Scorched by Erica Hayes

Amazon(Kindle)/Barnes & Noble(Nook)

Published by: HarperImpulse

Review by: Dani Hoots

Scorched is about a young woman with superpowers who has escaped an asylum and can’t remember anything that happened.  All she remembers is her hatred for the villain Razorfire and decides it is her duty to seek revenge. She runs straight to her brother Adonis and realizes a lot had changed in the months that she was gone. Verity herself is scared from the place and bits of memory come back to her, making her blackout at times and not realize what she is doing. Realizing someone has betrayed her in her family, she runs off and joins Shimmer, another person with powers who is trying to stop Razorfire. As bits of memory come back to her, she realizes that not everything is what it seems.

This story was something between X-Men, having people with mutant-like powers and the government wanting to identify them and contain them…

… The Incredibles with a family full of superheroes fighting justice…

… But darker like that of the Justice League where not everything turns out in the end…

I enjoyed this story fairly well. My favorite character is definitely Razorfire but it isn’t until the end do you really meet his character. At first I thought he was just a flat villain whose only purpose was to be evil, but as the reader goes forward in the book, they learn more about the villain. He reminded me of Magneto…

But mixed with Malcolm Merlyn…

However, I didn’t like the flashbacks and became confused as to what was happening sometimes and whether or not it was a flashback or supposed to be the present. The flashbacks needed to be executed better.

Verity, the main character, had her ups and downs. At first she seemed very strong but further in the story she seemed weaker. This could have been because of the flashbacks and frustration of her not remembering what happened. We do learn at the end the whole story which made all her decisions make sense, but while reading they did seem a little odd. This is a story that has to be read until the end to make complete sense, and it was well worth it.

I give the novel a 4.5/5 due to getting confused with the flashbacks, but really enjoying the characters and plot in the end. This is the start of a new series and I can’t wait for the next book.

So if you enjoy a good superhero story with a little romance and a lot of action, be sure to check this story out by Erica Hayes. And remember, never piss off a woman with superpowers…