Fighting & Kissing Review: The Heroine Complex
The Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn is a super fun book that meshes superhero tropes with all things Asian. The lead character acts as an assistant to a real-life superheroine in an alternate version of San Francisco where a portal opened up, released some crazy-ass demons and also granted certain citizens with strange superpowers. Did I mention the opening scene features flying cupcake demons? What's not to love about this!? (Also the cover. I freaking love this cover. It screams at the comic book nerd inside me.)
There are some fight scenes peppered throughout the book as the kick-ass superheroine doesn't have a very strong superpower. To make up for it and to be the superheroine she wants to be, she trains and trains in various martial arts. This was an interesting part of the book for me. Many novels talk about people with these unreal fighting skills. Occasionally, they allude briefly to the characters training at some point in time. But in order to maintain unreal fighting skills, a person has to train constantly. Cardio, strength & conditioning, keeping techniques fresh in your mind -- it all takes constant training. If you've got characters that are fighting, please show them training! Or at least reference it.
The author does mention training multiple times, which is awesome. In chapter three, the diva superheroine Aveda Jupiter takes out some of her frustration on her training equipment. Since we just did a post about gym equipment, let's look at the description to see if it holds up.
Moving on...
Having a punching bag of JUST sand is actually not great for training. It makes the bag extremely hard and heavy and can injure wrists, knuckles, and skin. Generally, punching bags are also not made to be filled with 100% sand. The straps and the seams won't last with the weight and the bag will fall or break apart at the seams.
In our gym, we fill ours with cut-up linens or even old clothes packed tightly around the side. We do use giant ziplocks full of sand in the middle of the fabric for weight. This way the bags swing better when punched or kicked and they don't cause injuries to fists or knuckles. (Though we usually encourage people, especially beginners, to always punch with gloves. Getting a wrist injury from punching incorrectly will put you out of training for a week or more.)
Another fun fact, beginners tend to always kick low on the bags because it's easier for their balance but the lower sections of punching bags is ALWAYS the hardest part. All the material is packed solid down there and gets SUPER hard over time. Which can hurt a lot of beginner shins if they're not ready for it.
Most professional boxing or kickboxing places will fill up their bags like we do (or similarly). Now, I'm not including the standup kicking bags that karate or taekwondo gyms tend to use. Those bags are very different from the ones at boxing and Muay Thai gyms. Those don't have enough weight nor do they swing, which is an important aspect for training boxing & Muay Thai.
Summing up:
Whew. The heat level in this book is fairly steamy in all the right ways and I loved the romance parts, especially because the blurb doesn't mention the romance parts. I bought the book for the assistant to a superheroine dynamic and the fun world building. While I generally love romance books, sometimes a surprise romance is even better!!
This book really was a delight to read. I loved all the Asian influence everywhere. It's authentic and fun and has a giant karaoke battle in the end! What's not to love about that?
There are some fight scenes peppered throughout the book as the kick-ass superheroine doesn't have a very strong superpower. To make up for it and to be the superheroine she wants to be, she trains and trains in various martial arts. This was an interesting part of the book for me. Many novels talk about people with these unreal fighting skills. Occasionally, they allude briefly to the characters training at some point in time. But in order to maintain unreal fighting skills, a person has to train constantly. Cardio, strength & conditioning, keeping techniques fresh in your mind -- it all takes constant training. If you've got characters that are fighting, please show them training! Or at least reference it.
The author does mention training multiple times, which is awesome. In chapter three, the diva superheroine Aveda Jupiter takes out some of her frustration on her training equipment. Since we just did a post about gym equipment, let's look at the description to see if it holds up.
Hmmm.....Now, I've been training for a while and I've never once seen someone punch a hole through a punching bag. Bags can crack in the middle and vinyl gets worn down with use. It'll even tear depending on the quality of the punching bag. But professional punching bags are made of thick vinyl, leather, or heavy-duty canvas and it would be extremely difficult to punch a hole through one. Maybe if the vinyl or leather was already cracked somewhere? But that still wouldn't result in a hole. That would result in you breaking a seam further apart and messing up your punching bag. Why would you do that? Those things aren't cheap! 😆"The gym was a total mess. As I’d predicted, two loyal boxing bag soldiers had fallen to Aveda’s merciless blows. One was still hanging from the ceiling by its ropes, determined to stay at least sort of upright. Unfortunately a hole had been punched clean through the middle. The other had been knocked free from its moorings and was deflating on the floor in a sad pile of black vinyl."
