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After Vertigo
In a flash, the world changed. A solar flare―later dubbed Vertigo―activated the DNA of more than half the world’s people, granting them special abilities. Brilliant scientist Benjamin Krane might be Powerless, but his inventions are the only thing giving the police a fighting chance against super-powered evil. Ben doesn’t have much of a life beyond work, and when he gets wind of a robbery one evening, he decides to test his newest invention personally…. A thief, rogue, and shameless flirt, Grey Miller―aka the Streak―likes shiny things, but he doesn’t hurt people. When Ben catches him―and proposes they team up against the real bad guys―Grey doesn’t know whether it’s the offer or the man he can’t resist. But one thing’s for sure―they’re an ideal match in more ways than one. With a psychotic supervillain’s catastrophic plan moving forward and everyone he cares about in danger, now might not be the best time for Ben to give in to Grey’s seduction, no matter how tempting. Grey is a man of secrets, and if Ben wants a future with him, he’ll have to learn to trust Grey―and himself.
200 pages, Paperback
First published December 10, 2019
12 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Meuwissen
57 books661 followersAmanda Meuwissen is a queer author with a primary focus on M/M fiction and romance. As the author of LGBTQ+ Fantasy #1 Best Seller, Coming Up for Air, LGBTQ+ Horror #1 Best Seller and #1 New Release, A Delicious Descent, and several other titles through various publishers, Amanda regularly attends local comic conventions for fun and to meet with fans, where she will often be seen in costume as one of her favorite fictional characters. She lives in Minnesota with her husband, John, and their cat, Helga.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
December 25, 2019
This superpowers story was fun, but at times required a *lot* of suspension of disbelief; however, I was thankfully able to not ask too many questions.
Meuwissen's "Coming Up for Air" merman story made my Top 10 Books of 2019 list, in large part due to the high levels of romance, feels, and action.
I this story, though, I felt that there was mostly just action, without much of the longing and soul-deep connection between the two would-be-heroes.
Yes, both Ben and Grey were extremely likeable MC's, and I enjoyed being on board while all of the fast-paced events played out, but Grey's flirtations toward Ben never made me feel like that they were anything less than inevitable. For an eventual quick and dirty hookup, sure. As forever-and-ever soulmates, ehhh.
The story had several revelations and plot twists along the way, including the true origin of Vertigo, and a bit of betrayal, which kept me entertained and boredom at bay.
But the romantic in me really wanted more pining over one another, which just didn't translate on page for me in this story, so I'd rate it at around 3.5 stars overall.
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My ARC copy of the book was provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair, unbiased review.
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December 13, 2019
OptimuMM - Home of MM Book Reviews
Guys, Ben is the cutest thing ever!
This is my very first read of the author, and I must be honest with you guys, I loved it. The dialogue, the book flow, everything. After this one, I’m sure as hell going to read more of Amanda’s books.
But back to this book.
Ben is your typically awkward geek genius. He has his own floor at the research lab,where he can work all by himself, well except his cat, on his gadgets.
After a solar flare, everyone calls Vertigo, half of the population turned Suppes or Enhanced, thanks to a DNA modification caused by the same flare. And as you can imagine, all hell breaks loose.
Ben is working to develop all kinds of tools to help contain the Suppes, who are rampaging the cities and it’s inhabitants. There are very dangerous criminals with powers out there, like Pulse, who’s ability is teleportation, and the life of the Powerless means absolutely nothing to him.
After a breakthrough of one of Ben’s experiments, he takes upon himself to test his new gadget in real life. That’s how he meets the Streak, one of the less dangerous Suppes. Streak is a famous thief, and no one can catch him because he’s faster than light. But Ben, thanks to an algorithm, is able to find him, even if just for one second, and he gets to try out his new invention on Streak. Needless to say, the gadget has no effect on him.
So now, the introverted shy as hell genius is facing one of the most wanted Suppes. But things turn out quite different than how Ben thought his life would end. During this very short but telling encounter, Ben had the chance to take a look at Streak’s face, helping to track Streak down, and he convinces the Suppe to partner up with him.
This book is very funny, a lot of puns from Grey’s aka Streak’s part that makes Ben frustrated or blush. You will love Grey, I promise you. He is funny, innuendoes are his mother tongue, and he flirts with every living thing on this planet.
I loved every single word of it, the only problem I had with this book is that I finished to soon and now I want more!
***The ARC was provided by Dreamspinner Press. My review is an honest opinion of the book ***
Guys, Ben is the cutest thing ever!
This is my very first read of the author, and I must be honest with you guys, I loved it. The dialogue, the book flow, everything. After this one, I’m sure as hell going to read more of Amanda’s books.
But back to this book.
Ben is your typically awkward geek genius. He has his own floor at the research lab,where he can work all by himself, well except his cat, on his gadgets.
After a solar flare, everyone calls Vertigo, half of the population turned Suppes or Enhanced, thanks to a DNA modification caused by the same flare. And as you can imagine, all hell breaks loose.
Ben is working to develop all kinds of tools to help contain the Suppes, who are rampaging the cities and it’s inhabitants. There are very dangerous criminals with powers out there, like Pulse, who’s ability is teleportation, and the life of the Powerless means absolutely nothing to him.
After a breakthrough of one of Ben’s experiments, he takes upon himself to test his new gadget in real life. That’s how he meets the Streak, one of the less dangerous Suppes. Streak is a famous thief, and no one can catch him because he’s faster than light. But Ben, thanks to an algorithm, is able to find him, even if just for one second, and he gets to try out his new invention on Streak. Needless to say, the gadget has no effect on him.
So now, the introverted shy as hell genius is facing one of the most wanted Suppes. But things turn out quite different than how Ben thought his life would end. During this very short but telling encounter, Ben had the chance to take a look at Streak’s face, helping to track Streak down, and he convinces the Suppe to partner up with him.
This book is very funny, a lot of puns from Grey’s aka Streak’s part that makes Ben frustrated or blush. You will love Grey, I promise you. He is funny, innuendoes are his mother tongue, and he flirts with every living thing on this planet.
I loved every single word of it, the only problem I had with this book is that I finished to soon and now I want more!
***The ARC was provided by Dreamspinner Press. My review is an honest opinion of the book ***
December 10, 2019
A Joyfully Jay review.
4 stars
After Vertigo offers an interesting twist on the superhero story, while providing a sweet romance between two compelling MCs. Ben and Grey are a rather charming couple and Grey’s shameless flirting makes him as charismatic as he is incorrigible. It would have nice to know a bit more about Grey’s past, just to give his character a more well-rounded history. They work well as a couple and their romance is endearing without being silly or feeling overly saccharine. The plot is fairly intriguing and there is “gotcha” moment that I thought was pretty obvious, but enjoyable despite that.
The only real issues with After Vertigo are in the writing and pacing. Now the writing isn’t bad, but there is chaos to the overall plot that the writing tends to magnify. It didn’t always read as clearly as it should and there were times I had to go back and re-read sections to make sense of what was happening. This doesn’t occur all the time, but it happens enough that it was noticeable. The pacing is also awkward. At times, it’s perfect and then at others it feels choppy and uneven. It actually seems smoother during the quiet troughs between the action sequences and that was unusual. Again, this doesn’t make After Vertigo unreadable by any stretch; instead, it just has a few quirks that caught my eye as a reader.
Read Sue’s review in its entirety here.
4 stars
After Vertigo offers an interesting twist on the superhero story, while providing a sweet romance between two compelling MCs. Ben and Grey are a rather charming couple and Grey’s shameless flirting makes him as charismatic as he is incorrigible. It would have nice to know a bit more about Grey’s past, just to give his character a more well-rounded history. They work well as a couple and their romance is endearing without being silly or feeling overly saccharine. The plot is fairly intriguing and there is “gotcha” moment that I thought was pretty obvious, but enjoyable despite that.
The only real issues with After Vertigo are in the writing and pacing. Now the writing isn’t bad, but there is chaos to the overall plot that the writing tends to magnify. It didn’t always read as clearly as it should and there were times I had to go back and re-read sections to make sense of what was happening. This doesn’t occur all the time, but it happens enough that it was noticeable. The pacing is also awkward. At times, it’s perfect and then at others it feels choppy and uneven. It actually seems smoother during the quiet troughs between the action sequences and that was unusual. Again, this doesn’t make After Vertigo unreadable by any stretch; instead, it just has a few quirks that caught my eye as a reader.
Read Sue’s review in its entirety here.
December 12, 2019
This was such a fun story. It’s another one I hope to see more of in the future. If not a full story, maybe a novella to see how the team duo is doing ;) . Of course, in any good book, you have to have a villain that is making things hard, but even the bad guys had character. It was just so fun. I had a blast reading this.
