Karma Girl - Jennifer Estep

Karma Girl
Jennifer Estep
Berkley

Paranormal Romance

As a reporter, Carmen Cole has learned to trust her instincts. Her instincts fail her spectacularly, however, when it comes to her fiancé, Matt. Thirty minutes before walking down the aisle, Carmen finds him having sex with her best friend and bridesmaid. Karen. As if that’s not shocking enough, Matt turns out to be the superhero who protects her hometown, and Karen is his arch-nemesis. Stumbling out the door, Carmen takes a moment to use a disposable camera (that was to be used at the reception) and snaps some severely incriminating photos of the two.

After writing an exposé on the two, unmasking them, as it were, Carmen’s career as a reporter is red-hot. She specializes in investigating and unmasking superheroes and villains. To her, it’s all retribution for the “lie” they tell the public by maintaining secrecy. And, yes, it’s revenge, too. To the authorities, having a real identity gives them someone to bill for the property damages that are inevitable in a super-showdown. But, eventually, karma swings around and bites Carmen, hard.

Now working in Bigtime, New York, she’s attempting to unmask the Fearless Five who protect the city, and the Terrible Triad, who, like most villains, are after world domination. She succeeds in unmasking one of the Five. But when he commits suicide, Carmen’s personal and professional life crash. Suddenly hated by everyone from supers to people on the street, she’s busted down to covering the society column. Then, one of the Terrible Triad offers her a job. Unmask Striker, the head of the Fearless Five. Or else what? Or else Carmen becomes part of one of the Triad’s experiments with radioactive goo. She has one month, and no choice.

KARMA GIRL is a great blend of chick lit and comic book conventions. Completely different in tone from a dark, urban fantasy, this is a novel meant to be taken lightly. The superheroes have great names and a fabulous headquarters; the villains are mean and nasty and not very well disguised and want to take over the city and then the world. Carmen tends to act impulsively, and while this can be annoying, she pays for it, in spades. There’s some romance here, and it’s just what you might expect, but it’s still fun to read. If you like your fantasy on the frothy side, you’ll love this one. The ending makes me think, and hope, that a sequel is on the way.

Rating: 8
May 2007
ISBN# 978-0-425-21511-1 (trade paperback)