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Program 38: Truths
Wyatt Sterling is missing— and it is about to become everyone’s problem.
Vanessa J. Stones is tired of living in the shadow of her former colleague, Wyatt Sterling. Despite the Corruption being settled, Wyatt’s disappearance causes unrest. Everyone is looking for him, including some of his greatest enemies. But Wyatt isn’t the only member of Program 38 whose life is being attacked. More peril lurks on horizon, pinning every member to their past.
As foes old and new close in on Program 38, Vanessa struggles to balance the dangers coming their way, and her budding relationship with her new roommate. A war brews in the background. Will Program 38 weather the storm, or succumb?
And if they find Wyatt, will he be the same man they left behind?
Vanessa J. Stones is tired of living in the shadow of her former colleague, Wyatt Sterling. Despite the Corruption being settled, Wyatt’s disappearance causes unrest. Everyone is looking for him, including some of his greatest enemies. But Wyatt isn’t the only member of Program 38 whose life is being attacked. More peril lurks on horizon, pinning every member to their past.
As foes old and new close in on Program 38, Vanessa struggles to balance the dangers coming their way, and her budding relationship with her new roommate. A war brews in the background. Will Program 38 weather the storm, or succumb?
And if they find Wyatt, will he be the same man they left behind?
273 pages, Hardcover
Published August 14, 2025
1 person is currently reading
3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 2, 2025
I was very honored to receive an arc copy of Program 38: Truths
This book builds perfectly on the previous book and follows one of the newer additions to the Program 38 team.
We get to watch Vanessa battle imposter syndrome and navigate various relationships during college. Amanda perfectly captures the nature of relationships in college and places a heavy emphasis on balancing the personal with the secret identity
She writes a Sapphic romance beautifully and was honestly one of the highlights of my reading experience
I think my favorite part of the book is the heavy realism that comes with being a superhero. This story is not a happy one but it is one I was able to love and appreciate
This book builds perfectly on the previous book and follows one of the newer additions to the Program 38 team.
We get to watch Vanessa battle imposter syndrome and navigate various relationships during college. Amanda perfectly captures the nature of relationships in college and places a heavy emphasis on balancing the personal with the secret identity
She writes a Sapphic romance beautifully and was honestly one of the highlights of my reading experience
I think my favorite part of the book is the heavy realism that comes with being a superhero. This story is not a happy one but it is one I was able to love and appreciate
August 1, 2025
Program 38: Truths is an amazing novel. The characters are very well developed and have extreme depth. This depth makes some of them so incredibly relatable. I especially enjoyed the development of Emily and Vanessa’s characters as the book progressed. They both grew so much over the course of this novel. This novel starts out with a bang, and feels as though it moves incredibly quickly. There are so many well thought out plot twists that it just keeps the audience guessing. When I read this, I couldn't put it down. I got so invested in the characters, their stories and their struggles. I really enjoyed Caleb’s story. Even though he didn't have powers, he was always willing to help out his friends. Reading this novel felt like getting transported to another world. Overall, an amazing novel. I would definitely recommend this book! I was given an ARC copy by the author <3.
June 27, 2025
Phew boi! Amanda really knocked it out of the park on this intense superhero book.
building off the foundation of the first book, Program 38 Sparks, Amanda cranks it up to 11 with this high intensity high stakes super hero story.
if you're a fan of Marvel of DC comics, you'll likely enjoy the many different and unique super powers that Amanda has created. Some carry inspiration from other major MCU characters, while others are brand new and super creative.
I applaud Amanda on weaving a story with such a diverse cast of characters! It's amazing she could keep track, because every character had a unique voice when on the page as the heroes interact with other programs
phew! what a ride. thanks for the ARC!
building off the foundation of the first book, Program 38 Sparks, Amanda cranks it up to 11 with this high intensity high stakes super hero story.
if you're a fan of Marvel of DC comics, you'll likely enjoy the many different and unique super powers that Amanda has created. Some carry inspiration from other major MCU characters, while others are brand new and super creative.
I applaud Amanda on weaving a story with such a diverse cast of characters! It's amazing she could keep track, because every character had a unique voice when on the page as the heroes interact with other programs
phew! what a ride. thanks for the ARC!
August 14, 2025
Quick preface - I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of this, and while I wasn't sure I'd be the target audience, I enjoyed it. I also haven't read "Sparks" yet, which could have been a disaster, but thankfully, this book stands well on its own.