Ben is a super smart scientist. Ever since Vertigo, where people with latent powers, got a power boost, there’s been Supers and Enhanced all around the world, using their powers for evil. Or even just something simple as being a thief. When Ben tries out a new gadget he built to help stop these Supers, he ends up caught himself by one. For some reason it didn’t work on this guy. But Grey sees something in Ben that has him captivated and for some reason he can’t seem to tell Ben no….much. But he has no problem with flirting and exploiting that chemistry they have either. But Ben has asked Grey to help him stop these evil Supers, especially the ones who have no problem committing murder or other mayhem. But stopping these guys isn’t as easy as Ben thinks and they end up caught with no way out. Can Ben, who is Powerless, save the rest of them and the man he loves, or are they all going to die like the Supers plan?
Grey had me cracking up this whole book. He is utterly shameless. And has no problem whatsoever in shamelessly flirting with Ben to throw him off guard. It’s so adorable the way Ben gets all flustered and tongue tied. It cracks me up. But Grey is a character unto himself. He’s just a pistol. He’s snarky, fun, and a bit of thief lol. Ben is trying to change him, but, but…..shiny, right? Reminds me of the dog off Up, only instead of ‘squirrel’, it’s ‘shiny’. But what I love about Grey even more, is yes, he may be a bit of a thief, but he knows where to draw the line. He knows he may be wrong in what he’s doing, but thieving is the only thing he does. There are lines he won’t cross. And he wants to help Ben do the right thing. It’s admirable. Funny, but admirable. But what makes it even better, is even with him flustering Ben so bad, he brings Ben out of his shell. He makes Ben, not necessarily better, but more open. More at ease with some things. They really are perfect for each other and work quite well as a team.
I’m serious. This book is so good and I really want a follow up with these guys. They are just so much fun. Even in the bedroom, it’s all in fun. I loved it. Highly recommended.
http://lovebytesreviews.com/
Ben is a super smart scientist. Ever since Vertigo, where people with latent powers, got a power boost, there’s been Supers and Enhanced all around the world, using their powers for evil. Or even just something simple as being a thief. When Ben tries out a new gadget he built to help stop these Supers, he ends up caught himself by one. For some reason it didn’t work on this guy. But Grey sees something in Ben that has him captivated and for some reason he can’t seem to tell Ben no….much. But he has no problem with flirting and exploiting that chemistry they have either. But Ben has asked Grey to help him stop these evil Supers, especially the ones who have no problem committing murder or other mayhem. But stopping these guys isn’t as easy as Ben thinks and they end up caught with no way out. Can Ben, who is Powerless, save the rest of them and the man he loves, or are they all going to die like the Supers plan?
Grey had me cracking up this whole book. He is utterly shameless. And has no problem whatsoever in shamelessly flirting with Ben to throw him off guard. It’s so adorable the way Ben gets all flustered and tongue tied. It cracks me up. But Grey is a character unto himself. He’s just a pistol. He’s snarky, fun, and a bit of thief lol. Ben is trying to change him, but, but…..shiny, right? Reminds me of the dog off Up, only instead of ‘squirrel’, it’s ‘shiny’. But what I love about Grey even more, is yes, he may be a bit of a thief, but he knows where to draw the line. He knows he may be wrong in what he’s doing, but thieving is the only thing he does. There are lines he won’t cross. And he wants to help Ben do the right thing. It’s admirable. Funny, but admirable. But what makes it even better, is even with him flustering Ben so bad, he brings Ben out of his shell. He makes Ben, not necessarily better, but more open. More at ease with some things. They really are perfect for each other and work quite well as a team.
I’m serious. This book is so good and I really want a follow up with these guys. They are just so much fun. Even in the bedroom, it’s all in fun. I loved it. Highly recommended.
http://lovebytesreviews.com/
February 23, 2025
After Vertigo by Amanda Meuwissen is a re-release of a book that was previously published. I had not read it previously, but once I started I could not put this one down. I was intrigued by the premise and the idea of supers, enhanced, and powerless. I absolutely adored Ben and loved watching his get closer to Grey. I would have loved to have seen the romance between these two a little bit more. I think it was overshadowed by the plot of Pulse and his band of supervillains. I am intrigued by Pulse (and his love whom I will not mention by name due to spoilers). I would love to see a redemption story of him. Plus, his love deserves to be wooed back due to what he went through. I really did enjoy this one.
I received an ARC from the author for my honest review
I received an ARC from the author for my honest review
February 28, 2020
I enjoyed this superhero romp. I liked both Ben and Grey and thought they worked well together. Though it was similar to SteelHeart by Brandon Sanderson, with supers being evil and an event causing mutations, it was sufficiently different to not be a rehash.
July 10, 2020
ben is an adorable geek.. this was fun.. it was cute and interesting.. i enjoyed the enhanced... and streak is a lot of fun. this was a lot like reading a superhero type of story.. it was fun and fast paced. i liked it
December 8, 2019
More accurately, it's 3.2 stars.
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
This review has been originally posted at Gay Book Reviews - check it out!
Without the question “What if”, I guess there wouldn’t be any poetry nor any fiction. “What if” is often the very starting point of a novel; it’s its axiom, the very essence of fiction writing, one could say. And of course, the further this question, “What if”, takes us, the more liberty an author has to show us things we haven’t yet seen, or to show them in a way we haven’t as of yet experienced. And the stronger their responsability becomes to make us believe in their “What if”, for otherwise, the book is unsatisfactory. As an introductory note, this means there’s no such thing as a stupid or wrong plot. Everything depends on how it is carried out.
Amanda Meuwissen sure has a fertile imagination, which is a very good point for a writer. In this novel, she invents a world—our world—right after a natural disaster, a major solar flare as it were. The powerful eruption of particles has swept over good old Mother Earth and transformed some of her denizens (roughly half of them) into physically enhanced persons. The new powers derived from DNA-alterations have even made some of them into “Supers”; there are those who can command whirlwinds, those who can manipulate technological appliances from a distance, those who can create interdimensional portals, those who can hear whisperings from a distance, those who can pass nigh undetected without becoming invisible, and so on. The main power of the solar flare has hit the little town of Fairview City, USA; therefore, the local Supers are more powerful than anywhere else, and the police force have plenty to do in order to control them. Because, yes, when you realize you have more power, that can make you reckless, and you become a vilain and a criminal. So, the death and crime rate is soaring, and some voices ask for Supers and Enhanced to be registered.
Amongst the Supers, there’s the Streak. He moves so quickly that all you can see is a stripe of electricity. He uses his Power to commit sensational burglaries, but always without any casualties. He’s odd like that, the Streak. He likes all things shiny, he likes dosh, but he hates for people to be hurt. A Good Delinquent, you could say. On the opposite site of the law, we have Benjamin Krane, a quite sociopathic tech nerd who’s working for a local High-Tech Lab, developing anti-Super contraptions like the newly issued cufflinks the police use to capture Supers (it takes off their super-power). His latest invention is a highly concentrated anti-super gun which strips Supers of their powers for ten minutes, thus giving the police force the time to show up with their… guessed it, anti-Super cufflinks. Very surprisingly, despite his secluded life-style and his hostile attitude towards public visibility, Ben tries to play vigilante with his brand-new gun. He almost captures the Streak (aka Grey Miller) in the process and succeeds in forcing him to collaborate in order to neutralize the nastiest amongst the vilains. Of course, Ben slowly falls for Grey, and Grey insta-falls for Ben. None too early because they discover a terrible Super-conspiracy that threatens half of humanity…
Well, plot-wise, I’ve already read story-lines that were even more far-fetched than a solar flare and guys with enhanced powers. The whole Marvel Comics universe is based upon something quite similar, after all (although I guess you could spend centuries looking for gays in that universe without ever finding a single one), and it was/still is very successful. But. Alas, things don’t turn out right for me, in this book, which is only a partial success. You see, if you invent a disaster, say, or a fictional world, you need to make sure you keep up a certain level of consistency, authenticity, credibility throughout the novel, as I mentioned at the very beginning of this review. And that is not the case in “After Vertigo”. Many of the ramifications of the initial starting point seem to have been thought through only halfways.
