Nightingale

Bigtime #4

by Jennifer Estep

Anxious brides. Drunken businessmen. Panicked partygoers. As Bigtime, New York’s premiere event planner, Abby Appleby is capable of handling almost any crisis, but even she’s not prepared when she finds herself in the middle of a fight between superhero Talon and his ubervillain nemesis Bandit. Abby manages to save Talon, but the superhero is temporarily blinded, so she takes him back to her loft, where the two wait out a snowstorm. During a blizzard that shuts down the city, Abby and Talon grow close, and he starts calling her Nightingale because of her love of music and singing.But Abby is afraid of what Talon will think when he can see the real her, so she conceals her identity from the sexy superhero, and they go their separate ways. However, Abby discovers that Talon is looking for Nightingale, looking for her—and so is Bandit. The mercenary ubervillain thinks that Abby has information that belongs to his boss, the mysterious Tycoon. Abby knows that she’s in serious trouble and that not even Talon—or the Fearless Five—may be able to save her….

Genres: Romance, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Superheroes, Paranormal, Fantasy, Ebooks

350 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

Jennifer Estep is a New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author who prowls the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea.

Jennifer is the author of the Elemental Assassin, Section 47, Galactic Bonds, Crown of Shards, Gargoyle Queen, and other fantasy series. She has written more than 40 books, along with numerous novellas and stories.

In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys hanging out with friends and family, doing yoga, and reading fantasy and romance books. She also watches way too much TV and loves all things related to superheroes.

For more information on Jennifer and her books, visit her website at www.JenniferEstep.com or sign up for her newsletter: http://www.jenniferestep.com/contact-....

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Reviews

[Nancy Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do you not love the Bigtime series? With superheroes and ubervillians galore, and this one is no different with typical over-the-top fun, humor, and Easter eggs to find (of references to her other series).

Event planner Abby feels invisible as she micromanages every event she plans for the rich patrons of Bigtime, New York. Whether planning a birthday party, a wedding, or a funeral, she handles every crisis that comes her way with her handy-dandy vest with pockets filled with everything from lipstick to tissues to designer drugs to condoms. No superpowers for her except for perfectionism, anal-retentiveness, and the ability to yell to get things accomplished...and oh yeah, because of an accident, she has super-senses (hearing, sight, smell, touch) that drive her to distraction with migraines.

After one such event, she saves a superhero, Talon, but in the process he is both shot and temporarily blinded. Snowed in, she fixes his wounds, and then she and he get to know each other...but neither really knows who the other one truly is. She calls herself Wren (a boring, brown bird); he calls her Nightingale (for her singing voice), and he is protected by his mask.

She figures out his true identity, but hides herself away so that she won't be hurt. Can the two work it out? Could there be love between the two, or will hearts be broken?

All the favorites superheroes from the previous novels (the Fearless Five, etc.) make cameo appearances, but it is ultimately Abby and Talon taking on some bad guys and finding love.

Always fun reads...with a few laughs, a few tears, and lots of Fiona Fine dresses.

[bambi]

R͎e͎a͎d͎ ͎d͎a͎t͎e͎:͎
R͎a͎t͎i͎n͎g͎:͎
O͎w͎n͎e͎d͎ ͎s͎i͎n͎c͎e͎: June 26th 2023
P͎u͎r͎c͎h͎a͎s͎e͎d͎ ͎a͎t͎:͎ Goodwill
P͎r͎i͎c͎e͎:͎? 69¢

[Aarann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had really mixed feelings about this one. I have loved the Bigtime books so far, especially Karma Girl and Jinx, and there were so many things to love about this one too -- the silly comic book obliviousness to secret identities, the name alliteration, the outlandish schemes on the part of the ubervillains, they were all there. I think the main reason I couldn't get into this one was Abby herself. It's really hard to like a character who runs around screaming at people all the time, and while I don't have a problem with characters who are insecure, as I believe most of us are insecure, when it's your insecurity vs. giving up a flash drive that could save the city, you're just going to have to be insecure, babe. She was so wrapped up in her own insecurities, it frequently came off as self-aborbed, especially once she realized the flash drive needed to be returned.

One of my other issues with some of the Bigtime books is the lack of screen time the characters get as a couple. I get that Abby and Talon spent time together in her apartment when he was blinded, but after that, I think they had only a couple of meaningful scenes together and I was suddenly supposed to believe not only that Abby loved him, but that he loved her too. I didn't get it. I didn't feel it.

