Flash Fire: The Extraordinaries, Book Two

'Flash Fire' by TJ Klune is book two in The Extraordinaries, a series about everyday teens with not-so-everyday abilities. Though I missed out on the debut book, I definitely intend to go back and catch up.. because this one was delightful. I laughed so much in the opening pages and didn't want to put it down, even briefly and had to keep explaining to the people around me why I was laughing at all. Nick Bell is the central figure, a charming boy with ADHD, enough enthusiasm for multiple people, and a hot superhero boyfriend. When he isn't busy helping out via his place on 'Team PyroStorm' or even better.. making out with the Extraordinary himself, he spends his time writing fanfics about his favorite hero and trying to deal with the fact he doesn't have any special powers of his own. As new Extraordinaries come to light, like a pair of twins who can manipulate smoke and ice, a telekinetic enigma, and a drag queen with the best name and possibly the best catchphrases ever heard, Team PyroStorm has to figure out who's a threat to Nova City and who they can count on to help. Old secrets start to bubble up in the midst of everything else, making Nick question who he can trust and what he really knows about those he's come to idealize. There are spots of dialogue throughout the book that are brilliantly funny and remind me of people I know. Most of the brightest dialogue is front-loaded and while I feel the topics handled later are very important, the way they are addressed often feels a little less natural in the moment. I can't say the reveals weren't predictable to me, but they might not be for others. Likewise, instead of feeling disappointed that I already knew where things were going, I was pleased.. even excited.. to see them come to fruition. Nick and Seth are so lovely together, I just adore them. And Gibby and Jazz are a very close second to that. I really enjoyed how genuine and warm these relationships were in a genre where stories seem to thrive largely on conflict between couples. It's a very 'us against the world' theme at times and it made my investment in the outcome much stronger. These are people who love completely and are there for one another first and foremost. It's also nice to see some pretty healthy parent-kid relationships, where they can interact with each other respectfully and it's not all one-sided demands for obedience. Though that's obviously not every scenario, it is present here.. and something I can relate to personally. The story itself is really fun, lots of action scenes and excitement, plus we seem to be set-up for another book while avoiding the dreaded cliffhanger. I can happily recommend this to fans of stories about superheroes, coming of age stories, and teen camaraderie at its best. (I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and freely given.)

like the 1st one, this one also had me in a choke hold. a stronger one even because i quiet literally couldn't put it down and finished it in a day. on top book 3!

4.5* TJ, no. Ok, I guess that's not an acceptable review, although I'd really like to leave it at that! The cliffhanger at the end of The Extraordinaries had me impatient for this book, and let me tell you, T.J. Klune did not disappoint. Not in the least. Flash Fire was all that and a bag of Skwinkles Salsagheti. (I still need to track some down to try.) And talk about cliffhanger- if I thought it was tough waiting for today to get here, how the h e double hockey sticks am I supposed to survive until 2022??? You evil genius TJ! Oh how I adore Nick Bell. Like completely and utterly adore and would do anything to protect him from this cold, cruel, ugly world. But as adorably clueless as he still is, Nick really comes into his own in Flash Fire and I don't think he'd actually need my protection. No, scratch that, he still needs protecting, if only from himself. There is a lot packed into FF- action, suspense, silliness, love and friendship, surprises, so many surprises. This book gave me so much more than I ever anticipated, and I loved it so very much. It's laugh out loud hilarious at times- see chapters 1 & 2 for reference. It's so endearing, thanks to the sweetest romance between Nick and Seth, I can hardly contain my heart. The friendships between Nick, Seth, Jazz, and Gibby are still the best, I love how they always have each others backs, no matter what. Like The Extraordinaries, it's full of feels, especially when it comes to Nick and his dad. They have such a wonderful relationship, even when things between them get tough, and they definitely do in this book. I know there were quite a few people upset with how certain things were handled in book one, when it came to Aaron Bell and the way the police force was portrayed. I think most people will be satisfied with the way TJ addressed that in this book, although I'm sure there'll still be those who won't think it's enough. I appreciate that he took the feedback to heart and made some changes-still giving us that heartwarming father/son relationship which is so pivotal to these books, while at the same time having Nick realize that his father isn't infallible. With this series TJ Klune has created a world I know I'll never want to leave, I will always want more. Hopefully 2021 will continue to fly by because I cannot wait to see what it's in store for Nick, Seth, Gibby, and Jazz. If that cliffhanger is any indication, it's sure to be explosive!