Scorched by Erica Hayes #urbanfantasy #superhero

Title: Scorched
Author: Erica Hayes
Genre: Urban Fantasy (Superheroes)
Publisher: HarperImpulse
Available: Amazon $4.74 (Kindle)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Rater: Pippa 





Blurb:

In a world where everyone wears a mask, you can't trust anyone… not even yourself.

Verity Fortune was once Sapphire City’s top crime-fighter, wielding her powers of telekinesis to battle the city’s most despicable villains.

Now, she’s consumed by a single burning desire -

Revenge.

Against those who took away her mask, her memory, and nearly her life.

Having escaped from the asylum they left her to rot in, Verity dons her mask once again and becomes the Seeker, a vigilante warrior for truth.

But when she unwittingly uncovers an evil conspiracy deep within her own family, she’s suddenly on the run, alone and hunted by those she thought were on her side…

What I liked.
Beautiful, almost poetic descriptions that gave me a serious dose of author envy. Also I guessed who the real traitor was, which might seem a bad thing but made me feel better, only to get caught out by the main plot twist (it's a doozie!). These carefully set up plot points kept me on the edge of the seat with a serious 'what will happen next?!' anticipation. Great general tension throughout, and plenty of action and adventure as you'd expect from a superhero story. And the bad guy is BAD! Nothing beats a villain who really is evil.

What I didn't like.
This is tagged on Amazon as a romance, but *potential spoiler* I don't feel that it is - if it was a romantic HFN, it was pretty ambiguous, and the sexual tension/chemistry throughout wasn't great. I certainly didn't feel there was any hope for any kind of romantic entanglement or longevity in the vague hero/heroine relationship. But the main thing that bothered me was as soon as Verity appears as herself at the family company, she's jumped by Doctor Mengele. Of course she's been betrayed, but following on from that she continues to go out in public as herself and her superhero guise, makes appointments as her journalistic self and contacts old work mates...yet doesn't get caught? Her enemies wouldn't keep tabs on the other people in her life in order to recapture her? Also she's bothered by her scarred face enough to want to wear her mask all the time, yet doesn't seem bothered showing it as Verity.

In conclusion.
Any fan of the likes of the Marvel films (and in particular those still waiting for a heroine-led superhero film like Black Widow) will enjoy this. There's some sexual tension (though not enough for a romance in my opinion), and plenty of adventure, action, jeopardy, and twists to keep any non-romance reader hooked. This reads very much like the first of a series, so I hope the next will be out soon.