Then again, these books are sort of like spoofs of comic books, so I almost wonder if that's a conscious choice on Jennifer Estep's part. After all, comic book characters frequently fall for each other without knowing who is behind the mask. (Suddenly thinking of Black Canary and Batman hooking up in one of Frank Miller's comics, with Batman narrating: We keep the masks on. It's better that way.)

Snicker.

Anyway, for the record, I do enjoy the crap out of the Bigtime books and I'm hoping, since Estep's "Frost" series seems to be wrapping up (has the last book come out yet? I want to say it is, and if not then the release date has been announced at least), that she'll give us a Kyle Quicke/Piper Perez story before she wraps up the Bigtime world. Then again, I'm in no hurry to lose the Bigtime world, so if she wants to keep writing after that, it will be okay by me.

[Jenevieve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check out all my reviews on My Blog

The 4th book in the Bigtime series. Abby Appleby is the premier event planner in Bigtime and she prides herself on being prepared for any contingency during those events but what she wasn't prepared for was seeing Talon going head-to-head with Bandit in the alley on her way home from an event. She manages to save Talon but his eyesight has been compromised and he was shot but since she can't take him to the hospital since it would endanger everyone there, she takes him home to nurse him back to health. It's just the sort of thing she is perfectly capable of but she doesn't count on falling in love with the superhero while he's there. She figures he is a millionaire and not someone who would ever be interested in a mere event planner like her so before he is fully healed, she drops him off where he'll be found but before he can figure out who she really is. All he really knows when he wakes up is that he was nursed back to health by his "Nightingale" who sings with a beautiful voice and loves music and he desperately wants to find her but no one seems to have the faintest idea who she might be. When Abby figures out who Talon really is and that he is looking for her, will she come clean?

Basic romance story but again we have a lot of repetitive, and many times destructive, inner monologuing. I got the series cheaply so I finished it but I don't think I'll be racing to the bookstore to buy more in the series should they ever come out. The world is interesting and fun but I'm not a fan of her way of dealing with the romances in this world. I will say I did get a little chuckle out of the characters here ordering food all the way from "The Pork Pit in Ashland" which is a nod to her Elemental Assassin series.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Jennifer Estep's Bigtime series. Karma Girl, Hot Momma, and Jinx are the 3 novels prior to this one as well as the novella, A Karma Girl Christmas. You don't have to read them in order, but I do recommend it only because you get a better feel for the characters (some who were former main characters in the other books) appear as secondary characters in this book.

This book, like the others, is just full of fun. It has enough cheesy-ness in the names to make me smile and enough adventure and romance to make it interesting. In this one we have Abby who has super-senses and yet does not want to be a superhero and Talon, a superhero without any super powers (think Batman). They get together in an unusual way and find themselves drawn to each other. I admit I had a bit of a problem with them falling into bed so easily and quickly, but it didn't bug me enough to lose my enjoyment of the whole story.

There was also Abby's self-esteem problem that at times you wanted to shake her and tell her to stop it, but we have all been there and it isn't an easy thing to overcome. Still, would have loved to see her gain confidence a bit earlier in the story. Even so, it made me like "Talon" more when this forced him to be completely straight with Abby about his feelings. This made the romance so much sweeter.

I give this book 4 stars. It's a fun book about superheros and I recommend it to anyone who loves to just sit back and enjoy a story. If you like Jennifer Estep's Elemental Assassin series I think you'll love this one too. The writing is much lighter in tone, but it still has that same sense of adventure. It's very adult and a lot of fun.

[Samara_k · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I liked other entries in the Bigtime Series, Nightingale was a huge disappointment. The first-person narration was more or less indistinguishable from the first-person narration of Estep's other heroines, but that was nothing new. What was new was the boredom I experienced while reading this book.

Our heroine, Abby Appleby, is an event planner extraordinaire. Now, I like a professionally competent heroine as much as the next reader, but by the end of this book, I was sick to death of Abby and her job. The romance was sweet, but it didn't get many scenes to develop. There are more scenes of Abby planning events, describing events she has planned or will plan, and doing event work, than there are between her and the hero in either of his guises. It's like the author forgot that the first rule of writing a romance is to write romance.

