Dr. Molly Fawn’s life is surprisingly normal, considering that she spends her days running support for a man who can fly and lift city buses with one hand. But when Molly interrupts the Silhouette — the city’s most notorious thief — in a middle of a job, everything gets a bit more exciting. Suddenly, Molly sees the thief everywhere, and those leather clad curves and wicked smiles are all she can think about. The Silhouette seems determined to lure the mild-mannered Dr. Fawn out of her shell like taking a gem from a vault, but will Molly have the courage to let the beautiful thief have a shot at stealing her heart?
Silhouette is a standalone F/F romance set in a fictional Midwestern city with superpowered heroes, villains, and the sidekicks who love them.
Robin Hale is an independent author of sapphic romance. She's never met a classic that couldn't be improved with a lesfic retelling and sincerely believes that every woman deserves to fall passionately in love. When not writing, you can find her lurking in coffeeshops, planning elaborate costumes, and trying to turn every game she plays into a dating sim.
If Requiem had been a thief instead of an assassin, she'd be Silhouette. And if I'd read this book in 2018 instead of 2019, it would easily have been my favorite book of the year.
It's the perfect blend of serious and funny, thrills and chills, sweetness and sauciness, with a unique kind of romance that can only be described as "dangerously sexy".
Captain Colossal is Opal City's greatest hero. But behind every superhero is a secret sidekick. Molly Fawn is the Captain's eyes, ears and more importantly, the brains behind the famous hero. One chance encounter brings her face to face with Opal City's most notorious and secretive thief, appropriately nicknamed Silhouette.
Molly is intrigued by the sleek, sexy, impertinent thief and Silhouette finds Molly's geeky, self-conscious, self-effacing honesty to be totally endearing and cute.
What happens next is a courtship of a different kind, as the incorrigible thief, like any smitten lover, does her best to impress her lady love, who, true to her ideals, tries her utmost to thwart her nemesis, with each "date" more audacious than the last. As far as reader excitement goes, this sure beats dinner and movies. 😉
The plot isn't particularly mind-blowing. But it's fairly unpredictable, fast moving and not entirely implausible in its universe. I like that it doesn't take itself too seriously. I love that both characters get their own, alternating POV chapters. I love that they're both conflicted by this strange, impossible attraction yet remain true to themselves. I love the author's strong and stylish characterizations of the leads. I love the author's prose, especially how she describes the way the Silhouette moves. The pacing is perfect. It's emotionally deep enough for romance readers and fun/exciting enough for the more adventurous.
Still incredibly good. And I just noticed this author released another book at the end of June! So exciting!
I can't think of a single thing I didn't like. This may be the most entertaining book that I have read so far this year. Thanks to everyone else for reading it before me and singing its praises!
I didn't even read the blurb for this before I started reading. So imagine my surprise when it throws you right into the thick of things with humans that have special powers. I never thought I would be into a superhero/comic book-like story, but I suppose there is a first for everything!
Dr. Molly Fawn works in a research lab in Opal City who is also the comm link (and brains) behind Colossal, a superhero that the city calls upon for emergencies. Molly finds herself captured (in more ways than one as you could have probably guessed) by Silhouette, the nefarious master thief.
There was fun banter between Molly and Silhouette. Definitely a lot of attraction. I was rooting for these two despite overwhelmingly bad odds. I mean, how can someone working in tandem with the OCPD possibly be into a thief? Answer: The thief is mostly clad in tight leathers, drives a motorcycle, and is distressingly seductive.
This had everything. Action, comedy, romance, suspense, etc. And I can't believe that this is a debut offering from this author? There were literally scenarios that were too good for an amateur or first time writer. Stuff that just got me really excited and thinking "How clever?"
This is a great read. I love the twist on a theme making the superhero the secondary character and the 'girl Friday' the brains behind him. Dr Molly Fawn is brilliant, quick-witted and also Captain Colossal's girl Friday. She guides his missions, prepares his missions and does his paperwork. A chance meeting with Silhouette, the notorious and beautiful thief, has Molly intrigued and definitely up for the challenge of finding out more about her. But something bigger is at play in Opal City.
