Fabulous in Tights

Adventures of the Whirlwind, Book 1

By: Hal Bodner

Narrated by: Frank LaValley

Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Alec Archer isn’t just a superhero.... He’s a survivor.

• He’s survived being harpooned by the megalomaniacal captain of a steampunk airship.
• He’s escaped being drowned by a sex-crazed mermaid.
• He’s narrowly avoided being reduced to a glowing pile of mush by a radioactive grandma.
• Even Kryptonite probably couldn’t hurt him.

(His inability to think before he opens his mouth, on the other hand, will probably get him killed.)

By day, Alec is the owner of a successful male-escort service, living an idyllic life with a husband he adores. By night, Alec is the only man strong enough, fast enough, and svelte enough to reluctantly squeeze into the skintight turquoise mantle of the superhero known as the Whirlwind.

No matter how many supervillains choose Centerport to kick off their crazy schemes of mass destruction and world domination, the Whirlwind will always be there to defeat them.

And he will always look fabulous in tights!

©2021 Hal Bodner (P)2021 David N. Wilson

I loved it!

I loved this book. I really liked how it was driven by both the plot and the strong, realistic characters.

I love this book

This is a great book with interesting characters.
I love superhero stories and its even better when said hero is a loveable jerk, and the narrator also did an excellent job of bringing the characters to life.

Extreme Camp...

Alright, this was a campy tale of a superhero and the ups and downs of his life. By day, a brothel owner, by night, a superhero in tights. I enjoyed the story for the most part but I knew who the villain was fairly early in the story and once I found out why, I just did not get it. The premise was to shock, which I'm all for but I felt that this was not for shock value but rather a poor attempt at...I'm not sure. The author lost me towards the end of the story. All that said, I did enjoy the one-liners and the camp and I found myself laughing out loud several times. I would recommend as a delightful way to pass a few hours.

Conflicted

~Disclaimer: I received a free audiobook copy of this book. ~

Our lead has some problematic: sexist/fatphobic thoughts. This can be a deal breaker. So, go in knowing this or pass on this book. I found it difficult to continue to be honest.

I had high hopes for this book. I like superhero stories and I appreciate LGBTQA+ representation, but I can’t say I ultimately liked this book and I certainly won’t continue this series.

I had hoped for a more progressive story given prostitiution being legal and our MC running a brothel with men in it. But the judgmentalness of our MC about the bodies of men that didn’t fit his standards for attractiveness really put me off.

As far as the story, you’ve got a villain who has some mysterious plan that is hinted at in the first chapter. Our MC is a hero who intends to stop bad guys and save civilians. There is some mystery, but the author goes a little too hard on telegraphing the twists. I did like the story minus a few things.

There are some inconsistencies in the story. At the beginning of the book, it is stated that his marriage to his husband is a secret. Also, that his husband is not out of the closet at work. 50ish pages later it is stated that powerful people hate that Peter was gay and that he is married to a man. Which kinda contradicts the whole secret marriage thing. I get that this isn’t the biggest deal, but it is confusing.

The narration is solid. There is some stereotypically gay voice being used, but I think that is the writings fault and not the narrator. I also enjoyed the voice effects to match the descriptions (villains voice).