Karma Girl Review

Karma Girl (Bigtime Superheroes 1)

-       Jennifer Estep

Kindle Book

Investigative reporter Carmen Cole gets the surprise of her life on her wedding day when she discovers that her fiance and best friend are sleeping together – and that the two of them are her town's resident superhero and ubervillain. Shocked and hurt, Carmen reveals their secret identities and then decides to devote her life to unmasking every superhero and ubervillain who crosses her path. A series of successful unmaskings lands Carmen a job at The Expose, one of the biggest newspapers in Bigtime, New York, a city that's full of superheroes and ubervillains. Carmen is in her element – until she gets kidnapped by the Terrible Triad, Bigtime’s most dangerous ubervillain team. The Triad orders Carmen to uncover the secret identity of Striker, the leader of the Fearless Five, Bigtime's most popular superhero team – or else they’ll drop her in a vat of radioactive goo. With that threat hanging over her, Carmen sets out to unmask Striker, but what she doesn’t count on is falling for the sexy superhero. But with the Terrible Triad lurking around, this is one story that just might be the death of her...

I’ve wanted to try a Jennifer Estep book for a while – I have Spider’s Bite and Touch of Frost on my TBR for ages, but so many people love these books I’ve been a little nervous about trying them in case I’m disappointed! So for my first book I started on her lesser known Bigtime Superheroes series – Karma Girl and can I say I had such a fabulous time!

This is a story set on a world where every town has its own hero and villain – most of them caused by exposure to various radioactive material or bites from mutated animals (we all know that guarantees superpowers!). Carmen Cole is on a mission to expose superhero and ubervillians secret identities – and she’s good at it, at least until one superhero takes it the wrong way and commits suicide. Now, she works the society beat – until the towns most evil villains demand she finds out the identities the Fearless Five.

Carmen is your typical Lois Lane reporter – tenacious, stubborn, clever and attracted to superheroes. When she first meets Striker, the head of the fearless five, sparks fly and there is a lovely antagonist romance between the two of them. I found the romance sweet without falling into the trap of insta-love. Her method of tracking down the heroes and villains identities is exactly how anyone who has read enough comic books would go about it – a great tribute for those who think a pair of glasses does not make a full prove disguise. J

This book has lots of yummy ingredients – a strong but vulnerable leading lady, and exciting yet familiar world, an alpha male with a secret, a fast paced plot with plenty of twists and turns. These ingredients mix together to make a delicious ice cream sundae with whipped cream, nuts and a cherry on top! I was in exactly the mood to be entertained and that is exactly what I got – so much so that I immediately purchased the next two books in the series and plan on reading the other books by Jennifer Estep as soon as I can fit them into my reading schedule!

Recommended for fans of Smallville and Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittridge. 8 out of 10