I thoroughly enjoy books that make me want to side with characters who are less than honourable and on the wrong side of the law, and Silhouette is a fantastic character. The chemistry and interplay between her and Molly is riveting. Sustained tension, loads of action, a sexy romance and an entertaining story line make this one of the better books in the superhero genre.
After reading so many positive reviews I couldn't put off reading this book any longer. It was such a fun and unexpectedly lighthearted read. Despite one of the main characters being a thief and the amount of action scenes, there was very little angst to be found.
Even though the story is pretty straightforward and at times predictable, the book still remained a real page turner. This was mostly because the main characters had such great chemistry, I couldn't wait for the next moment when Silhouette would start flirting with Dr Fawn again.
This is a great book to pick up if you're looking for something fun, fairly angst free and with some really hot sex scenes. You really don't want to miss this one! Overall rating is a 4,25*
Well that was fun and totally worth the price of admission!
"Silhouette" struck the perfect balance of super hero adventure and crackling with chemistry romance. Rather than a read, this more played like a movie and I couldn't help thinking this would make a great summer blockbuster.
Robin Hale managed to pull of a feat that Hollywood struggles with: a super hero tale that stars women, is actually enjoyable, and would make me cheer at the screen. This has a twist, however, in that the story revolves around Dr. Molly Fawn, the adorkable sidekick of a super hero, and Silhoutte, the villain she falls for. I loved both characters.
The pacing was on point. The romance was all based on tantalizing and delicious interactions. There was a humorous element that wasn't laugh out loud funny but the dialogue, situations, and inner thoughts were fantastic and gave me a lot of amused "heh" moments. The quality of writing was high and there were many passages I highlighted because they were so well written.
There's a titch of insta-love but, eh, whatever. The story was so good I didn't care.
The ages of the leads are a bit of a mystery but I placed them somewhere in their late 30s or possibly early 40s. The ethnicity of Dr. Molly Fawn was also a question mark but I took her to be non-white and either Hispanic or black. She's also bisexual and has a little meat to her.
Overall, this is just a really well done, grand of a time, fun read. 4.55 stars
Every now and then, I skim over the list of older books on my tbr. That’s how I ended up reading Silhouette which came out almost six years ago.
Dr. Molly Fawn, resident genius scientist at the super famous Opal City Research Lab, works on Big Things involving superheroes. She’s definitely the brains behind Captain Colossol’s heroic activities. But she also heads projects to help humanity. Still, her social skills are lacking and her confidence is at an all time low since her ex dumped her. Enter, the renowned thief, Silhouette, who is a gorgeous bad girl in leather. Opposites attract and the two are electric together, spun by mutual talent and intelligence.
Although much of the book is heat and sexiness, there’s also humor and good fun which pushes the story into epic level greatness. Already I know this one is going on my list of I wish I could read this book for the first time again. Did I mention there is also vulnerability in their new relationship which tips the scales and makes them one of my favorite fiction couples now. Why have there not been more Silhouette books?
Thank you, Carrie, for recommending this book to me (4 years ago).
Silhouette by Robin Hale was an utterly delightful read. Fun, adventure, super heroes, super villains, a nerdy side-kick, abductions, spectacular rescues, the hottest panty-melting sexy times, buckets of chemistry, a great plot that never falters. It really gave me so much more than I expected. Talk about a smashing debut novel!
When you read the last part of the author’s blurb you get all the incentive you need to buy the book. I mean
“Silhouette is a standalone F/F romance set in a fictional Midwestern city with superpowered heroes, villains, and the sidekicks who love them.”
You don’t really need to know more, right? This book has everything to excite the romance crowd and those who love an adventurous romp. Robin Hale has a great writing style and I'm looking forward to her next offering. I highly recommend!
f/f explicit – some of the hottest scenes I’ve read in a while.
Themes: Opal City, Dr. Molly Fawn you’re worth it girl, take a walk on the wild side.
All the other reviewers have said basically everything I want to say! This was a fun read, I loved suspending all reality and becoming engrossed in the comic-book style world of Opal City. While I wouldn't necessarily agree that it's on the same level as "Requiem" as some reviewers have suggested, as that book has much deeper emotions, darkness and grit, "Silhouette" has a similar female "villain" who is suave, deft, cat-like in her prowess (Me-ooowwwww) but who really has a heart of gold waiting to love someone. Yes it's predictable, but who cares? Gives good tingly feels. Ms. Hale is a solid writer and I look forward to more of her books. Well done!
