Hearts of Darkness

by Andrea Speed

Kaede Hiyashi is sick and tired of living in the shadow of his father, supervillain Doctor Terror. Brilliant but crazy, Doctor Terror sends his son to Corwyn, California, for reasons Kaede can't imagine. Sent to accompany and protect him is Ash, a genetically modified supersoldier raised and trained by an infamous death cult.

Corwyn is lousy with superheroes, led by the obnoxious Dark Justice. Kaede finds himself dancing around Dark Justice as he digs into his father's mysterious business and teaches his socially awkward--but physically lethal--bodyguard to acclimate to "normal" life. Can these two wacky supervillains figure out what Doctor Terror wants them to do, solve the riddle of the villain known as Black Hand, and keep Dark Justice from raining on their bloody parade? The course of love--and world domination--never did run smooth.

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance, LGBT, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Romance, Contemporary

200 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2016

About the author

Super nerd. Former EIC at Cx Pulp. I've won Rainbow Awards, and still can't believe it. A small medicinal horse. The Meryl Streep of stunt corpses. Enby.

Reviews

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars ~ I will readily admit that I didn't read a lot of comics growing up. Sorry, Andrea. The description for 'Hearts of Darkness' and the fact it is written by Andrea Speed are the two reasons I picked it up. I kept turning the pages as quickly as possible due to the dialogue, the characters, and the overall fun I was having.

"From Kaede’s limited experience, the difference between superhero and supervillain was mainly one of perception and PR. Anybody who put on a costume and punched people had issues, and even though superheroes claimed to be doing this to help people and “save the world,” they were really doing it for their own selfish reasons. Supervillains did what they did out of pure selfishness, or for revenge, or both, but at least they were upfront about it. Still, that’s why they were hated. Oh, that and killing people. No one was a real fan of that."

If I offend anyone with my review, I apologize in advance. I couldn't help it. So much of this struck me as somewhat tongue-in-cheek and that had me giggling. Not all of it, as the friendship that develops between Kaede and Ash is spectacular to watch considering Ash was raised by a death cult and has zero concept of many modern-day idioms, cultural references, and the like. He doesn't understand attraction, he's never seen a cartoon, and Kaede spends quite a bit of time educating him. The best part though, in my opinion, is that Ash appreciates what he learns. He doesn't just discount it as not being important. That made him so human and kind of child-like to me, all while killing a dozen men in thirty seconds. It was pretty kick-ass!

Please find my full review at Rainbow Book Reviews

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This made me smile. It's definitely a fun tale from the villains side of a superhero filled world, but a villain who's maybe not quite as villainous as some would like to assume. I do really hope that this book gets a sequel. I want more of Kaede and Ash!

I love that Kaede's father is a supervillian and he's grown up on the outskirts of that world. Incredibly smart in his own right yet unable to really see it, Kaede bounces from city to city avoiding death from all his father's enemies. A new series of attempts on his life have Kaede being sent to a new town but with a new twist, a bodyguard designed from birth as nothing but a killing machine. Ash was genetically engineered to be superior and trained by monks who essentially believe the world deserves to be incinerated to kill anything and everything. But because of all that he's never really lived. I loved watching Kaede introduce Ash to new things as they took on all challenges together.

I really want to see Kaede grow into his own more in another book. He's doing a bit of his father's bidding in this story and just finding his feet with what he personally wants. I throughly enjoyed his disdain for all superheroes and their "goodness." Sounds like Kaede has done more to help the town in the few weeks he's been there than all the superheroes have.

[Ben Lilley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t a complete win for me, but there were good moments. I liked our protagonist, Kaede. Although in one breath he denounces his father, in the other he does exactly as his father says, which I found telling of his character. He suspects he’s his father’s clone, and I can’t find any evidence to the contrary. My other favorite character was Dark Justice. I loved the plot around his character. He also reminded me of Batman, my favorite superhero.

[Shelba · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 18%.

A supervillain book sounds fun, but this was kinda bland, I spent more time not reading it, than reading it.

