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Once a villain, always a villain?
Optimistic and idealistic superhero Prism is determined to redeem her father’s legacy by rebooting his supervillain rehabilitation program. To do so, she sets her sights on Fade, the relapsed supervillain who was the reason the government canceled the original program in the first place. However, when she petitions for Fade to be released into her custody, she finds out things might not be as simple as she thought.
Convicted of an unforgivable crime, Fade received a choice: surrender to trial and possible execution or endure a memory erasure so he could start fresh. Now with no recollection of his time before incarceration, Fade doubts he has the ability to be anything but the villain the public believes him to be.
A series of attacks by a mysterious power-swapping villain points back to Fade’s past and the crime that cost him his freedom and memory. With her father's legacy and her own reputation on the line, even Prism has to wonder: can a villain truly be reformed?
Optimistic and idealistic superhero Prism is determined to redeem her father’s legacy by rebooting his supervillain rehabilitation program. To do so, she sets her sights on Fade, the relapsed supervillain who was the reason the government canceled the original program in the first place. However, when she petitions for Fade to be released into her custody, she finds out things might not be as simple as she thought.
Convicted of an unforgivable crime, Fade received a choice: surrender to trial and possible execution or endure a memory erasure so he could start fresh. Now with no recollection of his time before incarceration, Fade doubts he has the ability to be anything but the villain the public believes him to be.
A series of attacks by a mysterious power-swapping villain points back to Fade’s past and the crime that cost him his freedom and memory. With her father's legacy and her own reputation on the line, even Prism has to wonder: can a villain truly be reformed?
230 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2020
About the author
H.L. Burke
79 books537 followersBorn in a small town in north central Oregon, H. L. Burke spent most of her childhood around trees and farm animals and was always accompanied by a book. Growing up with epic heroes from Middle Earth and Narnia keeping her company, she also became an incurable romantic.
An addictive personality, she jumped from one fandom to another, being at times completely obsessed with various books, movies, or television series (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Star Trek all took their turns), but she has grown to be what she considers a well-rounded connoisseur of geek culture.
Married to her high school crush who is now a US Marine, she has moved multiple times in her adult life but believes that home is wherever her husband, two daughters, and pets are.
She is the author of a four part fantasy/romance series entitled "The Dragon and the Scholar," the Award Winning (2016 Realm Award for Young Adult Fiction) Nyssa Glass Steampunk series, and MG/Fantasy "Cora and the Nurse Dragon," among others .
Sign up for her monthly newsletter at www.hlburkeauthor.com
http://www.amazon.com/H.-L.-Burke/e/B...
An addictive personality, she jumped from one fandom to another, being at times completely obsessed with various books, movies, or television series (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Star Trek all took their turns), but she has grown to be what she considers a well-rounded connoisseur of geek culture.
Married to her high school crush who is now a US Marine, she has moved multiple times in her adult life but believes that home is wherever her husband, two daughters, and pets are.
She is the author of a four part fantasy/romance series entitled "The Dragon and the Scholar," the Award Winning (2016 Realm Award for Young Adult Fiction) Nyssa Glass Steampunk series, and MG/Fantasy "Cora and the Nurse Dragon," among others .
Sign up for her monthly newsletter at www.hlburkeauthor.com
http://www.amazon.com/H.-L.-Burke/e/B...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
August 21, 2023
Love Marvel movies but want it in a novel form? Do you like superheroes in general? If either of these sound like you then you’ve come to the right review and book because Reformed is all that and so much more!
(Am I reading yet another of H. L. Burke’s superhero series before finishing the other two I started? Yes, yes I am, so why are you looking at me like that?!?!)
Ahem, side tangent aside, the first thing that struck me about this book was how real and human everyone felt even though they can literally go through walls and shoot light out of their hands among other powers (which ain’t normal in case you were wondering), not to mention they all have distinct voices and personalities I could spot from a mile away and not once did anyone act out of character. Also I have to add that I love how the seemingly naive, compassionate Prism is the team leader and that her strong feelings are always justified and not bashed down by trusting the wrong person that turns her jaded—as someone who relies a lot on feelings to stay alive in this crazy world a million THANK YOUS to the author for making me feel validated!
Secondly, the action. Holy heck is the action amazing! I could picture what was going on at all times and how everyone combined their powers as a team was awesome. Though I gotta wonder has throwing superheroes through glass always been a thing, or is it just because in movies it looks cool (cough, painful) when someone smashes through it and now it’s a cliche? Not sure but it’s fun to wonder about. (As if I don’t have anything else to do with my day…)
Thirdly, the plot is complicated and even I fell for a couple of red herrings the author threw on who this bad guy really was. Also loved watching Fade become a real hero rather then keep believing himself to be a villain with no redemption.
So whether you like superheroes or not, I’d highly recommend this book plus the others in this author’s universe, and I can’t wait to eventually read book two!
‼️Content‼️
Language: jackass; damning; screw up; crap; heck; damn; perp; dang; darn; ass; BS; bastard; dammit; arse; what the heck; frick; gosh; badass; what the; hellscape; damned; go to hell; what the hell; that B
Violence: fighting with superpowers and weapons (not detailed); several supervillains hold people hostage; a character’s neck is snapped; a mutilated body is found strapped to a chair (not detailed); lasers go off inside a villain’s chest (not detailed); a bomb is strapped to a door; injuries and blood (not detailed)
Sexual: mild suggestive hints and comments; talk about characters having slept around (never shown or detailed); a woman is called hot; a woman calls herself sexy; kissing (not detailed); characters sleep together (not sexually); a character thinks that others will assume they slept with someone (they didn’t)
Drug/Alcohol: toxic gas is released and kills people; characters drink alcohol
Other: superheroes and supervillains; superpowers and abilities; death and grief
(Am I reading yet another of H. L. Burke’s superhero series before finishing the other two I started? Yes, yes I am, so why are you looking at me like that?!?!)
Ahem, side tangent aside, the first thing that struck me about this book was how real and human everyone felt even though they can literally go through walls and shoot light out of their hands among other powers (which ain’t normal in case you were wondering), not to mention they all have distinct voices and personalities I could spot from a mile away and not once did anyone act out of character. Also I have to add that I love how the seemingly naive, compassionate Prism is the team leader and that her strong feelings are always justified and not bashed down by trusting the wrong person that turns her jaded—as someone who relies a lot on feelings to stay alive in this crazy world a million THANK YOUS to the author for making me feel validated!
Secondly, the action. Holy heck is the action amazing! I could picture what was going on at all times and how everyone combined their powers as a team was awesome. Though I gotta wonder has throwing superheroes through glass always been a thing, or is it just because in movies it looks cool (cough, painful) when someone smashes through it and now it’s a cliche? Not sure but it’s fun to wonder about. (As if I don’t have anything else to do with my day…)
Thirdly, the plot is complicated and even I fell for a couple of red herrings the author threw on who this bad guy really was. Also loved watching Fade become a real hero rather then keep believing himself to be a villain with no redemption.
So whether you like superheroes or not, I’d highly recommend this book plus the others in this author’s universe, and I can’t wait to eventually read book two!
