Blog Tour Review and Giveaway: Blaze by Laurie Boyle Crompton

Title: Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains)
Author: Laurie Boyle Crompton
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Age Group: Young Adult
Category: Contemporary
Release date: February 1st, 2013
Pages: 309 (ARC)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Source: Publisher
Goodreads | Amazon | Author

Blaze is tired of spending her life on the sidelines, drawing comics and feeling invisible. She's desperate for soccer star Mark to notice her. And when her BFF texts Mark a photo of Blaze in sexy lingerie, it definitely gets his attention. After a hot date in the back of her minivan, Blaze is flying high, but suddenly Mark's feelings seem to have been blasted by a freeze-ray gun, and he dumps her. Blaze gets her revenge by posting a comic strip featuring uber-villain Mark the Shark. Mark then retaliates by posting her "sext" photo, and, overnight, Blaze goes from Super Virgin Girl to Super Slut. That life on the sidelines is looking pretty good right about now...

All Blaze wanted was a shot at getting a boyfriend. For a geek girl like her, it's difficult to find someone who appreciates her love of comics.  When her younger brother's soccer coach, Mark, finally takes notice, Blaze realizes that things may be looking up.  She's given a taste of what it's like to be sort-of popular, but after a wild night and a few big mistakes, Blaze is in the spotlight and not because she's the new it-girl.  Is revenge really worth it, or will Blaze just be digging a deeper hole?

There are so many things that I enjoyed about this book.  Blaze was such an honest and quirky character.  A little unusual for many teenage girls I've met, but that's why I liked her so much.  Though her interests are different from mine, I loved reading about her obsession with vintage comics and the fact that she illustrates her own throughout the story.  Even her experiences seemed completely relatable.  She's just a teenager who wants to live her own life, but because her family is broken, she's often the one who has to hold things together.

Another character I really admired was her brother, Josh.  Though his personality usually seemed much older than he was, seeing how protective he was over Blaze warmed my heart.  Everything backfires when Mark spreads a half-nude picture of Blaze around town, quickly damaging her reputation.  Suddenly she finds out who are her true friends and who aren't, but what I found interesting was that although Mark betrayed her trust, he wasn't portrayed as a true villain.  He showed remorse after the situation got out of control and he even tried to stick up for her, even if it was already too late.

Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains) is a hilarious read that will leave a smile on your face until the very last page.  It's the story of a girl and her alter-ego, The Blazing Goddess, who defeat each villain one by one.  I loved the fact that there's much more to the book than meets the eye.  Sure, it was a fun read, but it also held some serious topics within its pages.  The author did an awesome job with Blaze and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future!

Thanks to Sourcebooks, I have one copy of Blaze to give away!

US and Canada residents only.

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