To start with, things are too black and white for my taste, too simplistic. All the Supers with very few exceptions are vilains. The Lab Benjamin’s working for is too good to be true, with a hitherto unheard-of internal and commercial policy that makes it look more like an NGO than a business venture. Another inconsistency: if the Supers of a small town were more powerful than anywhere else, why the heck would they stay there and not move on to, I don’t know, NYC, Washington, LA, SF, you name it? We get it that their main goal is to wreak havoc, and we learn that their ultimate goal is even to rid the earth of any non-enhanced person, so… they all remain based in Fairview City? Seriously? The explanation of the Streak’s particularity didn’t strike me as very convincing either. Too sudden, to out-of-the-blue, to… easy. Add the inconsistencies in Benjamin’s behaviour, the insta-love trope I always find wanting, and the charicatural, two-dimensional treatment of most secondary characters (Benjamin’s mother and sister amongst them), and you’ll guess I am no big fan of this book. Contrivedly carried-out plot, improbable twists and turns—fortunately, there’s the character of the Streak aka Grey, whom I found very endearing, despite the secret we discover halfway through the book, very tongue-in-cheek, very funny and caring and tender. I guess that simply proves my above-mentioned points: the character who’s the least likely to exist in real life… turns out to be the most realistic one in this book. A book that, I’m sorry to say it, didn’t drawn me in 100%.
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
This review has been originally posted at Gay Book Reviews - check it out!
Without the question “What if”, I guess there wouldn’t be any poetry nor any fiction. “What if” is often the very starting point of a novel; it’s its axiom, the very essence of fiction writing, one could say. And of course, the further this question, “What if”, takes us, the more liberty an author has to show us things we haven’t yet seen, or to show them in a way we haven’t as of yet experienced. And the stronger their responsability becomes to make us believe in their “What if”, for otherwise, the book is unsatisfactory. As an introductory note, this means there’s no such thing as a stupid or wrong plot. Everything depends on how it is carried out.
Amanda Meuwissen sure has a fertile imagination, which is a very good point for a writer. In this novel, she invents a world—our world—right after a natural disaster, a major solar flare as it were. The powerful eruption of particles has swept over good old Mother Earth and transformed some of her denizens (roughly half of them) into physically enhanced persons. The new powers derived from DNA-alterations have even made some of them into “Supers”; there are those who can command whirlwinds, those who can manipulate technological appliances from a distance, those who can create interdimensional portals, those who can hear whisperings from a distance, those who can pass nigh undetected without becoming invisible, and so on. The main power of the solar flare has hit the little town of Fairview City, USA; therefore, the local Supers are more powerful than anywhere else, and the police force have plenty to do in order to control them. Because, yes, when you realize you have more power, that can make you reckless, and you become a vilain and a criminal. So, the death and crime rate is soaring, and some voices ask for Supers and Enhanced to be registered.
Amongst the Supers, there’s the Streak. He moves so quickly that all you can see is a stripe of electricity. He uses his Power to commit sensational burglaries, but always without any casualties. He’s odd like that, the Streak. He likes all things shiny, he likes dosh, but he hates for people to be hurt. A Good Delinquent, you could say. On the opposite site of the law, we have Benjamin Krane, a quite sociopathic tech nerd who’s working for a local High-Tech Lab, developing anti-Super contraptions like the newly issued cufflinks the police use to capture Supers (it takes off their super-power). His latest invention is a highly concentrated anti-super gun which strips Supers of their powers for ten minutes, thus giving the police force the time to show up with their… guessed it, anti-Super cufflinks. Very surprisingly, despite his secluded life-style and his hostile attitude towards public visibility, Ben tries to play vigilante with his brand-new gun. He almost captures the Streak (aka Grey Miller) in the process and succeeds in forcing him to collaborate in order to neutralize the nastiest amongst the vilains. Of course, Ben slowly falls for Grey, and Grey insta-falls for Ben. None too early because they discover a terrible Super-conspiracy that threatens half of humanity…
Well, plot-wise, I’ve already read story-lines that were even more far-fetched than a solar flare and guys with enhanced powers. The whole Marvel Comics universe is based upon something quite similar, after all (although I guess you could spend centuries looking for gays in that universe without ever finding a single one), and it was/still is very successful. But. Alas, things don’t turn out right for me, in this book, which is only a partial success. You see, if you invent a disaster, say, or a fictional world, you need to make sure you keep up a certain level of consistency, authenticity, credibility throughout the novel, as I mentioned at the very beginning of this review. And that is not the case in “After Vertigo”. Many of the ramifications of the initial starting point seem to have been thought through only halfways.
To start with, things are too black and white for my taste, too simplistic. All the Supers with very few exceptions are vilains. The Lab Benjamin’s working for is too good to be true, with a hitherto unheard-of internal and commercial policy that makes it look more like an NGO than a business venture. Another inconsistency: if the Supers of a small town were more powerful than anywhere else, why the heck would they stay there and not move on to, I don’t know, NYC, Washington, LA, SF, you name it? We get it that their main goal is to wreak havoc, and we learn that their ultimate goal is even to rid the earth of any non-enhanced person, so… they all remain based in Fairview City? Seriously? The explanation of the Streak’s particularity didn’t strike me as very convincing either. Too sudden, to out-of-the-blue, to… easy. Add the inconsistencies in Benjamin’s behaviour, the insta-love trope I always find wanting, and the charicatural, two-dimensional treatment of most secondary characters (Benjamin’s mother and sister amongst them), and you’ll guess I am no big fan of this book. Contrivedly carried-out plot, improbable twists and turns—fortunately, there’s the character of the Streak aka Grey, whom I found very endearing, despite the secret we discover halfway through the book, very tongue-in-cheek, very funny and caring and tender. I guess that simply proves my above-mentioned points: the character who’s the least likely to exist in real life… turns out to be the most realistic one in this book. A book that, I’m sorry to say it, didn’t drawn me in 100%.
February 28, 2025
After Vertigo by Amanda Meuwissen
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars
😏 Adult MM Sci-Fi Romance 🚀🪐
📖 Fantasy Contemporary
🦸♂️ Sweet & Captivating Superhero Story
👉 One POV Third-Person Narrative
🤓 Geeky Sweet Human x 😏 Cocky Flirt 'Supe'
🧠 Adorable Genius Scientist x 🏃🏼 Sassy Thief w/ Superspeed
👌Enemies To Lovers
🧲 Two Opposites Drawn Together by an Unbreakable Pull 💥
💘 Insta-Love
🌞 Sunshine & Extrovert x Shy & 😳 A Blusher🌡
👉 First Times (Losing the V-Card 🍒)
😏 Age-gap
🌶 Slow-Burn
MC's:
👉🤓🥼🔬⚗️🧪🔫 Benjamin 'Ben' Krane aka Mr. Cold: Cis Man & Gay (he/him) & Powerless
✨️ Benji (only for family or for the sassy, teasing Grey) is a 40yo virgin and an introverted genius scientist who loves reading spicy romance. His roommate, Gideon, is a possessive and bossy female cat. 🐈⬛ I love Ben’s monologues and Gideon’s reactions to them. 😻
✨️ At 40 he has graying short hair, wears glasses, and has medium-dark skin, and yes, he is a virgin, because his anxiety over human contact doesn't gives him confidence and he was terrible at it. "Fantasy men were easier."
✨️He is one of the Powerless people, but that doesn’t stop him from fighting back against crime. He works at Mohs Labs and there he creates tech to help the police handle with these new recent threats.
✨️ One night, he sees the opportunity of testing one of his latest inventions, when he crosses paths with Streak, a thief, instead of turning him in, Ben sees an opportunity... 🤔 what if Streak used his powers to help fight dangerous criminals?
👉🦸🏼♂️💍💎 Grey Miller aka The Streak: Super
✨️ 😏 Grey is a cocky flirt with a mysterious past. At 26, he has strawberry-blond hair, fair skin, dimples hidden beneath his neatly trimmed beard, and honey-colored eyes, model-perfect features (for Ben). He loves shiny things... 🤭, like him... pure sunshine.
✨️ He’s a thief who works alone, bending the law with his superspeed but never crossing dangerous lines. When he crosses paths with Ben, he sees something in him that keeps him intrigued...
⚠️ Low Angst
👉 No Cheating Happens
👉 Some Descriptions Of Meals
⚠️ Physical Violence & Blood Scenes
⚠️ Brief Mention of Death of Parents (Past)
💫 Found Family
👏 Solid Character Development
💯 Best Side Characters
👉 Standalone (I want more... pleeease!!🙏)
😍 Love The Ending
😍 HEA
Cover: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars
💡 The world-building is vibrant and imaginative. This sci-fi romance has lovable characters, a fascinating world, and a story that perfectly balances humor, heartfelt moments, and action.
It’s fast-paced and full of witty banter.
💥🧬 It all started six months ago with a massive solar flare (called Vertigo) hit the Fairview City, USA... that changed everything.
It activated dormant DNA in third of the world’s population, giving them superpowers, 'Supers' and some of them, giving them a small power or abilities called 'Enhanced'... some used them for good, others for chaos.