‼️Content‼️
Language: jackass; damning; screw up; crap; heck; damn; perp; dang; darn; ass; BS; bastard; dammit; arse; what the heck; frick; gosh; badass; what the; hellscape; damned; go to hell; what the hell; that B
Violence: fighting with superpowers and weapons (not detailed); several supervillains hold people hostage; a character’s neck is snapped; a mutilated body is found strapped to a chair (not detailed); lasers go off inside a villain’s chest (not detailed); a bomb is strapped to a door; injuries and blood (not detailed)
Sexual: mild suggestive hints and comments; talk about characters having slept around (never shown or detailed); a woman is called hot; a woman calls herself sexy; kissing (not detailed); characters sleep together (not sexually); a character thinks that others will assume they slept with someone (they didn’t)
Drug/Alcohol: toxic gas is released and kills people; characters drink alcohol
Other: superheroes and supervillains; superpowers and abilities; death and grief
April 24, 2020
4.5 stars
A fun superhero adventure with an adorable, little bit angsty romance, and more feels than I was expecting... Just hurt me, it's fine. *sniff, sniff* But really, it was good--made me smile, made me laugh, made me sad, made me anxious, and definitely had me shipping the couple the whole time. The mystery of the bad guy and some other things isn't that shocking or hard to figure out--there were pieces I was like "c'mon, guys, stop and think about it..." but also things I didn't guess until shortly before they were revealed--so probably don't read it expecting a shocking mystery you won't see coming. Find a mystery for that, lol. But for a fun, relatively quick read with a lot of heart and well-done, convincingly laid out plot concluded in a very satisfying way, a redemption story, and a fairly clean (one short make out sesh, a handful of cuss words) romance with superhero flair--definitely check this one out!
A fun superhero adventure with an adorable, little bit angsty romance, and more feels than I was expecting... Just hurt me, it's fine. *sniff, sniff* But really, it was good--made me smile, made me laugh, made me sad, made me anxious, and definitely had me shipping the couple the whole time. The mystery of the bad guy and some other things isn't that shocking or hard to figure out--there were pieces I was like "c'mon, guys, stop and think about it..." but also things I didn't guess until shortly before they were revealed--so probably don't read it expecting a shocking mystery you won't see coming. Find a mystery for that, lol. But for a fun, relatively quick read with a lot of heart and well-done, convincingly laid out plot concluded in a very satisfying way, a redemption story, and a fairly clean (one short make out sesh, a handful of cuss words) romance with superhero flair--definitely check this one out!
July 19, 2020
VIDEO REVIEW HERE: https://youtu.be/E8hhgsQjaxo
Confession: I really struggled to get engaged for almost the first half of Reformed. My guess is because I've only read one other superhero book in recent years and not a big superhero fan in general. I just had a hard time connecting with the characters and feel that was a "me" thing as I have deeply loved other books by this author (and have devoured them).
Though even with that said, I was glued to my Kindle for the second half! When these characters roped me in with their powers, I was indeed hooked (and actually "hid away" for a little bit to finish it)! In many ways, this reminds me of a modern Marvel movie, but cooler because it's by an indie author. (Though this would seriously make an EPIC film, hands down!)
Everything seemed very plausible and thought the "mystery" aspect was superbly well done. I had to do quite a bit of thinking and how it entangled with characters was definitely creating feelings of :o :o :o :o!
Prism was a really great main character and loved her bright personality. Her leadership and caring for her team really warmed my heart and think she might be up there in some of my favorite characters. Her brother, Aiden, was definitely a second favorite! He was quite the character and loved his snarky, over protective self. Fade was also really cool too!
I'm looking forward to reading book two and seeing what happens next! I've gotten pretty attached to these characters and want to see what villain they will defeat next time! I also definitely want more of a certain "thing" I will leave unsaid. ;)
Recommended to superhero readers and Marvel fans!
*(I received an ARC from the author and was not required to write a positive review. All thoughts expressed are my own.)*
Confession: I really struggled to get engaged for almost the first half of Reformed. My guess is because I've only read one other superhero book in recent years and not a big superhero fan in general. I just had a hard time connecting with the characters and feel that was a "me" thing as I have deeply loved other books by this author (and have devoured them).
Though even with that said, I was glued to my Kindle for the second half! When these characters roped me in with their powers, I was indeed hooked (and actually "hid away" for a little bit to finish it)! In many ways, this reminds me of a modern Marvel movie, but cooler because it's by an indie author. (Though this would seriously make an EPIC film, hands down!)
Everything seemed very plausible and thought the "mystery" aspect was superbly well done. I had to do quite a bit of thinking and how it entangled with characters was definitely creating feelings of :o :o :o :o!
Prism was a really great main character and loved her bright personality. Her leadership and caring for her team really warmed my heart and think she might be up there in some of my favorite characters. Her brother, Aiden, was definitely a second favorite! He was quite the character and loved his snarky, over protective self. Fade was also really cool too!
I'm looking forward to reading book two and seeing what happens next! I've gotten pretty attached to these characters and want to see what villain they will defeat next time! I also definitely want more of a certain "thing" I will leave unsaid. ;)
Recommended to superhero readers and Marvel fans!
*(I received an ARC from the author and was not required to write a positive review. All thoughts expressed are my own.)*
June 14, 2022
A perfect blend of action, mystery, and romance!
This is my idea of the perfect book! Prism's team of superheroes works for a government agency to take down supervillains. Prism lobbies to resurrect her father's rehabilitation program, starting with the most dangerous villain in custody, Fade. Her team consists of an entertaining and well-balanced cast whose unusual abilities complement and support each other admirably. The fast-paced action and dialogue make this a quick read that keeps you guessing at the true villain's identity until the very end. Though they have incredible powers, the struggles the characters face relate to everyone: loss, grief, shame, sorrow, betrayal, desire, passion, and vengeance. Characters make difficult but realistic moral choices, and there are some beautiful references to faith and conversion. A delightful read for older teens to adults with some cussing, violence, references to torture, and "clean" romance. Highly recommend!
This is my idea of the perfect book! Prism's team of superheroes works for a government agency to take down supervillains. Prism lobbies to resurrect her father's rehabilitation program, starting with the most dangerous villain in custody, Fade. Her team consists of an entertaining and well-balanced cast whose unusual abilities complement and support each other admirably. The fast-paced action and dialogue make this a quick read that keeps you guessing at the true villain's identity until the very end. Though they have incredible powers, the struggles the characters face relate to everyone: loss, grief, shame, sorrow, betrayal, desire, passion, and vengeance. Characters make difficult but realistic moral choices, and there are some beautiful references to faith and conversion. A delightful read for older teens to adults with some cussing, violence, references to torture, and "clean" romance. Highly recommend!
September 20, 2021
4 stars // read September 2021
(Sorry, this review feels like a bit of a mess. I’ll come back and edit it later. Probably. 😉)
I wasn’t planning on reading this in one night, but between the addictive writing and apparently drinking too much caffeine, I read it in one sitting. :)
Overall, “Reformed” was enjoyable. The superpowers in particular were original and interesting to read about. However, it didn’t “wow” me like I expected, which might be due to accidentally reading a later book in the series before this one, and also the fact that I was uncomfortable with some of the content in the romance area. Both of those things are subjective, though, and if you enjoy superhero stories, I would recommend checking this one out. Mainly because I do know spoilers, I’m looking forward to reading more in this series in the future.
Content: If you’ve read any of the author’s other books, the content level is about the same or a bit more than the usual.
Sensuality: Medium. Veers into the spicier side of clean- some suggestive comments; mentions of a guy’s thoughts about an attractive girl; it’s mentioned that a guy had a physical relationship with a girl; a girl considers going farther than a kiss but ends up rejecting the idea.
Violence: Mild. Mostly typical superhero violence; a character’s neck is snapped (on-screen).
Language: Mild/Medium.
(Sorry, this review feels like a bit of a mess. I’ll come back and edit it later. Probably. 😉)
I wasn’t planning on reading this in one night, but between the addictive writing and apparently drinking too much caffeine, I read it in one sitting. :)
Overall, “Reformed” was enjoyable. The superpowers in particular were original and interesting to read about. However, it didn’t “wow” me like I expected, which might be due to accidentally reading a later book in the series before this one, and also the fact that I was uncomfortable with some of the content in the romance area. Both of those things are subjective, though, and if you enjoy superhero stories, I would recommend checking this one out. Mainly because I do know spoilers, I’m looking forward to reading more in this series in the future.