Kaede doesn’t seem like he has much personality. Neither does Ash, but then, he was raised to supress all emotions by some death cult.

There’s some pop culture references, which I hate. I don’t want to read about The Simpsons in my villain book, I want to read about villains.

But the DNF moment for me is when Kaede opens up the topic of sexuality and asks Ash how he identifies:

> “[…] Could you be asexual?”
“What’s that?”
“More or less without a sex drive. Not attracted to anyone.”
>

This was published in 2016, so I’d like to think this harmful stereotype, which is also just plain incorrect, was just ignorance.

It’s the only time asexuality is brought up. It’s never mentioned again, but let’s insinuate the robotic, emotionless character is asexual. Which, you know, means lack of sexual attraction, not a lack of a sex drive. Those are two different things that are not mutually exclusive.

Maybe he understand attraction because he was raised in isolation by a death cult who taught him to suppress all emotions, on top of being genetically engineered by a mad scientist to be a super soldier. I mean, he didn’t understand cartoons either.

[ItsAboutTheBook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review can be read at It's About The Book

Kaede Hiyashi gets a bodyguard, Ash Han. Kaede didn’t really think he needed a bodyguard, but being the son of Doctor Terror, a brilliant but crazy supervillain, can be dangerous. Kaede and Ash end up in Corwyn, CA. Corwyn seems to have a large population of both superheroes and super-villains. They’re everywhere, and they’re interested in Kaede. Kaede realizes he’s attracted to Ash very quickly, but he also knows for all his lethality, Ash is surprisingly innocent and doesn’t always understand interpersonal relationships. As Kaede and Ash get to know each other, they also get to know the heroes and villains of Corwyn.

This book is sweet and funny and full of death. Kaede and Ash are supervillains, there is a lot of death. In between the battles with heroes and other villains, Kaede and Ash are trying to figure out who they are. In some ways this book feels a little New Adult, but mostly these guys are on a journey of self discovery as they find themselves in a battle to the death with over the top and clichéd adversaries. Kaede wrestles with his reason for existence. Is he more than the son of Doctor Terror? Is he more than his father’s creation? For Kaede this question is quite literal. How can you be your own man if you might be a clone?

Moral ambiguity is a large part of this book. Dark Justice is a hero, but he’s a douche-bag. He engages repeatedly in physical intimidation and makes threats against Kaede. Despite being a villain, all Kaede did was move to town. What makes someone a hero or a villain? Is it just a refusal to kill or refusal to steal? Neil Miller has stolen technology despite being a hero. Neil tries to save his sister’s life. Other than Kaede and Ash’s hair, nothing in this book is black and white.

Everyone is the hero of their own story, even when they’re a supervillain. This is definitely a sweet tale of budding romance amidst a personal journey of self discovery and mayhem. I loved every minute of it and want more. Bring on the bad good guys and the good bad guys! I have so many thinky thoughts about this book and want to go on and on, but really I think you should read it. This book is just plain good.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

4 stars

I love a good superhero story and Hearts of Darkness is a really great addition to this genre. What is the most fun here for me is the fact that Kaede is not a good guy like we find in most superhero tales. I mean, he isn’t as bad as his insanely evil and murderous dad. And he does his best to keep civilians from getting caught in the crossfire. But he has no need to be a hero (in fact he thinks most of them are kind of dolts) and doesn’t come across as too bothered by the bad things his dad is up to. Kaede honestly doesn’t think a lot of either the heroes or the villains out there. So I liked that this story has a bit of a different twist and we see things from the point of view of a man who is pretty comfortably outside the law, but still not a totally bad guy.

The other interesting spin here is the interplay between Kaede and Ash. Ash is a pretty robotic guy. He was created in a lab and raised among a death cult that was looking toward hastening the apocalypse and they turned him into a deadly killing machine. So he has very little experience with the real world and interacting with people. And he has no experience with sex whatsoever. I loved that he is this cross being a super killer who can take down bad guys as easily as breathing, but also is sweetly naive and eager to learn from Kaede. I also liked how careful Kaede is with him, even with an intense attraction, because he knows that Ash is new to all this and he doesn’t want to push him. The guys have a sweet relationship (sex is pretty much solely off page) and I liked the way they are both protective over one another.

Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.

[Donna]

This sounds like the One Punch Man's World! Can't wait to read this!

[Lada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome, unapologetic, pragmatist antiheroes. Mild romance and fade-to-black sex. A very fun read.

[Dorian Graves · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a fun supervillain romp for vicariously kissing cute bodyguards and taunting Batman, this is the book for you.

The novel centers around Kaede, son of supervillain Dr. Terror, and Kaede’s new superhuman bodyguard, Ash. Constantly moved across the globe his entire life, Kaede finds himself bored until he’s moved to a city embroiled in conflict between superheroes and supervillains; armed with a directive from his father and a collection of wicked gadgets and poisons, Kaede finds meaning in showing Ash what it means to live and love while slowly eliminating every super-being in the city.

If nothing else, the plot is pure fun. It never dwells too deeply on things like collateral damage or the moral quandaries over murder; the protagonists are overpowered and over-the-top, and the driving force comes from Kaede enacting his complicated schemes. He follows his own set of rules to not reveal his or Ash’s identities, avoid civilian casualties, and apparently to bring every super-being as humiliating a death as possible. The story is at its strongest when Kaede is able to utilize his wits while Ash catches everyone off-guard with his power, though fun gadgets and nods to modern superhero tropes add to the comic-book feel. Along with this plot, there is also the growing romance between Ash and Kaede, which mostly remains sweet as it showcases Ash growing to accept and understand his emotions.

While the plot itself is full of action and thrills, it has difficulty holding onto tension. Kaede has all of his father’s devices at his disposal, plus the near-indestructable Ash; with this and a few other elements learned throughout the story, the duo are never truly in any danger. Pain never lasts long, their schemes are never unraveled, and even the less-exciting decision to storm a hideout guns-blazing faces little consequence. There are also a few plot threads left dangling, such as Kaede’s true relationship to his father, that are never wrapped up, though there seem to be implications of a later sequel to tie these up.

My feelings about protagonist Kaede are complex. On one hand, it’s fun watching him turn from a bored young man who doesn’t understand the hype of the super-life to a manipulative supervillain who delights in confusing others with his innocent facade. However, he doesn’t face a lot of consequences for any of his decisions, for good or ill, and his character shows this clearly. Secondary-protagonist Ash doesn’t face much development either; he starts off as serious with a dry sense of humor, and while he learns a bit more about emotion as the story goes on, it’s mostly in what he says and not in his actions. Ash is still an endearing character who remains the voice of reason with some fun lines to boot.

Special mention goes to the other superheroes and supervillains. The superheroes themselves parody comic book characters such as Batman and the Fantastic Four, while villains get to occupy tropes like the shadowy cult leader or the rich mob boss. The most powerful and mysterious of all these is Dr. Terror, Kaede’s father and the reason behind almost every piece of tech and science in the book. We’re told he’s a madman who likely doesn’t care about his son, despite sending him to safehouses with caches of gadgets and tasks that seem tailored to groom Kaede for a role as a future supervillain; I enjoyed trying to puzzle out his motives almost as much as I enjoyed laughing at the character of “Dark Justice.”

I must also add that while the city of Corwyn seems like any other Metropolis or Gotham, what the author does nail well in this world is the logic of this super-verse and the resulting gadgets and science that follows. This isn’t a setting of gods or radioactive spiders; supervillains make their names by poisoning the populace or being interjected with super-serum drugs, while heroes specialize their skills or supplement their justice with as many weapons as possible. The possibilities for science in regards to supervillainy is one of the few darker topics the book allows itself to touch, such as the lost gadgets of Dr. Terror that Kaede ends up collecting.

Again, this isn't a book to think to deeply about, but for the sheer thrill of watching a supervillain create and execute a scheme, or all the action scenes with the prettiest superhuman bodyguard ever, it's an entertaining ride.

