At least, she hopes you have or you're going to be dazed and confused.
Having settled into her still-not-a-hero life, Meg's going to have to learn to start taking this seriously because she's not the only shark in the water now. And those other fish? They bite. Except these "fish" are small(ish), furry, and they're just the minions.
On top of that, for the first time ever, Meg's met a hero who isn't afraid of her, and that's going to be a problem. Because Meg doesn't need some bad-boy biker hero type in her life, mucking up the one good thing she's got going.
Sand, the sea and an olive grove. The feel of grass prickling my feet. Bark, rough under my fingers and the palms of my hands [...] A message on the wind.
I read Fear and Fury a while back, but my TBR is long long long, so it’s taken me a little while to get to book two but even still I sank very quickly back into Meg and Greg’s world with this book. The case was interesting and everything moves along at a fast past and I read the whole book in a day, which is quite rare for me these days (attention span of a spork, I tell ya), so hats off to Jackson! Not a single dull moment. The action is great and the Rat King, rat hordes and zombie rats made for a surprising complication for our supers. The amount of blood and gore - oh my goodness! \o/
The book begins with Meg still reeling from everything that happened to her in the last book and she’s still dealing with it emotionally and physically. (Poor lady’s knee pops throughout the whole book!) Greg, too, is struggling with everything. He’s become a bit overprotective as a result, but not annoyingly so by any means. I could always see where he was coming from and honestly his concern made sense and was highly justified given how often Meg ran/runs/will run into danger without a single thought to the consequences.
Virgil remains everyone’s big brother/mentor/trainer/dad and bless him, he’s doing his best wrangling these crazy supers. He’s a great character and I love his presence in the books. Ranger, on the other hand, drove me up a wall in nearly every scene. There’s being in love with someone and then there’s not taking no for an answer and he was not only getting up in Meg’s space all the time, but just so disrespectful and undercutting of her relationship with Greg. And out of nowhere? Like, sorry, bro. She’s not going to dump her boyfriend and bone you just because you smirk a lot and tell her that she’s clearly flirting with you. I’m glad Virgil finally put his foot down because it was clear Greg was trying to respect Meg’s agency of handling it, but she just wasn’t and Virgil stepping in to say that none of it was okay was so necessary. THANK YOU MY DUDE VIRGIL. Actually, you know what? I take that back. Meg did say, a thousand times over and with maximum Meg-sass, that she wasn’t interested in Ranger and he just. wouldn’t. take. no. for. an. answer. I was waiting for Meg to let her shadows loose on him but she never did and Ranger’s persistence wasn’t cute or endearing, it was so fucking ruuuuuuuuuuuuude. Team Greg, but also Team Respect No. Like, seriously buddy. BACK. OFF. I’ve been assured by other readers that Ranger will grow on me in the next book, but as it stands, I’m just hoping Greg gets to speak his mind at some point because Ranger was just really disrespectful and boundary-stomping and rather ARRRRRGH to me. He’s a well written complication, don’t get me wrong, but he just wasn’t likeable to me and I was waiting for Meg or Greg to get on his case about it. I can see why Meg holds back, because she doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but in that sense it made me more frustrated with Ranger, because making someone who is afraid of their own powers feel like they can’t fight back because they don’t want to hurt anyone - even in their own defence - is 10000% not cool. So, thank you, Virgil. FOUR FOR VIRGIL.
The scenes with the officers were really funny and I liked the grumpy one bonding with Meg. Solid dude. The reporter drove me barmy and I liked that the grumpy officer was running interference for Meg. If Ranger was boundary-stomping, the reporter takes the cake!! Bringing up Meg’s parents like that and getting up in her face was just FUCK YOU SUSAN UGH.
My favourite bits were definitely the Meg and Greg moments. I just adore them and think they’re so cute and sweet and I can’t wait to see what Jackson has in store for them in future books. So long as they end up together - I WILL TOLERATE NO LESS ;)
The dream sequences were very intriguing and I’m curious to see where they lead in the next books. Lots of unnamed faces will spooky vibes.
Overall, I really loved this book and can’t wait for the next one!
Thoughts as I read [SPOILERS]:
- ZOMBIE RATS OH MY GOSH - Ranger is so freaking smirky and arrogant and just determined to sleep with Meg and drove me up a wall, lmao. - Greg is the cutest boyfriend to Meg and I adored how protective he was of her. Bless his sweet heart. I’m impressed by how much restraint he showed around Ranger, who was literally trying to sleep with Meg in every scene. Dude really would not take no for an answer. Rat bastard. (Heh, pun intended.) - I’m really curious about Meg’s sand, sea and olive grove dreams. - Virgil is hilarious and I don’t envy him trying to be everyone’s babysitter. What a trooper. - The reporter was so pushy and rude and insensitive. I felt awful for Meg during her interrogations and being so nosy about Meg’s parents.