Content: If you’ve read any of the author’s other books, the content level is about the same or a bit more than the usual.
Sensuality: Medium. Veers into the spicier side of clean- some suggestive comments; mentions of a guy’s thoughts about an attractive girl; it’s mentioned that a guy had a physical relationship with a girl; a girl considers going farther than a kiss but ends up rejecting the idea.
Violence: Mild. Mostly typical superhero violence; a character’s neck is snapped (on-screen).
Language: Mild/Medium.
September 10, 2020
What I expected: a light-hearted, superhero romp.
What I got: a light-hearted, superhero romp with unexpected depth and rip-your-heart-out moments.
The characters of Prism and Fade drew me in, and all of the supporting characters are well developed and distinct. Aiden was my favorite. Yes, I may have choked up at a certain part. If you've read the book, you'll know which one.
While I was not impressed the last time I listened to a book done by this audiobook narrator, the one I listened to was her first audiobook narration and she has definitely improved her technique and narration and editing. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the narration since I expected to not enjoy it. I will definitely be getting the next audiobook if/when it releases!
What I got: a light-hearted, superhero romp with unexpected depth and rip-your-heart-out moments.
The characters of Prism and Fade drew me in, and all of the supporting characters are well developed and distinct. Aiden was my favorite. Yes, I may have choked up at a certain part. If you've read the book, you'll know which one.
While I was not impressed the last time I listened to a book done by this audiobook narrator, the one I listened to was her first audiobook narration and she has definitely improved her technique and narration and editing. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the narration since I expected to not enjoy it. I will definitely be getting the next audiobook if/when it releases!
December 28, 2020
A well-written Superhero novel with some fun twists and turns, and a suprising but inevitable reveal at the end. I was just expecting a light-hearted superhero romp, but found much more than that. This story had heart. There was drama and a natural-feeling romance that doesn't overwhelm the story.
August 2, 2022
This book reminded me of the Supervillain of the Day series which I enjoyed several years ago.
Prism is a super-abled young woman employed by DOSA, a government agency that oversees hero work. She leads a small team of heroes tasked with neutralizing criminal activities enacted by super abled villains. However, Prism has additional ambitions. She wants to carry on her father's legacy of rehabilitating villains and bringing them over into hero work. And she wants to start with her father's star pupil, a man named Fade who relapsed into villany rather spectacularly after her father's death. The trouble is, Fade isn't sure he's capable or deserving of redemption.
Though not the most polished narration, I still thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was lighthearted but also had depth. In fact, I almost cried a couple of times! Fade is a charming
I'll definitely be reading more books in this series.
CONTENT
Religion: Prism and her brother share a Christian faith. Though not a focal element of the story, it is present. There is a conversion scene which felt a little rushed.
Romance: Awareness of proximity and physical attractiveness. Mention of a man's mental reaction to seeing a girl he finds attractive. Reference to extra-marital sex. An unmarried couple platonically sharing a bed in a moment of crisis. And a few kissing scenes with a moderate level of description.
Language: Characters use PG-13 level swear words
Violence: Lots of fight scenes, as one would expect in a superhero story. Nothing overly graphic.
Substances: All characters are comfortable with alcohol consumption. Prism reflects that she enjoys drinking but not to the point of excess.
Prism is a super-abled young woman employed by DOSA, a government agency that oversees hero work. She leads a small team of heroes tasked with neutralizing criminal activities enacted by super abled villains. However, Prism has additional ambitions. She wants to carry on her father's legacy of rehabilitating villains and bringing them over into hero work. And she wants to start with her father's star pupil, a man named Fade who relapsed into villany rather spectacularly after her father's death. The trouble is, Fade isn't sure he's capable or deserving of redemption.
Though not the most polished narration, I still thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was lighthearted but also had depth. In fact, I almost cried a couple of times! Fade is a charming
I'll definitely be reading more books in this series.
CONTENT
Religion: Prism and her brother share a Christian faith. Though not a focal element of the story, it is present. There is a conversion scene which felt a little rushed.
Romance: Awareness of proximity and physical attractiveness. Mention of a man's mental reaction to seeing a girl he finds attractive. Reference to extra-marital sex. An unmarried couple platonically sharing a bed in a moment of crisis. And a few kissing scenes with a moderate level of description.
Language: Characters use PG-13 level swear words
Violence: Lots of fight scenes, as one would expect in a superhero story. Nothing overly graphic.
Substances: All characters are comfortable with alcohol consumption. Prism reflects that she enjoys drinking but not to the point of excess.
May 18, 2020
Can I say how much I loved this superhero book? The sweet romance was on point (happy sigh), the main villain perfectly mysterious (and had me guessing who it was until the reveal), and the action worth every moment (freaking love superheroes). I especially enjoyed Fade's character arc as well as everything about Prism's character. I ship them. I totally ship them. I enjoyed reading this fun book so much!
August 13, 2022
#Justice for Aiden
This was a fun, fast-paced superhero adventure. Aiden, aka the The Only Sensible Person In The Room At All Times, was by far my favorite character. I adored him. Prism, our MC, was harder for me to connect to because she seemed so naive. I accept this as a realistic character flaw, but it's still not one I enjoy reading about. And I was a little frustrated when Prism never seemed to mature beyond this flaw. Every time she trusts her own instincts over what more cautious and experienced people are telling her, she's rewarded by the narrative. This sounds mean, but... I would have liked to see her be wrong at least once. Just for the Growth and Development, you know?
Overall, though, this book creatively imagines how superheroes might be integrated into the government and military bureaucracy, and even into casual daily life. The storyworld feels natural and lived-in, but still fresh and exciting, which is a tough balance to strike. Nice work.
This was a fun, fast-paced superhero adventure. Aiden, aka the The Only Sensible Person In The Room At All Times, was by far my favorite character. I adored him. Prism, our MC, was harder for me to connect to because she seemed so naive. I accept this as a realistic character flaw, but it's still not one I enjoy reading about. And I was a little frustrated when Prism never seemed to mature beyond this flaw. Every time she trusts her own instincts over what more cautious and experienced people are telling her, she's rewarded by the narrative. This sounds mean, but... I would have liked to see her be wrong at least once. Just for the Growth and Development, you know?
Overall, though, this book creatively imagines how superheroes might be integrated into the government and military bureaucracy, and even into casual daily life. The storyworld feels natural and lived-in, but still fresh and exciting, which is a tough balance to strike. Nice work.
June 24, 2021
To write a superhero story primarily in a character driven rather than plot driven mode is difficult enough. Trying to say something fresh in the genre is ambitious. I'm not much of a superhero fan. Does Burke pull it off and compel me to care? 4 stars for mostly "yes". In an ensemble cast I thought the leads were strong, Aiden was compelling and everyone else was a bit in the shade. Maybe the sequels will flesh out the rest of the team further.
August 18, 2021
Stars: 5 of 5; Hearts: 1 of 5;
Tags: superpowers; heroes & villains; suspense; clean romance;
Now, I’m not the biggest Marvel/DC fan, but after getting stuck in fae courts for a while I needed a change of pace and decided to give this book a try. And boy, am I ever glad that I did!!
Both story and characters immediately drew me in so deep that I literally couldn’t put my tablet down before finishing. Which I did in less than a day! Yup, that’s a sure sign for one riveting read imo.