Aside from more romance, Estep could at least have given us some exciting action scenes before the one in the denouement, as in her Spider series. But she doesn't. From start to finish, Nightingale is a series of missed opportunities and unremarkable scenes by an author who can do better work, and should, if she wants to keep me buying.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to go on record that my rating is a very loose three. I know the plot is shallow and silly, but I've liked the series for its tongue in cheek mockery of super hero lore. This book is an improvement over the previous book, Jinx, but it still lacked a bit of fun of the first two books.

My biggest issue is that given the lack of depth to the plot and characters, it really needs the characters to be interesting. However, Abby the main characters just comes across whiny and mean spirited to me. The hero has promise, but is a bit too flat. However, Rascal absolutely steals the show and is in fact one of the best characters of the series.

On the plus side, this book served its purpose as a light and quick read when I needed to recover from a massive book hang over. It fit the bill nicely.

[KD Grainger-Peixoto · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to give this series another chance because I did enjoy Karma Girl, however there was just too much about this particular plot line that bugged me.

First and foremost was the unoriginal main characters. Abby, though a smart, competent woman, all she wants is to be seen by her love interest.

I still think Jennifer Estep is a clever, imaginative writer, but not when it comes to superheroes.

[Jessica Lero · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this was my favorite of the entire series. I hope there will be more? Maybe a Piper/Swifte story? And who are the invisible people?! I need more of this series!

[Ashley (Red-Haired Ash Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abby Appleby is Bigtime’s premiere event planner. She is capable of handling almost any crisis, but a superhero fight is not one of them. When Abby saves Talon from the supervillain Bandit she ends up with a hurt superhero who is temporarily blind hanging out in her loft. These two grow close but Abby’s fear of rejection causes her to dump the superhero in a safe place before he can find out her real identity.

This was a fun one. I loved how dedicated and hard working Abby was. She is always prepared and has a no-nonsense attitude that I really liked. Her fears of rejection were valid and I can easily understand her reasoning behind her actions. I do wish she had given Talon more time to give his side of things but that's not how emotions always work.

Talon was an interesting superhero because he doesn’t have any abilities, just cool gadgets. I do wish we got to see more of him in action as Talon but I did still really like him. This world is very fascinating so I am glad we are finally getting other superhero’s stories and not just the Fearless Five.

Overall, this was a fun superhero book. I am glad I continued to read the series after not really loving the last two books. I can’t wait to read the next book since it’s Pipers and Swifte’s.

This review was originally posted at Red-Haired Ash Reads.

[Diane ~Firefly~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Event planner Abby saves superhero Talon and they connect while he is temporarily blind, but she doesn't want him to know who she is.

What I enjoyed:
* I liked the cameos by previous characters
* Piper is a great friend
* Rascal, the corgi puppy, was the cutest!

What could have been better:
* Abby has it together professionally, but her absolute refusal to tell Talon who she was even after she found out who he was and that he was looking for her was pathetic, especially since she had his evidence and was being targeted because of it. Yeah he might break your heart, but then again he might not - just give him a chance or at least give him the evidence and say you're not interested - stop being a BABY!
* I don't know if the villain's super plan would have worked I'm not sure women would have realized they were getting their hit from the makeup.

[Robert Kent · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25/5
I certainly liked this more than Jinx. It was a decent read. Nothing special but nothing awful.
I liked that the main character was a profession I know little about. I was not impressed with her being so negative about herself. I liked that she had the abilities she did. I thought with how well she plans out everything she should be able to deal with the consequences of her abilities better. I thought it was great that she so quickly figured out who the male protag was, but I have an issue with the insta-love and the refusal to believe anyone could actually like her. For every positive there was a negative for me. But that means for every negative there was also a positive. They cancelled each other out for me. In the end this was an easy read that was mostly enjoyable but if I had known more about the book ahead of time I probably would have passed.

[K G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been tired of the grimdark gritty superhero reboot for awhile, and tone-wise this is definitely a cure for that - it leans into the lighter, wackier side of comic book worlds.

Story-wise and character-wise, though, it kind of fell flat for me. It turns out that I don't really like characters with sub-par superpowers that want nothing more than to be normal. Possibly why what should've been the climax of the story really just fizzled for me. That said, I'm sure this type of book is someone's cup of tea (someone who actually consistently enjoys the romance genre for instance), and giving it 3 stars seemed unfairly harsh - I would personally rate it a 3.5.

[Atara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Great book for lovers of romance and superheroes. Not quite as good as Karma Girl, but still s fun read.

[Emily Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a fun, easy read.

[Dy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated the world building and context clues. 3.5/5

[Sara ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

January 27-29, 2019

Well that was pretty crazy! I could seriously read this series forever! It's soooo cheesy! I just love it!