Moving on...
"Sand had also gotten all over the floor. It crunched under my feet as I made my way over to Aveda. She was sprawled against the far wall, glaring steadily at the bag with the hole in it."Fun fact, most punching bags are not entirely filled with sand. Now, this might differ from gym to gym. There are all kinds of punching bags filled with a plethora of things. Some are filled with water, some are just foam, and some area mixture of sand and fabric.
Having a punching bag of JUST sand is actually not great for training. It makes the bag extremely hard and heavy and can injure wrists, knuckles, and skin. Generally, punching bags are also not made to be filled with 100% sand. The straps and the seams won't last with the weight and the bag will fall or break apart at the seams.
In our gym, we fill ours with cut-up linens or even old clothes packed tightly around the side. We do use giant ziplocks full of sand in the middle of the fabric for weight. This way the bags swing better when punched or kicked and they don't cause injuries to fists or knuckles. (Though we usually encourage people, especially beginners, to always punch with gloves. Getting a wrist injury from punching incorrectly will put you out of training for a week or more.)
Another fun fact, beginners tend to always kick low on the bags because it's easier for their balance but the lower sections of punching bags is ALWAYS the hardest part. All the material is packed solid down there and gets SUPER hard over time. Which can hurt a lot of beginner shins if they're not ready for it.
Most professional boxing or kickboxing places will fill up their bags like we do (or similarly). Now, I'm not including the standup kicking bags that karate or taekwondo gyms tend to use. Those bags are very different from the ones at boxing and Muay Thai gyms. Those don't have enough weight nor do they swing, which is an important aspect for training boxing & Muay Thai.
Summing up:
- If you're writing about characters with fighting skills, make them practice and train!
- The types of punching bags will be different depending on what type of gym your characters are training at.
- Punching bags are not usually filled with 100% sand. We're no longer stuck in bad 80's martial arts movies. Filling a bag properly is also a sign that the trainer is dedicated to his club being professional.
- Unless your character has blades in their knuckles and their name is Wolverine, punching a hole through a punching bag would be very unlikely.
And now for the kissing....remember - spoilers ahead!
I looooooved the romance in this book. Nate and Evie start out as almost enemies-to-lovers. They work together with Aveda Jupiter but they're not really friendly and Evie thinks Nate is weird and irritating because he does all these magic experiments to figure out the mysteries of the demon infestation. Of course, these feelings begin to change as Evie takes Aveda Jupiter's place and begins to discover her own superpowers. And when they finally got together, it was goooooooood.
"He stared at my palm. Then his fingers curled around mine and his eyes drifted back to my face, his gaze piercing right through me. And suddenly I didn’t care about my palm or my power or anything but the intense study of his perfectly formed mouth."Yesssss, always with the glancing and staring at the mouth! Who doesn't always love a good kiss build-up? In a well-written scene, the build-up is often as good as the kissing parts themselves.
"His grip tightened on my hand. I squeezed back, our intertwined fingers crushed together, producing an unmistakable heat of their own. His other arm snaked around my waist, pulling me against his hard, unyielding wall of a body, and I breathed deep, taking in that scent of soap and spearmint and rain. He smelled so fucking good."More build-up, more build-up! I really love when character's arms 'snake around' waists. It's such a good, visual description. Pair that with the slightly aggressive 'pulling me against his hard, unyielding wall of a body' and this scene becomes SO vivid for readers.
"My free hand splayed against his chest and I found myself gathering the front of his shirt in my fist, yanking him closer, and finally closing the last few millimeters of space between us, crushing my lips against his."Everyone has their own loves in romance. Some like the aggressive partner, some like both characters to be assertive -- everyone has their own tastes. Here, the author fully embraces both characters going for it and she's got me loving every second of it.
"His mouth moved over mine, hot and demanding and tart with the taste of beer. I ripped my hand from his and tangled my fingers in his hair, devouring him with an urgency I didn’t know I was capable of. Only one thought pounded through my hazy brain: if I stop kissing him for even a second, I will probably die."'Scuse me while I fan myself. 🔥
Whew. The heat level in this book is fairly steamy in all the right ways and I loved the romance parts, especially because the blurb doesn't mention the romance parts. I bought the book for the assistant to a superheroine dynamic and the fun world building. While I generally love romance books, sometimes a surprise romance is even better!!
This book really was a delight to read. I loved all the Asian influence everywhere. It's authentic and fun and has a giant karaoke battle in the end! What's not to love about that?
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