Flash Fire by TJ Klune

The explosive sequel to The Extraordinaries by USA Today bestselling author TJ Klune. Through bravery, charm, and an alarming amount of enthusiasm, Nick landed himself the superhero boyfriend of his dreams. Now instead of just writing stories about him, Nick actually gets to kiss him. On the mouth. A lot. But having a superhero boyfriend isn't everything Nick thought it would be - he's still struggling to make peace with his own lack of extraordinary powers. When new Extraordinaries begin arriving in Nova City - siblings who can manipulate smoke and ice, a mysterious hero who can move objects with their mind, and a drag queen superhero with the best name and the most-sequined costume anyone has ever had - it's up to Nick and his friends Seth, Gibby, and Jazz to determine who is virtuous and who is villainous. And new Extraordinaries aren't the only things coming to light. Long-held secrets and neglected truths are surfacing that challenge everything Nick knows about justice, family, and being extraordinary. Which is a lot to handle when Nick really just wants to finish his self-insert bakery AU fanfic. Will it all come together in the end or will it all go down in flames? 'Uproariously funny!' Sophie Gonzales, author of Only Mostly Devastated 'The most down-to-earth book about superheroes I've ever read' Mason Deaver, bestselling author of I Wish You All the Best

The awkward baby gays continue to be awkward and I am delighted, even if I have to close my eyes and cringe every so often. Usually at the fanfic. Klune is very good at making me glad that I am no longer a teenager.

It looks like, from the acknowledgements, there's gonna be one more book in this series, and I need it NOW. So so much happened in this one, and it was fun and good but now I need to know what the heck is going to happen next, because that was a whole lot of plot for one novel.

I bounced around for a solid couple minutes and ran over to the friend also reading this book to squeal “Drag queen superhero!!” in absolute delight when that happened. That may genuinely be my favorite character so far. Precious.

This sequel to “The Extraordinaries” was a book I was greatly looking forward to. While this was a fun book, I don't think it lived up to how successful the first was.

This book starts off after the first book ends, with Nick and his friends just trying to get through high school while also dealing with the Extraordinaries from Nova City. One of the biggest things I loved in the first book was how funny it was. I was laughing constantly, and even when things got serious, I still had fun. This book was much more serious than the first one. At the beginning, I thought it would have the same hilarity, and I found myself laughing aloud multiple times. However, as the book went on, that was kind of lost. There were a few one-liners here and there, but I wasn't rolling. The stakes in the first story felt higher, but it was still able to brign that fun nature. This one got very serious.

While I understand what Klune was trying to do with grappling with Nick's dad being a cop, I don't know if he pulled it off or not. There was a lot of discussion throughout about cops in America and Nick's dad's part in that. While I think in a way this was an important discussion to have, it felt weird seeing it all from Nick's perspective. Not sure how to put it into words, but it just felt a little off.

While this book didn't live up to the first one, I still love the found family in this book. Nick, Seth, Gibby, and Jazz are the cutest group of friends in the world. Their interactions are so genuine, and they are all just there to support each other through whatever they go through. This trope is definitely one of my favorites, and Klune has proven to be a master at it.

All in all, this series is a fun read. It's cute and funny. However, not sure if this one had the same impact as the first.

TW: assault, blood, bullying, fire, hostages, kidnpaping, police brutality, profanity, racism, violence

Soooo good!! This is much better than the first book, now that the story has been set up and we know about Seth, everything really felt like it was getting properly started. I really like Extraordinaries and it's really cool to see more, like Miss Conduct. Of course, being an extraordinary is an obvious allegory for being queer; the whole ‘Save Our Children' initiative as well as stuff people were saying about Seth after he came out as extraordinary reminded me very much of the current situation regarding trans people. (Would be really cool to see a trans Extraordinary!!) It's so cool that there's someone putting queerness into the superhero genre, as it really needs it!

(Oooh also how is Jenny Bell alive!??! wpah and Owen escaped?!?!? I am so excited for the next book!)

Mhm, I liked the first one better. Honestly, I don't have a lot to say about it. It was a nice listen while I was working and it wasn't terrible - though it wasn't ‘amazing, oh my god, I have to listen to more of it right now'. (In fact, all except the last 45 minutes or so was listened while I was at work and I don't work again til after the end of this month and I wanted to finish it this month.)

Thoughts? Hmm. The narrator was obviously having a lot of fun with the material. I don't like the big reveal (tm) at the end of the book. (Very cheap.) I do like the squad of four teens and that they are aware of stuff. I don't like that sometimes this book reads like an after-school special. I do like that the parents aren't perpetually kept in the dark.

I'm not against finishing this series, but I will not be buying the next book (hinthint library of mine) and I will be looking at it with lots of trepidation, because judging by how this book ends, there are two major plot points of the next book that I will either hate, or dislike. (And, in fact, the main plot of the next book, sounds like a plotline I will hate unless it is handled very, very carefully.) (And, to be fair, I'm not sure I've ever seen it handled in a way I like.) (shrugs)