🤌 Ben is awkward and brilliant, while Grey is all charm and mischief.
But together, they just work perfectly!
The two team up, balancing brains and speed, sarcasm and stubbornness, as they take on a rising supervillain.
🥵 This story is a slow burn, with intimate scenes only happening near the end. They were passionate yet tender, blending intensity with a deep sense of care... the perfect moment for both of them.
I normally love a story with more spicy moments, but this one was perfect as it was because Grey's banter throughout was just right.
▪︎FAV QUOTES▪︎
✅️ I highly recommend this book. It's a beautifully well written Superheroes x Supervillain story
👍I'm definitely going to read this again
💯 I’d love more stories in this world... so many amazing characters I’d love to follow! I think it’s pure torture
😉 Thanks for reading hope this helps you out!
I received this book as a gift from the author and am voluntarily leaving this review.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars
😏 Adult MM Sci-Fi Romance 🚀🪐
📖 Fantasy Contemporary
🦸♂️ Sweet & Captivating Superhero Story
👉 One POV Third-Person Narrative
🤓 Geeky Sweet Human x 😏 Cocky Flirt 'Supe'
🧠 Adorable Genius Scientist x 🏃🏼 Sassy Thief w/ Superspeed
👌Enemies To Lovers
🧲 Two Opposites Drawn Together by an Unbreakable Pull 💥
💘 Insta-Love
🌞 Sunshine & Extrovert x Shy & 😳 A Blusher🌡
👉 First Times (Losing the V-Card 🍒)
😏 Age-gap
🌶 Slow-Burn
MC's:
👉🤓🥼🔬⚗️🧪🔫 Benjamin 'Ben' Krane aka Mr. Cold: Cis Man & Gay (he/him) & Powerless
✨️ Benji (only for family or for the sassy, teasing Grey) is a 40yo virgin and an introverted genius scientist who loves reading spicy romance. His roommate, Gideon, is a possessive and bossy female cat. 🐈⬛ I love Ben’s monologues and Gideon’s reactions to them. 😻
✨️ At 40 he has graying short hair, wears glasses, and has medium-dark skin, and yes, he is a virgin, because his anxiety over human contact doesn't gives him confidence and he was terrible at it. "Fantasy men were easier."
✨️He is one of the Powerless people, but that doesn’t stop him from fighting back against crime. He works at Mohs Labs and there he creates tech to help the police handle with these new recent threats.
✨️ One night, he sees the opportunity of testing one of his latest inventions, when he crosses paths with Streak, a thief, instead of turning him in, Ben sees an opportunity... 🤔 what if Streak used his powers to help fight dangerous criminals?
👉🦸🏼♂️💍💎 Grey Miller aka The Streak: Super
✨️ 😏 Grey is a cocky flirt with a mysterious past. At 26, he has strawberry-blond hair, fair skin, dimples hidden beneath his neatly trimmed beard, and honey-colored eyes, model-perfect features (for Ben). He loves shiny things... 🤭, like him... pure sunshine.
✨️ He’s a thief who works alone, bending the law with his superspeed but never crossing dangerous lines. When he crosses paths with Ben, he sees something in him that keeps him intrigued...
⚠️ Low Angst
👉 No Cheating Happens
👉 Some Descriptions Of Meals
⚠️ Physical Violence & Blood Scenes
⚠️ Brief Mention of Death of Parents (Past)
💫 Found Family
👏 Solid Character Development
💯 Best Side Characters
👉 Standalone (I want more... pleeease!!🙏)
😍 Love The Ending
😍 HEA
Cover: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars
💡 The world-building is vibrant and imaginative. This sci-fi romance has lovable characters, a fascinating world, and a story that perfectly balances humor, heartfelt moments, and action.
It’s fast-paced and full of witty banter.
💥🧬 It all started six months ago with a massive solar flare (called Vertigo) hit the Fairview City, USA... that changed everything.
It activated dormant DNA in third of the world’s population, giving them superpowers, 'Supers' and some of them, giving them a small power or abilities called 'Enhanced'... some used them for good, others for chaos.
🤌 Ben is awkward and brilliant, while Grey is all charm and mischief.
But together, they just work perfectly!
The two team up, balancing brains and speed, sarcasm and stubbornness, as they take on a rising supervillain.
🥵 This story is a slow burn, with intimate scenes only happening near the end. They were passionate yet tender, blending intensity with a deep sense of care... the perfect moment for both of them.
I normally love a story with more spicy moments, but this one was perfect as it was because Grey's banter throughout was just right.
▪︎FAV QUOTES▪︎
■ 😘 "...So, if I say yes”—he leaned closer, almost nose to nose with Ben—“what else is in it for me? Do I get a kiss to seal the deal?”
“I-I-I beg your pardon?” Ben felt his face heat up hotter, certain he had to be as red as the Streak’s shirt. 😳
■ Ben squirmed to get away from him.
“Benji….”
“Is that all I am to you?” Ben threw back. “A waste of time if you don’t get me into bed?”
What remained of Grey’s bravado crumbled, and he backed off to give Ben space. “That’s not what I meant. I’m not good at this, and trusting people has never worked in my favor. It’s easier to take what I can get. But that isn’t what I want for us. If you need to go slow, I can do that. I’ve just been anxious because I’m afraid… that once you know everything, you won’t want me anymore.”
“Grey…,” Ben said softly. “Don’t I get to decide that?”
The tension that had grown between them fizzled when Grey smiled. He really did look young when he dropped his masks. “I’ll return the necklace.”
“And?”
“And try to be better. I’m sorry. I like pretty, shiny things.” He lifted a hand to ghost his knuckles across Ben’s cheek. “Sometimes I can’t help myself.” 🥰🤭
✅️ I highly recommend this book. It's a beautifully well written Superheroes x Supervillain story
👍I'm definitely going to read this again
💯 I’d love more stories in this world... so many amazing characters I’d love to follow! I think it’s pure torture
😉 Thanks for reading hope this helps you out!
I received this book as a gift from the author and am voluntarily leaving this review.
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December 15, 2019
This is an interesting story because it doesn’t quite fit into the category it at first seems to be. The style of writing, the subject matter and the characters all suggest that this is a young adult story. It is not promoted as such and certainly the closing scenes are sufficiently explicit to question this. Nevertheless, the language used is simple and approachable with a plot that is full of activity. Written in the third person it largely describes the story from the point of view of the lead character. Characterisation is fine, with clear delineation of roles and backgrounds. Whilst there are areas of interest about each of the lead roles, each is described quite lightly and it is quite difficult to feel anything for the characters.
The concept of super heroes amongst us is not a new one, but how this situation comes to be is. As the story unfolds, this backstory becomes more relevant and adds some interesting opportunities for plot development. The focus of the story is on a single city but there is reference to this phenomenon being world wide, but always coming back to this location as leading the way. It would have been better had more been made of this as for much of the book it always feels as though this location was chosen merely as a relevant instance of the phenomenon. The super powers are consistently presented as something to be misused and it is unclear why this is the case, which makes the story quite one-sided.
Given the lightness of the writing, it does not bear a lot of digging into it. The story should be taken at face value if it is to work for the reader. This approach reinforces the young adult fantasy feel of the book.
The relationship between the two central characters is largely consistent throughout and there is no real growth on one side is a weakly developed fear of social situations and on the other is seemingly infinite patience and tolerance with flirtation thrown in to spice things up. When the change occurs it is not subtle. The fact that this is then tied in to the big reveal of the story should have made it far more than it was. The sex is described at length and with some accuracy, but without any real investment in the characters, it is somewhat lacking.
The plot as a whole benefits from a number of little twists throughout where unknowns are revealed and this throws the story in a different direction. These drive the story forward along with action points that are well structured but lack much tension. Risks are faced throughout by the lead character, these affect the safety of himself and others. It is unclear how such a social isolate can do this, but once again it begs a question that shouldn’t really be asked.
The story ties up neatly in the end and the obvious themes are resolved to allow for a happily ever after. This ending does allow the author to take the characters forward into a different adventure, but there are no clear cliffhangers or leads, so this may well be a stand-alone story.
This review is also posted at Gay Book Reviews
The concept of super heroes amongst us is not a new one, but how this situation comes to be is. As the story unfolds, this backstory becomes more relevant and adds some interesting opportunities for plot development. The focus of the story is on a single city but there is reference to this phenomenon being world wide, but always coming back to this location as leading the way. It would have been better had more been made of this as for much of the book it always feels as though this location was chosen merely as a relevant instance of the phenomenon. The super powers are consistently presented as something to be misused and it is unclear why this is the case, which makes the story quite one-sided.