So, as someone who hasn't read the first book: "Program 38 - Truths" was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I was drawn into the world and the compelling story of Kelsey Clay, and even without having the full backstory, I was able to follow along and connect with the characters. The world is built so well, that you don't need to have the primers from the first novel - but if it's anything like this one, go and read that too.
It's a unique take on superheroes, and I genuinely cared about the characters as they twist and turn through what is not a happy story, but it is a realistic, human experience - and I think that's the hook here. Yes, it's a superhero story, but it's also a human story, and a coming-of-age story, with all the pitfalls and trials that come with just living your life, magnified by the responsibilities of heroes.
One thing that does stand out, and it comes from the book and the engagement on social media and in signings - this is a writer who is passionate about her work. And she should be proud of what she's made.
If you like coming of age stories, YA fiction, or superhero stories in general, give this a go. If you're on the fence, I encourage you to fall over the side of buying it, and giving it a chance.
So, as someone who hasn't read the first book: "Program 38 - Truths" was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I was drawn into the world and the compelling story of Kelsey Clay, and even without having the full backstory, I was able to follow along and connect with the characters. The world is built so well, that you don't need to have the primers from the first novel - but if it's anything like this one, go and read that too.
It's a unique take on superheroes, and I genuinely cared about the characters as they twist and turn through what is not a happy story, but it is a realistic, human experience - and I think that's the hook here. Yes, it's a superhero story, but it's also a human story, and a coming-of-age story, with all the pitfalls and trials that come with just living your life, magnified by the responsibilities of heroes.
One thing that does stand out, and it comes from the book and the engagement on social media and in signings - this is a writer who is passionate about her work. And she should be proud of what she's made.
If you like coming of age stories, YA fiction, or superhero stories in general, give this a go. If you're on the fence, I encourage you to fall over the side of buying it, and giving it a chance.
July 9, 2025
I was lucky to receive an ARC copy of this wonderful book. In Program 38: Truths, the story from the previous book reaches new heights, with higher stakes and a combination of old and new character storylines and dynamics.
We get to see the characters evolve both in their superhero identities and as university students who struggle with keeping each other safe and their identities secret. The cast is diverse, with a wlw romance as one of the main aspects of the book, and it is all very well written.
Having Vanessa, the newest member of the program, as the narrator helps learn new aspects of the characters and power system that had been set up in Sparks, as we get to learn alongside her what it takes to be a true hero. Old characters that didn't get to shine as much in the previous book also get moments that not only develop them but also push the story forward in fascinating ways. We get to see some characters rise despite the tragedy around them to become powerful beacons of hope, while others lose themselves in their flaws and have to fight to remain on the side of good.
The life of a hero is never easy or fully happy, but they will always fight for what they believe is right, and this book shows that very well. I recommend this and the previous book a lot to fans of superheroes and to those who want to try a new and interesting ongoing book series.
We get to see the characters evolve both in their superhero identities and as university students who struggle with keeping each other safe and their identities secret. The cast is diverse, with a wlw romance as one of the main aspects of the book, and it is all very well written.
Having Vanessa, the newest member of the program, as the narrator helps learn new aspects of the characters and power system that had been set up in Sparks, as we get to learn alongside her what it takes to be a true hero. Old characters that didn't get to shine as much in the previous book also get moments that not only develop them but also push the story forward in fascinating ways. We get to see some characters rise despite the tragedy around them to become powerful beacons of hope, while others lose themselves in their flaws and have to fight to remain on the side of good.
The life of a hero is never easy or fully happy, but they will always fight for what they believe is right, and this book shows that very well. I recommend this and the previous book a lot to fans of superheroes and to those who want to try a new and interesting ongoing book series.
August 11, 2025
Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy. The following review represents my honest opinion.
I really enjoyed this book! There were so many twists and turns that really made it a captivating read. I especially enjoyed the character-driven plot and all the development each character went through. Madison does really well at painting vivid images for the reader throughout her work.
I really enjoyed this book! There were so many twists and turns that really made it a captivating read. I especially enjoyed the character-driven plot and all the development each character went through. Madison does really well at painting vivid images for the reader throughout her work.
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August 25, 2025I'd like to thank the author for the eARC! The following review contains my own opinions.