[Cornerofmadness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you like comic books? Do you love heroes and villains? This is a book for you. It reminded me of a Japanese light novel in all the best ways as well. Kaede Hiyashi (our pov character) is the son (or possible clone) of the supervillain, the mad scientist, Dr. Terror. He's not really interested, that much at any rate, in following in Daddy's footsteps. On the other hand, he finds the superheroes to be annoyances (and taunting them amuse him). What he really wants is to be left alone. However, being Terror's offspring means villains and heroes alike have their sights set on taking him out or otherwise using him against dear old dad.

While Dr. Terror isn't going to win father of the year, and barely sees Kaede, he is concerned with his safety. He sends him Ash, a handsome white haired bodyguard who was raised to be a deadly hand to hand assassin by a death cult (shades of Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Shadows).

Ash evacuates Kaede to Corwyn CA but Kaede isn’t sure why his father wants him there. He immediately draws the ire of Dark Justice (an homage to Batman) as well as several supervillains. As Kaede and Ash cut a swath through the supervillains of Corwyn, while thumbing their nose at DJ and at the rest of the heroes, Kaede figures out his father’s plans.

What’s harder to figure out is Ash, the emotionless, socially under developed bodyguard. Kaede teaches Ash how to live and love.

There is plenty of over the top gadgets and action. Kaede and Ash (as well as DJ) are delightful characters. It’s more action-adventure than romance (and it’s a fade to black sort like most of Ms. Speed’s works) and that was perfect for this. I hope she revisits this world! I’d love to go on another romp with these snarky brilliant villains. About the only false note for me was what happened at the club as it seemed a stretch for Ash to indulge like he did but other than that, I enjoyed every moment.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read the description it reminded me of a Wattpad story but it is definitly better than that. Obviously not a literally masterpiece that makes you question society but it`s a nice read when you just want something fun and light to read.

I loved how the love parts and the supervillain-story parts went to together and nothing seemed forced. The relationship feels honest and real and it´s not put into spotlight as much as I expected to but it´s another part of the story like everything else which I really liked.

The story is just something different and I really enjoyed that. Might even be up for a re-read in a bit of time.

[Lissel · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3,75 STARS

I found this to be a very entertaining, fast paced, witty story, with such dynamic and funny narrative that I finished it in one sitting.

Kaede’s mind was a very interesting place to be. I particularly like his unapologetic way of doing things. To be honest, his personality really appealed to me. His relationship with Ash was very cute.

The view on superheroes and villains was on point, and the action was also pretty good.

Is this going to be a series or a stand alone? It could be either, though if it turns into a series I would prefer it if it sticks with Kaede and Ash rather than focus on a new pair. I just like them that much.

[Elisa Rolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

2017 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Hearts of Darkness Andrea Speed
1)OH MY GOD HOW MUCH FUN WAS THIS????  Kaed is the world-weary, seen-it-all son of a mad scientist supervillain. Ash is a genetically engineered assassin/bodyguard raised in a monastery by an isolated death cult. Together…well, they don’t exactly fight crime, but they do have quite a few adventures—and fall in love. Of a sort. There’s SO MUCH to enjoy in this story, but the best part, in my opinion, was Kaed’s eye-rolling, tongue-in-cheek narration—made all the more relatable as Ash gets under his skin. Seriously, this is one of the most fun things I’ve read in a long time. Just fantastic. 

[Natalie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little mystery, a lot of violence, mayhem and death, some character growth and a bit of romance. This one was sweet, a little funny and had supervillians. Kaede was lethal with that toxin and Ash was badass in pretty much every way. I liked their building relationship, one to find his feelings and the other to stop doubting himself. The ending felt a little open with two main unresolved issues, but it was good and fast paced.

[Theodora IK · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just have one question. When did DJ know that Kaede know his real identity? He wasn't 'out' yet, and Kaede initially acted clueless, but by the end of the book DJ and Kaede conversed like they both knew and it wasn't a big deal anyway. I seem to miss the reveal of the superhero identity part.

[Scarlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm in love with this world and these characters and this story!!

