Review: Fall of Heroes by Jennifer Harlow + Giveaway (INT)

Title: Fall of Heroes
Author: Jennifer Harlow
Series: Galilee Falls Trilogy #3
Publication: October 31st 2015
Genre: Adult ~ Urban Fantasy
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Rating: 4/5

   

"Show me a hero; and I'll write you a tragedy." -F. Scott Fitzgerald

Hero and Villain.
Good and Evil.
Love and Hate.

Would that the world were that simple. Nothing is ever simple in a world filled with superheroes and villains. She may not wear a cape or have superpowers, but no one would say Joanna Fallon isn't a hero. At great personal cost she's saved the city of Galilee Falls from two supervillains, but has finally found a measure of peace. But whatever rises often falls, and even the city's champion may not be able to fight the cataclysm about to befall not only her city but the whole of the world...or even want to.

Read the conclusion to the critically acclaimed Galilee Falls trilogy from the imagination of the IPPY award winning author Jennifer Harlow.

Fall of Heroes was a spectacular ending to the Galilee Falls Trilogy! I really think Jennifer Harlow is the queen of plot twists. She really is. The suspense, the action, the romance it all had me on the edge of my seat!

I absolutely adored the prologue of the book. I don't wanna give too much away but I remember shouting, I KNEW IT I KNEW IT! With a few f-bombs thrown in there as well. So let's say yes, it was a fantastic start. The story just got better and better.

I must admit that I didn't always liked Joanna in the book. I do admire how tough she is but still sometimes I wanted to shake her and ask what heck she is thinking. Still, she's a great character to read about. And I absolutely love her with Jem. I think from all the guys in the book, he is her perfect fit. 

The action started when a bunch of supervillains are taken from the prison they're in. Alkaline being one of them. Nobody has an idea who took them, only that it can't be good news. I had a suspicion who it was and I really went back on forth on who this person could be. In the end I was right so it was yet another I KNEW IT moment but still fun to read about.

There were a lot of moments where I thought it wouldn't end well for Joanna and Jem. I had expected a kind of bittersweet ending with the way it was going towards the end of the book. 

The writing, as always, was so great. The author never disappoints me with it. And yeah, quite a few plot twists never made the story boring. I loved it!

About the Author:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest

Jennifer Harlow earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Virginia. She has been a bookseller, radio DJ, lab assistant, and government investigator. She lives in Atlanta and is hard at work on her next book.

Giveaway!

1 $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble Giftcard

2 E-book Copies of Justice

2 E-Book Copies of Galilee Rising

2 E-Book Copies of Fall of Heroes

Jennifer Harlow name a character after you in her next release, The Sin Eater

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Galilee Rising by Jennifer Harlow

Title: Galilee Rising
Author: Jennifer Harlow
Series: Galilee Falls Trilogy #2
Publication: December 10th 2013 by Devil on the Left Books 
Genre: Urban Fantasy ~ Adult
Cover Rating: 5/5
Overall Rating: 3/5

Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

Love in the time of superheroes...

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” -Confucius

The year since Galilee Falls lost its reigning superhero Justice has not been kind to Joanna Fallon. She's lost her best friend, her boyfriend, her badge, even her mind. The city of Galilee Falls hasn't fared much better with supervillain related crime skyrocketing to cataclysmic proportions. Deliverance for the city arrives in the guise of The Royal Triumvirate--King Tempest, Lady Liberty, and Lord Nightingale--who vow to be the heroes the city needs. Salvation for Joanna appears in the brilliant form of Dr. Jem Ambrose, another lost soul in need of saving. But salvation comes with a high price. When Emperor Cain, an old nemesis of The Triumvirate, decides he will stop at nothing to make sure there is no city left to defend, it is up to Joanna to rise not only for her city, for her new love, but for herself as well…

I'm going to say this right away. I was slightly disappointed with Galilee Rising. I mean, it was still a likable book and the last 10 to 7 chapters I couldn't stop reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen... yet it wasn't enough to wow me like the first book, Justice, did.

I guess the main reason for not loving this book was that a lot had changed between the ending of Justice and the beginning of Galilee Rising. It was quite shocking. I guess I just do not well with change. I did approve of some of the changes but mostly I was left feeling meh about it all. Also some things were really obvious like who King Tempest, Lady Liberty and Lord Nightingale were in the real world. At least this time Joanna found out too pretty fast unlike with Justice. 

I also had a hard time getting into the book. It took me at least the first 50-60% to really start enjoying it. Right about when the true action began. I do love the action scenes and the heroes and villain fighting. There were also some very shocking things revealed. And why do my favorite heroes always have to die?

I loved Joanna in the first but but in this one I liked her a lot less. The good thing is, after a year, she's starting to get back on the right track, changing her life and finding new love. That's all good and well but I really disliked the romance. Actually, I just disliked Jem. Maybe other will love him but I just didn't. It happens. As for the other characters I loves the new ones like Lexie and Brendan. But I missed Harry. Due to everything that happened in the year between now and the last book he wasn't as much in Joanna's life. I felt so sad about it. Maybe I shouldn't have focused so much on that but there you go.

Overall, Galilee Rising was a likable read. I didn't love it but it wasn't awful either. It was a slightly more darker book than Justice in my eyes, which is always a plus. I am curious to see, though, how the third book is going to turn out!

