Guardians of the Galaxy released in theaters this weekend.  The film features a bevy of great Super Heroines!

 

Gamora is an orphan from an alien world who was raised by the mysterious Thanos to become the perfect weapon. As Thanos personal assassin, Gamora has earned a reputation as a formidable warrior. Gamora now seeks redemption for her past crimes.

 

Nebula is a blue-skinned deadly assassin, Nebula is a loyal lieutenant in Ronan and Thanos employ. Her advanced skill set and cybernetic enhancements make her a valuable asset but her resentment of Thanos adoptive daughter Gamora may prove to be her Achilles heel.

 

Nova Prime Irani Rael is in charge of Nova Corps operations throughout the galaxy. From her base of operations on Xandar, the principled and efficient Nova Prime leads her forces with confidence. She defines her mission above all to protect the citizens of Xandar and keep peace.

 

Bereet is a female Krylorian techno-artist. 

 

Maybe we will get the the Wonder Woman Standalone Film sooner than later! 

 

In the meantime, here are some wonderful Superpowered Heroines from Romanceland!

 

 

1.  Even Villains Fall in Love by Liana Brooks  

 

A super villain at the top of his game must choose between the world he wants and the woman he loves.

If you believe the rumors you know that Doctor Charm, the wickedly sexy super villain, retired in shame seven years ago after his last fight with the super hero Zephyr Girl. The fact that the charming Evan Smith—father of four and husband of the too-beautiful-to-be-real Tabitha—bears a resemblance to the defeated Doctor is pure coincidence. And, please, ignore the minions.

Everything is perfect in the Smith household, until Tabitha announces her return to work as a super hero. Evan was hoping to keep her distracted until after he rigged the 2012 presidential election, but—genius that he is—Evan has a backup plan. In his basement lab, Evan has a machine whose sole purpose is keeping Tabitha hungry for him.

But children and labs don’t mix. The machine is broken, and Tabitha storms out, claiming she no longer knows him. World domination takes a back seat to meeting his daughters’ demands to get Mommy back right now. This time his genius isn’t going to be enough—he’s going to need both his evil alter-ego, and the blooming super abilities of his children to save his wife. But even his most charming self might not be enough to save their marriage.

 

2. Sunroper by Natalie J. Damschroder 

 

Marley Canton is done being a victim. A year and a half has passed since she discovered her ability to nullify power in those who aren’t supposed to have it. She’s now on a quest not only to stop the brats who’ve become addicted to goddess power, but also to find the source of their addiction.

 

Like Marley, Gage Samargo is tracking down the goddess who went rogue decades ago. Insane with too much power from the sun, she’s selling that energy to Gage’s younger brother and his friends, who are no longer content to come into power naturally. While they work to find a way to neutralize the goddess, Marley discovers that every time she nullifies someone, she takes on some of the goddess’s insanity.

 

Gage falls for Marley’s sharp wit and intense desire to right wrongs. But once he discovers she’s turning into her enemy, is it too late to back away?

 

3. Temptress by Lola Dodge 

 

Kidnapping a super-powered suspected felon from a Vegas bachelor party is another day at the office for Jenny Ray, alias Temptress. With one kiss, any naughty supe’s powers are hers. Except this time she’s caught by her mark’s boss, who’s no ordinary superhero.

 

It’s Thinktank, leader of the toughest hero crew around. One destroyed men’s room and near-toilet-drowning later, Jenny’s forced to steal an innocent hero’s powers.

For a super brain, Tank’s feeling pretty idiotic. First, he let Jenny close enough to get to him. Second, he’s helpless against the tide of desire that rises in him every time he kisses her. Which he’s doing a lot, since she’s trying to give him back his power—only it’s not working. As he shadows her on her various freelance casino security jobs, he realizes she’s no she-demon—she’s a time bomb. Her acquired powers are shredding her, body and soul.

 

As they give in to desire, a shadowy figure from Jenny’s past surfaces with a kidnapping plan of his own. Jenny will do anything—even level Las Vegas—to rescue the man she loves. But there may not be anything left of her when the dust settles.

 

 

4. Equal Parts by Emma Winters  

 

Nobody knows happiness better than nineteen-year-old Felicity Eastwood. For years now, she’s been ‘gifted’ with the ability to collect and transfer happiness to anyone at will. Well, everyone except herself.
That is until Achilles - renowned criminal mastermind with a face painted like Death and enough charm to cause hormonal riots – crashes into Felicity’s world and her feel … something.