Another great fun book by this author. This time the author explores the superhero realm, while visiting the Fantasy realm in her other book. Superhero prose can be, of course, also fantasy, but this book here is the science fiction end of the spectrum (what with power suits and scientifically created serums to create powers).
The book alternated between two characters, one a master thief modeled on Catwoman (and not just because of the purring, mention of cat tails, claws, fur (other than the purring, the cat things were figurative not literal)). The other worked for the superhero in the city.
The other book by this author starred lesbians, this one did not. Don't be alarmed, it still involved women loving women, it's just that one of the women also lusts after men.
I'm rating this one slightly less than the other I read because of certain factors. Like how neither character thought they deserved love (a common theme for this author) and because of how spineless one of the characters had as a default setting (not referring to bravery but have a backbone).
This book is worth the hype, it's the type of book that you'll read some/most of the lines out loud, chortling unashamedly and even showed the person next to you, at what you were laughing at (I doubt that the scene between two women made her changed her seat, it was probably because the way I was mentally unwrapping her sandwich) Jem's review, IMO was the one that sparked off almost everyone's interest, so thank you Jem:D and Corrie wrote a great eview too.
Several things came to mind when I read the blurb then the story : 1. Susan Cooper - 2O15, Action/Thriller/Comedy movie. 2. Alison Ryan aka The Little Mouse 3. Tracy Whitney - Can anyone take a guess in which book she starred in?
So if you love either one/two or all of the above characters, then what the hello from the other side are you waiting for. Head's up - The Silhouette called Dr.Molly Fawn 'Darling' and these two conversed loadsa. A page turner, unputdownable, the sex scene/s had my pointer assisting the eyes as I devoured word for word, while the middle one.. The End.
4.5 stars. I don’t think I can add anything that other reviewers haven’t already said. It’s great, probably my favorite book that I’ve read so far this year.
Fun superhero-ish F/F romance? Yes, thanks! When you're a genius scientist with a secret life supporting the city's greatest superhero, you are NOT supposed to fall in love with the city's greatest thief. Dr. Molly Fawn (yay, a bi gal!) seems to have done just that, though. The Silhouette interrupted Molly during a heist, while Molly was on the opposite team helping Captain Commando, and the thief was just... so... pretty...
Lana, better known as her sexy criminal alter ego The Silhouette, never intended to fall for a superhero's sidekick. Oh well. Now what's a girl to do, especially when there are signs that something far more sinister than jewel heists may be happening in the city they both share?
I had a fun afternoon reading this. It's clear Hale knows the genres she's playing with, and the story is by turns charming and suspenseful. I would love to see some fan art of these two.
Silhouette... A wonderful read with a perfect mix of action, humour, and sensuous.
Meet Lana Blake, a thief aka Silhouette, a sexy one at that, all dressed in leather, and Doctor Molly Fawn, who stood on the right side of the law, the driving force behind Opal City’s hero, Captain Colossal. They met during one of Silhouette’s heists and what follows next is a courtship, albeit not your typical romance but still a whirlwind with Lana climbing buildings, sliding through windows, taking thrilling rides, just to save the day and win Molly’s affection.
Story is in both Lana and Molly’s POV. The writing and dialogues were witty and yet sexy. Loved it 😊
Silhouette by Robin Hale isn’t a typical superhero book. It's written in first person and that alternates every other chapter between the main characters. Dr. Molly Fawn, and the Silhouette aka Lana Blake. The pacing was good and the writing style helped me get inside each characters head a little bit better.
Dr. Molly Fawn is an underappreciated sidekick to the local hero, Captain Colossal. When not fighting crime, they work together at the Opal City Research Laboratory. She is one of the few people to know Captain Colossal's secret identity as Kevin Platt. She may even harbor a secret crush on the arrogant and clueless hero. But Kevin doesn't pay any attention to her unless he needs paperwork completed, his secret serum upgraded, or any number of other things Molly does to assist him in both jobs. It's like he doesn't see her at all.