What can I say about this book? Another grab-you-by-the-shirt sort of story that refuses to let you go any any point through it. I was along for the ride and once again had a very hard time putting the novel down at many different points. I love Meg, I love her banter with her team, and with the reader. These are master levels of snark that I am simply here for and that live rent free in my brain.
I wanted to punch one character at multiple points, and I kind of wish someone would have, but that just enhanced the enjoyment of the novel and drew me in more. I really want more of this story sooner rather than later.
Absolutely love it! It was funny, action packed with a hint of romance. Really enjoyed the addition of Ranger. He grew on me as the story progressed. I’m such a sucker for the found family trope and even though these guys are always bickering they are truly a great team. The villain in this story in my opinion was more entertaining that Red Eye in the first one. There was a sort of comic book / fun energy to this one that just had me hooked the whole time. This book not only elevated the series but also added more to the mythology. Incredible and now I’m eagerly awaiting book 3!
A fun, no-words-wasted adventure! Jackson's world of superheroes is immersive, original, and just plain entertaining. Join feisty, spirited Meg as she continues her journey of discovering both herself and her role as a hero, with the help of her new companions and devoted lover as they take on a branch new threat to the city. Can't wait for more of this series and from this author!
Jackson’s second installment, Torment and Tarnish, gave as good as Fear and Fury. Meg and Greg’s relationship begins to grow, hitting those gushy, sweet romance vibes I like, while keeping the action scenes and mystery monster-of-the-week we have grown to love. Meg’s background continues to unfold as her nightly dreams reveal more.
I’ve developed at habit of looking for foreshadowing now, and have found a few. One in particular is connected to her dreams. Another is in the form of a new character, Ranger. While Virgil has accepted him into his ranks, I still don’t trust him. There was one phrase Ranger used early on that hasn’t been resolved. I look forward to unpacking Ranger’s past soon.
Overall, Torment and Tarnish was awesome! I’m itching to read the next book! Also, I freaking love Virgil.
I wanted to punch Ranger. So much. But I freaking love Meg and Greg to pieces. And the whole shirt thing? Oh yeah, right in the feels. A fantastic follow up to an awesome first book. I'm looking forward to digging into Book Three.
The zombie rats weren’t just the mindless henchmen of the Rat King I thought they were. This was going to be a problem.
Once again author Jamie Jackson has delivered an entertaining adventure in the 2nd book of her AoaVLH series (I warned you last time I wasn't spelling all that out!), namely, "Torment and Tarnish". Once again the story rotates primarily around Megaera, or obviously Meg for short, who provides enough snark and 4th wall breaking wit to satisfy your daily intake requirements. Oh and she is now officially code-named Vengeance because of apparently reasons. And yeah, the whole "this has something really odd to do with mythology doesn't it?" vibe only gets stronger as the story progresses!
I mean, I’m just downright delightful, wouldn’t you agree? Don’t answer that.
We also have back her hunky love interest and indestructible dude Greg (Fortress) as well as team boss and telekinetic Virgil (Vigilante). Fortress can't really be hurt and can fly (he doesn't shoot friggin' laser beams from his eyes though) and Vigilante has a real sort of Bruce Wayne vibe to him if you're keeping score (read: he relies on his smarts and his money to provide A LOT of needed support). In addition, we also have newcomer Ranger, whose name is apparently, um, Ranger. He's a somewhat smarmy motorcycle bad boy type that can control the flow of time, has an iffy bit of future vision (it's no Spidey sense but still) and generally makes a nuissance of himself flirting with the only gal around (hint: it's Meg). Oh and for reasons yet deciphered by ol' Virg, he and Meg are immune to each others' powers. Kind of. You'll see.
Just your friendly neighborhood expert zombie rat killer…
OK, so that's all the spoilers I want to share and will instead talk a bit about the book itself (oh yeah, that's what we're doing here, isn't it?)! Jackson's writing and plotting remain pretty much on target even if I = that is, me personally didn't connect as much with this story as the last one. Sure the villainous nature of our, um, villain in this one is truly despicable but I have to agree with Vigilante here in that I would have loved to have had a chance to pick our Pied Piper's brain before it got splattered everywhere. But for a contained wee side-story, it totally works in what is definitely not New York City no matter what you (or I) think!
The whispers giggled in my ear. For something made of fear itself, they sure seemed to like it when I was laughing.