I want to start by saying that, while I was disappointed by the first book in this series, I went in to the sequel with the highest of hopes, having been promised major writing overhauls and new editors. But alas, I've been let down once more by Program 38.
Look, this series is an unquestionable 5 star idea, it really is. I am in love with Madison's concept of superhero programs in college settings, and I was glad to see an expansion on the 30s program in this book with a glimpse of the other programs and the conflict between them. Unfortunately, this amazing 5 star premise has been paired with what I can only describe as a 1 star execution, so I'm officially (and dare I say generously) rating it in the middle at a 2.5.
It took me longer to read than expected, partially due to the fact that I annotated my digital copy full of thoughts as I was reading along so I could keep track of everything for my ARC review. And I assure, you, there were a lot of thoughts, which is why this review is so long. Some ranting may be involved.
I will list them in order of significance:
THE WRITING
Despite one being mentioned in the acknowledgements, I refuse to believe an editor went anywhere near this. There were many cases of typos, character inconsistencies, plot inconsistencies, and a general lack of flow to the writing, that I imagine, had it been properly and thoroughly edited, would have been picked up on and altered prior to publication.
It didn't flow very well, with several unrelated ideas being joined in one paragraph, or contrasting ideas written as back-to-back sentences, and over all quite hard to read and follow along with what was going on. The dialogue was disjointed, I couldn't keep track of majority of the conversations, and often characters would react super dramatically to things that required no such reaction. Sometimes names would be completely omitted in required descriptions, so it was impossible to tell which 'he' or 'she' was being talked about.
And there were many occasions where, despite being in a 1st person POV, we saw, heard, or learned things that the POV character wouldn't have been able to see, hear, or learn. As we were mostly in Vanessa's head, I expected to only see Vanessa's experience, and this was often not the case. It even happened in reverse, where other characters knew about things that Vanessa had only just discovered and hadn't had the chance to share yet.
And I'm still not a huge fan of how it was written in the style where the narrator is in the present reporting about the events of the past year. It wasn't as prominent as it was in the first book, but certain lines did jump out at me and threw me off.
THE PLOT
Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what the plot was. I think it had something to do with Program 38 trying to stop Bolide/Amelia from acquiring the Sterling Pendant so she couldn't kill Comet/Wyatt, while also proving to the other programs that they weren't useless? The reason why I'm confused about this is that they didn't exactly do any of that very well. Or at all.
On many occasions the characters and events seemed to follow a system very similar to Anime Logic. Which, to anyone who knows anime, would know that this is not logic at all. It might be the anime-vibe that made me dislike this book so much, so who knows, if you're into characters making stupid, senseless decisions and failing at everything and yet still technically winning in the end due to last-minute interventions that would have solved all the problems had they happened any sooner, then this might be the book/series for you.
One thing I liked about the plot, was a link between a major obstacle in the middle of the book and their final battle at the end. While it felt a little OP, I still thought that was a clever tie-back, and was happy to finally see some logic being used by the characters.
I also like the Canary/Cardinal prophecy mystery.
THE CHARACTERS
I don't think a chapter went by without one of the Program 38 crew having some kind of mental break down. Now this could be a great device to add drama and angst to the characters. But after the 46982374875th time, it got kind of tiring, and I no longer felt sorry when a character broke down because I knew it would just enter the same cycle of talking out their problems in a huge trauma dump and then going on about their day. More focus was put on the therapy sessions these characters gave each other than on fighting the actual villains.
There were lots of times where the characters acted in a very non-superhero manner, often to the point of being villainous, violent, immature, and highly immoral, and yet they still had the audacity to complain that the civilians didn't like them, and that the 30s Program were trying to disband them. I'm sorry, but you guys had it coming.
They also all made very stupid decisions repeatedly (), and seemed to use their otherwise incredible powers as inconveniently as possible.
E.G. Vanessa/Rose Gold. She had a whole array of different, seemingly unrelated, powers, one of which was her ability to manipulate metal, Magneto style. I thought this was cool. I mean she had a SWORD that she could manipulate with her MIND! How cool is that?! And yet the most she did with it was lightly stab someone in the back (not enough to do any damage) and slice a few grazes into people's legs and ankles. The few times she tried to do more, she somehow missed, except that one time she accidentally impaled a goon through the skull, and proceeded to not feel guilty about it despite her self-proclaimed "pacifist nature". What an absolute waste of such a cool power. The rest of the time, she summoned pieces of metal (that was exactly as they were always described, too, "pieces of metal"; I don't know any more detail about this metal, whether it was sharp knives, or jagged pieces of tin roofing, or an antique spoon collection, I could not tell you) from anywhere and everywhere, and threw them at people. I wanted more details about this, about what kind of metal she was summoning and exactly how she was using them to fight her enemies. .
