Book Review: Heretical by Emma Whitehall

Ignatia Heretical isn’t shaping up to be much of a Hero.

The daughter of the most famous Villain in the country, Ig is finding that no matter how hard she tries, no one at her illustrious Hero academy seems to trust her. Or, you know. Like her. At all. Her only friend is Pisces – the beautiful, popular girl she’s been hopelessly in love with since she started school at the Lunalist Academy For The Gifted and Talented.

However, Ig’s chance to prove herself comes when she’s signed up for a secret reconnaissance mission; infiltrate Shackleton School for Villains and work out their nefarious plans.

1. Pretend to be a Villain.
2. Make friends with an unhinged botanist, a mad scientist, and his insufferable clone/lab assistant.
3. Find out their secrets.
4. Go home a Hero.

What could possibly go wrong?

GENRE: Young Adult Superhero Fiction

PURCHASE LINK: Northodox Press | Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Emma Whitehall is an author, bookseller, editor and introvert from the North East of England. Her work has been published in anthologies and magazines in the UK, USA, Ireland and Mexico. A former Waterstones bookseller turned indie bookshop champion, Emma writes fun, emotion driven fantasy, with characters that you’ll want to take for a coffee. Or wrap in a blanket. Or both.

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Review

Don't be fooled by the cover looking nothing like The School for Good and Evil or the Descendants films — this is a fantastic "superhero" story and now one of my favorite reads of the year! It reminded me of Megamind too, which I also really enjoyed.

Ig is an interesting character to follow, being the daughter of a villain and a hero who so desperately wants to be a hero. But she works best with her team of chaotic misfits: unhinged botanist Vivi, mad scientist Mercutio, and Pietro, Mercutio's clone/lab assistant. (Plus Onslaught, undead bunny and emotional support animal.) It's been a while since I've read a book whose main cast endeared themselves to me (The Great Library series by Rachel Caine comes to mind, from a few years back) and I'm really glad to have discovered another one.

I found the villain school setup really fun too. They have a Monologue class, which I thought was hilarious given that, you know, villains go on those monologues. They have also subjects like Minion Husbandry, Torture Management, Costume and Mask Design... it's just so fun??

I could go on, but I really don't want to give the whole book away, so if you like the superhero genre, you might want to give this a shot?

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

About Northodox Press

Northodox Press is an independent publisher established in 2020, based in Sheffield and Manchester. Their mission is to elevate northern voices and represent the diversity of writing from Northern England.

As of 2023, they cater to readers of general fiction and genre fiction.

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Hi! I'm Marie, a Filipino SFFH author and book reviewer currently based in the UK. I’m the co-author of The Prophecies of Ragnarok, a Norse myth new adult urban fantasy trilogy, and I also have several short stories published in anthologies and literary journals.

You can find more info about me and my books, and also subscribe to my newsletter for more content, here. And if you like what I do, please also consider supporting me on Ko-fi! 🩷 https://ko-fi.com/mariesinadjan

If you fancy a short read, I have a cozy reimagining of the Norse myths about Hel, but it's just under 70 pages and can be read in one sitting. ✨ Plus there's a swag kit coming soon! Includes a "membership card," a bookmark, a sticker, an origami dog, and an exclusive 500-word story 🫶🏼

All things end, and all must die.

But death is not always the end.

When Geiravor Lokisdottir was stripped of her name and cast out of Asgard, torn from her family and the life she had known, she thought she’d lost it all. But in the shadows of Niflheim she discovers the path to her destiny, and what it truly means to be queen.

This is a prequel short story to THE PROPHECIES OF RAGNAROK trilogy by Meri Benson and Marie Sinadjan, and a retelling of the myths involving Hel, the Norse goddess of death and the queen of the underworld.