The writing is excellent and lively, the world building is solid and relatable and all the characters are well fleshed-out and likeable from page one. Prism – the female MC – may come off as naïve and idealistic at first, but soon it’s clear that she is no fool and not afraid to show her claws when it comes to fighting for what she cares for. Fade – the male MC – sort of reminds me of Tolemek from Lindsay Buroker’s Dragonblood series as both are “bad boys” with a heart of gold who wish to redeem themselves from the tragic things they did in the past. But to achieve that, Fade must first find his place in this group of misfit superheroes who’ve agreed to give him a second chance.
Add in the sudden appearance of a new villain that somehow seems to be linked to Fade’s past and we’re all set for one kick-ass superhero adventure. Indeed, the plot was so well crafted that for once I did not guess at the villain’s true identity before it was revealed by the characters themselves. I applaud you, Miss Burke, that hasn’t happened in a while. Well Done!
Seriously, I haven’t enjoyed a book as much as this one in a while. I’m already excited to read the rest of the books in the series as well as other books by the same author and will surely do so in the near future!
> Slight warning: this is not a cozy “the-heroes-save-them-all” kinda story! There will be fighting, pain and human casualties!
Tags: superpowers; heroes & villains; suspense; clean romance;
Now, I’m not the biggest Marvel/DC fan, but after getting stuck in fae courts for a while I needed a change of pace and decided to give this book a try. And boy, am I ever glad that I did!!
Both story and characters immediately drew me in so deep that I literally couldn’t put my tablet down before finishing. Which I did in less than a day! Yup, that’s a sure sign for one riveting read imo.
The writing is excellent and lively, the world building is solid and relatable and all the characters are well fleshed-out and likeable from page one. Prism – the female MC – may come off as naïve and idealistic at first, but soon it’s clear that she is no fool and not afraid to show her claws when it comes to fighting for what she cares for. Fade – the male MC – sort of reminds me of Tolemek from Lindsay Buroker’s Dragonblood series as both are “bad boys” with a heart of gold who wish to redeem themselves from the tragic things they did in the past. But to achieve that, Fade must first find his place in this group of misfit superheroes who’ve agreed to give him a second chance.
Add in the sudden appearance of a new villain that somehow seems to be linked to Fade’s past and we’re all set for one kick-ass superhero adventure. Indeed, the plot was so well crafted that for once I did not guess at the villain’s true identity before it was revealed by the characters themselves. I applaud you, Miss Burke, that hasn’t happened in a while. Well Done!
Seriously, I haven’t enjoyed a book as much as this one in a while. I’m already excited to read the rest of the books in the series as well as other books by the same author and will surely do so in the near future!
> Slight warning: this is not a cozy “the-heroes-save-them-all” kinda story! There will be fighting, pain and human casualties!
May 7, 2022
Who doesn't love supes?
If you like superhero stories with a little romance sprinkled in, this is a good choice. Most superheroes do have their love interests, so I guess this is not really different from most comic heroes in that regard.
Reformed has a familiar take on superheroes becoming part of a government organization, in this case, DOSA. Fans of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will enjoy the range of super abilities this allows to be introduced and easily feel at home in the universe of these novels.
We have a ragtag but loveable group of sables (super abled) with an almost naively optimistic leader Prism, her brother Aiden, best friend Tanvi, and the older, more experienced Keeper to round them out. Naturally Prism wants to believe in her late father's program to rehabilitate villains and thus Fade, a sable with a serious crime in his past, is the first attempt, thanks to a memory wipe that gives him a fresh start.
I didn't really have any doubt that Fade would be able to reform, but still, unraveling his past and exploring the team dynamics kept me reading.
This was a good introduction to the series, even though it took me longer than I expected to feel very invested in the story, about 50%. With many pieces to set up before picking up the action in the back half, I'm not sure it could have been done any other way and it all came together in the end.
I already have book two started and look forward to uncovering more about the team.
If you like superhero stories with a little romance sprinkled in, this is a good choice. Most superheroes do have their love interests, so I guess this is not really different from most comic heroes in that regard.
Reformed has a familiar take on superheroes becoming part of a government organization, in this case, DOSA. Fans of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will enjoy the range of super abilities this allows to be introduced and easily feel at home in the universe of these novels.
We have a ragtag but loveable group of sables (super abled) with an almost naively optimistic leader Prism, her brother Aiden, best friend Tanvi, and the older, more experienced Keeper to round them out. Naturally Prism wants to believe in her late father's program to rehabilitate villains and thus Fade, a sable with a serious crime in his past, is the first attempt, thanks to a memory wipe that gives him a fresh start.
I didn't really have any doubt that Fade would be able to reform, but still, unraveling his past and exploring the team dynamics kept me reading.
This was a good introduction to the series, even though it took me longer than I expected to feel very invested in the story, about 50%. With many pieces to set up before picking up the action in the back half, I'm not sure it could have been done any other way and it all came together in the end.
I already have book two started and look forward to uncovering more about the team.
July 25, 2022
Here's a funny-ish thing: I was arguably a fan of this book before I started reading it. I've been following H.L. Burke since before she started writing her superhero novels, and I've thoroughly enjoyed reading the snippets she posts as part of her writing process. So, I ended up rather attached to a lot of the characters without ever reading the actual book.* But then Realm Makers came, and I was searching through my Kindle for something to read, and thought "Hey, let's read a book by an Actual Realmie," and decided that was as good a reason as any to move this off my TBR.
And, I'm pleased to say, Reformed was every bit as excellent as I expected! As mentioned, I was already attached to the characters, but I enjoyed getting to meet them properly and learning the sides of them that you don't get in the snippets. The storyline was an excellent balance of relational and character-based elements (Prism's drive to revive her father's project and help Fade, Fade's tension over whether or not he could be a hero when so many say he's only a villain, the whole team learning to trust Fade and Fade learning to trust them, and of course the romance) with mystery, suspense, and action. On that note: I would argue that the mark of an exciting plot and an excellent book is that you can technically know most of the ending and still end up unable to stop reading when you should go to sleep . . . and if so, Reformed definitely qualifies. And, of course, the world of the series — a version of our world where superpowered people are a part of society — was very cool. I do think that the superhero genre is still a bit overlooked in prose fiction, and I'm glad Burke is filling that niche.
All in all, Reformed is an absolutely super story with plenty of both excitement and depth. I look forward to reading the rest of the series (which is a good thing, because I bought them in paperback when I was halfway through this book), and I'd absolutely recommend this one to anyone interested!
*This is, arguably, my preferred method of getting into a story — see also: watching Critical Role after enjoying massive amounts of fanart, animatics, and miscellaneous posts about the characters, reading Six of Crows after reading loads of quotes, fan theories, and headcanons, watching Fairy Tail after hearing my roommate talk about it for a year (and getting most of the major spoilers from her), and reading Discworld after running across entries about the series on basically every possible TVTropes page.
And, I'm pleased to say, Reformed was every bit as excellent as I expected! As mentioned, I was already attached to the characters, but I enjoyed getting to meet them properly and learning the sides of them that you don't get in the snippets. The storyline was an excellent balance of relational and character-based elements (Prism's drive to revive her father's project and help Fade, Fade's tension over whether or not he could be a hero when so many say he's only a villain, the whole team learning to trust Fade and Fade learning to trust them, and of course the romance) with mystery, suspense, and action. On that note: I would argue that the mark of an exciting plot and an excellent book is that you can technically know most of the ending and still end up unable to stop reading when you should go to sleep . . . and if so, Reformed definitely qualifies. And, of course, the world of the series — a version of our world where superpowered people are a part of society — was very cool. I do think that the superhero genre is still a bit overlooked in prose fiction, and I'm glad Burke is filling that niche.