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Jennifer Harlow spent her restless childhood fighting with her three brothers and scaring the heck out of herself with horror movies and books. She grew up to earn a degree at the University of Virginia which she put to use as a radio DJ, crisis hotline volunteer, bookseller, lab assistant, wedding coordinator, and government investigator. Currently she calls Northern Virgina home but that restless itch is ever present. In her free time she continues to scare the beejepers out of herself watching scary movies and opening her credit card bills.

Review: Justice by Jennifer Harlow

Title: Justice
Author: Jennifer Harlow
Series: Galilee Falls #1
Publication: May 2013 by Devil on the Left Books
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: ebook, 280 pages
Cover Rating: 3/5
Overall Rating: 5/5

Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

  

It’s hard being a regular police officer in Galilee Falls, a city with the highest concentration of superheroes and villains in the country. It’s even harder watching your best friend, the man you’re secretly in love with your whole life, planning to marry another woman. Detective Joanna Fallon has to contend with both. When the vilest supervillain in the city’s history, Alkaline, the former crime boss who can shoot acid from his wrists, escapes from the maximum security prison, the whole city is gripped by panic. Leading the pursuit is Captain Harry O’Hara, Joanna’s boss and secret lover, and the city’s champion superhero Justice, who caught the villain last time, much to Joanna’s chagrin. Before her father was murdered in a mugging twenty years earlier, Joanna worshiped the hero, but when he disappeared and failed to save her father, that adoration turned to contempt for all supers. After Alkaline attacks too close to home and targets Joanna as his next victim, tough-as-nail Joanna has to contend with her increasing fear while struggling to choose between her life-long crush and her new-found love.

At turns vulnerable and fierce, equally mordant and winsome, Joanna is an earnest yet emotionally damaged heroine, who despite the tough breaks of her childhood sees the good in people and vow to protect her beloved city at all costs. An ass-kicking petite firecracker with no superpowers of her own, she charges after supervillains unflinchingly, never losing her wit even when facing her toughest fight. With a coy blend of whimsy and vivid imagination, she delivers both humor and thrills in an action-packed and edgy blend of comic book cool, fantasy-noir, and bitter-sweet romance.

~My thoughts:

I would've posted this review sooner but I had already written a review of this and saved it but then it magically disappeared on me so that's why it took me a while.

Justice by Jennifer Harlow introduces us to a brilliant world full of superheroes (tights and everything), complex but interesting characters and of course can't have superheroes without some very evil supervillains. 
This story follows the fierce but emotionally damaged detective Joanna Fallon, who has her own personal problems with superheroes. Especially city champion Justice and also being in love for over twenty years with her best friend, Justin, and having a secret relationship with her boss, Harry. On top of all that she gets targeted by supervillain Alkaline. 

I've been a fan of Jennifer Harlow's books ever since I read her Freaks books. I love them but I have to say that I think Justice easily is her best writing so far. It's a very different story and boy, is it a bittersweet ending but damn I loved it so much. Although I wasn't sure I was gonna like it at the beginning because Joanna's voice is so different from other heroines I've read. She's so very complex, damaged and has a lot of flaws but that's why I like her so much. She's real. Jennifer Harlow write her so well. I was really impressed by how totally amazing this book was.
The other characters were also very interesting to read about from Justin to Harry to Justice and Alkaline. I loved reading about them all so much and never got bored everytime I picked this book up. 

The ending was so sad, I got all weepy eyed. But it was a good ending even though it felt like I was kicked in the chest. And also what good book doesn't have an unexpected betrayal in them? Jennifer Harlow really writes amazingly unexpected plot twists. You'd think with her you would start expecting them but no, takes me by surprise every single time and with this book it was no different. Loved it!

Overall Justice by Jennifer Harlow isn't your typical superhero story. It's a story about love, friendship, sacrifice and doing the right thing. Joanna isn't a superhero, she just a normal person with her own problems but she sure can kick some ass! This story was in my opnion exceptionally well written and the story line was superb! One of the best books I've read so far this year + all-time. I can't wait to read the second book. I hope it'll be just as amazing as Justice was!

~Favorite Quotes:

All this sudden interest in my safety is getting old and stiffling. I feel like a pissed-off china doll.

Okay... I feel like total and utter shit. They could do a full-scale model of the Eiffel Tower with the amount of shit I feel like right now.

It's about five and the party begins at seven, so I have to get the hell out of here. I need to shower, shave, eat, straighten my hair, apply make-up, and try to get a cab on a Friday night. Ugh, girly things. Kill me now.

Sometimes there's not enough light in this godforsaken world to keep the darkness at bay.

~About the author:

Jennifer Harlow spent her restless childhood fighting with her three brothers and scaring the heck out of herself with horror movies and books. She grew up to earn a degree at the University of Virginia which she put to use as a radio DJ, crisis hotline volunteer, bookseller, lab assistant, wedding coordinator, and government investigator. Currently she calls Northern Virgina home but that restless itch is ever present. In her free time she continues to scare the beejepers out of herself watching scary movies and opening her credit card bills.

Find Jennifer also on:

Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Twitter | Website

Purchase Justice on:

Amazon