Holiday Heroine

by Sarah Kuhn

Ed. note: This was intended to run in January but due to a snafu on our end, it didn’t publish. So, holiday romance? Sure! All year long, right! 

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I’m a firm believer that there is no such thing as an objective review. If there IS such a thing, let me tell you up front that this review is not objective in the slightest. One of the first things I wrote for this site was a review of One Con Glory by Sarah Kuhn, and I proceeded to review several other things by her including some of the books in her Heroine Complex Series.

The series kicked off in 2016 with Heroine Complex and deals with an extended family of both blood and choice in which many people have superpowers. Now here we are with the final book of a long-running series that has been consistently charming, funny, tear-jerking, entertaining, and incredibly inclusive, especially as regards Asian-American characters. I am so full of sentiment that I can barely turn a page.

Many books ago, we met Bea, an angsty teenager. In Holiday Heroine, baby sister Bea is all grown up and living in Hawaii. She finds herself in a time-traveling mess that takes her to many different Christmas timelines. Frantic to restore reality, Bea attempts to stifle her superpower and keep the time traveling a secret. Of course fans of this series will know that the secret to success in this book, as in all the others, is to let your freak flag fly, be yourself, and share your troubles with your found family. Also gel pens and glitter come into play, and some interesting fashion, and a lot of food.

I loved this book, although I admit that it doesn’t bring anything new to the series other than some pleasant closure. Like the other books, it combines humor and angst, with themes of healing from trauma. Expect a lot of heartfelt conversations interspersed with wild and whimsical action, as poor Bea battles both giant and miniature kaiju as well as time travel induced romantic complications.

This book is a lovely celebration of all things Christmassy, although I found myself annoyed at Bea’s descriptions of Christmas movies that do not appear to actually exist. I REALLY want to watch A Kaiju for Christmas! It’s also a celebration of Asian-American cultures, of life in Los Angeles and in Hawaii, and of found family.

You can probably enjoy this book as a stand-alone, but I’d strongly recommend starting the series from the beginning. Readers who have followed along from the beginning will find satisfying closure here. It’s a joyous send-off for a group of characters who have survived demonic cupcakes, rampaging porcelain unicorns, mini kaiju, microaggressions, family baggage, and romantic trials, only to emerge triumphant. In a series that juggles whimsy, fun, and serious angst, this closing book brings it all home.

– Carrie S

The sixth book in the smart, snarky, and action-packed Heroine series continues the adventures of Asian-American superheroine Bea Tanaka as she takes on demons in Hawaii.

Nobody loves Christmas like Bea Tanaka—so when her family visits her for a special holiday celebration, she’s beside herself with joy.

After years of chaos, questionable decisions, and flirtations with the supervillain path, Bea is finally thriving. She’s got a sweet, new gig hunting demons in Maui, she’s working hard to hone her powers, and her big sister Evie is proud of her at last. In fact, everyone is so proud of her that she can’t tell them the truth: she’s feeling lost and adrift. She and her boyfriend Sam Fujikawa are struggling to make their long-distance love work, and her powers are displaying some intriguing new elements—elements that could lead her down an evil, mind-controlling path once more.

When her family’s holiday visit is disrupted by otherworldly monsters rising out of the Maui ocean, Bea throws herself into the battle—until she’s suddenly and mysteriously transported to the perfect Christmas back in San Francisco, surrounded by her family and an excess of merrymaking.

As she finds herself trapped in the bizarre holiday rom-com of her nightmares, Bea must unravel a treacherous demon plot, save the world from unspeakable evil, and resist the siren song of a supervillain destiny. And hey, maybe she’ll find time for a little holiday cheer after all…

Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Urban Fantasy