Powerless by Tera Lynn Childs & Tracy Deebs – Review, Excerpt and Giveaway
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Description:
Kenna is tired of being “normal”. The only thing special about her is that she isn’t special at all. Which is frustrating in a world of absolutes. Villains, like the one who killed her father, are bad. Heroes, like her mother and best friend, are good. And Kenna, unlike everyone else around her, is completely ordinary— which she hates.
She’s secretly working on an experiment that will land her a place among the Heroes, but when a Villain saves her life during a break-in at her lab, Kenna discovers there’s a whole lot of gray area when it comes to good and evil and who she can trust.. After all…not all strength comes from superpowers
Review:
Powerless by Tera Lynn Childs & Tracy Deebs is the 1st book in their new YA Hero Agenda series. When I read the description of the book, it appealed to me and I decided to read it. WOW I am glad I did. I really enjoyed Powerless, as it was exciting and a fun read. It is a YA story, in a world of Superheroes and Villains, and a perfectly fun book for adults
We meet Kenna Swift, our heroine, as she is working late in her mother’s lab. Kenna feels inferior, as she is powerless, which is rare, as she comes from a strong family. Her mother is a renowned scientist and her deceased father was a powerful super hero. Kenna has been taught to hate and fear powerful villains. While working late night at the lab, she hears a noise and before she can do anything 3 of those feared Villains are in the lab. They tell her that they mean no harm, they are trying to find one of the villains brother, who they claim is being tortured by the super-heroes. Kenna does not believe them, and stands up to the three Villians. She turns out to be a tough, sassy, fearless heroine, even if she is powerless. The three men escape when Kenna manages to sound off the alarms.
Kenna begins to suspect something is not what she believes, and accidently finds the young man who is missing being tortured. What will follow is an exciting adventure, where Kenna will meet up again with the three young men, as well as her best friend, Rebel and an ex boyfriend, who is a tech geek. Together they try to beat the odds in fighting the unknown superheroes who may just be the villains after all. Kenna will begin to see that not all the good guys are truly good, and not all Villains are bad.
The last 1/3 of the book was a hold on to the edge of your seat exciting climax, with many surprises and twists. There was also a budding romance that was developing between Kenna and Draven, one of the Villains. This did not go too far, but I expect more from this couple in the future books. Powerless was a fun and exciting story, which I feel all ages would enjoy. This is the start of a wonderful collaboration between Tera Lynn Childs & Tracy Deebs. I cannot wait for the next book in this series.
Reviewed by Barb
Copy provided by Publisher
“You never answered my question. What are you doing down here so late?”
Those bright blue eyes sear into me as he takes a step back. “I have to go.”
His sudden evasiveness makes me suspicious, so when he starts to move past me, I
sidestep into his path. “Excuse me,” I say, “but this is a secure level. Are you
even authorized to be down here?”
“My dad,” he says, scowling at me. “He’s a security guard.”
A security guard? The facility might be so big that I can’t keep track of everyone
who works in every lab, but I know all the guards by name. Especially the night
guards, since I’m usually the last one here.
Travis and Luther are on duty tonight. Travis and his wife just had their first
baby, a girl named Tia. Luther is old enough to be my great-grandfather and he never
married.
I take half a step back as my suspicions turn to concern. “Who’s your dad?” I demand.
This guy definitely has the look of a villain.
What if he really is one?
He glances nervously over his shoulder. “He’s-”
I shake my head and start to walk away before he can finish the lie.
He reaches for me, but I shrug him off. My heart is beating way too fast. This could
go way bad, way quick.
“Please, just listen.” He waits until I’m looking him in the eye before he
continues. “You know me,” he says, his voice taking on this weird, hypnotic tone.
“We’ve met before.”
His eyes start to burn brighter and brighter. Oh crap. He must be a villain, and one
with a psy power. The vilest kind. Fear and anger collide inside me as I wonder what
to do about him trying to mess with my head. How to play this? I can’t exactly tell
him I’m-
Suddenly, the floor beneath my feet shudders violently, knocking me off balance. I
lurch forward into Dark-and-Scowly’s arms. He catches me, grabs my upper arms, just
as a concussion wave of air and sound hits us.
That sounded-and felt-like a bomb went off in the lab. If we weren’t a hundred feet
underground and shielded by every protection science and superheroes can create, I’d
think the supervillain Quake had struck. But that’s impossible.
Then again, impossible doesn’t always apply in the superhero world. After all,
impossible didn’t keep Dark-and-Scowly from being where he doesn’t belong.
Suddenly, every alarm in the facility blares. I freak. The lab! All that
research-Mom’s and mine-is priceless. The superhero blood samples alone are more
valuable than anything else in the building.
Panic overrides judgment and I push away, but his grip only tightens. The jerk. A
little super strength would be really useful right now.
“You can’t go in there.”
“Who are you?” I demand, struggling to get out of his grasp. If he really is a
villain, I don’t want him near me or this lab. Not with what villains are capable
of. “What have you done?”
He doesn’t answer. More pissed than ever, I fake left and pull right. He follows my
fake-out, and as his hair swings with the momentum, I see the mark I’d been looking
for earlier. Not under his right ear like the superheroes. Under his left.
Shit.
“You’re a villain.”
One fateful summer, Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs embarked on a nine hour (each way!) road trip to Santa Fe that ended with a flaming samurai, an enduring friendship, and the kernel of an idea that would eventually become Powerless. On their own, they have written YA tales about mermaids (Forgive My Fins, Tempest Rising), mythology (Doomed, Oh. My Gods., Sweet Venom), smooching (International Kissing Club), and fae princes (When Magic Sleeps). Between them, they have three boys (all Tracy), three dogs (mostly TLC), and almost fifty published books. Find TLC and the #TeamHillain headquarters at teralynnchilds.com. Check out Tracy and the #TeamVero lair at tracydeebs.com. Hang out with all the heroes, villains, ordinaries, and none-of-the-aboves at heroagenda.com.
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Thanks for the review. The storyline looks like fun. I love the superheroes movies.
Terrific review, Barb. I have heard about this series. It does look different, but like something I want to read.
Thanks for the review Barb. I have never heard of this series..almost sounds middle grade!
Congratulations to Tracy and Tera Lynn on the new release. I always wonder how writers are able to collaborate together to write a single story !
Very nice review, Barb. I usually do not read YA books, but it sounds like a story for any age group.
Thanks for the review Bab.
Sounds different than the usual YA stories. Thanks Barb.
Great review, Barb. This book really looks good. I plan on getting it soon.
Very nice review Barb thanks !