The one aspect of this story though that I was less than… enamored? with was the focus on the failed overtures by Ranger to draw the attention (or more likely carnal affection) of Meg away from the loving AND EXTREMELY PROTECTIVE arms of Greg, which in itself was a central theme. I mean, I get the whole "just how would a super couple react if one was invincible but the other was very, um, vincible (it's a word!!)". I mean, I don't know how Superman and Lois Lane or even Spider-Man and his umpteen love interests have handled it over the years. And to be honest, most of my exposure to heroes in love either came pre-ERA (hey, in the 60s and early 70s, the Invisible Girl obviously knew she was indeed a girl) or in the days when X-Men tended to fall in love but then die and be reborn faster than you could order back issues for any copies you missed at the local 7-11!
The whole situation was a little Pretty Woman-esque. If he teases me with a necklace in a jewelry box, I’m out.
My point simply is this examination of "young heroes in love" didn't work as well for me as it might work for other readers. I'm not saying it made the book bad, it just didn't click with ME. Then again, I enjoyed watching the zombie rats get kersplatted a lot more than any lovey kissy kissy scenes. Go figure. End of the day, I'm ending this review now so I can start reading Book 3 because yeah, overall it's still doing it for me. You're welcome to join me but keep in mind you're responsible for your own damn popcorn.
What I really love about this series so far is Jamie Jackson's writing style. Meg's sass and comedy value is really top notch throughout, and I love her snarky commentary interspersed with the plot. Humour is SO difficult to get right, but it seems to flow naturally in Jamie's writing, and I just love it.
Virgil is still by far my favourite character, and I hope we get to see more and more of him as the series continues.
I did not like Ranger, and his constant harrassment of Meg, but I liked that he seemed to mature a little as the story concluded, and I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops into the next book, and how the group dynamic changes.
While I love Meg and Greg as a couple, his protectiveness irks me a little, and I hope it doesn't become insufferable going into book 3, given the events of this installment (or I hope Meg gives him a piece of her mind!). Saying that, I did love that we get a glimpse into his family and background, and I feel like his character is becoming more fleshed out as we go along. I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops!
My one criticism would be that the plot felt low stakes compared to book 1, and I didn't feel fully gripped by the Rat King story. For some reason, it didn't quite click with me, and I hope I can engage with the next storyline more. I still really enjoyed the book, whizzing through it in just a few days, and I will definitely be picking up the next installment in the series!
Jamie Jackson did it again! I’ve just finished book 2 of this series and I’m so happy to report that this one is also excellent. This author adds a new character, Ranger to this book and I really enjoyed this addition. Putting in this character brought out a lot of new things in the main character of Meg and also changed the dynamic of the “hero” group in general. Everyone got even more interesting and fun. I was excited to learn more about Greg’s personal life and really enjoyed meeting his mother. The author continues to talk directly to the reader which is one of the most endearing qualities of her writing style and Meg has not lost any of her flippant nature. The rat theme was disgusting, with guts flying everywhere…BRAVO! I even enjoyed the dream sequences with Meg that draw us into the next part of this series. Highly recommend this read.
Can we start off with this? I didn't want to like Ranger. But.. I think I like Ranger? He grows on you. Not unlike mold. Anyway, Virgil remains my absolute favorite character and I would throw my poor, delicate, mortal body before his to save him.
Now! Holy wow this plot! And also Meg/Greg's relationship! AND GREG'S MOTHER! One minute I like her, the next I want to shake her. It was a ride, let me tell you. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book. It's so weird. This isn't my kind of fiction. I just don't care about contemporary settings or super heroes but I'm 100% all in for this series. The reveal at the end of this one? I need to know more. Like.. right now. I don't remember when book three releases. But I do know that I have an ARC. Gee, I wonder what I'll be reading next...
There’s a lot to like here. It’s snappy, and the writing doesn’t waste time. But I think you miss out on a lot of character development because of that.
The villain was weak. Ranger is a FUN addition. Greg is a lot™️. And Meg is still a bit of a fucking brat.
Meg is still the sarcastic, snarky hero I loved in book 1. She is in a relationship with Greg, another superhuman. She's also working as a team with Ranger, the new hero in town, who has a talent for getting on everyone's nerves. They have to work together to fight the villain Rat King whose power is to control hordes of zombie rats.
The 1st book drew me in and I couldn't wait to read more!!!! This book much the same did not disappoint! It is thrilling with romance, a little darkness mixed with comic relief. An all around good read! Jamie is a clever author and is one of my favorites for sure!
I read it right through in one sitting. I couldn't stop. It's so good, so tense, so much going on between the characters and between every line of dialog there are whole other stories going on... The battles are super vivid and awesome!