Lady Hornet: Genesis of a Superheroine (Metamorphosis Book 1)

Elizabeth Fontaine is a lonely, ordinary young woman in a world where superheroes struggle daily against the world's evil. To fill the empty void within her soul, she becomes a hero fangirl, following every supers event, subscribing to multiple fanzines, and never missing the daily superhero talk shows...until one day, fate grants her the opportunity to leave behind her boring, dreary life and become what she's always dreamed of...a superheroine!

Elizabeth learns the hard way the meaning of the phrase “Caveat Emptor!”

My Take:

When Elizabeth Fontaine happens by an alley where one of her favorite superheros lies dying, her quick thinking saves his life. In gratitude, he gives her the opportunity of a lifetime - the chance to become a super herself. A closely guarded secret in the ranks of superheros is that you can 'buy yourself in' if you have enough money, and are lucky enough to be asked.

Elizabeth jumps at the chance, little realizing the radical life-altering changes her decision will make. As she and the many superheros she now rubs shoulders with face the most deadly enemy of all time, she also must deal with the loss of everything and everyone she used to know.

Content:

Drug Content:

PG - There is some mention of social drinking, and some characters have some serious drinking issues, though it's off-screen.

Violence:

PG-13 - There's a lot of violence, but it's on a level with TMNT, for the most part. There are a few scenes that made me push this to PG-13, including one where a person is burned into a skeleton and ash.

Language:

PG - The D-word is used fairly liberally throughout, but harder language doesn't make an appearance. Unless I missed it.

Adult Content:

PG-13 - As stated earlier some characters play pretty loose in the club scene, but it's mostly offscreen. The main character does in fact have some onscreen action but it's not really described in any detail. There is however a main plot point in this area, which, although hinted around multiple times, is never described graphically. I can't say more or it would be spoilers.

Christian content:

If the church exists in this book it's pretty much a setting for a battle. Faith is not bashed or promoted, so from that perspective, it's not on the menu pro or con. Faith based topics, however, are certainly in this book, like self-sacrifice, sacrificing one's life for another, standing up for what is right, doing one's duty no matter the cost, personal redemption, and a liberal dose of forgiveness. One character whose life is ebbing away asks for prayer.

Final analysis:

I love a good romp with superheroes through the skies, facing killer robots and dastardly villains. This book had it all - a solid plot, great characters, cool gadgets, some interesting world-building, and a fast pace. The stakes were high, the plot was gripping, a real page-turner! Five Stars!