Given the lightness of the writing, it does not bear a lot of digging into it. The story should be taken at face value if it is to work for the reader. This approach reinforces the young adult fantasy feel of the book.
The relationship between the two central characters is largely consistent throughout and there is no real growth on one side is a weakly developed fear of social situations and on the other is seemingly infinite patience and tolerance with flirtation thrown in to spice things up. When the change occurs it is not subtle. The fact that this is then tied in to the big reveal of the story should have made it far more than it was. The sex is described at length and with some accuracy, but without any real investment in the characters, it is somewhat lacking.
The plot as a whole benefits from a number of little twists throughout where unknowns are revealed and this throws the story in a different direction. These drive the story forward along with action points that are well structured but lack much tension. Risks are faced throughout by the lead character, these affect the safety of himself and others. It is unclear how such a social isolate can do this, but once again it begs a question that shouldn’t really be asked.
The story ties up neatly in the end and the obvious themes are resolved to allow for a happily ever after. This ending does allow the author to take the characters forward into a different adventure, but there are no clear cliffhangers or leads, so this may well be a stand-alone story.
This review is also posted at Gay Book Reviews
July 24, 2020
Who doesn’t enjoy a good superhero story? After Vertigo has all of the components a fun and interesting tale of superhero ass-kickery needs. There’s Ben, a brilliant nerdy scientist who wants to use his skills and knowledge to stop the supes causing chaos. Then there’s Grey, a super with sticky fingers who falls for the adorable nerd trying to save the world. Lastly, there are the supes that just want to use their powers for death and destruction. Put all of those things together as we have a great little story of good and evil, right and wrong.
Ben is just the sweetest little nerd. I tend to find nerdy characters pretty freakin’ adorable. Perhaps it’s because big beautiful brains are so sexy? Either way, it was sweet seeing Ben open up as a person under the watchful eye of Grey. They ‘re a charming couple trying to do their best for each other while battling against forces that promise to break them. And Grey? That guy’s a shameless fella who likes to push Ben’s limits. Making his nerdy partner squirm seems to be one of his favorite pastimes. Together they make an interesting, sweet pair.
There were moments I had to set aside logical reasoning to enjoy certain things, as one must do for most books that push the limits of plausibility. But, those moments didn’t ruin the story at all. If you’re really a fan of reading fictitious novels I think you should be prepared for the unbelievable. I don’t see how someone can go into a book about unrealistic topics with a critical outcome concerning the context of said book.
Overall I thought this was an interesting little story about good versus evil. It’s a great story about two people finding love while taking names and kicking asses. If that sounds like something you’re into, definitely give this book a go!
Ben is just the sweetest little nerd. I tend to find nerdy characters pretty freakin’ adorable. Perhaps it’s because big beautiful brains are so sexy? Either way, it was sweet seeing Ben open up as a person under the watchful eye of Grey. They ‘re a charming couple trying to do their best for each other while battling against forces that promise to break them. And Grey? That guy’s a shameless fella who likes to push Ben’s limits. Making his nerdy partner squirm seems to be one of his favorite pastimes. Together they make an interesting, sweet pair.
There were moments I had to set aside logical reasoning to enjoy certain things, as one must do for most books that push the limits of plausibility. But, those moments didn’t ruin the story at all. If you’re really a fan of reading fictitious novels I think you should be prepared for the unbelievable. I don’t see how someone can go into a book about unrealistic topics with a critical outcome concerning the context of said book.
Overall I thought this was an interesting little story about good versus evil. It’s a great story about two people finding love while taking names and kicking asses. If that sounds like something you’re into, definitely give this book a go!
July 15, 2020
*I received a copy of this novel for free in exchange for an honest review*
When a freak event alters the DNA of over half of the world’s population, the police find themselves in danger of becoming overwhelmed against those with their newfound abilities and bad intentions. Scientist Benjamin Krane creates inventions to combat these powers. When he decides one night to test out a new invention in person, he finds himself teaming up with a super, despite having no powers himself. However his unexpected teammate Grey Miller – the Streak – seems more interested in flirting with Ben than saving the day. Yet when a supervillain emerges, Ben and Grey must learn to trust each other if they want to thwart the villain’s evil plan.
This a really fun and fast-paced superhero novel. The two main characters, Ben and Grey, are very likeable and intriguing in their own ways. Ben is extremely intelligent, but he struggles to make connections with people and before meeting Grey he kept mainly to himself. Grey is self-assured and extremely outgoing, however he has his secrets. The two of them are complete opposites, but this is why they work so well together. Each personality complements the other.
The writing itself is great. Everything flows well and I love Grey’s wit and sense of humour, even if Ben sometimes doesn’t appreciate it! The pace is quick enough to keep the story moving, but not at all rushed. It’s extremely clever how seemingly insignificant events feed into the plot and contribute to it until it all fits together at the end. The final confrontation is on the edge-of-your-seat stuff and it had me guessing right up until the last second!
When a freak event alters the DNA of over half of the world’s population, the police find themselves in danger of becoming overwhelmed against those with their newfound abilities and bad intentions. Scientist Benjamin Krane creates inventions to combat these powers. When he decides one night to test out a new invention in person, he finds himself teaming up with a super, despite having no powers himself. However his unexpected teammate Grey Miller – the Streak – seems more interested in flirting with Ben than saving the day. Yet when a supervillain emerges, Ben and Grey must learn to trust each other if they want to thwart the villain’s evil plan.
This a really fun and fast-paced superhero novel. The two main characters, Ben and Grey, are very likeable and intriguing in their own ways. Ben is extremely intelligent, but he struggles to make connections with people and before meeting Grey he kept mainly to himself. Grey is self-assured and extremely outgoing, however he has his secrets. The two of them are complete opposites, but this is why they work so well together. Each personality complements the other.
The writing itself is great. Everything flows well and I love Grey’s wit and sense of humour, even if Ben sometimes doesn’t appreciate it! The pace is quick enough to keep the story moving, but not at all rushed. It’s extremely clever how seemingly insignificant events feed into the plot and contribute to it until it all fits together at the end. The final confrontation is on the edge-of-your-seat stuff and it had me guessing right up until the last second!
July 30, 2020
It’s great! Superhero versus supervillain, but hotter. Poor Ben, with his social anxiety problem, runs into the extrovert on steroids that is Grey. Completely diametrically opposed, but they’re just so cute together! Grey is SUCH a smart ass. Ben blushes too easily. They’re perfect for each other.
The origin story in this one is an interesting twist. I love my superheroes, but I’ve never run into this one before. But it’s classic at the same time- the bad guys are really bad and the good guys are outnumbered. Until they aren’t!
This is a fun one. Read it!
The origin story in this one is an interesting twist. I love my superheroes, but I’ve never run into this one before. But it’s classic at the same time- the bad guys are really bad and the good guys are outnumbered. Until they aren’t!
This is a fun one. Read it!
August 23, 2020
When a solar flare called Vertigo hits it changes the world as we know it. Half the world now has enhanced powers. Ben is a scientist, extremely brilliant. His work has helped the police to have a fighting chance. Grey is a thief and shameless flirt. They team up against the bad guys. I loved this story line so much!! The futuristic setting was awesome, and Ben was cute!! I am voluntarily leaving a review form an ARC that I received. My reviews are solely based on my thoughts and opinions.
January 15, 2025
Fun MM
When Vertigo hit earth turning some humans into supers and making others enhanced . Some turned to crime so Ben who works for Mohs labs decided to make a weapon to freeze their powers long enough to get the dampening cuffs on. When things go wrong with his first test letting the supers escape he sets out to identify said super. I enjoyed it and liked the banter between Ben and Gray also the twist about who Gray really was was great.
When Vertigo hit earth turning some humans into supers and making others enhanced . Some turned to crime so Ben who works for Mohs labs decided to make a weapon to freeze their powers long enough to get the dampening cuffs on. When things go wrong with his first test letting the supers escape he sets out to identify said super. I enjoyed it and liked the banter between Ben and Gray also the twist about who Gray really was was great.
September 12, 2020
After Vertigo isn't your typical superhero story. Ben is so sweet and geeky, a perfect balance to Grey's outgoing and sometimes cheeky personality. You'll get wrapped up in their story as they try to stop a supervillain together, while Grey draws Ben out of his shell a little. A great if at times sci-fi tale with a little romance thrown in that you won't want to stop reading.
June 28, 2020
Exciting! A thrilling tale full of superheroes, suspense and sweet romance. I really enjoyed the characters they were fun to read. The story made me laugh and was hard to put down from the first page. I recommended this thrilling fun ride!