Determined not to let such a coveted superpower slip beyond his reach, Achilles kidnaps Felicity, hoping to use her ability to brave his own skeletons. Felicity is only a half-unwilling prisoner though, forgoing escape to learn more of the man behind the mask and pursue the inexplicable spark between them.

As the lines between hero and villain begin to blur, Felicity finds herself wondering if Achilles might be the key to her own happiness at long last. Is it possible to be so happy with someone so dangerous?

But Achilles isn’t the only villain in the town, and the pursuit of happiness can be a deadly hunt…

 

5. To the Fifth Power  by Shirin Dubbin 

 

Three years ago, Zola Noite's nemesis killed her sidekick and forced her to watch. The guilt drove her to hang up her cape. Zola knows one thing for certain. She will never be a superhero again.

 

Psychologist Dr. Arturo "Fort" Forte specializes in super-powered mental health. He’s the only reason Zola can once again call herself sane—although, truth be told, the heat between them is slowly driving her back to mad.

 

When three mega-villains escape the prison Fort oversees, all Zola's best laid plans go up in flames. Fort asks her for help, and she can't turn down the man she's secretly come to love. As battles ensue and clues add up, the one thing Zola trusts is called into question: Fort's true agenda and which side he’s on.

 

6. Blindside by Jayden Alexander 

 

Once a masked superhero, Mac Gamble is a cage fighter using his infamy to attract a crowd, until the cop who ran him out of town asks him to track down a dangerous vigilante. 

Once an ambitious cop determined to continue in her brother's footsteps, Lana Rossini craves vengeance. The abilities she acquired in the same explosion that killed her brother allow her to hunt the streets at night for those who betrayed him. Yet, during the day she is a helpless invalid, unable to stand the thinnest light. 

She doesn’t expect the man sent after her to be the one whose powers she somehow stole, a man she thought abandoned her to blindness, a man she can't allow herself to love. 

 

7. Seduced by the Storm by Sydney Croft 

 

They met in a steamy Florida bar—then spent a night of mind-bending passion. Two secret agents who each possess unique telekinetic gifts—and whose combined sexual powers leave neither of them unscathed. For ex-Navy SEAL Wyatt Kennedy, assigned by the Agency for Covert Rare Operatives to the most treacherous mission of his career, the woman in black leather and lace has just become more than a one-night stand. Because Faith Black is the sole barrier to the success of his mission—and not even Wyatt’s legendary seduction skills can penetrate her deep cover.

Faith’s psychic gifts make her one of the world’s most dangerous women—but she hides a secret pain she shares with no one. Until Wyatt. And Faith has an agenda of her own: using her unique powers to save someone close to her—a move that pits her against a man she thought she’d never see again. For as a deadly hurricane is unleashed across the eastern seaboard, desire reignites between Faith and Wyatt, exposing secrets that thrust them both into harm’s way. With the hurricane sweeping closer—and their erotic hunger for each other growing—these two wary hearts must come together to heal, to trust . . . and to harness the power of a storm that could consume everything in its path.

 

8. Chain by Viola Grace 

 

Estelle is a logistical expert, show her a problem and she can solve it. When she is drugged and enslaved, she looks for a way out, sending messages with every outgoing slave and hoping that one will get her plan to the Alliance in time. The escape is on, but she has been shackled to her breeding partner that very evening, linked by a chain they lead the escape until one partner goes on alone. Survivors are offered a place on an Oefric colony world. The shape shifters have a separate town from the arena survivors, and that is where their hospitality ends. Steel leads the charge to design a working village, and since she conveniently made it into the survivors and not the Alliance specialist designation when she landed, let the fun begin. Wyanic is eventually persuaded to look in on the growing village, and imagine his surprise when his true mate greets him when he thought her dead on the ship.

 

9. Shadow Touch by Marjorie M. Liu 

 

Elena Baxter, a psychic trying to do good in her local hospital, has a healing touch. Literally. And her life is forever altered when she's kidnapped by an organization out to exploit her powers. She learns that she's not the single irregularity she believed; others have been captured. Shape-shifters, fellow psychics, and Artur, an ex-Russian Mafia agent now working for the secret detective agency Dirk & Steele and a man who can see into a person's soul. But what she sees in him is far more precious, something she is willing to risk her life for.

 

10. Super Bad  by Vivi Andrews

 

2.5 stars. "To The Fifth Power" offers an interesting set-up and some solid insight into what it is to be a modern superhero. Unfortunately it's let down by some slightly shaky writing and a central romance that is rather unsettling. I do honestly think there is potential here and I would like to give other books in the series a chance despite this rather average book one.

