Jinx (Bigtime Superheroes #3) Review

Jinx (Bigtime Superheroes #3)

-          Jennifer Estep

Kindle Book

Thanks to her unwanted superpower, fashion designer Bella Bulluci may be the luckiest woman in Bigtime, N.Y. But luck can be good or bad, and it seems like just as many embarrassing things happens to Bella as do positive ones. Like when a charity event that Bella plans get crashed by Hangman, a deadly ubervillain who's after a prize sapphire that's on display. Hangman almost succeeds in stealing the jewel for his evil ubervillain boss, Prism, but Bella's luck helps her escape with the sapphire – along with some help from the suave and charming Debonair. Debonair's not an ubervillain, but he's not really a superhero either. Still, Bella can't help but fall for him, despite her personal vow to have as little to do with heroes and villains as possible. But with Hangman and Prism still after the sapphire, Bella's going to need every bit of her luck power just to survive...

This is my third visit to Bigtime town and while I still had lots of fun, it didn’t sparkle as much as the first two visits. Partly is due to the nature of our heroine this time, Bella. Bella is prone to massive luck – both good and bad. This means massive amounts of physical disasters (from chandeliers breaking to spilling coffee and sandwiches everywhere) and some lucky escapes – these disasters never hurt her. She doesn’t control this luck – it just happens. And this means we have a heroine who for the most part is happier to just remove herself from tense situations, worries a lot and avoids making any pro-active choices. However, she does have a big learning curve and by the end I liked her a lot more.

Bigtime is still populated with numerous superheroes and uber-villians. However, it seems much easier to guess their secret identities now – maybe I just know what to look out for! It was great to catch up with Karma Girl aka Carmen this time around and to see how she is using her own superpowers now. There are some great visual set-pieces which scream comic book movie to me with some interesting twists and turns in the plot that keep you guessing. It was as exciting and joyful as the other adventures, but one element stuck in my throat a little. Bella is kidnapped at one point and ends up falling for her captor – despite the fact he won’t let her tell her family she is alright. Even if she is kidnapped for all the right reasons – she is still there against her will and the seduction stuck in my throat a little. However, this happens early on and is redeemed by some of his action later on. In fact by the end he comes across as quite sweet and insecurity – so much so that the kidnapping almost seems out of character!

However, this is still a light hearted romp through the superhero world with a nice romance and great world building. It’s always a fun visit – especially on a dull, wet November. For bring some sunshine and fun into your life, it’s difficult to go wrong with this series!

Recommended for fans of Carrie Vaughn and Lynsey Sands. 7 out of 10