January 9, 2025
After Vertigo is the story of Ben a brilliant scientist and Grey aka the Streak. I loved Ben so much as he is just the sweetest geek ever. This book has plenty of action and some great plot twists. There could have been a bit more romance in the story. I also loved the humor in the story as Grey uses puns that make Ben blush. I loved the characters and world building that went into this book. I would definitely recommend this book.
Read
January 12, 2020Honestly, this is my favorite book by Amanda Meuwissen so far. Grey and Ben were so adorable. Their chemistry was LIGHTNING. The twist about Grey was unexpected. The angst was so glorious and well set up. I loved it.
August 2, 2021
4.25*
I want to have more adventures with this pair! This book is a fun romp, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
I want to have more adventures with this pair! This book is a fun romp, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
March 18, 2025
Superhero action and a hint of spice
It was my first superhero romance and it kept me engaged and interested! Ben and Grey have a great banter and flirty like nature. Really enjoyed this one and recommend it.
It was my first superhero romance and it kept me engaged and interested! Ben and Grey have a great banter and flirty like nature. Really enjoyed this one and recommend it.
January 6, 2020
Ulysses Dietz Member of The Paranormal Guild Review Team
It took me a minute to get caught up in Amanda Meuwissen’s narrative for After Vertigo – jumping off the premise of a massive solar flare triggering DNA markers all over the world and giving a chunk of the global population special powers – some merely enhanced, some super. The obviously parallel with the X-Men hovered always in the back of my mind, which is too bad, since Meuwissen manages to craft something fresh – and gay – out of this popular comic-book mythology.
We have a forty-year-old virgin, the brilliant but socially inept Benjamin Krane, who has become a sort of local savior in terms of finding technology to combat those endowed with new powers who choose to use them for evil. One of the clever twists in Meuwissen’s story arc is that the gift of super abilities seems to tip people toward the dark side – magnifying whatever sense of inferiority or being unappreciated by the world into a desire for dominance and revenge. Dr. Krane’s genius is turned toward mediating these newly- acquired powers, and also trying to find a way to incentivize being a good guy.
To do this, Krane needs to confront and trap a relatively harmless super known only as Streak – whose lighting-fast speed (shades of the Flash) allows him to enter anyplace and steal anything. Unlike some of the more sinister supers, Streak only steals, never harms.
So, for all the familiar tropes of other super-hero-sci-fi stories, After Vertigo manages to tell a new tale, all the while giving readers the m/m romance they are looking for (and something mainstream sci-fi is really loathe to commit to, despite all the press that the slightest LGBT hint gets in the Internet). Streak, whose name turns out to be Grey, is instantly fascinated by Ben, because he has never seen someone who actually cares about other people more than about himself in the way Ben does. The development of this relationship is the strongest part of the story. I was less convinced by the stories of the other supers, the bad guys, since only one of them really gets any development so that we understand motivation. There was also a thread of forgiveness – finding the good in someone who does evil things – that I found very difficult to swallow. There is a moral difference between theft and murder that cannot be spackled over with platitudes.
Overall, however, Ben Krane and his motley family won the day for me. The one odd detail on which the author insists is Ben’s fascination with M/F romance novels, putting himself in the role of the female. This is not incidental, but a strong plot thread, and served only to remind me that Amanda Meuwissen, for all her talent, is a straight woman writing romances for other straight women. As a gay man, this kept reminding me that I’m on the outside looking in on other people’s romantic fantasies, even though the book is supposedly about me and my kind.
It took me a minute to get caught up in Amanda Meuwissen’s narrative for After Vertigo – jumping off the premise of a massive solar flare triggering DNA markers all over the world and giving a chunk of the global population special powers – some merely enhanced, some super. The obviously parallel with the X-Men hovered always in the back of my mind, which is too bad, since Meuwissen manages to craft something fresh – and gay – out of this popular comic-book mythology.
We have a forty-year-old virgin, the brilliant but socially inept Benjamin Krane, who has become a sort of local savior in terms of finding technology to combat those endowed with new powers who choose to use them for evil. One of the clever twists in Meuwissen’s story arc is that the gift of super abilities seems to tip people toward the dark side – magnifying whatever sense of inferiority or being unappreciated by the world into a desire for dominance and revenge. Dr. Krane’s genius is turned toward mediating these newly- acquired powers, and also trying to find a way to incentivize being a good guy.
To do this, Krane needs to confront and trap a relatively harmless super known only as Streak – whose lighting-fast speed (shades of the Flash) allows him to enter anyplace and steal anything. Unlike some of the more sinister supers, Streak only steals, never harms.
So, for all the familiar tropes of other super-hero-sci-fi stories, After Vertigo manages to tell a new tale, all the while giving readers the m/m romance they are looking for (and something mainstream sci-fi is really loathe to commit to, despite all the press that the slightest LGBT hint gets in the Internet). Streak, whose name turns out to be Grey, is instantly fascinated by Ben, because he has never seen someone who actually cares about other people more than about himself in the way Ben does. The development of this relationship is the strongest part of the story. I was less convinced by the stories of the other supers, the bad guys, since only one of them really gets any development so that we understand motivation. There was also a thread of forgiveness – finding the good in someone who does evil things – that I found very difficult to swallow. There is a moral difference between theft and murder that cannot be spackled over with platitudes.
Overall, however, Ben Krane and his motley family won the day for me. The one odd detail on which the author insists is Ben’s fascination with M/F romance novels, putting himself in the role of the female. This is not incidental, but a strong plot thread, and served only to remind me that Amanda Meuwissen, for all her talent, is a straight woman writing romances for other straight women. As a gay man, this kept reminding me that I’m on the outside looking in on other people’s romantic fantasies, even though the book is supposedly about me and my kind.
October 3, 2021
Six months ago, the phenomenon the press has dubbed “Vertigo” swept Earth. Two-thirds of the human population were apparently unaffected, and have become the Powerless. The vast majority of the remainder became Enhanced, gifted with small abilities like being able to regulate their own body temperature. But a small percentage gained far greater abilities. They became Supers, which might have been okay, except that each and every known Super in Fairview City chose to use their powers for crime.
Dr. Benjamin Krane of Mohs Labs is at the forefront of Vertigo defense research. He’s developed ways to dampen the powers of those affected by Vertigo, including an improved version of a ray gun that temporarily deactivates Vertigo-affected DNA. Ben wants to test his new device before equipping the police with it, and he’s figured out the crime pattern of Streak, the one super-villain in town who doesn’t murder, only steals. So he goes out to try to capture Streak.
It doesn’t go as planned. But in the process, Ben learns that Streak is the very handsome Grey Miller and despite his better judgement is attracted to the man. Likewise, the flirtatious and roguish Streak finds himself attracted to Dr. Krane. He dubs the other man “Cold.” Streak isn’t exactly thrilled by all the death and destruction the other Supers are causing, and wants to get closer to Ben, so agrees to team up.
Now the pair must contend with skeptical law enforcement, power-mad supervillains, and some of Grey’s other secrets before they can save the city. And maybe also get it on?
This gay superhero romance novel is by a Minneapolis-area author, but Fairview City is firmly in the fictional setting category so that geography and politics can be made up as needed. It’s a plot point that the city has a higher percentage of Enhanced and Supers than anywhere else in the world, so there is plenty of room for sequels. (Plus a backstory villain is as far as anyone knows still on the loose.)
I like that Dr. Krane is in his forties. He has social anxiety, so even though he’s interested in men, he’s never really hit it off when anyone or taken the initiative. It’s also isolated him from his coworkers at the lab, and learning to open up to them as well is part of his character arc. He spends a lot of time with his cat and reading porny romance books.
Grey I find somewhat less tolerable, as he’s supposed to be a charming rogue type but it’s not happening for me. Possibly he’d work better in a visual medium.
The villains and supporting cast are so-so; they do their bit to move the plot along.
Content note: This is the kind of romance novel where there’s on-page sex scenes. As such, I’m going to say this is most suitable for adult readers. There’s also mention of abuse in the backstory.
If you like your gay romance novels with a heavy dose of fantastical action, or would like to have more books with openly gay superheroes as the focus, this is a decent addition to your reading list.
Dr. Benjamin Krane of Mohs Labs is at the forefront of Vertigo defense research. He’s developed ways to dampen the powers of those affected by Vertigo, including an improved version of a ray gun that temporarily deactivates Vertigo-affected DNA. Ben wants to test his new device before equipping the police with it, and he’s figured out the crime pattern of Streak, the one super-villain in town who doesn’t murder, only steals. So he goes out to try to capture Streak.