Molly lived like that until finding herself in the company of Opal City's most notorious and daring jewel thief, The Silhouette. Right off the bat, the Silhouette is so very different from Captain Colossal. For one, she SEE's Molly. And the more times they meet, the more Lana Blake likes what she sees.
I'm not going to lie, I thought Lana (Silhouette) was a bit too stereotyped as the sexy criminal villain. But I think that some of that may have been Silhouette's affected persona. However, Dr. Molly Fawn was a definite win. Smart, sexy, and just as wiling to put her life on the line to save the city as any hero out there.
I think the author's strength with this tale is when she answers the question is, how could a superhero sidekick and a criminal thief ever make a relationship work? If you like to read about intelligent women who have a knack for both finding trouble and saving the world from trouble, or if your kink is leather-wearing ladies with questionable law abiding skills, then you should definitely check out The Silhouette.
This ARC was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Farah for her thoughtful rec! I really enjoyed this book by Robin Hale more than the previous one. The book was adorable all around and with bits of intrigue in between. Silhouette actually knocked it out of the park with her hidden romantic side and how cute was our dear Dr. Fawn.The instant spark between them didn't feel at all forced or something like a plot device. Although more facetime with the nefarious evil mind and a better clarity on the psych behind it would have been cool. Anyway I'm happy with the result and can safely go about reading more of the author's books.
3,5-4 stars This was fun. It was well written and it's always nice when the sidekick gets the girl and not the hero. Definitely not a deep story, but still entertaining
I loved this. It was super fun. The pacing was spot on, the writing was slick, the leads were both super likeable. Silhouette was - honestly the words that come to mind are ones I've already repeated - fun, slick, and suave. There's not one "feel-bad" moment - it left me feeling lighter than I've felt in days
Underneath the surface of this Supervillain (not evil) meets genius scientist working for superhero... lies one of the most precious, old-fashioned (in a good way) romances I have read in aaaaages. Supervillain Silhouette (Lana) and Molly (it’s Dr) Fawn meet and sparks fly. The way they woo each other and the dance of their courtship is so familiar and yet so outlandishly OTT that it brings a delicious humour to the story. The main arc outside the romance sees a threat to the city that requires them to work together. All the story lines are nicely woven together in chapters that alternate between Molly and Lana’s point of view. This has action, romance, heat, and characters that come alive on the page. This was such fun. Not giving it 5 stars would feel like, I dunno, disappointing a puppy or something like that. And at £3.80 for kindle it’s a steal that the Silhouette wouldn’t bother with ;-)
Even if the MCs connected via instant attraction, this was a nice slow-burn romance. The premise was interesting since the focus was on the hero's sidekick and his arch-nemesis. The plot wasn't deep nor complex, it was just good enough.
What's weird was that the superhero turned out to be a bland character. He was even a jerk at some point, and I wish there was a small part where Molly was able to put him in his place for taking advantage of her silly crush and kindness.
For the most part, the story was a bit too smooth-sailing. If I could change one thing about it, I would lessen the inner ramblings of the characters. Sad to say, in this case, they just ended up boring me as a reader, and I didn't see them adding something invaluable to the story.
But those hot scenes? Yep, they'll have you fanning.
I love the cover, but it doesn't really fit the genre of the book. Small point.
A couple of things. the scene-setting at the start was non-ideal so it was a 'what on this good earth is going on' kind of feeling. But once the story started it all fell into place. It would have been smoother and slicker if it had been eased in better. A couple of times there are events/people/things that could have done with being introduced or explained. The thief is a little too much of a caricature, over the top even. I'd have liked to see more of her interacting with others as herself so we could see the differences a little more.
Now. Problem is. I want more of the thief, the superhero, and the clever doctor taking on evil underworld and dark superbeings. Bring. It. On. Now.
This was really fun to read. I loved both Molly and Lana's characters. The conflict within themselves for the attraction they feel and then just throwing their hands up and saying, 'fcuk it... I love this girl' and going for it was pretty damn awesome.
The Captain's such a tool though... especially how he manipulates Molly to do his dirty work. He's useless without her and I was happy when he realises this when she called in sick.
Anyhow... the friendship between Molly and Jade, Lana and Izz, was something special too. Both Jade and Izz encouraging the women to go after what they want and supporting them. Like I said earlier, this was a really fun read and it put a smile on my face when I put the book down.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Great action/adventure. Loved the vulnerability of both characters.