All in all, Reformed is an absolutely super story with plenty of both excitement and depth. I look forward to reading the rest of the series (which is a good thing, because I bought them in paperback when I was halfway through this book), and I'd absolutely recommend this one to anyone interested!
*This is, arguably, my preferred method of getting into a story — see also: watching Critical Role after enjoying massive amounts of fanart, animatics, and miscellaneous posts about the characters, reading Six of Crows after reading loads of quotes, fan theories, and headcanons, watching Fairy Tail after hearing my roommate talk about it for a year (and getting most of the major spoilers from her), and reading Discworld after running across entries about the series on basically every possible TVTropes page.
September 4, 2023
This is a breath of fresh air I didn’t know I needed! Reformed is fun and action-packed, with a cute romance, and a few moments of heartbreak. All around a good read!
I did predict the twists early on, and it’s not completely unique in the superhero genre—but it’s definitely a blast. The writing is solid.
My favorite character was Aiden, but I definitely enjoyed the FMC, Prism, as well as Fade. The characters were all a lot of fun! I enjoyed each team member.
This is a great start to what promises to be a strong series, perfect for fans of Marvel/DC or My Hero Academia.
Content: Brief strong language (no f-bombs), some suggestive conversations and mild innuendo, some violence/death, and casual drinking.
I did predict the twists early on, and it’s not completely unique in the superhero genre—but it’s definitely a blast. The writing is solid.
My favorite character was Aiden, but I definitely enjoyed the FMC, Prism, as well as Fade. The characters were all a lot of fun! I enjoyed each team member.
This is a great start to what promises to be a strong series, perfect for fans of Marvel/DC or My Hero Academia.
Content: Brief strong language (no f-bombs), some suggestive conversations and mild innuendo, some violence/death, and casual drinking.
Shelved as 'dnf'
January 2, 2021Interesting premise, mildly amusing, but two chapters in it’s just not holding my interest.
July 9, 2023
I love Prism and Fade
I found this world when I read Power On, so when I heard Reformed is where their story starts I had to read it. A great start to a superhero world.
I found this world when I read Power On, so when I heard Reformed is where their story starts I had to read it. A great start to a superhero world.
April 23, 2020
I had the chance to beta read this story for Heidi, and I LOVED it. Superheroes? Yes please. Character with snark and a good heart and a past he'd like to overcome...? ALL THE YASSSSSS.
I love Fade, hands down. He's exactly the kind of character I have a soft spot for: scruffy bad past guy who is trying to do the right thing. Prism is adorkable, and I related to her mom mode far more than I care to admit... Tanvi is such a cool character (musical? Dancer? Strong? Quirky? YAS!), and so are Aiden and Keeper. Well drawn characters and a story that just starts rolling and keeps right on going.
And that opening line about a secondary super power of "PowerPoint" had me laughing from the start. Go read it, guys. It's a fun story that hits the right notes of humor, sass, snark, and all the rest of it.
I love Fade, hands down. He's exactly the kind of character I have a soft spot for: scruffy bad past guy who is trying to do the right thing. Prism is adorkable, and I related to her mom mode far more than I care to admit... Tanvi is such a cool character (musical? Dancer? Strong? Quirky? YAS!), and so are Aiden and Keeper. Well drawn characters and a story that just starts rolling and keeps right on going.
And that opening line about a secondary super power of "PowerPoint" had me laughing from the start. Go read it, guys. It's a fun story that hits the right notes of humor, sass, snark, and all the rest of it.
March 1, 2021
Reformed is an interesting and well-paced superhero story with the proper amount of action balanced by rounded characterizations. I enjoyed the premise and the twists, and I loved how gently the imbedded love story progressed. And though one incident did leave me in shock, I found the ending satisfying.
I did, however, have one problem with the writing. Though it is currently politically correct to use the plural pronouns ‘they’ and ‘them’ when referring to a person of unknown sex, I have a problem processing this. While reading Reformed, every time I came across this disjointed, grammatically incorrect usage of a plural pronoun referring to a single person, I needed to stop, think, and correct my automatic assumption of ‘plural.’ It bothered me enough to continuously pull me out of the story. The need to frequently reorient myself within the story led me to reduce what would have been a five-star rating to a four-star rating.
I did, however, have one problem with the writing. Though it is currently politically correct to use the plural pronouns ‘they’ and ‘them’ when referring to a person of unknown sex, I have a problem processing this. While reading Reformed, every time I came across this disjointed, grammatically incorrect usage of a plural pronoun referring to a single person, I needed to stop, think, and correct my automatic assumption of ‘plural.’ It bothered me enough to continuously pull me out of the story. The need to frequently reorient myself within the story led me to reduce what would have been a five-star rating to a four-star rating.
March 23, 2020
Watch out for this brand new series by the genre hopping author, H.L. Burke! I beta read this one and it was so much fun! It has wonderful characters, witty banter, romance, action, and suspense. Prism is the optimistic team leader who has a vision to see supervillains reformed and working as superheroes. Her first project is to take on Fade, a particularly challenging case. He was given a second chance previously and messed it up abominably. Has Prism bitten off more than she can chew? It certainly seems that way when things begin going horribly wrong. I'm already looking forward to the next book!
July 23, 2020
This is the second superhero book I've ever read (and I don't watch the movies either) so I'm pretty certain there must have been 'in' jokes and just basic superhero conventions that I totally missed while reading this book but that didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying this book. It had a good balance of action, mystery and romance. The main characters had a good mix of heart, snark and eccentricity and were highly likeable. Mostly, it's a fun read aside from one rather tragic twist part way through.
July 7, 2022
Ever wanted a book that was half story, half comic book! Look no further!
This was a good urban fantasy that talked about super-heroes (with powers!) and super villains, and it had a comic vibe I appreciated.
I loved the characters, the purity of Prism's soul, all the times Fade went soul-searching, and of course all the powers and twists and turns!
The one thing I really appreciated was the greyness of the supervillain: they aren't evil for the sake of being evil, they have actually a reason even though they go all wrong about it.
Now I'm curious to know how the program will continue and if we'll get glimpses of Prism and Fade in future books too!
This was a good urban fantasy that talked about super-heroes (with powers!) and super villains, and it had a comic vibe I appreciated.
I loved the characters, the purity of Prism's soul, all the times Fade went soul-searching, and of course all the powers and twists and turns!
The one thing I really appreciated was the greyness of the supervillain: they aren't evil for the sake of being evil, they have actually a reason even though they go all wrong about it.
Now I'm curious to know how the program will continue and if we'll get glimpses of Prism and Fade in future books too!
April 25, 2020
If you have been looking for a romantic superhero novel with high stakes, this is the novel for you! Prism has a heart of gold and believes she can make the world a better place. Fade doesn't believe there is good in everyone, because he once was a supervillain. Aiden, Prism's brother, tends to agree with him as someone with the ability to touch others minds. I think Tanvi was my favorite character, right next to Keeper. I'd read a novel from Keeper's perspective.
July 19, 2021
Got halfway through this one and knew I had to read the rest of the series. Superhero found family teams, themes of redemption and sacrifice, and high stakes? Sign me up! Also, Prism and Fade are just so adorable together! 💙
April 15, 2023
Reformed is a beautiful story, brilliantly written. I couldn't stop reading until it was done.