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth book in the BigTime Series by Jennifer Estep. I read the first 3 - Karma Girl, Hot Mama & Jinx - a couple of years ago. I really enjoyed the stories, and am totally in love with Ms. Estep's Elemental Assassin's series about Gin Blanco. One of the things that just tickles me as a reader, is finding the little references to her other books series in whichever one I am currently reading. Take for instance the Gin Blanco series, there are several references to the fashion designers in the BigTime books. And in this book, the lead character, Abby Appleby, makes a reference to her favorite BBQ joint, the Pork Pit, down Ashland, North Carolina, Gin's restaurant. I am unsure if the two series are in the same universe, since the 2 series don't really share anything in common other than both having elements of Fantasy.

In the Big Time series, there are superheroes and ubervillains roaming the city of Bigtime, New York. The first 3 covered several of the Fearless 5, the major superheroes, and were Romantic Fantasy novels. So I expected this one to be along the same theme and I wasn't disappointed. This time however, we met a young woman who had been granted supersenses one night after an incident with a spilled drink and an amp gone haywire. Abby Appleby is the top event planner for Bigtime. She uses her supersenses to make sure that the parties and events that she plans go off without a hitch and keep everything running like clockwork. We are first introduced to her during a combination engagement announcement and corporate merger party.

After the party, on her way home, she stumbles across a conflict between a superhero, Talon and his nemesis, Bandit. Abby manages to scare away Bandit, but only after he has managed to injure Talon. Not knowing what else to do, Abby rigs together a mock sled and drags Talon back to her apartment. There she patches him up. When Talon awakes and has been temporarily blinded, she lets him stay and wait out the blizzard that has descended on the city. Abby doesn't give Talon her name, but tells him to call her Wren. He insists on calling her Nightingale, since she sings to him and has patched him up. When it looks like he is about to regain his vision, she drugs him and takes him to the convention center to keep her identity a secret.

Since it has been so long since I read the first three books in the series, I was a little worried that I would have a hard time jumping back into it. But I found that wasn't really the case for this book. Since the story is told completely from Abby's perspective, and she doesn't know the identities of the superheroes, I didn't need to remember who was who either. Some of the came back to me, and others were so obvious that I couldn't understand why the characters couldn't figure them out. But I think that is part of the charm of the old time comic book stories. What is obvious to us looking in, those involved in the day to day of the world, just never see.

I am giving this book a solid 4 stars on Goodreads. Yes, the story was a little cheesy, but in a good way. It is at heart a romance novel, set in a B-movie world. One you can't help but laugh at and enjoy for its light hearted fun.

[Tia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, I’ve been waiting for years to read this book. When I saw that Ms. Estep was re-releasing her other Bigtime books, I wondered if she would release Nightingale, which had been planned but never released.

Sure enough, here it is!

Nightingale was a fun return to the land of Bigtime, New York. Bigtime is Estep’s version of New York City with a large cast of superheroes, ubervillians, and regular folk.

Abby Appleby is an event planner in Bigtime. Her events are the biggest, the best and the most lavish. She can meet any insane deadline, and can make real the most outlandish concept.

Except when ubervillians crash her parties. Which seemed to happen a lot in previous books.

By the time this book comes around, Abby has a bit of a complex, striving for the perfect event each time. After just pulling off an event that simultaneously announced an engagement and launched a new line of cosmetics, Abby is on the way home when she stumbles on a superhero battle that amazingly seemed to miss her event this time. She quickly discerns that the lone superhero is Talon, a gadget master who is fending off the Bandit and his band of thugs.

Bandit shoots Talon and sprays him with his blinding gas. Abby, a bit of a gadget master herself, whips out her cellphone and scares the bad guys off by playing her police siren ringtone. After they leave, Talon remains conscious long enough to refuse to be hospitalized, and then he passes out. Abby heaves the superhero home via an improvised sled made of a plastic bag and gumption, and nurses him back to health.

It’s the perfect scenario to fall in love.

The complications in this romance are mostly internal. Abby, determined to be as anonymous as Talon (he has a helm that shocks whoever tries to take it off), calls herself Wren, which reflects her own internal image of herself. He turns that around by calling her Nightingale, because of her beautiful singing voice and his own internal image of her that he has built up in his mind. Since she knows she is no beauty, this sobriquet does not entirely please her.