[Jennifer]

Very entertaining. I cared about the two main characters and hope to see more books about them!

[The Novel Approach · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars ~ This was a nice superhero read. There’s action, good characters, and a smidgen of a love story. Also, I really liked Dark Justice because he reminded me of my favorite action hero, even though he was kind of a pain in the ass for most the story (which also seems accurate concerning my favorite action hero).

One of the best aspects of the novel was Kaede himself. Kaede’s father, Doctor Terror, is a supervillain and legitimately insane, so Kaede spends most of his life training for oddball catastrophic scenarios, learning innovative and cutting-edge technologies, practicing how to be an entitled dick to everyone, and moving from city to city—because no place is safe for a supervillain’s son. If Kaede isn’t the target of some nefarious plot to get even with his father, then he’s surrounded by sycophants who are desperate to get on his old man’s good side. It’s safe to say he doesn’t have any real friends. Possibly the most concerning aspect of Kaede’s upbringing is that he isn’t even sure if Doctor Terror is his real father, or if he’s just a clone of him. If that doesn’t describe their family’s dysfunction in a nutshell, I don’t know what does.

Despite all that, I think Kaede has turned out rather well. Sure, he doesn’t seem to have a problem killing people, but they are mostly bad guys, or good guys who are really bad guys. That’s a theme I encountered many times in this book, that being good is about more than what color leotard you wear. It’s about the content of your character and your actions.

What gets the plot rolling is when Kaede finds himself under attack—again. And again, it’s people who want to get even with his father. But does Doctor Terror come down to help keep his son safe? No. Instead he sends a genetically engineered and possibly mentally damaged thug, and some cryptic and mostly unhelpful emails. Because that’s parenting at its finest.

Kaede has sort of a resigned but semi-Zen attitude regarding his father, so I was a bit surprised when he took the bait. From that data, I can only conclude Kaede is a bit like the old man, in that he constantly seeks a mental challenge. There was also the matter of Kaede having a crush on his new bodyguard, Ash. Although his father’s call to adventure was a great way for Kaede to impress his new date with his supervillain skills, I’m not sure I was completely buying their romance. But that’s okay. They’re both a bit screwy, so I guess it works.

My biggest problem with the novel was the pacing. Yes, it was fast in parts—you’d expect that with a superhero novel—so there wasn’t a whole lot of time for touchy feely stuff, which I didn’t have a problem with. However, the way the scenes ended and began made the entire story read slightly stilted to me. Instead of organizing the scenes around an action sequence, there were awkward passages of summary in between them. These passages weren’t like normal breaks in action, where the reader can take a breather and maybe get to know the characters better, but were more like laundry lists of what the character was doing: brushed teeth, went to bed, had breakfast, etc. And some of the super intense action scenes had no build up, which gave me reader whiplash.

Overall, it was a fine book. Kaede was fairly interesting, and I really liked Dark Justice. I don’t have time for boy scouts, and DJ didn’t disappoint me.

Reviewed by Ben for The Novel Approach Reviews

[dawn fawn dusk O · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing, I am begging for a second one. The reveal at the end was ok, but everything leading up to it was simply perfection.

[Elaine White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book – Hearts of Darkness
Author – Andrea Speed
Star rating - ★★★★★
No. of Pages – 200

Cover – Gorgeous! And perfect for the story!
POV – 3rd person, one character POV
Would I read it again – Yes!

Genre – LGBT, Superhero/Supervillain, Comics, Romance, Crime


** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine


I was instantly hooked by the first line:
“Not for the first time, Kaede wondered what would happen if he decided to burn everything down. Just set it all on fire.”

After that, it only got better. I was instantly captivated by Kaede and, from the moment we met Ash, he was by far the most interesting character I've read in a while. Kaede is a complicated mix of an only child seeking a father figure, a young man who is fiercely independent and capable but that others misjudge based on his looks and age, as well as the added confusion of being a super villain's son and trying to find his niche in the world. On the flip side, Ash is an emotionless superrobot-human-superkiller-supersoldier. On top of all of that, he's highly intelligent, super aware and sensitive to Kaede while being completely unaware of the simplest, most basic human emotional concepts.

