*I got this book for review for my honest thoughts*

I found this book to such a fun read and i really loved the world. I thought the world building was so well crafted. I also really liked both main characters and thought that both characters really helped expand the world. I really liked both romances and felt that they were both so fun and loved the LGBTQ representing. I thought the also various media elements at the end of each chapter really helped expand the world. I thought this book had a strong mystery that was hard to predict but super engaging. I also thought this was a solid standalone but would love to see more books set in this world. ( )

*I got this book for review for my honest thoughts*

I found this book to such a fun read and i really loved the world. I thought the world building was so well crafted. I also really liked both main characters and thought that both characters really helped expand the world. I really liked both romances and felt that they were both so fun and loved the LGBTQ representing. I thought the also various media elements at the end of each chapter really helped expand the world. I thought this book had a strong mystery that was hard to predict but super engaging. I also thought this was a solid standalone but would love to see more books set in this world. ( )

Super Adjacent is set in an alternate universe Chicago where superheroes are real and are a cross between celebrities, public figures, and law enforcement. Each big city region gets four superheroes to protect it, and Warrior Nation is a national corporation/publicity machine/etc.

Claire is obsessed with the superheroes and with Warrior Nation. Her diary mentioned in the book summary is actually a bulging super-scrapbook filled with files and information on all the superheroes and every aspect of WarNat. She's geeky and a little much with her superhero worship. While she initially thinks new superhero Joy is full of herself and used to getting her way due to her pretty girl privilege, it's a very short hate to love thing that quickly becomes them making out in WarNat headquarters broom closets. Their relationship is cute, if a bit first-love-cloying.

Bridgette's an old hand in WarNat, having dated Matt/Vaporizer for four years. Her part of the story shows the dark underside of superherodom and celebrity. Vaporizer's fangirls bash her online and, when they come across her in real life, scream into her face that her boyfriend can do better than her. She's called all sorts of horrible names, both online and in person. Also, she's in constant danger since Matt has no secret identity and everyone knows they're dating, so she's been kidnapped countless times, attacked in the street, had important public events ruined by mobbing fans and her boyfriend flying though glass windows.

Bridgette and Claire are thrown together because they're kidnapped by superpowered bad guys. Those baddies are behind the superheroes' disappearance, and WarNat is being all tight-lipped about it. With the help of smarmy assistant Teddy, Claire and Bridgette must find out the truth and save the superheroes.

This book was a fun read in the beginning and suspenseful in the middle and end. It really took a hard look at how difficult it must be to be the significant other or parent of a superhero. Much like professional athletes, the supers join Warrior Nation in part because of the huge paychecks, but their loved ones are constantly afraid they will be hurt or killed. The part where the superheroes go missing is harrowing to read about because of their families' and partners' grief and worry. This book isn't afraid to go dark, despite the cover and premise, and for that I respect it.

Read the full review, including trigger warnings, at https://fileundermichellaneous.blogspot.com/2022/07/book-review-super-adjacent-b... ( )