Content Warnings:
- some kisses
- a few references to closed-door scenes
- initials of some touchy words
- deaths and some violence
Content Warnings:
- some kisses
- a few references to closed-door scenes
- initials of some touchy words
- deaths and some violence
August 21, 2020
Reformed by HL Burke 🦸
Genre: Adult urban fantasy/superheroes 🦸♂️🦸♀️
My connection to this book: I belong to The Naked Reviewers and this was one of our August picks. Burke is one of my favorite authors, though I was not initially interested in reading this one--I'm not very interested in superhero stories and so decided that I would read through more of her backlist of straightforward fantasy books first and see if superheroes were something I became interested in later on. But then I ended up beta reading Relapsed: A Supervillain Rehabilitation Short, which is a short story tie-in to this book (I just recently learned that it's a prequel to this series, showing Fade five years before the events of this story) and ended up enjoying that one a lot. I know I always enjoy Burke's writing style and so far, all of her books have been either four or five stars for me, so I decided to push myself a bit and read something I don't usually pick up.
My rating: 4/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
As always, this review is my own personal opinion and I'm coming at this from someone whose only previous experience with superhero stories was watching the Teen Titans and X-Men Evolution cartoons as a kid, and then of course, watching The Incredibles movies later on as an adult.
What did I like about this book?
As always, I will discuss three things I enjoyed and three things I did not enjoy, alternating bad-good-bad-good-bad-good, so that you can make your own decision about whether or not to read this book! Let's start with...
I Liked Her Other Stuff Better
Allow me to quote from another review I wrote, in which I said
Like I said above, I've read quite a few of Burke's other books before this one and thoroughly enjoyed her writing style. But this one, it just felt less... polished, I guess you could say. My editor brain kept wanting to rewrite sentences and rearrange the order of scenes, and oooh, the echo words, my number one pet peeve. If you're unfamiliar with the concept of echo words, an echo word is basically an instance of repeating a word in the same sentence, paragraph, page, chapter, etc. Like using "hesitated" and then saying a character "hesitated" again two pages later. Or if a character "squinted" and then two paragraphs later, another character "squint"s. It just felt more rushed and unpolished than Burke's earlier works, which didn't suffer from these same problems.
Something I enjoyed
Shipper On Deck
As can be expected from Burke, I was a big fan of the romance. The main couple is probably the one you're predicting to happen, but for the sake of just-in-case spoilers, I won't say any names. And it was kind of my favorite way for romance to develop in a story: two people thrown together because of outside circumstances/another person deciding that this will be the person's new coworker/classmate/housemate/etc., who then learn to love and appreciate one another and they grow from reluctant colleagues to friends to awkward friends to maybe-more-than-friends to "oh, lol, we like each other, who knew?" It was just so cute, and the two romantic leads just seem made for each other--they would literally die for each other, they work well together, and they have their differences but can work past them and just be a great couple together.
Switching back to something I didn't enjoy as much...
Plot Conveniences
A lot of times, the story would progress not because of the heroes using their smarts or because of allies of the heroes lending them the use of their powers, but because of what seemed like contrived coincidences solving problems for the heroes.
For example, one of the characters in this book is named Bob, codename Keeper, who, for about 150 pages, has no actual role in the story. I was reading this book and every time Bob/Keeper was mentioned, I would shake my phone and shout "NO ONE WANTS YOU YOU'RE POINTLESS!!" He's an older guy who's been with Prism's team for years, and when Prism and her team find themselves facing up against a new villain named Mymic, they can't figure out which of their bosses they can trust anymore or what Mymic's true intentions are. But Keeper just so happens to have a friend who runs a bubble tea shop who has all the resources the heroes need to accomplish their goals: an underground network of spies who gather intel on the various people of DOSA, years of research into peoples of interest, and gadgets that are just as technologically advanced as the ones produced by a large government agency (again, this guy runs a teeny-tiny bubble tea shop and has no affiliation with the government)!
Or at the climax of the story when Fade and Prism are trapped inside the team's headquarters and all looks bleak, until another team of superheroes arrives to help them evacuate. And it just so happens that one of them, a guy named Porter, has just the powers they need to prevent a dangerous lethal gas from killing everyone within a ten-mile radius! It'd be one thing if we'd met Porter earlier in the story, or if Prism and her teammates already were acquainted with the bubble tea guy and frequently worked with him on their missions. But with the way these aspects of the story were set up, it just read as contrived deus ex machina events, rather than a logical progression of story elements.
Let's go back to talking about something a bit more positive...
Laugh out loud humor
Again, as expected of Burke: the humor in this book was laugh-out-loud funny. Let's examine a few of my favorite quotes that made me have to stop reading so I could finish laughing.
It's even funnier because right after this, Prism b*tchslaps him with her powers. xD
Last not-so-good thing...
Hard Going At the Start
It took me quite a bit of time and effort to get into this book for two reasons.
The first is because I read Relapsed, the tie-in short story, before this. I was mistaken in thinking that Relapsed took place after this book, showing a "far future" when Fade was doing successful work for DOSA, until I started reading and was confused as to why Fade was back in jail. Then I learned that Relapsed takes place before this book, at which point I was very disillusioned; to me, Fade was almost a hero in the short story, and I had high hopes for him, especially at the end of the short when he and his mentor Allay have a heart-to-heart and Allay allays (pun totally intended) some of Fade's fears. So to have Fade back in jail, accused of killing so many people, it was just very disconcerting for me. Of course, if you go into this book without having first read the short story, you probably won't encounter this problem.
The second reason I had trouble getting into this story was because there was a three-month timeskip between Chapter Seven and Chapter Eight. In Chapter Seven, Fade has just joined Prism's team but because of the voluntary mind wipe procedure he voluntarily underwent as a part of his reform, he doesn't even know if he likes sushi, and he doesn't know if other people will be accepting of him, a former criminal, being out and about in public. But then instead of his first public outing to get sushi, we skip three months and he's just like "yeah, now I'm part of Prism's team, sushi is long finished." We don't even get to see the reactions of the normies to him being in public, which up until this point in the story, was written as if it were a very important issue. Yes, the timeskip ended up being very necessary, mostly for the development of the romance, but I felt like we needed to see that "first public outing" that Fade takes and then skip ahead three months.
Lastly, let's discuss one more thing I enjoyed about this book...
Deep, Thematic Issues To Make You Think
I will freely admit that though I did watch several aforementioned superhero shows growing up, once I lost interest in those TV series, I stopped actively reaching for superhero stories in general. Even when I watched The Incredibles, it was more because I was trying to watch every single Disney/Pixar movie and that one was next on my list, rather than any organic interest in superheroes. But here, Burke explores so many deep themes, like morality, responsibility, humanity, and faith that you can't help but appreciate it. Particularly poignant is Fade's doubts about how he can't remember the crimes he committed, so how much hero work does he have to do before the amount of good he's contributed outweighs his previous bad acts. Normies (humans without powers) have prejudices against sables (super-ableds) because they're not fully human. Burke also explores a superhero's moral responsibility to do no harm--admittedly, kind of cliche for a story like this, but appreciated nonetheless. Lately I've really had trouble picking up "fun" books, and my collection of fairy tale retellings, lighthearted fantasy books about princesses kissing frogs, and girls turning into ogres has lost my interest. Now I only want to read "important" books, because the world is so grim and hopeless anyway that I may as well learn as much as I can about as many subjects as I can before the apocalypse hits. xD But Reformed hits just the right balance of "serious" and "funny" to fit my needs in this trying time--it takes itself seriously and explores deep themes that make you think, but also doesn't hesitate to throw in a laugh or two along the way.
In conclusion
Reformed by HL Burke gets 4/5 stars from me for:
👍 The amazing romance
👍 The perfect comedic timing of the humor
👍 The exploration of moralistic themes that make this more than just a laugh fest
👎 The writing was weaker than what I know she can produce
👎 Some contrived characters and plot conveniences cheapen the reading experience
👎 Difficult to get into the story and the timeskip felt like it came in too soon
This review originally appeared as a part of The Naked Reviewers. Indie and traditionally-published authors of all genres are welcome to send us their books for consideration at our website, The Naked Reviewers.com.
