 | Title: Jinx
Sexual Content: Several sex scenes and public displays of affection. Rating:
Okay – A few good points, but with significant flaws. Library/swap/borrow if you want. |
Description
Thanks to her unwanted superpower, fashion designer Bella Bulluci may be the luckiest woman in Bigtime, N.Y. But luck can be good or bad, and it seems like just as many embarrassing things happens to Bella as do positive ones.
Like when a charity event that Bella plans get crashed by Hangman, a deadly ubervillain who's after a prize sapphire that's on display. Hangman almost succeeds in stealing the jewel for his evil ubervillain boss, Prism, but Bella's luck helps her escape with the sapphire; along with some help from the suave and charming Debonair.
Debonair's not an ubervillain, but he's not really a superhero either. Still, Bella can't help but fall for him, despite her personal vow to have as little to do with heroes and villains as possible. But with Hangman and Prism still after the sapphire, Bella's going to need every bit of her luck power just to survive ...
Review
JINX had the misfortune of running afoul of one of my personal pet peeves, a negative heroine. Despite all of the color and flash of Bigtime, Bella Belluci is trapped in her own little world of resentment and anxiety. Even her delightful beta hero, Debonair, wasn’t enough to salvage my opinion. If nothing else, by book’s end I was ready to steal Debonair for myself and leave Bella to her own devices.
There was no one straw that broke the relationship’s back but rather the same straw over and over. Debonair would declare his love, Bella would tell him why they couldn’t be together. Debonair would offer a compromise, Bella would tell him why they couldn’t be together. It won’t come as a spoiler to know that the two eventually find a happily-ever-after, but it seemed arbitrary when Bella finally changed her mind (considering all the other reasonable alternatives she’s snubbed). Bella’s superpower is fun, both when it works and when it spectacularly fails, but those cinematic, slapstick moments couldn’t keep me going after awhile. Despite an action filled plot of heroes and ubervillains, the only thing keeping Bella from happiness is herself. Even worse, the only thing keeping the utterly charming Debonair from happiness is the heroine that keeps stringing him along.
Though I was excited to return to Bigtime for some more over the top, superhero silliness, I couldn’t get around Bella enough to enjoy the book. If you like Bigtime and don’t mind heroines with lots of neurosis (for example, Carolyn Crane's Justine Jones in MIND GAMES), you'll probably enjoy JINX more than I did. There’s certainly some neat technology, a unique super power, and lots of that Bigtime goofiness in ready supply.
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I love the Bigtime series, so Bella didn't bother me as much. She is a little bland, but does eventually loosen up. And I liked the twist of Bella's strange power, which was a fun idea!
ReplyDeleteI have a major blind spot when it comes to negative narrators, that's why I made a point to link to two positive reviews at the end (and find someone else who couldn't stand Bella). Bella's luck could have been a lot of fun, but I can't stand it when the major "roadblock" is just the main character getting out of her own way. I think my love for Debonair made me dislike Bella even more. Stop jerking him around, he's such a sweetheart!
DeleteI've been meaning to try this series for so long because I enjoy Jennifer's other work. Thanks for the look see.
ReplyDeleteKARMA GIRL was the highlight for me, both for world building and characters. HOT MAMA had a narrator I didn't expect to like, but Fiona won me over. Can't say the same for Bella.
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