Hidden Powers: An LGBT, New Adult, Urban Fantasy Romance (Superordinary Society Book 1)
£3.40
Jazz Vanessen is weird—and not just because he’s a werewolf.
For most of his life, Jazz’s felt different from his alpha male brothers and friends. Since he’s adopted, he can’t even blame it on family.
Now eighteen, Jazz meets his idol, the social activist Lysandra Mason, and her breathtaking nephew, Dash Mercury. When Dash is around, even stranger things start to happen, including Jazz falling hopelessly in lust. Not only is Jazz having visions, making people disappear, and somehow turning invisible, but somebody’s following him and threatening to reveal his pack’s secrets to the world.
Together with Dash and Jazz’s equally amazing friends— Carla, BeBop, Khadija, and Fatima—they discover the danger is even more lethal than they thought, and Jazz’s weirdness may save all their lives.
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Additional information
| Publisher | 2nd edition (10 Aug. 2021), Tara Lain Books |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 2088 KB |
| Simultaneous device usage | Unlimited |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Not Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 286 pages |
| Page numbers source ISBN | 1644051559 |
by Sarah
I was given a copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
In the first book in a spinoff from the Harker Pack books, Tara Lain introduces a whole new supernatural world and four kick ass heroes and heroines. The Superordinary Society is a mix of extraordinary young humans and supernatural characters with a range of skills and backgrounds. The four join forces during their internship at Vanessen Industries and quickly become inseparable. The hero of this first book is the youngest Vanessen, Jazz. As threats mount against him, Jazz’ friends rally to protect him from his enemies.
This book is brings together several UF genres while still feeling fresh and original. Think Harry Potter meets the League of Justice meets Twilight – with a little bit of Wonder woman mythology thrown into the mix. It sounds a bit strange but it’s a fun, exciting story and I loved the characters and their adventures.
This first book belongs to Jazz and he is a wonderfully complicated character. Much of the story revolves around Jazz finding his place as an adult within his adopted family and his pack. It’s also about the powers that set him apart from his werewolf family and the new sense of identity he finds with his friends in New York. While this is an action story, it’s also a story about Jazz growing up and growing into himself.
This book is marketed as a romance which is slightly frustrating. There is are a few steamy scenes and the very beginnings of a romance (one that has the potential to be amazing) but this is much more a story about friendship, family and adulting.
The one thing that seriously annoyed me about this book is the lack of mention in the blurb or on any sales/social media site that this is a spinoff from the Harker pack books. I haven’t read the first series so I spent the first few chapters where the focus is on the Harker pack scrambling to catch up. I hate it when authors and publishers don’t explicitly link spinoffs to original series. I will say that this book quickly becomes much more than a shifter story and it is Jazz’s friends, not his family, who take the starring roles in this book. New readers will understand 60% of this book and by the end they will be able to piece together the remaining 40%.
Aside from the spinoff frustration, I really loved the story and I’m eagerly anticipating the next book in the series. I want more from all of the Superordinary society – and I’m especially keen to know more of Khadija and Fatima’s sisterhood.
by Tanyawriter
He feels different to all his brothers and not just because he was adopted. Strange things are happening all around him and then he meets them. This may just change everything he ever knew about his life. What will he find out? Can he cope with all the secrets that may be coming out? See just how they get on
by Edga
Having read the author’s Harker series, and loved it, I really looked forward to Jazz’s story. Have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I suspect that it was probably written to appeal to the YA generation, but it didn’t stop me appreciating it. There’s a lot of magic and mystery, and lots of beautiful boys, of course. There isn’t a HEA, but, as it’s the beginning of a series, I wasn’t surprised by this. I loved all of the characters, especially Jazz, and it was great to become reacquainted with some of the old Harker series people.
My one criticism would be information overload. It wasn’t so bad from my point of view, but I suspect those that hadn’t read the Harker series, may have found the story a little confusing.
I certainly would recommend it for those people who’ve read and loved the Harker series, and have been waiting for what comes next. Well written, with entertaining characters. Definitely recommend for those who are YA and love supernatural stories
by Lydia Devlin
Three and a half stars.
Interesting story, with plenty of world building, intriguing characters and a complex plot. Took a while to get into but I did enjoy it in the end.
I received an arc copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest review.
by I. Fenton
I usually ‘squeeee’ madly and give Tara Lain’s books a 5* rating as she is a writer who’s works I enjoy a lot. However this time I really couldn’t do that.
Firstly, even though it’s advertised as the first in a series, it is actually a continuation/spin off from the Harker Pack books. This means it would help enormously with knowing a lot of the characters you encounter if you’ve already read Harker Pack (which I highly recommend as a good series) but, if you haven’t you could get lost in family dynamics etc. Secondly (for me) it was trying too hard to not be another Harry Potter book even though it uses that book in it’s blurb. And finally I just felt that it was probably aimed at someone a lot younger and less cynical than I am, so I found a lot of it was not holding my interest in the way her other books have. If you like NA/YA/Teen Fantasy then by all means get this book. I think you would enjoy it more than this jaded 60 year old.
n.b. You have another ten days until you can get it and make up your own mind about it’s merits because, apart from not being to my taste, it is a well written fantasy with lots of surprising ‘beings’ in it.
by sarah mitcham
New Adult, Urban Fantasy, LGBT, Paranormal Romance. A really great read with twists and turns, lots of mystery and suspense. An easy to read page-turner with fantastic likeable characters, I couldn’t put it down 100% page-turner. First book in a two book series and it’s a perfect blend of everything I love about paranormal/shifter stories.