But this happened on repeat, and not just with Vanessa. Everyone else conveniently gained powers or upgrades when it suited the events of the story. Like suddenly a mind reader discovered she was a sorcerer, and someone who brushed their hair to give themselves different powers discovered mid-fight that they could split their hair to give themselves 2 sets of powers at once before proceeding to never use that trick ever again throughout the rest of the book.
The reverse was also true; their powers would also conveniently not work on certain things that would have been immediately solved if only they could have used their powers. Most of the time, the reason for these powers not working at this inopportune moment was Just Because.
Examples of this in the prologue alone:
- about a person who could control metal. What about this metal could not be controlled? Why this metal specifically? If she could have controlled this metal (which as far as I know, she can do with all other metal) then her leg would have been fine. But she couldn't. Just Because.
- about a telekinetic. What about the cannon made it unbreakable to someone who could theoretically pull it apart with his mind? No reason was given as to why he couldn't break it, just that he couldn't. Just Because. Also, if he could lift the cannon, and the guy (because he carried both from the middle of the city to the middle of the desert moments prior) then how come he couldn't just... separate them at the very least?
It made it very difficult to cheer on the heroes when they actually achieved something they set out to achieve, because I feel like it was either just handed to them on a silver platter or snatched away from them for no logical reason whatsoever.
Also the characters kept changing their names. It wasn't entirely random, which is its only saving grace, at least there were reasons behind the characters changing their names, but it did make it challenging to then keep track of them all. Because we already have a major cast of characters with alter superhero egos, so that's 2 names per character, and I thought I was doing well to remember them all. But then one main character changed her alter ego name TWICE throughout this book, and another TWO main characters ended up with a completely new identity by the end of the book and I almost just gave up.
4. THE FIGHT SCENES
Similarly to the last book, lots of the important action was glazed over. While time skips like "We stalled him for another four hours" were thankfully limited to early chapters, there were lots of things like "he got several punches in" without describing where those punches landed. And when people were stabbed, hit, or shot by something, we rarely saw any reaction to these attacks, not even a grunt or cry of pain, turning what could have been a dynamic fight scene into something very lackluster.
THE ROMANCE
This was not a romantic book, so I don't blame it for having minimal romance. But one of the plot points was the budding sapphic relationship between Vanessa and Emily, and I just couldn't feel it. They were friendlyish roommates who trauma bonded one night over family problems and video games, and suddenly they were like "is this love?". Not until the BONUS STORY at the VERY END of the book (and arguably the most well-written part of the whole book), did I even see them interact in a way that was remotely romantic or sweet. I don't even know when they officially got together, suddenly towards the end of the book, they just started calling each other "Darling" and "dear" and "my love", which felt very out of character for both of them to be using such pet names.
THE GLASS CANNON MISSION
Yes, this gets its own listing, because when I tell you I was MAD throughout the whole chapter. This was the prologue too, mind you. The Actual Book hadn't even started yet, and already logic was thrown out the window. My biggest problem with it was specifically the line: "Civilians wandered to work around us, dodging the damages."
WHAT DO YOU MEAN??? WHAT ARE THEY DOING, JUST SQUEEZING PAST THE CANNON GUY GOING: "Excuse me, sorry, don't mind me, I'm just late for my bus, haha!"
ARE THEY NOT SCREAMING AND RUNNING AWAY??? DO THEY JUST NOT CARE????
IF THEY'RE FINE WITH THIS THEN WHAT'S THE POINT OF HEROES, JUST LET THE CANNON GUY DO HIS THING, HE'S CLEARLY NOT DISTRURBING ANYONE
OH. MY. LORD.
Anime logic, it has to be.
I would rant about all the other issues I had with this scene, but as I rudely discovered, I'm running out of characters, and still have more points to make
BOSTON
At one point in this book, HALF OF BOSTON WAS DESTROYED. You heard that correctly. Half of a major city, razed to the ground. At the time, there were news reports and everything going on. But then it was just Never. Mentioned. Again. (with exception of one throw away comment that was essentially like "I only did it to get your attention"). A full 10 programs of superheroes and their advisors, and none of them cared one iota about it, and it drove me up the wall.