As they each try to get over their hang-ups, they naturally have to contend with the villains behind the Bandit attack. Which makes a perfect circle to the original makup-launch event from the start of the book. This time, Estep has improved her story by making her villains more difficult to guess. Everyone has alliterative names now, which means anyone can be a superhero or an ubervillain. I even suspected poor Piper Perez for a while, a beleaguered secretary who I think could be the subject of an upcoming book. But in the end, the ubervillain made perfect sense, which is just as it should be.

If you enjoyed the previous books in this series, Nightingale should be a great return to the world of Bigtime. If you have not read Karma Girl, Hot Mama or Jynx, it is not necessary to read them before reading this one, but you may want to read them afterward just for the sheer fun of it.

[BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cross between The Incredibles and My Super Ex-Girlfriend, the Bigtime series is a must read. It is filled with humour and sensitivity. Ms. Estep is a master at creating lovely and realistic characters.

In NIGHTINGALE, Abby Appleby is the party planner extraordinaire. No one is better at putting out fires, calming hysterical brides and pulling off amazing parties everyone talks about. One night after a successful party, she comes across a hurt superhero, Talon. In the heat of the moment, she saves him. As they say, no good deed goes unpunished.

This world Ms. Estep created is fabulous. It's rich with different types of superheroes. In a sense, she's taken a page out of DC comics with how superheroes come to be. There are some who are gifted with natural powers like Superman and Wonder Woman. Then there are ones who use technology to help them fight like Batman. Which one is the better superhero? It's difficult to say and Ms. Estep doesn't favour one over the other.

Abby is not a superhero, but does have super hearing and senses. Talon, on the other hand, is one with numerous techno gadgets to help him fight crime. He's even similar to Batman in the sense he is a rich businessman.

This story is a fast read and pulls a reader in because the characters are so endearing. Learning about Abby and her neurosis is moving. Her lack of self-esteem based on her looks is so contradictory to her aggressive self-confidence in her abilities. This makes her more relatable. Her desire to be with Talon yet wanting to keep her secret identity off the grid is a difficult quandary.

The plot of this story is fast-paced and reminiscent of Ms. Estep's Elemental series. It's also interesting and causes a reader to constantly try to guess the identity of the villains while hoping for a romance to bloom in full. The characters in this book are larger than life at times. The book could come off campy but instead, exudes witty playfulness in a tongue-in-cheek manner. I love Ms. Estep's writing voice in this story - smooth and silky.

This paranormal romance book is highly recommended to readers who have a touch of comic book geekiness.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't very impressed by this book. Though I hadn't read the first three books in this series, I specifically chose Nightingale to read because I though it sounded more interesting and entertaining than the others. Let me just say, I was pretty disappointed.

Actually, I really liked the idea that Jenifer Estep laid out. But what dropped this book down from 5 stars to 3 is the overwhelming cheesiness of the entire thing. I didn't listen to the warnings about the cheesiness of it before I read this book because I thought "how cheesy could a story be? It can't be too bad".

Well look at how wrong I was:
- the MC had this delusional idea that she was invisible just because she was a party planner
- she got anxious when she didn't have that stupid everything-in-it-vest with her
- she insisted on ignoring the love of her life because she "couldn't get hurt again" (cliche!)
- every superhero just had to have a counter part (an ubervillian. Really?)
- and so on

Though it had a couple good points, the annoying parts of the novel just completely ruled a lot of the good parts out.

[Debbie is on Storygraph · Rating 4 out of 5]

August 10, 2015 review:
After reading Fandemic, I had an urge to re-read Nightingale, which I've only read the once. I'd forgotten much of it since the plot wasn't seared into my brain from many a re-read like the first three books. It also made me appreciate how one book leads into the other, introducing characters that will play a larger part later on.

Also, I now remember that I did like Piper. I just couldn't remember why.

Also, Rascal is awesome.

October 31, 2012 review:
This is the book I've been waiting forever and a day for. I sped through the first three Bigtime books a few years ago, and then learned there would be no more, but then Jennifer would drop tantalizing hints of a Bigtime book #4 that was not published.

But... here it is! Finally!

I read this in one sitting, with mini-breaks to throw candy at trick-or-treaters. OMG SO GOOD. If you loved the first three, you'll love this one. Hopefully sales will be awesome enough (I already helped by purchasing two copies because BN.com broke on me today and wouldn't let me download it) that there will be a book 5 (featuring Piper, maybe...?) and 6, and 7...

