With Avengers: Infinity War behind us, with tears shed because of that movie, with all the emotions inside of us after watching it, I come to you with a blog post talking about superheroes and villains and some recommendations (you all know I can't stay away!).
I was already a fan of heroes and villains before watching this movie. I've watched most of the MCU and I'm such a big fan of DC as well even though the movies are not so great but I love the storylines in the comics and the animations so much. To be honest my favorite heroes come from DC but that's another topic for another day. I wanted to share some recommendations for people who love this trope/archetype and want to read more about them, be it in Young Adult or Adult fiction.
Though I'm more of a fan of the villains (because who doesn't love a villain origin story?), I can confirm superheroes are great too. I just like that grey area, the antihero-born-from-the-ashes kinda way. Example (1) Adelina from The Young Elites, she became an antihero, a villain, even though she wasn't at the beginning. Example (2) Tea from The Bone Witch. This is a story that I really like the way it is written mainly because we meet Tea, at the beginning, in the future timeline of the story, because in the next chapter, it goes back in time and it tells you how the whole world saw her as the villain. It's so interesting.
The superhero theme is so big right now as well as royal romances. This won't be mainly romances tho because I'll be adding some stories that don't have romance, or that the romance isn't the main part of the story but it might be there too. These recommendations are superhero-themed and you definitely can find the heroes and the villains inside, it will be your choice to choose if you want to read about the villain or about the hero. But I'll leave that up to you.
Tropes I love with the hero/villain theme? I love a good old villains fall for villains in the story. I'm still waiting for a romance with an evil queen falling for their evil significant other and they wrecking havoc together. I also love the typical good hero falls for evil villain, it has something that you just can't seem to get away from.
I have a long list so be patient and just add them all to your lists. I can assure you it's a good list and all of them are good books. This archetype seems to be growing more and more each year because every time I release a list or I make a list, many of them appear or are released that week. So it's always good to keep updating this list.
"The Superheroes Union: Dynama" by Ruth Diaz. Ruth Diaz has a book with a hero falling for her twins's nanny because her ex-husband is on the loose, he's a villain and she needs to catch him, so she needs to call on a nanny to keep her children safe. Click to buy here.
"Villains Don't Date Heroes!" by Mia Archer. Nighterror is the greatest villain who ever lived. But she is bored. She decides to rob a bank and there she meets the newest superhero of the block. Click to buy here.
"To Stand in the Light" by Kayla Bashe. Part of the most famous superhero team, Shadow is there to fight the criminals. They get stranded on a planet and meet superheroine Bean. She's the thing missing from Shadow's life. Click to buy here.
"The Power of Mercy" by Fiona Zedde. Her family thinks her ability to shape-shift is not that impressive. But when she puts on her costume, she feels invincible. A murder happens and Mercy has to choose between family loyalty and self-preservation. Click to buy here.
"Secondhand Origin Stories" by Lee Blauersouth. Opal has wanted to join the superhero team, the Sentinels. When a villain attacks, she finds a group of teens with shared abilities. Click to buy here.
"The Masked Minotaur" by Chace Verity. Odelia runs a confectionary store and she was so close to going under when she decided to marry a noblewoman and save the shop. An arranged marriage, she wants it to be for real. And then there is also the vigilante Minotaur saving humans for bandits. Click to buy here.
"Baker Thief" by Claudie Arsenault. Out on June 26th. Adèle wants to catch the purple-haired thief who stole something from her. The one thing she doesn't know? The thief is also the local baker. Click here to pre-order.
"Not Your Sidekick" by C.B. Lee. Jess comes from a superhero family, her parents all famous superheroes. But sadly, she doesn't have any superpower herself. The only thing left to do is beef up her college applications and luckily she founds the perfect internship working for the villain of her town. Click to buy here.
"Chameleon Moon" by RoAnna Sylver. The city of Parole is burning and Regan, a silent, scaly stealth expert, is running. He then runs into Evelyn and her family and decides to stay there and uncover the secrets behind Parole. Click to buy here.
"Not Your Villain" by C.B. Lee. He only wanted to be a hero and he thought he would be after developing his abilities early on. But then he became the most wanted villain. Click to buy here.
"Shattered" by Lee Winter. Shattergirl, Earth's first lesbian guardian, has gone off the grid and refuses saving people. Lena is tasked to go and track her down and bring her home. Click to buy here.
"No More Heroes" by Michelle Kan
"Superior" by Jessica Lack. A superhero's intern falls in love with the supervillain's apprentice in this novel. Click to buy here.
"Hurricane Heels" by Isabel Yap. They all met at summer camp, but they sure didn't expect the goddess to ask for their help on protecting the world. Click to buy here.
"Heroine Complex" by Sarah Kuhn. Evie Tanaka is the best friend and assistant of superheroine, Aveda Jupiter. But not everyone knows Evie herself has powers and when Aveda is injured in one of her missions she asks Evie to take her place and become her. Click to buy here.
"Fate of Flames" by Sarah Raughley. Years ago, four girls appear, each with a power to control an element. When one of the Effigy dies, another person is chosen. Maia is chosen to be the Fire Effigy and bring together the other three Effigy to save the world from the Phantoms. Click to buy here.
"The Crashers" by Magen Cubed. At 9.17 AM, a subway train crashes. Five survivors come out from the accident with new powers. Click to buy here.
"Activated" by EK Gonzales. In these two regions, elements are controlled by programs and these four teens must work together to save Pendi from an invasion. Click to buy here.
"Chasing Stars" by Alex K. Thorne. She's a superhero, but she's also the assistant of Hollywood screen goddess, Gwen Knight. She not only has to battle an giant alien bug but she also has to fake date her boss. Click to buy here.
"Heroine Worship" by Sarah Kuhn. After the battle against the evil forces, Aveda Jupiter is having an identity crisis. She wants to be a superhero and she also wants to be a good best friend. When Evie gets engaged and Aveda is drafted as the maid-of-honor, she makes it her job to have the best wedding for Evie and save the world at the same time. Click to buy here.
"Cinnamon Blade: Knife in Shining Armor" by Shira Glassman. Cinnamon Blade is not tired of always saving Soledad Castillo, because every time she does, their chemistry grows by the minute. She finally has asked her out but will everything go as planned? Click to buy here.
"Arch-Nemesis" by Gabriela Martins. Rodrigo isn't very good at being a hero. But he thinks that if he catches the person terrorizing the South Brazilian high society, he will become a hero well-known. Click to buy here.
"Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge" by Paul Krueger. Bailey Chen is fresh out of college with nothing in her pockets, not even a job offer. But Zane, her friend from high school, introduces her to his monster-fighting friends and the real battle begings then. Click to buy here.
"Trial by Fire" by Lore Graham. All Elena wants is to join the Hollywood Heroes, an elite superhero team. Between villainous masterminds and her growing attraction to leader Lacy, Elena has to learn how to be a Hollywood Heroe and survive the apocalypse. Click to buy here.