EMERSION
Call me paranoid, but I feel like more detail about COVID was added to this book specifically to rebel against my protests about it from last book.
Look. COVID was a weird, troubling time for many people. I am an escapist reader. I read books to escape weird, troubling times from the real world, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that regard. When the book I'm reading blatantly includes those same pieces of reality that I'm trying to escape from, my emersion is immediately ruined, and any chance of a good time is slaughtered on the spot.
SMALL EYES
I realise this is a petty addition, but every other description in this book featured one of the characters described as "their eyes got small" in reaction to something. To this day, I still have no idea what that means.
TLDR, 5 star idea, 1 star execution. It reads like a first draft, very unpolished and unrefined, and with minimal flow in the writing. This book could do with a heavy developmental edit. It has the potential to be absolutely fantastic, but I feel like the whole process was rushed and/or shortcut just to get it published, so the series isn't living up to that great potential it deserves.
I have twice attempted to get into this series, and twice I have been burned by disappointment, so sadly I don't think I can recommend this to anyone, or even continue the series myself when the next books come out. But I wish the author all the best for her future writing endeavours, and I hope she continues to grow.
I want to start by saying that, while I was disappointed by the first book in this series, I went in to the sequel with the highest of hopes, having been promised major writing overhauls and new editors. But alas, I've been let down once more by Program 38.
Look, this series is an unquestionable 5 star idea, it really is. I am in love with Madison's concept of superhero programs in college settings, and I was glad to see an expansion on the 30s program in this book with a glimpse of the other programs and the conflict between them. Unfortunately, this amazing 5 star premise has been paired with what I can only describe as a 1 star execution, so I'm officially (and dare I say generously) rating it in the middle at a 2.5.
It took me longer to read than expected, partially due to the fact that I annotated my digital copy full of thoughts as I was reading along so I could keep track of everything for my ARC review. And I assure, you, there were a lot of thoughts, which is why this review is so long. Some ranting may be involved.
I will list them in order of significance:
THE WRITING
Despite one being mentioned in the acknowledgements, I refuse to believe an editor went anywhere near this. There were many cases of typos, character inconsistencies, plot inconsistencies, and a general lack of flow to the writing, that I imagine, had it been properly and thoroughly edited, would have been picked up on and altered prior to publication.
It didn't flow very well, with several unrelated ideas being joined in one paragraph, or contrasting ideas written as back-to-back sentences, and over all quite hard to read and follow along with what was going on. The dialogue was disjointed, I couldn't keep track of majority of the conversations, and often characters would react super dramatically to things that required no such reaction. Sometimes names would be completely omitted in required descriptions, so it was impossible to tell which 'he' or 'she' was being talked about.
And there were many occasions where, despite being in a 1st person POV, we saw, heard, or learned things that the POV character wouldn't have been able to see, hear, or learn. As we were mostly in Vanessa's head, I expected to only see Vanessa's experience, and this was often not the case. It even happened in reverse, where other characters knew about things that Vanessa had only just discovered and hadn't had the chance to share yet.
And I'm still not a huge fan of how it was written in the style where the narrator is in the present reporting about the events of the past year. It wasn't as prominent as it was in the first book, but certain lines did jump out at me and threw me off.
THE PLOT
Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what the plot was. I think it had something to do with Program 38 trying to stop Bolide/Amelia from acquiring the Sterling Pendant so she couldn't kill Comet/Wyatt, while also proving to the other programs that they weren't useless? The reason why I'm confused about this is that they didn't exactly do any of that very well. Or at all.
On many occasions the characters and events seemed to follow a system very similar to Anime Logic. Which, to anyone who knows anime, would know that this is not logic at all. It might be the anime-vibe that made me dislike this book so much, so who knows, if you're into characters making stupid, senseless decisions and failing at everything and yet still technically winning in the end due to last-minute interventions that would have solved all the problems had they happened any sooner, then this might be the book/series for you.
One thing I liked about the plot, was a link between a major obstacle in the middle of the book and their final battle at the end. While it felt a little OP, I still thought that was a clever tie-back, and was happy to finally see some logic being used by the characters.
I also like the Canary/Cardinal prophecy mystery.