You can find me, The Discerning Reader, here at these other locations across the Web:
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube
Genre: Adult urban fantasy/superheroes 🦸♂️🦸♀️
My connection to this book: I belong to The Naked Reviewers and this was one of our August picks. Burke is one of my favorite authors, though I was not initially interested in reading this one--I'm not very interested in superhero stories and so decided that I would read through more of her backlist of straightforward fantasy books first and see if superheroes were something I became interested in later on. But then I ended up beta reading Relapsed: A Supervillain Rehabilitation Short, which is a short story tie-in to this book (I just recently learned that it's a prequel to this series, showing Fade five years before the events of this story) and ended up enjoying that one a lot. I know I always enjoy Burke's writing style and so far, all of her books have been either four or five stars for me, so I decided to push myself a bit and read something I don't usually pick up.
My rating: 4/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
As always, this review is my own personal opinion and I'm coming at this from someone whose only previous experience with superhero stories was watching the Teen Titans and X-Men Evolution cartoons as a kid, and then of course, watching The Incredibles movies later on as an adult.
What did I like about this book?
As always, I will discuss three things I enjoyed and three things I did not enjoy, alternating bad-good-bad-good-bad-good, so that you can make your own decision about whether or not to read this book! Let's start with...
I Liked Her Other Stuff Better
Allow me to quote from another review I wrote, in which I said
Like I said above, I've read quite a few of Burke's other books before this one and thoroughly enjoyed her writing style. But this one, it just felt less... polished, I guess you could say. My editor brain kept wanting to rewrite sentences and rearrange the order of scenes, and oooh, the echo words, my number one pet peeve. If you're unfamiliar with the concept of echo words, an echo word is basically an instance of repeating a word in the same sentence, paragraph, page, chapter, etc. Like using "hesitated" and then saying a character "hesitated" again two pages later. Or if a character "squinted" and then two paragraphs later, another character "squint"s. It just felt more rushed and unpolished than Burke's earlier works, which didn't suffer from these same problems.
Something I enjoyed
Shipper On Deck
As can be expected from Burke, I was a big fan of the romance. The main couple is probably the one you're predicting to happen, but for the sake of just-in-case spoilers, I won't say any names. And it was kind of my favorite way for romance to develop in a story: two people thrown together because of outside circumstances/another person deciding that this will be the person's new coworker/classmate/housemate/etc., who then learn to love and appreciate one another and they grow from reluctant colleagues to friends to awkward friends to maybe-more-than-friends to "oh, lol, we like each other, who knew?" It was just so cute, and the two romantic leads just seem made for each other--they would literally die for each other, they work well together, and they have their differences but can work past them and just be a great couple together.
Switching back to something I didn't enjoy as much...
Plot Conveniences
A lot of times, the story would progress not because of the heroes using their smarts or because of allies of the heroes lending them the use of their powers, but because of what seemed like contrived coincidences solving problems for the heroes.
For example, one of the characters in this book is named Bob, codename Keeper, who, for about 150 pages, has no actual role in the story. I was reading this book and every time Bob/Keeper was mentioned, I would shake my phone and shout "NO ONE WANTS YOU YOU'RE POINTLESS!!" He's an older guy who's been with Prism's team for years, and when Prism and her team find themselves facing up against a new villain named Mymic, they can't figure out which of their bosses they can trust anymore or what Mymic's true intentions are. But Keeper just so happens to have a friend who runs a bubble tea shop who has all the resources the heroes need to accomplish their goals: an underground network of spies who gather intel on the various people of DOSA, years of research into peoples of interest, and gadgets that are just as technologically advanced as the ones produced by a large government agency (again, this guy runs a teeny-tiny bubble tea shop and has no affiliation with the government)!
Or at the climax of the story when Fade and Prism are trapped inside the team's headquarters and all looks bleak, until another team of superheroes arrives to help them evacuate. And it just so happens that one of them, a guy named Porter, has just the powers they need to prevent a dangerous lethal gas from killing everyone within a ten-mile radius! It'd be one thing if we'd met Porter earlier in the story, or if Prism and her teammates already were acquainted with the bubble tea guy and frequently worked with him on their missions. But with the way these aspects of the story were set up, it just read as contrived deus ex machina events, rather than a logical progression of story elements.
Let's go back to talking about something a bit more positive...
Laugh out loud humor
Again, as expected of Burke: the humor in this book was laugh-out-loud funny. Let's examine a few of my favorite quotes that made me have to stop reading so I could finish laughing.
Tanvi stomped in. With her mouth a grim line but her eyes twinkling, she marched up to Fade and tossed a sock on the table in front of him. He glanced at it, then at her, then tilted his head to one side. "Am I a free elf now or something?"
Fifth floor, door with the..." she choked, "Door with The Princess Bride poster on it."(note: this is only funny if you know Burke personally, but I do, and I know for a fact that she's a huge Princess Bride fan, so this is hilarious to me)
The gentle hum of his powers diffused into her skin. His breath warmed her. His arms kept her (Prism) standing against the pummeling of her own grief.
Cody sidled up to them. "Now kiss," he said.
It's even funnier because right after this, Prism b*tchslaps him with her powers. xD
Last not-so-good thing...
Hard Going At the Start
It took me quite a bit of time and effort to get into this book for two reasons.
The first is because I read Relapsed, the tie-in short story, before this. I was mistaken in thinking that Relapsed took place after this book, showing a "far future" when Fade was doing successful work for DOSA, until I started reading and was confused as to why Fade was back in jail. Then I learned that Relapsed takes place before this book, at which point I was very disillusioned; to me, Fade was almost a hero in the short story, and I had high hopes for him, especially at the end of the short when he and his mentor Allay have a heart-to-heart and Allay allays (pun totally intended) some of Fade's fears. So to have Fade back in jail, accused of killing so many people, it was just very disconcerting for me. Of course, if you go into this book without having first read the short story, you probably won't encounter this problem.
The second reason I had trouble getting into this story was because there was a three-month timeskip between Chapter Seven and Chapter Eight. In Chapter Seven, Fade has just joined Prism's team but because of the voluntary mind wipe procedure he voluntarily underwent as a part of his reform, he doesn't even know if he likes sushi, and he doesn't know if other people will be accepting of him, a former criminal, being out and about in public. But then instead of his first public outing to get sushi, we skip three months and he's just like "yeah, now I'm part of Prism's team, sushi is long finished." We don't even get to see the reactions of the normies to him being in public, which up until this point in the story, was written as if it were a very important issue. Yes, the timeskip ended up being very necessary, mostly for the development of the romance, but I felt like we needed to see that "first public outing" that Fade takes and then skip ahead three months.
Lastly, let's discuss one more thing I enjoyed about this book...
Deep, Thematic Issues To Make You Think
I will freely admit that though I did watch several aforementioned superhero shows growing up, once I lost interest in those TV series, I stopped actively reaching for superhero stories in general. Even when I watched The Incredibles, it was more because I was trying to watch every single Disney/Pixar movie and that one was next on my list, rather than any organic interest in superheroes. But here, Burke explores so many deep themes, like morality, responsibility, humanity, and faith that you can't help but appreciate it. Particularly poignant is Fade's doubts about how he can't remember the crimes he committed, so how much hero work does he have to do before the amount of good he's contributed outweighs his previous bad acts. Normies (humans without powers) have prejudices against sables (super-ableds) because they're not fully human. Burke also explores a superhero's moral responsibility to do no harm--admittedly, kind of cliche for a story like this, but appreciated nonetheless. Lately I've really had trouble picking up "fun" books, and my collection of fairy tale retellings, lighthearted fantasy books about princesses kissing frogs, and girls turning into ogres has lost my interest. Now I only want to read "important" books, because the world is so grim and hopeless anyway that I may as well learn as much as I can about as many subjects as I can before the apocalypse hits. xD But Reformed hits just the right balance of "serious" and "funny" to fit my needs in this trying time--it takes itself seriously and explores deep themes that make you think, but also doesn't hesitate to throw in a laugh or two along the way.