[Jenni Ebba · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Estep's Bigtime series! There is just something totally awesome about superheroes! I loved this one because the heroine is a mostly regular human; if you exclude the super hearing and super smell and super... okay she has super senses, but she doesn't control any extra telekenetic ability or possess super strength. Abby Appleby has had a life full of other people's problems. She is an event coordinator for the big and popular in Bigtime.
The hero is none other than one of the few superheroes who don't have a power. Instead he relies on his gadgets. He also ends up falling for Abbey while she is caring for him during a blizzard. Not having the ability to see her due to an injury, he falls for her and after he heals he searches for her still.
This is a twisty turn book and definitely a fast read. The only thing I have to say is if you're looking for an enjoyable read- read this one.
4 Stars!

[Erik Dewey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've really liked the Big Time series with it's light-hearted approach to comic books and its tropes, and this is no exception. This time we meet with a super-senses party planner and get embroiled in her struggle with her feeling towards a super hero, her own self-doubt, and the plan of yet another super villain.

The writing is full of fun in the four-colored world Estep has created and plenty of characters from previous books flit in and out of the story. My only real issue with the book was the low self-confidence the main character had when it came to romance. I realize that is a big point of the story, but still I'd like to see her approach some of her problems head on rather than just assume it would end badly.

I realize this is superhero romance and the above paragraph is common in the genre, so I don't hold it against the book. It is what it sets out to be, a light and fun read. I hope there are more Bigtime novels.

[L-D · Rating 4 out of 5]

We met Abby Appleby, Bigtime's premier event planner, in the previous book when she coordinated Bella's museum fundraiser. Abby is always prepared and I love her "super planner" vest with pockets containing everything she might need in an event. When she comes across a fight between Talon and his ubervillain nemesis Bandit, Abby does what she can and saves him, but he is temporarily blinded in the struggle and she has to nurse him back to health. They grow closer, but Abby feels that Talon would never fall for the real her - mousy, unobstrusive, and invisible.

I liked this story because Abby was so down-to-earth. I liked that she was plain, but won Talon over by being herself. Would he have ever fallen for her if he wasn't incapacitated? Probably not - but this was a really sweet romance even though it wasn't as funny as the other books.

[Katie(babs) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had fun read this one but you have to suspend your disbelief because how can two people who have a one night stand together (superhero is blind due to evil gas, never sees the heroine and heroine lies about her identity) not know who their lover is after they hear their voice and touch them days later? This is the case with the superhero who a few days later meets the heroine who saves him. He has no idea he had sex with her because she hides her true identity and because he never saw her face he has no clue who is lover is. Are you telling me a man who has been with a woman intimately and has heard her voice, can't figure out who she is when they meet again?

But other then this trope that seems to be the norm in most romances, I really like Jennifer's voice and writing.

[⚜️XAR the Bookwyrm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been awaiting a fourth full length novel in the series since the release of Jinx and the wait has been well worth it! I was pleasantly surprised by Ms. Estep's choice of heroine in Abby Appleby, but Abby was just as enjoyable as Fiona/Fiera or Carmen/Karma Girl. I also enjoyed the ubervillain, Bandit in this one. I liked the fact that he was a mostly normal guy pitted against a Bruce Wayne type hero in Talon. I think this adds depth to the Bigtime series, since it's branching out into the lesser known heroes and villains of Bigtime and not focusing on the main members of the Fearless Five. I'm rooting for Swifte's story to be next!

[David Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a bit of an idiot plot, although that could be because the Karma Girl series somewhat parodizes superhero elements. Like for example there's only person in this entire book who doesn't have an alliterative name and I think that's because she married. So the protagonist in a role reversal, rescues the costumed hero and then goes to absurd lengths to keep him from finding out who she is and what she really looks like, to the point that she actually hangs onto the maguffin that people will kill her to get...

[Keith Beasley-Topliffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reason this book gets a little better review is subtlety (not so prominent in the other 3.5 books in the "Bigtime" series). The usefulness of the heroine's power (super senses) is less obvious than with other superheroes, even to her. There are still some problems, including her insistence that she is no one special and nothing much to look at (though she's evidently both). Still fun. Still silly. And better written.

[tracey welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book has been my favorite so far. I can identify with the main character so very much it was like she was writing my story. I so very much like the unique storyline Amy has created on the comic book superhero genre and would highly recommend these series to anyone looking for a fresh idea and a witty and clever series to read. well done!