While working on a new novel, I started looking for comp titles (books that are similar in some way to mine). That's how I came across How to Date a Superhero. While it started as research, I enjoyed the book almost immediately.
How To Date a Superhero (And Not Die Trying) by Cristina Fernandez is the story of Astrid Rose, an overworked pre-med double major student at Columbia University who schedules panic attacks for convenient times of the week. But if she thought she was stressed before, that's nothing compared to when she finds out her boyfriend is a literal superhero. Now, she has to deal with the physical and emotional turmoil that comes with dating someone who constantly risks his life, and she has to take a program to learn how to survive supervillain attacks until her boyfriend can save her. Talk about a busy schedule.
I expected this book to be more of an action story, but it read like a contemporary YA novel—except with superheroes. And it worked perfectly! How To Date a Superhero isn't some Marvel-movie-book-knockoff. It's a story about appreciating the people in your life and each moment as it comes. You don't have to have every second of your life planned out like Astrid to make it meaningful and purposeful. You can work towards specific goals, but you can take time to live each second and let yourself be happy.
The worldbuilding of this book is very subtle and easy to comprehend. It's basically our modern world, but with superheroes and villains tussling in the streets every week. Closed-off streets and buildings from damage is a regular occurrence. During an alien invasion, everyone goes into lockdown and continues living their lives. In Astrid's research lab, she works with the stem cells of a telepathic hero. Every mention is casual, and that's what makes it so accessible to the reader. The best worldbuilding is the kind that doesn't feel like it. It's just part of the story. It's not a briefing sheet you have to memorize or reference in each chapter. It's just there, ready to provide context when needed, and then fades into the background.
The only thing that irked me about this novel was the main character herself, Astrid. She was always so busy and stressed, and I wanted to scream at her that she'd be fine if she'd let go of one or two commitments. But maybe that's just because I saw some of myself in her.
I rate How to Date a Superhero (And Not Die Trying) by Cristina Fernandez 5/5 stars. Besides a few tiny continuity errors, it was an easy, quick, and fun read. Any fan of superheroes and YA romances would enjoy this book.
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