Transistor

Heart of Heroes, Book 2

By: Molly J. Bragg

Narrated by: Jennifer Pickens

Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

When Naomi Woodward's doctor recommended her for a clinical trial, it seemed like the answer to her prayers. She was finally able to get her gender confirmation surgery and the surgery was a resounding success. She finally looked and felt like the woman she always knew she was.

Her new face and new body finally helped her work up the nerve to ask out Anika, the beautiful nurse that lived across the hall. To her delight Anika said yes, but when they are attacked during their date, Naomi quickly discovers that the experimental procedure she went through had some unexpected side effects, and that when Anika told her things with her family were complicated, she really should have listened.

Now, armed with superpowers she barely understands, a snarky artificial intelligence in her head, and allies that include a Superhero, a Dragon, and the literal Devil, she has to keep Anika safe from the archangel who's out to kill her while they work desperately to prevent a second civil war in heaven.

©2022 Molly J. Bragg (P)2023 Tantor

Sooo good

After reading the first book in this series I have eagerly been awaiting this book. I really enjoyed it!

Yes!!!

This book takes on some major themes with a thoughtful and compassionate approach. There are some very interesting and fun twists. I really hope that there are more books coming!

And another one!!!

Bragg nailed this one too. This series is amazing. So glad I found it. I caaaaaynt wait for the next one.

I'm a Bit Conflicted

This book was eye-opening. I'm a woman who loves women. I may like men too, though given my 14-year plus partnership with my wife, I don't intend on finding out.

Getting to the point, in stories, I only ever cared for straight couples, wlw, or gay. Only recently had I listened to a book with a unisex woman, a d only after this had I gotten an idea of what it may be like for trans men and women. That's why I'm conflicted. It's hard to understand how someone born male who transtions to female can become a woman, still consider themselves trans, and also identify as a lesbian. It's confusing, and though the emotions between the lovers in this book came through nicely, I'm still confused about it. The whole thing with Chance didn't help either, but it made sense at least.

I'm gonna linger on it a bit and maybe do some research to understand. Though I do recommend it.

Solid (and a little unexpected)

So, it's gotta be tough to come up with a second book when the first was a home run. I LOVED the first book, but I had my doubts about this one. would it measure up? How is she gonna top the last one? (SPOILER ALERT- she didn't try to.)
What I like about this story is that while it's in the same universe as the first one, it's different enough that it can stand on its own, without the usual comparison to the other book in the series. Some familiar faces appear throughout, but in a way that felt like seeing old friends AND meeting new characters. If you read the first book, you won't be disappointed. If you didn't, you won't feel completely lost by starting here. Definitely worth a credit.

Solid story for a solid second book

Overall this was a captivating listen. The narrator was fantastic.

I feel like the author was just so close to landing the ending on this one. At the very end I was kinda like, oh geez *face palm*. The first book is a tough act to follow, so I'm not complaining.

Great representation and a truly awesome story.

This was a different kind of superhero story. And it was wonderful. The main character’s physical and emotion journey brought joy, tears, and superhero origins to another level.

She said, she said, she said

I struggled with aspects of this one. Story was ok and narrator was ok. I loved the old and new characters joining forces. This story focused more on Archangels than the superhero aspect. I felt like I was taking a refresher course in Theology at times.
I appreciated Naomi's trans story, it was addressed multiple times in multiple ways. (overused maybe?) My problem was with the constant use of "SHE SAID OR HE SAID". Seriously overused! Using "she said" to end EVERY sentence is nothing short of a distraction. I think with a GOOD editor and a narrator that had a better range this might have been a 4 star book. I will think twice about buying any more audio books from this author.