Belle Fury by Lola Dodge (Manhattan Ten #3)
Released: February 4, 2014
Superhero Romance
Samhain

Reviewed by May

Belle has worked hard to become a world renowned ballerina. So when she manifests super powers that nearly bring the house down during her pinnacle performance it’s beyond unwelcome and unexpected. The Manhattan 10 are called in and Ryan (aka Red Ruin) is chosen to bring her in, help her get her powers under control, and hopefully train her to be a member as well.

I was covered in chicken drippings, frosting, and powdered cheese. I always did know how to impress a man.

Belle is an interesting character- and I don’t believe I’ve ever read about a superhero ballerina! We’re shown a lot of her getting to know her powers, and there were a few humorous moments as well. I really liked spending some time in the head of a woman who finds herself unexpectedly and all at once far more than she ever was. Seeing her struggle with how she can never be the dancer she thought she was destined to become and coming to terms with that was an interesting hero’s journey. I appreciated that instead of just accepting her new normal or jumping right in she resists it. Struggles. Makes some mistakes even.

I’d felt the truth as soon as I focused. It wasn’t so much the dance summoning the power. Id’ pulled it from inside myself to fuel the dance.

The problem with this story is that I craved more of a plot, some action, conflict, more depth to the romance, or really just something beyond seeing her train with and accept her powers to interest me. It was disappointing to me that the man she is paired with seems to be her true love by default.

What I mean is, Ryan is assigned to pick her up and help her – therefore he must be her superhero true love. That is how it came across to me reading the story and it was really a disappointment. They have chemistry but I never saw or understood why these two are destined for the road to true love. A fling? Sure! But I didn’t get a strong sense of connection or understanding as to why this couple was so perfect for each other beyond a physical attraction. There was not a strong action plot either, so it was not as if the romance was glossed over while they fought villains and saved their city.

That lack of depth with regards to the romance, and the story in general had me reaching for this author’s previous books where heat, chemistry, and action packed plots all fit together nicely into her novellas.

This is not to say that Belle Fury was a terrible book- far from it. Lola Dodge is one of the best at writing superhero novellas and her writing was sharp and kept me flipping pages quickly the entire time. While Belle Fury did not work well for me overall, I encourage fans of the series to go ahead and pick it up. I think especially for anyone who’s ever wanted to see a ballerina super hero – this might really work well for you. We get to see past favorites as well as get some glimpses into what might lay ahead. This author has a real way with superhero writing, and I anxiously await her next offering.

Grade: C

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