In conclusion
Reformed by HL Burke gets 4/5 stars from me for:
👍 The amazing romance
👍 The perfect comedic timing of the humor
👍 The exploration of moralistic themes that make this more than just a laugh fest
👎 The writing was weaker than what I know she can produce
👎 Some contrived characters and plot conveniences cheapen the reading experience
👎 Difficult to get into the story and the timeskip felt like it came in too soon
This review originally appeared as a part of The Naked Reviewers. Indie and traditionally-published authors of all genres are welcome to send us their books for consideration at our website, The Naked Reviewers.com.
You can find me, The Discerning Reader, here at these other locations across the Web:
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube
July 16, 2021
It took me a little while to get properly into this book but it was worth it with great characters, a very interesting setup and an engrossing (though possibly slightly predictable) plot.
September 2, 2020
I'm a bit of a sucker for traditional superhero stories, so this short novel set in world of regulated superheroes with its strong thread of redemption was a compelling draw. Prism is the young leader of a superhero team, eager to carry on her father's work in rehabilitating former supervillains. She chooses Fade: someone who had started on the road to redemption and then relapsed.
I love a good redemption story, and while this isn't entirely the route that the book takes, it's still fun. There's a romance between the two leads, signposted very early on, which gave me cause to grumble at the start, as the the chemistry between them felt more told rather than shown. Normally, I roll my eyes at that old cliché, but I guess it's a cliché for a reason. It wasn't until quite late in the book that I felt emotionally invested enough in the two characters for their budding relationship to really work for me.
Other than that, I enjoyed it a lot. Of Prism's team, only her and her brother get a lot of character development, with Keeper (animal control) and Tanvi (super strength) playing supporting roles. I hope they'll get more to do in future books (especially with the revelation about Keeper towards the end of this one).
Fade never really feels as dangerous or likely to turn on the team as the cover blurb suggested, but the external threat that Prism's team has to deal with alongside integrating Fade is powerful and works well as a unifying force within the group.
The world is fun and the book doesn't treat itself hugely seriously. Despite my few gripes, it's just what I needed in the moment.
(and it's part of the Kindle Owner's Lending Library, so you can read it for free if you've got a Kindle and Amazon Prime)
I love a good redemption story, and while this isn't entirely the route that the book takes, it's still fun. There's a romance between the two leads, signposted very early on, which gave me cause to grumble at the start, as the the chemistry between them felt more told rather than shown. Normally, I roll my eyes at that old cliché, but I guess it's a cliché for a reason. It wasn't until quite late in the book that I felt emotionally invested enough in the two characters for their budding relationship to really work for me.
Other than that, I enjoyed it a lot. Of Prism's team, only her and her brother get a lot of character development, with Keeper (animal control) and Tanvi (super strength) playing supporting roles. I hope they'll get more to do in future books (especially with the revelation about Keeper towards the end of this one).
Fade never really feels as dangerous or likely to turn on the team as the cover blurb suggested, but the external threat that Prism's team has to deal with alongside integrating Fade is powerful and works well as a unifying force within the group.
The world is fun and the book doesn't treat itself hugely seriously. Despite my few gripes, it's just what I needed in the moment.
(and it's part of the Kindle Owner's Lending Library, so you can read it for free if you've got a Kindle and Amazon Prime)
May 10, 2022
Loved the action and the romance! Several of the twists caught me completely by surprise. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, and I will definitely be reading the sequel!
July 17, 2023
Reformed was a quick and easy read focussing on a group of Super Heroes determined to restart the Supervillain Rehabilitation Project (SVR for short from hence force in). What is the SVR I hear you ask? Well, it's a project to turn villains into heroes. Only it was tried several years ago and went disastrously wrong when one of the villains killed a whole lot of people instead. And the team want to start with exactly the same villain from all those years ago.
All in all, this was well done. Each of the heroes and villains have different superpowers, some more common than others, some more powerful than others. The main team have powers ranging from super strength, to influencing light and mind reading, and several of them augment their powers with tech. The mystery of Fade, the villain re-introduced to the program, is well done. Prism, the leader of the SVR team, is confident that something is missing in the official files, but as the reader you are never confident whether this is naivety or gut instinct.
With a new villain who somehow has a far wider range of powers on the loose, the SVR team have their work cut out. Particularly when their actions go well beyond stunts and people start getting seriously harmed. I liked the push-pull dynamic of the team, particularly with some of them trusting Fade and others really not so sold on the idea. The team was generally well done, although some characters felt a tad pointless which was a shame (Bob's animal control skills sound cool and yet he's more or less a hanger on for the entire narrative).
I wasn't so keen on the romance angle throughout the novel; it felt unnecessary and forced in honesty. I'd have been far more intrigued by a purely platonic relationship between all characters, particularly given the short period of time in which the romance occurs. It's not quite insta-love, but it's uncomfortably close for my liking. It didn't help that the author takes advantage of at least one time skip in the novel, so you are just shunted forward three months. Perhaps if more of those three months had been written, the romance would have felt more natural? Not sure on that though.
The only other area I could see this being improved on is with more world building. Some aspects are covered quite well, like how heroes (and villains, I suppose) slot into a functional society. But there was a definite lack of exploration of how this happened. I suppose I'm thinking of books like the Wild Card series where you get a glimpse at how superheroes have hada an impact on almost every level of society. It felt rather more thin here; a hand wave of 'eh, either biology or genetic tweaking' and then we move on swiftly.
All in all though, I did enjoy this and it's certainly a quick and easy read.
All in all, this was well done. Each of the heroes and villains have different superpowers, some more common than others, some more powerful than others. The main team have powers ranging from super strength, to influencing light and mind reading, and several of them augment their powers with tech. The mystery of Fade, the villain re-introduced to the program, is well done. Prism, the leader of the SVR team, is confident that something is missing in the official files, but as the reader you are never confident whether this is naivety or gut instinct.
With a new villain who somehow has a far wider range of powers on the loose, the SVR team have their work cut out. Particularly when their actions go well beyond stunts and people start getting seriously harmed. I liked the push-pull dynamic of the team, particularly with some of them trusting Fade and others really not so sold on the idea. The team was generally well done, although some characters felt a tad pointless which was a shame (Bob's animal control skills sound cool and yet he's more or less a hanger on for the entire narrative).
I wasn't so keen on the romance angle throughout the novel; it felt unnecessary and forced in honesty. I'd have been far more intrigued by a purely platonic relationship between all characters, particularly given the short period of time in which the romance occurs. It's not quite insta-love, but it's uncomfortably close for my liking. It didn't help that the author takes advantage of at least one time skip in the novel, so you are just shunted forward three months. Perhaps if more of those three months had been written, the romance would have felt more natural? Not sure on that though.
The only other area I could see this being improved on is with more world building. Some aspects are covered quite well, like how heroes (and villains, I suppose) slot into a functional society. But there was a definite lack of exploration of how this happened. I suppose I'm thinking of books like the Wild Card series where you get a glimpse at how superheroes have hada an impact on almost every level of society. It felt rather more thin here; a hand wave of 'eh, either biology or genetic tweaking' and then we move on swiftly.
All in all though, I did enjoy this and it's certainly a quick and easy read.
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