Genre: Urban Fantasy
Published by: Escape Publishing on June 1, 2014
Format: eARC
Pages: 173
Source: NetGalley
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Bremy St James, daughter of billionaire Atticus St James, has been cut off from the family fortune and is struggling to survive in a world that no longer holds its breath every time she buys a new outfit. To make matters worse, her twin sister is keeping secrets, loan sharks are circling, and the man of her dreams — a newspaper reporter — is on assignment to bring down everyone with the last name St James.
Things are certainly looking bleak for the down-and-out socialite until a good deed throws her into the path of the city’s top crime-fighter, Dark Ryder. Suddenly, Bremy has a new goal: apprentice to a superhero, and start her own crime-fighting career.
Ryder has no need for a sidekick, but it turns out the city needs Bremy’s help. Atticus St James is planning the crime of the century, and Bremy may be the only one able to get close enough to her father to stop him.
Now all she needs to do is figure out this superhero thing in less than a month, keep her identity secret from the man who could very well be The One, and save the city from total annihilation.
Well, no one ever said being a superhero would be easy...
*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
A fun, quirky, unpredictable read featuring an unlikely superhero in the making!
Former socialite Bremy St. James is newly estranged from her father (and his fortune) after uncovering some of his dark secrets, forcing her to start a new life in the big city and leave her beloved twin sister Jenny behind. Her number one priority is to get settled and get her sister back, but things haven’t exactly worked out as Bremy planned; she has no job, no friends and owes almost everyone money. With a looming death threat from her Russian mobster landlord, Bremy has no choice but to work in a shady nightclub called The Pink Beaver. Just when her situation is improving, Bremy is thrown into the spotlight while trying to be heroic during a bank robbery. Caught up in the mayhem, she accidentally interferes in the capture of the villains by the city’s official superhero, Dark Ryder. In true comic-book fashion, Bremy finally realizes her true calling and is determined to convince the hesitant Dark Ryder she’s missing what every good superhero needs, a sidekick!
Being the geek-girl that I am, I jumped at the chance to snag a copy of this eARC on NetGalley. Growing up idolizing Wonder Woman and loving Batman, I was instantly drawn to the awesome cover and the storyline. It wasn’t long before I realized this book was not so much about superheroes with powers and more about a sidekick in training. As does Batman, Dark Ryder relies on her fighting skills and techy gadgets to fight crime. Needless to say, I quickly had to throw all my preconceived notions out the window and accept all the outrageousness of SIDEKICK for what I think it is, an homage to a lighter version of superheroes. Anything goes when you’re dealing with superheroes, right?
“Out of all the times when I had wondered about how I was going to die, being eaten alive by strippers had never crossed my mind.”
Bremy, the main character, could best be described as twenty-five percent Bruce Wayne, seventy-five percent Robin. She’s a young woman who has lived a life of privilege and is still immature and innocent when it comes to the real world, her age isn’t really mentioned in the story but her voice sometimes reads as a teenager with ADD! I enjoyed her sarcasm and wit throughout the first half of the book, especially when it came to convincing Dark Ryder, but there were times where she was a little too flighty for me. I feel her backstory could have been explained a little sooner in the story with a little more detail in order for me to fully connect with her character and understand her motives. That being said, I think she has the potential to transition into the strong, kick ass heroines I love…with a little guidance from her mentor Dark Ryder, who honestly is still a mystery to me! I get that this is Bremy’s story but I wanted to know more about the infamous superhero (superheroine?) and was left wanting.
“Okay,” I said clapping my hands together. “Let’s get this Shakespearean tragedy started.”
SIDEKICK is filled with over the top moments and an array of unique characters that leave a lasting impression. It was entertaining to be introduced to Bremy’s newfound friends: Queenie, the annoying neighbor, Bart, the over-confident techie and her potential love interest, reporter Pierce Stricklin, who I think has a strong Clark Kent vibe (in a good way). Their clique is very Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets The Scooby Gang! The overall tongue-in-cheek humor, the larger than life villains and outrageous twists fit perfectly in this superhero world where all bets are off. Once I got past the “OMG is this really happening?!” stage I found myself appreciating the story more and not wanting to put it down to see what would happen next. The ending was not as climactic as I expected and there are a few loose ends that leave you thinking there will be a sequel. This wasn’t a perfect read for me, but it was a fun and light-hearted story with just enough dark undertones to keep things interesting. I’m not sure what the future holds for Dark Ryder, her sidekick Bremy St. James and the rest of the gang, but I will definitely keep my eyes open for more of Auralee Wallace’s writing!
I’ve been delaying the reading of this one b/c I really didn’t know which way it was going to go. After seeing a couple of good reviews for it, I’m less . . . reluctant. I’m expecting about what you got out of it at this point, so yeah, not as scary. Great review, Lori!
It was not what I expected but overall a fun read! And no zombies…LOL
Nice review, I am not such a big fan of superheroes in my books, so I don’t think this one is for me. Glad you enjoyed it mostly though.
It’s not for everyone but quite entertaining!
lmbo @ a teenager with ADD. But at least she has potential…that’s always a good thing
She was just too all over the place at times! She does have potential…I hope the author decides to go ahead with a sequel!
Lori this sounds cool. I am fond of superheroes too and wanted to be wonder woman and cat woman. I love the humor and the quotes were great.
It’s a fun weekend read. Wonder Woman and Cat Woman are pretty bad ass heroines 🙂
This is one sub genre that I want to read more of. I like the Batmans of the superhero world, no superhuman abilities, just super cleverness. I suggest you check out Night Fury, it’s a new release by Belle Aurora. It’s also a vigilante/superhero novella and they’re nuns/priests by day and assassins at night.
Awesome! I’ll have to add them to my list, if you like superheroes with powers I’d highly recommend Lola Dodge’s The Manhattan Ten series…it’s fantastic! 🙂
I saw this one on NetGalley, and was strongly tempted, but I’ve decided to hold off until a couple of installments have been released. I’ll be curious to see where the author goes with this series. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Carmel I think this is it. It’s not part of a series (at least not yet) so you can get to it when you have some time. 🙂
The Pink Beaver? LOL, I don’t know why, but that had me snorting! Sidekick sounds like it’s filled with humor, snark and some thoughts about society. You totally sold me, Lori! Great review!
I know I laughed out loud with that one too! It wasn’t what I expected but a really fun read, glad I could help add another book to your shelf Lexxie! 😉
I’m adding it to my TBR to wait for the audio, I’ll check tonight for it on audible, maybe a good narrator can make this a 5 star experience 🙂 Sound like a lot fun.
I think it would be a great listen! I’d love to hear your thoughts when you get to it Loupe! 🙂