Tekgrrl
Grade : B+

I read many superhero comics as a girl, so Tekgrrl, featuring a group of superheroes, appealed to me, and happily, didn’t disappoint. With an engaging heroine, an interesting group of superheroes, and a surprise romance, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the heroes of the Elite Hands of Justice (EHJ).

While Mindy was already a brilliant young girl, her parents sent her to an alien world to study. Mindy returns to Earth with super-human intelligence and with the memories of horrific events that occurred on the alien world blocked from her mind. She knows she was experimented on, but doesn’t recall what happened.

Skip ahead a number of years, and Mindy – or Tekgrrl by her superhero name – is a member of the EHJ, America’s most prominent group of superheroes. Mindy doesn’t have super powers, but her ability to create fantastic technological tools has made her a valuable team member. Mindy and her fellow members patrol the streets in skin tight uniforms (think Wonder Woman and Batman), attempting to stop crimes.

But things don’t go smoothly. Mindy begins suffering from horrible headaches and develops new powers that she can’t control. Flashes of memories from the alien world also give her nightmares. These problems soon cause trouble for the team, as it battles a number of different villains - some with the potential to end life on Earth.

This isn’t just an action book; it also focuses on a number of relationships. Mindy has been in love with one of her team members, Luke, seemingly forever, while he treats her as a little sister. Now, Luke, and the rest of the team seem to be pairing up, leaving Mindy by herself. To make matters worse, Paul, Mindy’s nemesis and the only other scientist on the team, seems determined to make Mindy’s life even more miserable since his breakup with the team’s resident love goddess. Make no mistake, Mindy does get her HEA, but it isn’t a straightforward journey. Perhaps because of that, I found it even more satisfactory than I expected. However, I should say that if you want your heroine and hero to be in love from the first page, this definitely isn’t the book for you.

Mindy is a strong, likable heroine. She’s not only intelligent, but uses great judgment when she gets into difficult situations. She clearly has self-esteem issues resulting from her lack of super powers. I found the other members of the team to be interesting and varied. While they had super powers, they weren’t perfect.

This book surprised me, delivering a lot more depth than I expected. I thought the whole superheroes thing would be played for laughs, and much of it was initially. However, as Mindy’s memories from the alien world return, we learn of the truly horrific things that happened to her and others, and that are now threatening Earth. Much to my surprise, the book packed a real emotional punch for me, as I was sucked into Mindy’s pain.

This is the second in the EHJ series, and worked well for me as a standalone read. However, I liked Tekgrrl so much that I’m going to pick up the first in the series to learn more about some of the other members of the team.

Reviewed by LinnieGayl Kimmel
Grade : B+

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : July 6, 2009

Publication Date: 2009

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LinnieGayl Kimmel

My first memory is sitting with my mother on a blanket in our backyard surrounded by books and she is reading one of them to me. My love of reading was encouraged by my parents and it continues to today. I’ve gone through a lot of different genres over the years, but I currently primarily read mysteries (historical mysteries are my favorites) and romances (focusing on contemporaries, categories, and steampunk). When I’m not reading or working, I love to travel, knit, and work on various community projects.
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