Now that you’ve got your hands on this one, or are contemplating getting your hands on it, let’s talk about All Super-heroes Need Photo Ops by Elizabeth Stevens.
In a world where superheroes are as much about selling the brand as saving the day, Monika Neumann is the lens-wielding, danger junkie war photographer tasked with the ultimate PR challenge: turning Taranis—lightning-slinging, attitude-dripping, and secretly villainous—back into everyone’s favorite hero again. Not that he needs help with her. Monika’s had a crush on Taranis since the day forty-eight alien supers crash-landed on Earth and turned heroism into a business, but now she’s up close and ‘impersonal’ with the man behind the perfect face. Taranis is very good at getting what he wants, and he wants Monika to help him compete with Roland AKA the Wyvern [read: All Superheroes Need PR]. He’s a man in search of a headline, but he’s nothing like he pretends to be. That puts Monika in danger—good thing that’s her favorite place to be.
Electrical sparks fly, the death count is high, and backs get cracked in super spicy ways when Taranis meets Monika. As the second act in Stevens’ Supers in the City series, All Super-heroes Need Photo Ops ups the ante on action and attitude. What I don’t know is if I enjoyed it as much as All Superheroes Need PR. Did I cackle like a witch in Halloween Town? For sure. Was it sexier than a Shadow Daddy who cooks and sings? Girl, yes. These are the things we know for sure.
My Highlights:
For the Bridgerton fandom, if I’m envisioning the description correctly, Taranis/Darius is an alternate universe Regé-Jean Page. Super pretty with a smile that’ll melt you faster than his powers could. He’s also a murderous asshole with an arrogance factor of 300%. When we meet him, Taranis is a truly terrible person—no arguments will be taken. But that’s before he hulks out into a blue-skinned alien with a massive, um, “ego” in his pocket. This second book in the series could have easily been titled All Super-Villains Need Photo Ops. And honestly, good for our heroine Monika. ‘Cause making a man like that yours is a goddess-tier accomplishment.
Monika is a total bestie who’s the heroine of her own story. She’s brave, skillful, sassy, and refuses to be a damsel. She’s also a compassionate person with a highly developed sense of morality, while being refreshingly sex-positive. Not much gets under her skin. When faced with an issue—even life or death—she doesn’t flinch (at least not outwardly). She strategizes. She survives. She even manages to keep her sense of self intact, which is impressive when your superhero crush turns out to be a supervillain with a loaded god complex and a torture reflex.
I read the book, got to the end, and still wanted to listen to the audiobook version. And I did, twice.
My Uncertainties:
You come to me for the truth, and I have to tell you, some of Taranis/Darius’ dirty talk crossed the line from “deliciously dominant” to “wait, f#©k this dude.” I’m all for a little edge, the way Vuk talks to Ayana in King of Envy had me blushing on the Amtrak—happily so. But “stupid little whore” just isn’t sexy to me. Your tastes may vary, but for me, it was a little too demeaning.
Up next, I love action and martial arts movies, so fictional violence doesn’t bother me much. However, it’s a lot more graphic in this story than in the first. Stevens paints her life-threatening scenarios with a hyper-vivid brush—think acid melting faces off and rats eating the rest. If you’re here for the romance and the laughs, just know you’ll be trekking through some serious carnage to get there.
The Audiobook:
Emery Erickson and Sean Crisden make these wild superpowered days and nights even more fun. I only wish Brilliance Audio had given us a duet rather than dual narration. Maybe next time!
The Wrap Report:
What Stevens does best—what keeps me coming back for more—is her ability to reach out and snatch you into her worlds. The humor? Razor-sharp. The attitude? Off the charts. The beatdowns? Satisfyingly cinematic. The heat levels? Good ‘n’ spicy. Stevens knows how to balance emotional gut-punches with laugh-out-loud moments, and “capital R” romance you believe is the everlasting kind. Monika and Taranis are messy, sexy, and compelling. The supporting cast (including Roland and Vanessa, the leads from book one) adds warmth and continuity, making Supers in the City feel like a place we could visit—at our own risk.