It Grows On You

Cliché but true! I did not care much for the narrator initially, and the story seemed more highschool than college when I read the plot. Listening to it initially though it was not long before the characters, writing style, and even the performance won me over. Totally worth the listen!

31 people found this helpful

Great story and characters. Narrator needs to be played at 1.5 speed

It took me a while to get into this one because the narrator was so slow and funky sounding. Once I turned up the speed to 1.5 it made all the difference. Already reading the next book. Can’t wait to see what happens next!!

27 people found this helpful

Best Series In Recent Memory

What did you love best about Super Powereds: Year 1?

Each primary, and many secondary, characters are fully fleshed out. They mature over the course of the novel, as well as the series. The training is well thought out and the faculty have individual personalities and backstories.

What other book might you compare Super Powereds: Year 1 to and why?

In an oversimplification, you might think of this series as Hogwarts for Supers, but MUCH better in every way.

Which character – as performed by Kyle McCarley – was your favorite?

I enjoyed them all. The individualization of voices is very well done, which is no easy task with such a large cast of characters.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It's hard to pick a single moment above all others, but perhaps when the core team finds itself challenged by harsh environmental conditions (no spoilers here).

Any additional comments?

I seldom bother to take the time to write a review, so the fact that I am for this book (and the series), is high praise indeed. It may seem that I am gushing in this review, which is unusual enough for an old man ("GET OFF MY LAWN!"), but I can't imagine any reader/listener that wouldn't enjoy this entire series. My wife and I enjoyed listening together and are eagerly awaiting the fourth installment, but with the same mixed feelings that you get as you approach the end of any great novel, never wanting it to end.

In conclusion, BUY this book immediately. After listening to this series, I bought every Audible audio book available of Drew Hayes' writings, though we haven't listened to them yet.

172 people found this helpful

If harry potter is a 5, this is a 2.3

I really tried! I listened to the first 3 books. I got these because of the high ratings.

I listen to a ton of audiobooks.. and I’m a fan of super hero fiction. I wanted these to be good.

The narrator’s voice (I’m sorry if he’s reading this) really made it difficult to want to listen. I could’ve gotten into the the groove of listening to him read if the story was worth it.. and it just wasn’t.

I’m a little bit OCD in that I was forcing myself to “finish” ...which is how I made it as far as I did.. but I felt like my I.Q. (already impaired) was slipping.

I would say this is kind of written for middle to high school kids.. which would explain the failure to connect from my part, but the explicit language would keep me from wanting my kiddos to listen to it. I could get past the language on their behalf & suggest it to them if it was a captivating story, expanded their worldview, or made them think.. but IT WAS A GRIND to get through.

All that to say I wish I could have read a review like this one before I pulled the trigger on these.. but there were so many glowing recommendations. I assumed it had to be at least entertaining. not so much.

15 people found this helpful

Fun book. Harry Potter in tights

I liked the book, Fun and imaginative twist on the superhero genre. I thought the dialogue was a bit cumbersome in the flow at times but overall great. I will definitely read the next.

14 people found this helpful

Brillant!

I loved this story.

This story centers around 5 super powered kids, who until an experimental surgery, haven't had control of their powers.

The narrorator does an excellent job with changing his voice for each character and pulls you into the story.

To me, the story is more like a season of a TV series, unlike most books which strive to be a movie.

Love the all the details, and the way it was written. And as an added bonus, I now know which super power I wish I had...

69 people found this helpful

Excellent story, characters; adjust for narrator

I was reluctant to purchase this book at first because of the narrator, whose voice I didn't care for, but playing the book at 1.25x speed solved that nicely. Loved the characters and story. Can't wait for the next installment to be available.

70 people found this helpful

not for me.

I really liked his Spells, Swords, & Stealth books so I thought I would give this a try but its mostly everyday school stuff, I think this might go well as a teen drama or something similar.

10 people found this helpful

Fun, but in a YA way

I think that this book needs to be marked more clearly as a YA book. The whole college scene is in full glory with emphasis on drinking, dating, parties and clubs, etc. Personally, I am 100% not interested.

Barely visible between the stereotypical college activities is a world of ENORMOUS potential. The social interactions of supers vs. powers, the economic implications, the political players (who do Mr. Numbers and Mr. Transport work for anyway?), the nature of the superpowers in general... But these topics are barely touched upon. Instead, we have beer pong.

The narrator was mediocre, and I wasn't planning on continuing the series after this book... until the last 30 minutes. It finally got interesting. REALLY interesting. All that potential came flooding out and hooked me into giving the next book a try (although I may wait for it to go on sale).

All in all, if you've already read Brandon Sanderson's Reckoners and Rachel Aaron's Heartstrikers (two phenomenal YA series), and you're looking for something light and fun (maybe you want to relive your college years?), then go ahead and give this a shot.

56 people found this helpful

only negative is "x said".

I love comic books but they're just too short to enjoy. a novel about super hero's in training is just perfect though. if not for the repetitive "x said" the audio book would be great. in written form that's easy to ignore in an audio book its rather painful but it was worth it.

54 people found this helpful