THE CHARACTERS
I don't think a chapter went by without one of the Program 38 crew having some kind of mental break down. Now this could be a great device to add drama and angst to the characters. But after the 46982374875th time, it got kind of tiring, and I no longer felt sorry when a character broke down because I knew it would just enter the same cycle of talking out their problems in a huge trauma dump and then going on about their day. More focus was put on the therapy sessions these characters gave each other than on fighting the actual villains.
There were lots of times where the characters acted in a very non-superhero manner, often to the point of being villainous, violent, immature, and highly immoral, and yet they still had the audacity to complain that the civilians didn't like them, and that the 30s Program were trying to disband them. I'm sorry, but you guys had it coming.
They also all made very stupid decisions repeatedly (), and seemed to use their otherwise incredible powers as inconveniently as possible.
E.G. Vanessa/Rose Gold. She had a whole array of different, seemingly unrelated, powers, one of which was her ability to manipulate metal, Magneto style. I thought this was cool. I mean she had a SWORD that she could manipulate with her MIND! How cool is that?! And yet the most she did with it was lightly stab someone in the back (not enough to do any damage) and slice a few grazes into people's legs and ankles. The few times she tried to do more, she somehow missed, except that one time she accidentally impaled a goon through the skull, and proceeded to not feel guilty about it despite her self-proclaimed "pacifist nature". What an absolute waste of such a cool power. The rest of the time, she summoned pieces of metal (that was exactly as they were always described, too, "pieces of metal"; I don't know any more detail about this metal, whether it was sharp knives, or jagged pieces of tin roofing, or an antique spoon collection, I could not tell you) from anywhere and everywhere, and threw them at people. I wanted more details about this, about what kind of metal she was summoning and exactly how she was using them to fight her enemies. .
But this happened on repeat, and not just with Vanessa. Everyone else conveniently gained powers or upgrades when it suited the events of the story. Like suddenly a mind reader discovered she was a sorcerer, and someone who brushed their hair to give themselves different powers discovered mid-fight that they could split their hair to give themselves 2 sets of powers at once before proceeding to never use that trick ever again throughout the rest of the book.
The reverse was also true; their powers would also conveniently not work on certain things that would have been immediately solved if only they could have used their powers. Most of the time, the reason for these powers not working at this inopportune moment was Just Because.
Examples of this in the prologue alone:
"She would’ve been fine if her entire left leg didn’t get jacked up by metal she couldn’t control"
- about a person who could control metal. What about this metal could not be controlled? Why this metal specifically? If she could have controlled this metal (which as far as I know, she can do with all other metal) then her leg would have been fine. But she couldn't. Just Because.
"We knew Jay could lift the cannon, but he couldn’t break it"
- about a telekinetic. What about the cannon made it unbreakable to someone who could theoretically pull it apart with his mind? No reason was given as to why he couldn't break it, just that he couldn't. Just Because. Also, if he could lift the cannon, and the guy (because he carried both from the middle of the city to the middle of the desert moments prior) then how come he couldn't just... separate them at the very least?
It made it very difficult to cheer on the heroes when they actually achieved something they set out to achieve, because I feel like it was either just handed to them on a silver platter or snatched away from them for no logical reason whatsoever.
Also the characters kept changing their names. It wasn't entirely random, which is its only saving grace, at least there were reasons behind the characters changing their names, but it did make it challenging to then keep track of them all. Because we already have a major cast of characters with alter superhero egos, so that's 2 names per character, and I thought I was doing well to remember them all. But then one main character changed her alter ego name TWICE throughout this book, and another TWO main characters ended up with a completely new identity by the end of the book and I almost just gave up.
4. THE FIGHT SCENES
Similarly to the last book, lots of the important action was glazed over. While time skips like "We stalled him for another four hours" were thankfully limited to early chapters, there were lots of things like "he got several punches in" without describing where those punches landed. And when people were stabbed, hit, or shot by something, we rarely saw any reaction to these attacks, not even a grunt or cry of pain, turning what could have been a dynamic fight scene into something very lackluster.
THE ROMANCE
This was not a romantic book, so I don't blame it for having minimal romance. But one of the plot points was the budding sapphic relationship between Vanessa and Emily, and I just couldn't feel it. They were friendlyish roommates who trauma bonded one night over family problems and video games, and suddenly they were like "is this love?". Not until the BONUS STORY at the VERY END of the book (and arguably the most well-written part of the whole book), did I even see them interact in a way that was remotely romantic or sweet. I don't even know when they officially got together, suddenly towards the end of the book, they just started calling each other "Darling" and "dear" and "my love", which felt very out of character for both of them to be using such pet names.