With the whole big hubba baloo with superheroes right now, I felt that I just HAD to read To the Fifth Power by Shirin Dubbin.  A superhero gone into retirement now being hunted by three escaped mega-villains?  Sounded pretty awesomesauce to me.

Zola Noite was once the most sought after superhero around, until she was forced to witness the death of her sidekick, which in turn, sent her from numero uno to numero zero.  Leaving the world of crime fighting behind, Zola has been seeing psychologist, Dr. Forte (aka Fort), who has helped her out of her climb out of her dark hole, and rejoin the living.

But when three of mega-villan’s escape the very institute that Fort works at, their main objective seems to be destroying Zola.  But how does Fort play into all of this?  And will Zola be able to overcome the darkness that has seeped into her very soul, and defeat these villain’s before they destroy her.

Although there were elements in this book that kept my attention, there was just something missing.  With only being just over 100 pages, the pacing was a little quick, with short glimpses into the character(s)’ background.  At times, I felt as though the story was a bit rushed, and as an epic fight scene would ensue, just as my interest was peaking, it was over all too soon.

The characters in To the Fifth by Shirin Dubbin were ones that readers will easily enjoy, but again, the lack of character background left them a little hollow.  I felt like we were offered just a taste of, what could have been, some pretty epic fight scenes.  There is a very sexy-time scene in the book, which would make this suitable for a more mature audience.  But again, that scene seemed to have happened in a blink of an eye.

Don’t get me wrong!  To the Fifth was enjoyable, it was just very quick.  More like a movie preview, rather than the full length movie.  I would recommend this read to fans of superhero reads, and are into reads that have intriguing plot twists.

I really enjoyed this, but wish there had been more worldbuilding.

full review

I love comics and superheroes. so when I saw To the 5th Power, I really wanted to read it. I’ve had good luck with other Entangled Ever Afters, too, so I was quite eager to dive into this one. I enjoyed it a lot. The world building was a little weak, but for a novella, I wasn’t expecting a highly detailed explanation behind all of the super powers the heroes possessed. Instead, this is a kick ass adventure, following Zola on her path to rediscovering herself. The romance wasn’t as prevalent, with the focus instead being on Zola’s battles with the escaped villains. The tension between Fort and Zola is nicely established, though, and because Zola is so strong, Fort’s character was painted with the complexity to deal with her. He’s a stubborn, strong-willed man, and he has to be, or Zola would call all of the shots, and that’s just a little boring.

Fort approaches Zola and requests her assistance recapturing three escaped criminals that were under his care. They are all powerful, convicted murderers, and insane. Sounds like fun, huh? Zola is still suffering from a mental breakdown after her sidekick was murdered in front of her. She is consumed with guilt because she couldn’t protect and defend one of the people closest to her, and she blames herself for his death. Every second of the day. She’s hung up her superhero costume and is trying to be a “normal” person, though in her case, “normal” is far from it.

Fort was her psychiatrist, and he tried to put the shattered pieces of her mind back together after her breakdown. Zola doesn’t trust him, and she knows that he’s not giving her the whole story about the escapees, but she’s attracted to him so she’ll at least hear him out. When the villains attack her one after the other, she is thrust into survival mode. She is forced to pick up her super powered persona, to fight for the lives of all she holds dear. Will the battle cost her her already fragile mind?

To the 5th Power is basically a comic book in prose. I loved it. Despite some occasional confusion at some awkwardly explained background, Zola’s race to recapture the bad guys and save herself at the same time was impossible to put down. She is a legendary superhero, suffering from a complete, and quite possibly, permanent, mental breakdown. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with heroes (or villains, for that matter), but she still feels obligated to protect the citizens around her. She is grappling with serious, overwhelming issues, and it made for a compelling read. How can you be expected to save the world when you are two steps away from being committed to the insane asylum?

While there is a romance between Zola and Fort, this is primarily an action read, with an engagingly damaged protagonist. I hope we can visit with Zola and Fort again in the near future.

Grade: B/B+

My Thoughts - 3.5 out of 5 unicorns - I liked it!

**Received from Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review

Okay to start out, I love the cover. It grabbed my attention to read it.

I love superheroes :) At first, I have to admit that I was confused and lost. I didn’t get into the book until about half way through and the author totally surprised me because I didn’t see where the ending was going. I love when an author does that. I think this book had some awkwardness being the first in the series, but I think this series is going to be fabulous in the coming books. I definitely wonder about Zola before her retirement and want to read more about her and her friends. Superheroes are people too, and they have drama just like us. That’s what this book is about.

If you are interested in superheroes and the drama that goes with the job, you will definitely enjoy this book. Keep in mind this contains adult content and is not YA.