Dr. Molly Fawn is a scientist in fictional Opal City. Silhouette (aka Lana) is the cities "most notorious thief". Interesting premise. Can a bad girl thief and a good girl scientist/crime fighter actually find love together?
Rounding up for this one. It was very close to what I want in a "superhero" book, especially one that is one half a villain perspective. It gave me comic book vibes, like this was just one story that centered around the meet-cute between the two LIs. The story was not too big and did not try to fix systems that have no business being fixed by one person. super or not.
I did feel like I was missing a bit of something when we looked at the characters individually. Maybe I just wanted more time with them. I did like how both MC's were developed and the boundaries they kept in check to ensure they did not compromise their personal morals. I also appreciated the character growth and felt that it was a reasonable representation even if it did feel a little quick (when lives are at stake I suppose you can't really ponder too long).
Would recommend it if you are a fan of morally gray characters and want to read a romance with two people on opposite sides of the good vs. bad spectrum where their personal stances are respected. That being said, the characters both do start near the middle of the good-bad spectrum so if you are looking for something with more defined "good" and "bad" tropes you could be disappointed. The action is also more on the light side, MC's also have some big feelings/trauma to work through, which I always enjoy, but might not be to everyone's taste. It is a romance book first and foremost.
This lovely Silhouette by Robin Hale is a story with an unusual background: an american mid-west imaginary city where there's a constant battle between superheroes and supervillains. One of the two main characters is the Silhouette, a genius of theft, a sort of Catwoman, velvety and sexy in her movements as well as in her speech. The other one is Dr. Molly Fawn, sweet and genial scientist at the service of Captain Colossus, the city best beloved super-hero against all crimes. Now, don't be deceived. 10% of the book is the comic superheroes environment, 10% is action and the rest is pure romance. The story is simple, but it's very elegant, sexy, humoristic, a pleasure to read. Glamour with nice touches of adventure. And I found it to be also delicate, as the author made me totally fall in love with both of the characters and understand their feelings. This is not one of those books where you can't understand why a character behaves in a certain way or dislike what they do. You'll love the super thief that totally lose her self-confidence for love and the timid scientist who has to decide new ways to manage her loyalty. It's a 2018 book, but if you haven't already read it I suggest you catch it up!
That was a really fun read! It's not hard to see the trappings and influences there, but even still, it very much makes it its own story, the tale of Lana and Molly, as they become intertwined in each others lives, the attraction and more bringing them steadily closer.
It is any easy book to enjoy - well written, decently paced, a mystery simmering in the background while the focus is really on the two mc's. It's not always a smooth path, as is the nature of that style of setting, but the journey is worth it. And I certainly wouldn't say no to seeing more books in this universe, or more of these characters. And more sapphic superhero stories too!
A master thief falls for the handler of the cities heroic crime fighter. Not awkward at all! An intriguing read in the style of the Arrow and the first action romance by author Robin Hale. The story captured my attention from the beginning and kept it until the end, hard to do to a jaded lesfic reader like me. Well done Ms. Hale, well done indeed
This was a 3.5 stars for me. I love superhero stories and I don’t think there are enough actual books about them. Add in sapphic superhero stuff, AND focused on a sexy thief instead, and I am in for a good time. I enjoyed both MCs for the most part, but I found Molly’s whole… “cute, blushing, crushes on everyone” personality a little… not bad or annoying really, but I just didn’t connect with it quite as much. I can’t quite put my finger on why else this wasn’t really a higher rating for me other than it just kinda was. There were some pacing and time jump issues and scenes I would have liked to actually see on screen that were glossed over instead I think. Overall though, this was really cute and fun and I’d love to see more stories like this.
4.75 stars. Wow. This book was so much more than I was expecting — if you enjoyed The Superheroine Collection from Ylva or The Lily and the Crown, you will really like this as well. The author’s writing style is excellent as it switches between the POVs. I also found that the vocabulary was elevated in a really pleasing way compared to other books. As it went on, I continued to be pleasantly surprise but little tidbits of the story — e.g. the mention of an “arterial pinch” was a nice nod to XWP. Overall, I enjoyed this book so much that I will probably read it again.