THE GLASS CANNON MISSION
Yes, this gets its own listing, because when I tell you I was MAD throughout the whole chapter. This was the prologue too, mind you. The Actual Book hadn't even started yet, and already logic was thrown out the window. My biggest problem with it was specifically the line: "Civilians wandered to work around us, dodging the damages."
WHAT DO YOU MEAN??? WHAT ARE THEY DOING, JUST SQUEEZING PAST THE CANNON GUY GOING: "Excuse me, sorry, don't mind me, I'm just late for my bus, haha!"
ARE THEY NOT SCREAMING AND RUNNING AWAY??? DO THEY JUST NOT CARE????
IF THEY'RE FINE WITH THIS THEN WHAT'S THE POINT OF HEROES, JUST LET THE CANNON GUY DO HIS THING, HE'S CLEARLY NOT DISTRURBING ANYONE
OH. MY. LORD.
Anime logic, it has to be.
I would rant about all the other issues I had with this scene, but as I rudely discovered, I'm running out of characters, and still have more points to make
BOSTON
At one point in this book, HALF OF BOSTON WAS DESTROYED. You heard that correctly. Half of a major city, razed to the ground. At the time, there were news reports and everything going on. But then it was just Never. Mentioned. Again. (with exception of one throw away comment that was essentially like "I only did it to get your attention"). A full 10 programs of superheroes and their advisors, and none of them cared one iota about it, and it drove me up the wall.
EMERSION
Call me paranoid, but I feel like more detail about COVID was added to this book specifically to rebel against my protests about it from last book.
Look. COVID was a weird, troubling time for many people. I am an escapist reader. I read books to escape weird, troubling times from the real world, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that regard. When the book I'm reading blatantly includes those same pieces of reality that I'm trying to escape from, my emersion is immediately ruined, and any chance of a good time is slaughtered on the spot.
SMALL EYES
I realise this is a petty addition, but every other description in this book featured one of the characters described as "their eyes got small" in reaction to something. To this day, I still have no idea what that means.
TLDR, 5 star idea, 1 star execution. It reads like a first draft, very unpolished and unrefined, and with minimal flow in the writing. This book could do with a heavy developmental edit. It has the potential to be absolutely fantastic, but I feel like the whole process was rushed and/or shortcut just to get it published, so the series isn't living up to that great potential it deserves.
I have twice attempted to get into this series, and twice I have been burned by disappointment, so sadly I don't think I can recommend this to anyone, or even continue the series myself when the next books come out. But I wish the author all the best for her future writing endeavours, and I hope she continues to grow.
August 4, 2025
Note: I was given a copy of this book.
Program 38: Truths by Amanda Madison is a gripping continuation of the series that raises the emotional stakes while deepening character growth. Madison skillfully blends superhero action with raw explorations of trauma, resilience, and identity. The dynamics between Wyatt, Vanessa, and the rest of Program 38 are tense, heartfelt, and layered with hard choices and consequences. While some sections move quickly and leave you wanting a bit more breathing room, the story never loses its emotional weight or momentum. A powerful follow-up that proves this series has both heart and bite.
Program 38: Truths by Amanda Madison is a gripping continuation of the series that raises the emotional stakes while deepening character growth. Madison skillfully blends superhero action with raw explorations of trauma, resilience, and identity. The dynamics between Wyatt, Vanessa, and the rest of Program 38 are tense, heartfelt, and layered with hard choices and consequences. While some sections move quickly and leave you wanting a bit more breathing room, the story never loses its emotional weight or momentum. A powerful follow-up that proves this series has both heart and bite.
November 30, 2025
Wyatt Sterling is missing... and he became everyone's problem. I really like this second book in the series as it expands upon more character dynamics than Program 38: Sparks (book 1) did. This new book in the series focuses on some of the characters we didn't get to find out much from like Juniper, Caleb, and Nicole. But the big point of the book was Wyatt and Vanessa... OMG what a feud... past vs present... was my favorite part. The ending and what it might mean for the next book if the author continues could mean a lot as well. So I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a good book to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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