This is a must read book and it doesn't matter whether you haven't gone thru "the change" or not. I fell over laughing so many times that I just stayed on the floor to read the book. We have 4 women trying to find ways to make "the Change" easier and more comfortable with some unusual side effect. So many feelings and reactions from all the characters. In this book not all the women ban together to learn more about what is going on with their bodies and why. No more from me as I don't want to give to much away but this is an amazing book and I'm excited to read the next to books in this series. ( )

Lots of fun!

This is an interesting new take on hormonal changes bringing in powers. The whole thing was great from a diverse set of characters to the way everyone's powers manifest to the way the sides are taken. I look forward to finishing the series! ( )

As women enter menopause their bodies go through a lot of changes. They have to deal with such things as hot flashes, itchy skin, mood swings and hormonal imbalances. For the women in Going Through The Change: (Menopausal Superheroes #1) by Samantha Bryant these changes lead to superhuman strength. It all started with four women taking supplements made by Dr. Cindy Liu for their menopause symptoms.

Now we have Linda who has become a man, Helen who can throw fire, Jessica who now flies and Patricia who is bullet proof. None of the women understand why these changes happened and now they're trying to find Dr. Cindy Lu to get some answers. What they don't know is Cindy Liu is going through some changes herself and the answers they seek will change their lives forever.

As soon as I saw the cover for this book I thought of it as a must read. I'm a fan of superhero fiction but I've never seen a superhero story that deals with women going through menopause and I don't know of a lot of superhero stories written by women. Going Through The Change is not your average superhero novel, the opening line even says "dedicated to any woman who has ever felt betrayed by her own body." If you are expecting lots of action then look elsewhere but If you want a story about women dealing with their changing bodies then this book is for you.

Going Through The Change is a character driven superhero origin story. This is a first book in a series where the author gives you a foundation of five characters dealing with massive change. The attention to detail in each character shows that Samantha Bryant has a real passion for what she is writing about and that's what makes this book so good. For instance we have Jessica who is recovering from cancer and who can now fly making the realization that her marriage looks good on the surface but in reality isn't that great. She sees that her husband publicly shows his support but emotionally is not there for her. In Linda's case her body is breaking down but when she starts taking Dr. Liu's supplements she has to deal with a new life as a man and we get to see how her relationship with her husband and family changes. The other character whose story I liked was Cindy Liu who finds that life as an old woman doesn't suit her but what she does to fix the problem leads to side effects that are even worse.

One of my favorite scenes in the book was when Patricia performs her first act as a hero saving a beauty queen from a deranged gunman. As she saves the young woman she says to her: "See what pretty gets you, try for smart next time." This is a superhero story that is not geared towards a young audience, this is a story written with older people in mind and since I'm an old comic book geek I loved it. My one complaint about it is that the story has no ending, If you're going to read this be prepared to buy the second book. What you have in book one is an introduction to some well written superheroes with real life problems that have never been dealt with in comic books. ( )

Going Through the Change is about four menopausal women who gain superpowers, a nice twist on the usual superhero fantasy. There is quite a hook in the first chapter (no spoilers)! The relationships among the women are well done, and there is a plausible range of characters and character traits. This is the first in a planned trilogy.

Main characters: Linda, Jessica, Patricia, and Helen are four women searching for relief from their menopause symptoms. In choosing to try natural remedies made by local chemist and biologist Cindy Liu, they experience some incredible side-effects. I really loved the relationship between cancer-survivor-lonely-housewife, Jessica and Hispanic-mother-and-wife-turned-strong-man Linda. That seemed like a wonderful supportive relationship. Cindy Liu’s character seemed to be very different depending on who she was with. I suppose this make some sense, as each gal would view her differently; but, it did make the character feel a little inconsistent.

Other characters: Big kudos to Linda’s husband, David and Jessica’s mother, Eva for being accepting of the changes their loved ones are experiencing. I particularly love Eva’s big take-down at the end.

World: I can just imagine how it might feel to suddenly develop super powers; haven’t we all dreamed of this as some point in our lives — to be able to fly or to be strong or to be tough? I like the mix of apprehension and elation that each woman experiences as her powers develop.

Story: I appreciated the individual introductions to each character at the beginning of the book. It made me feel like I really got to know them. I’ll admit that the part after they got together until the big fight at the end felt a little long, but the last big battle was awesome!

Overall: I have to admit this isn’t the type of story I typically choose, but it’s a fun read. It was clearly written and easy to follow. I would definitely suggest this book as a candidate for audio – with the right narrator, I think this would be a hoot to hear. I think someone with more of an affinity for the genre would probably rate it higher.

Copy provided by author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. Review courtesy of onebooktwo.com | one book, two reviews. ( )