you couldn't tell by my 5 star rating, I loved this story. It was cute, dark, fun, suspenseful, romantic, emotional, goofy...The story had something for everyone. As a side note, I probably would not classify this a teen story even though the characters are all teenagers due to the sexual content, which is realistic to the age but came as a surprise to me.
There is world building, action, gadgetry, mystery but most importantly a cast of fully-fleshed out characters that helped to create this fantastical world. The story alternated from multiple voices, making at least 4 different main characters: Vada, Nick, Henley and Victor (and all their Super identities of course!). I loved Vada right from the start and appreciated her self awareness and the fact she knew what she wanted from life, as well as the relationship she developed with James. I found Nick to be blah when the book began but ended up loving him once he realized his life was empty and that he could be so much more- who woulda thought that reading minds would make you a better person? Victor was to me at least, the best villain that you end up empathizing with. Sure his father was evil and he helped him, but I really liked Victor and wanted him to turn to the light. Henley was hands down my least favorite character, nicely put a "b" that rhymes with witch, sliding her into the top spot for the evil villain you love to hate (but even before her power she was a bad human- hmmm, does personality determine power?). Sure she was a side character, but I absolutely loved Jada aka Jewel and her take charge attitude. She whipped Nick into shape and was the perfect source for information without judgement. The characters made the story for me and I became invested in the mystery as well as their struggles. I am a sucker for character driven adventures,and this provided.
I love how the author used what I will reference as the "superhero trope", with hidden identities, alter-egos with strong personalities, lack of being able to identify people with their suits on, smart tech sidekicks who work behind the scenes, and the appearance of villains with nefarious purposes. All the things that I classify as the classic superhero sterotypes were used here, but in new modern ways that made them stand out and I appreciated it. I highly enjoyed the characters interacting in suits and in real clothes, with just the briefest of hints that they may have met before. All that was missing is a telephone booth (hehe). The story kept me on my toes with the twists and turns and strong personalities, while throwing out some expected superhero ideals. J.D. took the basics and ran with them, and this spoke to my inner (ok, my outer too) nerd. If you love comic books, this was like a comic book on steroids, and it was so descriptive that I felt like I could see the action without the images that comics provide.
On the plus side, this is the first in a series, which I had no idea about when I started. That means the kinda-sorta open ending will not be the last that I hear from Mystic and Orion, ect, instead this is just the beginning of a fabulous adventure and I am for sure a fan.
I received this title in return for my honest review.
J.D. Wright is a military wife, mother of four, and author of romance, paranormal, and fantasy romance books filled with strong-willed heroines, swoon-worthy heroes, and sprinkled with humor and adventure. J.D. creates artistry in many ways, as a baker and cake artist by day and author by night. You can usually find her typing away at the computer or covered in frosting.
Since discovering she has a knack for writing, J.D. has so far written and self-published eight books of the Everealm and Songs of Everealm Series and is now venturing into the world of contemporary romance. She is also writing paranormal YA with her new superhero-themed series. She is an avid reader and lover of all things romance so she always includes a good love story in her paranormal and fantasy novels.
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