When it comes to the plot, I don't want to say much, because there's nothing I can really say without giving everything away. All I will say is that is was awesome, with a brilliant ending and some amazing superhero-supervillain twists and turns.

The attention to detail given to the superheroes and supervillains – from names, abilities and their inventions etc – was incredibly well done and pure genius, really. I loved the kind of detail that was given to Dr Terror, even though he wasn't a character that we got to see on page. We saw him in e-mails, through Kaede's thoughts and feelings, as well as exploring his inventive side through all of his gadgets.

I loved that, as well as individual superheroes and supervillains, there were actual conglomerates of them. The Brotherhood of the Red Dagger, The Black Hand, etc, who all took part in various aspects of the plot that actually came together in the end.

I definitely want to see these characters again in another story, somewhere down the line.

~

Favourite Quote

“The boy acknowledged that with a curt nod and then took a few steps forward before stopping again. He showed his hands – slender, long-fingered, a pianist's hands – to let Kaede know they were empty. Or at least appeared that way. Kaede thought the kid had a spray of freckles across his ghostly skin, but after a moment he realized it was just a sprinkling of blood.”

“If this man was telling the truth – and why would he lie? – he was so dangerous it would actually be difficult to quantify. He'd be the equivalent of a trained shark with Ebola-tipped missiles in a launcher on its head.”

[Tünde Kasza tóth · Rating 1 out of 5]

So I was hoping for something like Love for the Cold-Blooded, or The Part-Time Evil Minion's Guide to Accidentally Dating a Superhero by Alex Gabriel. I was disappointed.

- lough out lound moments: 0 (even when Kaede was laughing at the superheros, it was more mean than anything else)

- romantic moments: 0 (since Ash was like a very deadly baby anymal, the scenes with any sexual content, even where they just kissed, felt really close to pedophilia to me)

- lovable MC: 0 (Kaede is just as much an egomaniac spoiled rich kid as everyone else around him, and he even points that out about others, he just can't see it in himself. On the top of this he is not even the relatable kid of the supervillain, who wants nothing to do with his father. He is actually not a good person, and thinks killing is a necessary evil of his life. Which on one hand makes him realistic, on the other totally unrelatable.)

- clumsy but cute love interest: 0 (Even though Ash is a killing machine, and very competent at that, in EVERY other aspect of life he seems like a child. You just can't cast a child as a love interest. That's a big no-no. Except maybe when we are talking about hentai, but that has a totally different target audience.)

All in all, even though the writing was good (nothing less from Andrea Speed), the characters were so unrelateble and unlikable it just made me wish they had at least an awesome enemy. But they only got second rate citizens of those as well. I had to give up, I just couldn't finish this.

[WMD · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple young adult comic book violence

This is professionally written, and basically bad guy good guy battles, with an underlying foundation of the standard romance tale of son of evil villain meets minion of evil villian. Over the top/ridiculous levels of violence, no onscreen sex.
Interesting MCs. Some moments of mild humor, low angst but some detailed violence. Not a lot to this story. Written from one point of view, and it's really Kaede's point of view and his breakdown of the comic book villain/hero lifestyle that is the interesting part of the story. It's seems like this could continue as a series, but the most interesting part of this one was getting to know the MCs, so if continued would need more of a plot.

If you like the sound of Hearts of Darkness
I can recommend Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
And a Gentlemen's Guide to Vice and Virtue.

[Karla]

The son of a Dr. Evil type character gets a new genetically engineered bodyguard. This is a homage/spoof of comic books and movies, with over the top characters and action. Sounded fun and this would have been really cute if it were paired with a romance. There was essentially no romance so I lost interest.

[Gillian]

Review to come

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want a story about Dark Justice now. He's very interesting.

[Strina K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Worked better as the original novella. Gorgeous cover, though.

[Ryan]

Fiction - Young Adult. Trade Paperback. Found online. Did not finish.