It doesn’t go as planned. But in the process, Ben learns that Streak is the very handsome Grey Miller and despite his better judgement is attracted to the man. Likewise, the flirtatious and roguish Streak finds himself attracted to Dr. Krane. He dubs the other man “Cold.” Streak isn’t exactly thrilled by all the death and destruction the other Supers are causing, and wants to get closer to Ben, so agrees to team up.
Now the pair must contend with skeptical law enforcement, power-mad supervillains, and some of Grey’s other secrets before they can save the city. And maybe also get it on?
This gay superhero romance novel is by a Minneapolis-area author, but Fairview City is firmly in the fictional setting category so that geography and politics can be made up as needed. It’s a plot point that the city has a higher percentage of Enhanced and Supers than anywhere else in the world, so there is plenty of room for sequels. (Plus a backstory villain is as far as anyone knows still on the loose.)
I like that Dr. Krane is in his forties. He has social anxiety, so even though he’s interested in men, he’s never really hit it off when anyone or taken the initiative. It’s also isolated him from his coworkers at the lab, and learning to open up to them as well is part of his character arc. He spends a lot of time with his cat and reading porny romance books.
Grey I find somewhat less tolerable, as he’s supposed to be a charming rogue type but it’s not happening for me. Possibly he’d work better in a visual medium.
The villains and supporting cast are so-so; they do their bit to move the plot along.
Content note: This is the kind of romance novel where there’s on-page sex scenes. As such, I’m going to say this is most suitable for adult readers. There’s also mention of abuse in the backstory.
If you like your gay romance novels with a heavy dose of fantastical action, or would like to have more books with openly gay superheroes as the focus, this is a decent addition to your reading list.
February 7, 2025
3.5, rounded up to 4 stars.
In all honesty, this one didn't work for me as well as the author's other superhero story (a duology that is fantastic!). Some of this was me and some of this was a trope that I see often and wish had more depth to it. And since this is a rerelease of an early work perhaps it is just some of the author's earlier work which I'm seeing prior to what is has developed to now.
Here is what I did like: The premise was imaginative and as inventive as many of Meuwissen's other novels. A solar flare suddenly erupting and activating latent DNA in everyone but only with some people manifesting visible abilities was a fun concept and I enjoyed seeing the different powers that various characters demonstrated. I also liked that while one of the MC's, Ben, didn't have a superpower like everyone else, his inventive mind and pluckiness more than made up for it. The mystery/crime of it all was also an intriguing plot although here is where I felt like the stakes of the villains' plans and the lighter tone of the book didn't quite match up.
Where I was struggling with in particular was the romance. Meuwissen employs one of the genre's favourite opposites attract tropes where the slick, confident and cocky superhero falls for the shy, socially awkward and yet brilliant scientist/engineer. However, this translated in to Grey aggressively coming on to Ben at every conceivable point even when Ben showed signs of being surprised and borderline uncomfortable. The story would have benefitted from Ben more explicitly thinking that he enjoyed these attentions even if he didn't quite know how to respond to it or conversely, having Grey check in to make sure he was okay with his excessive flirting and come on's. As it stood, it reads as if Grey doesn't care when the person he's flitting with is responding with nothing or with annoyance.
The second part that took me out of the story was a device where Ben is reading a romance novel and constantly making connections to his own budding romance with Grey. I don't have any issues with this device in general, but we got so much detail about the book he was reading that it slowed down the pace and forward momentum of the story considerably. I didn't care or understand why I had to care about the lives of the characters of this book within a book, and I think when such a device is being used there has to be a very specific reason for it, stylistically or in terms of the plot--neither of which felt well executed to me.
Despite this I did like both characters--they were funny and the story definitely has good bones which would have been more effective if some of this trimming didn't get in the way.
In all honesty, this one didn't work for me as well as the author's other superhero story (a duology that is fantastic!). Some of this was me and some of this was a trope that I see often and wish had more depth to it. And since this is a rerelease of an early work perhaps it is just some of the author's earlier work which I'm seeing prior to what is has developed to now.
Here is what I did like: The premise was imaginative and as inventive as many of Meuwissen's other novels. A solar flare suddenly erupting and activating latent DNA in everyone but only with some people manifesting visible abilities was a fun concept and I enjoyed seeing the different powers that various characters demonstrated. I also liked that while one of the MC's, Ben, didn't have a superpower like everyone else, his inventive mind and pluckiness more than made up for it. The mystery/crime of it all was also an intriguing plot although here is where I felt like the stakes of the villains' plans and the lighter tone of the book didn't quite match up.
Where I was struggling with in particular was the romance. Meuwissen employs one of the genre's favourite opposites attract tropes where the slick, confident and cocky superhero falls for the shy, socially awkward and yet brilliant scientist/engineer. However, this translated in to Grey aggressively coming on to Ben at every conceivable point even when Ben showed signs of being surprised and borderline uncomfortable. The story would have benefitted from Ben more explicitly thinking that he enjoyed these attentions even if he didn't quite know how to respond to it or conversely, having Grey check in to make sure he was okay with his excessive flirting and come on's. As it stood, it reads as if Grey doesn't care when the person he's flitting with is responding with nothing or with annoyance.
The second part that took me out of the story was a device where Ben is reading a romance novel and constantly making connections to his own budding romance with Grey. I don't have any issues with this device in general, but we got so much detail about the book he was reading that it slowed down the pace and forward momentum of the story considerably. I didn't care or understand why I had to care about the lives of the characters of this book within a book, and I think when such a device is being used there has to be a very specific reason for it, stylistically or in terms of the plot--neither of which felt well executed to me.
Despite this I did like both characters--they were funny and the story definitely has good bones which would have been more effective if some of this trimming didn't get in the way.
February 1, 2025
3rd person, past tense, single PoV (Ben)
Benjamin 'Cold' Krane, Powerless (40), engineer at Mohs Lab
Grey 'Streak' Miller, Super (26),
First of all, this cover. Whew! Love it!
Second of all, I just really enjoyed this book, it tickled my fancy and I couldn't put it down.
I'm not really sure what to say. It's a superhero story, so some suspension of disbelief is required. The goal of the evil Supers was a little murky, kind of a 'world domination' angle typical of evil doers. Just take it at face value and don't examine it too closely if you just want to have a good time.
This is a pretty action packed fun time, with a slow burn romance, and great side characters. Ben is a rather brilliant inventor, creating solutions to try and help off-set the powers of those who are out to cause harm. He's most at home in his lab but this small secret part of his soul yearns for just a smidge of adventure (relatable!), which is how he ends up teaming up with Streak. They are such a great duo! I loved the learning curve they experienced while learning to work together. Their banter was top notch. Streak is a shameless flirt who has his sights set on Benji, who's more than a little enamored of him as well. They kind of dance around each other, which was a lot of fun.
I enjoyed the world building, it was creative and interesting, but no overly complicated or convoluted. More, I loved the side characters; Ben's family is great and I have such a soft spot for Warren, Ben's colleague who is kind and befriends his awkward ass.
I experienced a little hiccup with the last quarter of the book, as there was a weird time jump of a couple hours, during which the shit hit the fan and those events were then recounted to the reader through internal monologue rather than being straight up shown on-page. Some of the happenings during the climax were a little hard to follow and I found the ending a little muddled trying to keep all the characters straight but obviously good conquers all and I was a happy camper.
I was given an ARC for the book's rerelease and voluntarily wrote an honest review.
Benjamin 'Cold' Krane, Powerless (40), engineer at Mohs Lab
Grey 'Streak' Miller, Super (26),
First of all, this cover. Whew! Love it!
Second of all, I just really enjoyed this book, it tickled my fancy and I couldn't put it down.
I'm not really sure what to say. It's a superhero story, so some suspension of disbelief is required. The goal of the evil Supers was a little murky, kind of a 'world domination' angle typical of evil doers. Just take it at face value and don't examine it too closely if you just want to have a good time.
This is a pretty action packed fun time, with a slow burn romance, and great side characters. Ben is a rather brilliant inventor, creating solutions to try and help off-set the powers of those who are out to cause harm. He's most at home in his lab but this small secret part of his soul yearns for just a smidge of adventure (relatable!), which is how he ends up teaming up with Streak. They are such a great duo! I loved the learning curve they experienced while learning to work together. Their banter was top notch. Streak is a shameless flirt who has his sights set on Benji, who's more than a little enamored of him as well. They kind of dance around each other, which was a lot of fun.
I enjoyed the world building, it was creative and interesting, but no overly complicated or convoluted. More, I loved the side characters; Ben's family is great and I have such a soft spot for Warren, Ben's colleague who is kind and befriends his awkward ass.
