Book Review: Sovereign (Nemesis) by April Daniels

Sovereign is the second book in the Nemesis series by April Daniels. I highly recommend reading this series in order, as character and story development in  the first book, Dreadnought, is vital to fully enjoying this book. Since I enjoyed the first book so much, I do not think it will be a chore for any that need to go read, or reread, that first.

Only nine months after her debut as the fourth superhero to fight under the name Dreadnought, Danny Tozer is already a scarred veteran. Protecting a city the size of New Port is a team-sized job and she's doing it alone. Between her newfound celebrity and her demanding cape duties, Dreadnought is stretched thin, and it's only going to get worse. When she crosses a newly discovered supervillain, Dreadnought comes under attack from all quarters. From her troubled family life to her disintegrating friendship with Calamity, there's no trick too dirty and no lever too cruel for this villain to use against her. She might be hard to kill, but there's more than one way to destroy a hero. Before the war is over, Dreadnought will be forced to confront parts of herself she never wanted to acknowledge. And behind it all, an old enemy waits in the wings to unleash a plot that will scar the world forever.

Sovereign is a complex and thought provoking book with character development that is impactful and  sometimes as painful as the physical battles the characters undergo. Danny is still struggling with the changes of becoming Dreadnought and the devastating battles fought in the first book. She needs to deal with the physical and emotional scars while trying to fight crime , keep her promises, get free from her parents, and deal with the social complications of her life. Despite the powers and her intelligence, Danny is still young and reeling from abuse and betrayals,  mistakes and assumptions are made making matters worse. I really enjoyed seeing Danny, Doc Impossible, Calamity, and the rest of the group come into their own and fight for what they think is right while trying to stick to their codes. I was floored by the honesty and raw truth of the characters- and how real the confusion, doubt, and complexity of their thoughts and emotions were. It is hard to get the balance of growth, feels, and action right- and this book hit it perfectly. 

Sovereign is a book that I put off reading for far too long. I loved the first book so much that I was worried it would not meet my high hopes, thankfully that worry was unfounded. However, my worry of wanting more right now from the author was well founded. I am hooked and want more. I highly recommend Dreadnought and Sovereign to readers from middle school age right on up to adults. The only people I think would not enjoy it are those with something against the LGBT community, and they might need to read it the most.

Book Review: Dreadnought (Nemesis) by April Daniels

Dreadnought is the first book in the Nemesis series by April Daniels. It is a young adult novel, and I think teens and adults alike will enjoy it. 

Until Dreadnought fell out of the sky and died right in front of her, Danny was trying to keep people from finding out she’s transgender. But before he expired, Dreadnought passed his mantle to her, and those secondhand superpowers transformed Danny’s body into what she’s always thought it should be. Now there’s no hiding that she’s a girl. It should be the happiest time of her life, but Danny’s first weeks finally living in a body that fits her are more difficult and complicated than she could have imagined. Between her father’s dangerous obsession with “curing” her girlhood, her best friend suddenly acting like he’s entitled to date her, and her fellow superheroes arguing over her place in their ranks, Danny feels like she’s in over her head. She doesn’t have much time to adjust. Dreadnought’s murderer—a cyborg named Utopia—still haunts the streets of New Port City, threatening destruction. If Danny can’t sort through the confusion of coming out, master her powers, and stop Utopia in time, humanity faces extinction.

Dreadnought has so much going for it. From the very beginning I connected with the main character- Danny had all the angst of teen age life with the added pressure of being transgender. Add on witnessing the death of a superhero, getting the gender switch you craved, and suddenly having superpowers and anyone would be overwhelmed. Danny faces everything in a realistic manner, and I found the reactions of others in the book accurate to what a young person in her position would encounter. I found the world building to allow for the superheroes and technology necessary for the story  to be well done. I never felt buried under explanations but never felt like I was lacking any information I wanted either- that can be a hard balance to master. I liked that there was also a good balance between the emotional and mental struggles that Danny was facing and the mystery and action involved in finding Utopia and figuring out what was going on.  I was impressed all around with the book, I was only disappointed in that fact that it was over and the next book has not been released yet.

Dreadnought is a wonderful book on a variety of levels. Danny's story of personal growth and discovering her capabilities is very well done, as is the superhero angle and world building. I think the only people that might not enjoy it are those that need to read it most, those that are so set on the idea of people different than themselves, or those they do not understand, are somehow wrong rather than other people just trying to get through life- just like them. My only complaint with the book, is that know I want the rest of the series- I am terribly curious to see what happens next!