I experienced a little hiccup with the last quarter of the book, as there was a weird time jump of a couple hours, during which the shit hit the fan and those events were then recounted to the reader through internal monologue rather than being straight up shown on-page. Some of the happenings during the climax were a little hard to follow and I found the ending a little muddled trying to keep all the characters straight but obviously good conquers all and I was a happy camper.
I was given an ARC for the book's rerelease and voluntarily wrote an honest review.
April 23, 2025
So, even though this one came out before (though this version of course didn't), I read Amanda's other superhero books before this one and so I had very high expectations for this one because I adored the Lovesick Gods series. Luckily however this one did not disappoint. My short review is, I loved every second and once I started reading could not put it down or get enough.
Now for the long review. Once again, the worldbuilding was fantastic, the writing was strong and captivating and the characters, ohhhh the characters. Grey was a wonderful mystery wrapped in flirtatiousnous and cheeky mannerisms. He was a joy to read about and I knew there was something going on with him, but I still didn't quite expect the reveal when it finally came out. That was a wonderful touch.
And Ben, what can I say about Ben? I adored every single bit of him. His insecurities and worries were understandable and he was so sweet, sarcastic and just all round wonderful. I felt for him and I swear I experienced so many of his emotions because the writing was just so strong and vibrant.
Oh and just saying, but Grey's special 'skills' towards the end, oh now THAT was a wonderful touch. Such a fun thing to do and as always, so well written too. I'm sure many would wish they had their own personal Grey after reading that.
I love reading Amanda's books because the writing always sticks with you, is filled with so many great moments, or painfully visceral ones and is just always so alive. The worlds are filled with amazing characters, well thought out settings and just so many other awesome things. And the background characters and side characters are always nicely written too and I always feel the need for more anytime I read one of these books, but especially this one.
Now for the long review. Once again, the worldbuilding was fantastic, the writing was strong and captivating and the characters, ohhhh the characters. Grey was a wonderful mystery wrapped in flirtatiousnous and cheeky mannerisms. He was a joy to read about and I knew there was something going on with him, but I still didn't quite expect the reveal when it finally came out. That was a wonderful touch.
And Ben, what can I say about Ben? I adored every single bit of him. His insecurities and worries were understandable and he was so sweet, sarcastic and just all round wonderful. I felt for him and I swear I experienced so many of his emotions because the writing was just so strong and vibrant.
Oh and just saying, but Grey's special 'skills' towards the end, oh now THAT was a wonderful touch. Such a fun thing to do and as always, so well written too. I'm sure many would wish they had their own personal Grey after reading that.
I love reading Amanda's books because the writing always sticks with you, is filled with so many great moments, or painfully visceral ones and is just always so alive. The worlds are filled with amazing characters, well thought out settings and just so many other awesome things. And the background characters and side characters are always nicely written too and I always feel the need for more anytime I read one of these books, but especially this one.
January 9, 2025
In Fairview City there are Supers, Enhanced and Powerless. Supers and Enhanced came about their powers after Vertigo; an abnormal solar flare. Ben AKA Cold, is a Powerless scientist who is working on a way to help the FCPD stop the Supers that have gone bad. With his newest invention he confronts the Super, The Streak. He's willing to do what he can to stop crime.
Grey AKA The Streak, is a thief. He's so fast that he's already stolen stuff and left before anyone can rally to the crime. He's surprised when exiting his latest crime he comes across Ben in disguise. He gets away but now he's intrigued. When they cross paths again Grey is further surprised by Ben's demands. He agrees and dubs Ben with the moniker Cold.
This is a really good science fiction/fantasy. It kept my attention from page one. I really liked the world and character building. I think it made the story better to get the indepth details. I liked the twist on how the Supers and Enhanced really came into their powers. I liked that even though Grey was a criminal, he was non-violent and very likeable. His constant flirting with everyone; especially, Ben gave the book some really good lighthearted moments. I liked that Ben and Grey had family they could count on. I would love to read more from this world. Definitely recommended.
Grey AKA The Streak, is a thief. He's so fast that he's already stolen stuff and left before anyone can rally to the crime. He's surprised when exiting his latest crime he comes across Ben in disguise. He gets away but now he's intrigued. When they cross paths again Grey is further surprised by Ben's demands. He agrees and dubs Ben with the moniker Cold.
This is a really good science fiction/fantasy. It kept my attention from page one. I really liked the world and character building. I think it made the story better to get the indepth details. I liked the twist on how the Supers and Enhanced really came into their powers. I liked that even though Grey was a criminal, he was non-violent and very likeable. His constant flirting with everyone; especially, Ben gave the book some really good lighthearted moments. I liked that Ben and Grey had family they could count on. I would love to read more from this world. Definitely recommended.
January 26, 2025
A fun, engaging hero x supervillain romance with plenty of unexpected twists, turns, and steam!
Vertigo refers to an event that caused some humans to develop powers. While most humans are either powerless or only slightly enhanced, there are a few who developed unstoppable powers. Well, unstoppable if not for Ben, who is a powerless human and genius scientist. Ben is also incredibly shy and introverted, so he spends most of his time with his work, his cat, and his family.
When Ben decides to try out his newest invention on his own, he encounters Grey, aka the Streak, supervillain and thief extraordinaire. At first, they seem like total opposites. Grey is outgoing, sassy, energetic, and flirtatious. But as the story progresses, it's obvious how perfect they are for each other.
I don't want to risk any spoilers, but this book is so much fun. The main characters, side characters, and world-building are all so well done in Amanda's usual fantastic style. I couldn't get enough of these two.
Vertigo refers to an event that caused some humans to develop powers. While most humans are either powerless or only slightly enhanced, there are a few who developed unstoppable powers. Well, unstoppable if not for Ben, who is a powerless human and genius scientist. Ben is also incredibly shy and introverted, so he spends most of his time with his work, his cat, and his family.
When Ben decides to try out his newest invention on his own, he encounters Grey, aka the Streak, supervillain and thief extraordinaire. At first, they seem like total opposites. Grey is outgoing, sassy, energetic, and flirtatious. But as the story progresses, it's obvious how perfect they are for each other.
I don't want to risk any spoilers, but this book is so much fun. The main characters, side characters, and world-building are all so well done in Amanda's usual fantastic style. I couldn't get enough of these two.
March 22, 2025
ARC
The most slow burn to ever slow burn is coming your way!
I loved these two so much, they were the cutest little couple and the story was classic! You can never go wrong with the classics!
Ben, socially awkward and *ahem* very virgin 40 year-old engineering genius and Super Grey, also called Streak, meet after the world goes upside down, when a solar blast happens on Earth and turns half of the population to Enhanced or Super.
With his engineering genius, Ben finds a way to stop Supes trying to take over the world, and even though Streak isn’t one of the worst, he’s still very wanted so he decides to try his new gadget on him. And lo and behold! It doesn’t work! But know what does? Eyes lol cause these two’s eyes meet and you best believe sparks start flying left and right!
While trying for a buddying partnership, trying to stop the very bad and very spoiled Supe Pulse, they get to know each other better… and we get all of the juicy secrets and the juicy comments and the hot blushes and smirks and.. what more do you want???
Go read this book!
The most slow burn to ever slow burn is coming your way!
I loved these two so much, they were the cutest little couple and the story was classic! You can never go wrong with the classics!
Ben, socially awkward and *ahem* very virgin 40 year-old engineering genius and Super Grey, also called Streak, meet after the world goes upside down, when a solar blast happens on Earth and turns half of the population to Enhanced or Super.
With his engineering genius, Ben finds a way to stop Supes trying to take over the world, and even though Streak isn’t one of the worst, he’s still very wanted so he decides to try his new gadget on him. And lo and behold! It doesn’t work! But know what does? Eyes lol cause these two’s eyes meet and you best believe sparks start flying left and right!
While trying for a buddying partnership, trying to stop the very bad and very spoiled Supe Pulse, they get to know each other better… and we get all of the juicy secrets and the juicy comments and the hot blushes and smirks and.. what more do you want???
Go read this book!
January 19, 2025
This was a really fun read as a fan of superhero stories! I loved how Ben sorta got roped into his vigilante Cold persona by Grey (the notorious Streak). Ben may be powerless and older but beyond being a genius in the lab, he really hasn't allowed himself to live. Things kind of take a turn when he meets the thief, Streak. Grey shakes up his world, in a good way, while trying to do some good with his powers and Ben's tech. I will say that though there is quite a bit of flirting from Grey, this does feel more like a straight up superhero story with a splash of romance woven in. Though Ben and Grey build a strong relationship of trust, there really isn't any spice or boyfriendy things until the end. Both the main and side characters were great and there were some twists. This was a super fun read!
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