Review: Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains) by Laurie Boyle Crompton

From Goodreads: Blaze is tired of spending her life on the sidelines, drawing comics and feeling invisible. She's desperate for soccer star Mark to notice her. And when her BFF texts Mark a photo of Blaze in sexy lingerie, it definitely gets his attention. After a hot date in the back of her minivan, Blaze is flying high, but suddenly Mark's feelings seem to have been blasted by a freeze-ray gun, and he dumps her. Blaze gets her revenge by posting a comic strip featuring uber-villain Mark the Shark. Mark then retaliates by posting her "sext" photo, and, overnight, Blaze goes from Super Virgin Girl to Super Slut. That life on the sidelines is looking pretty good right about now ... 

My Rating: 2.5 hearts

Thoughts on the Novel: I hadn’t read any reviews of Laurie Boyle Crompton’s Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains) before I dove into it, and so had no idea of what to expect from it. Usually, I’ve had good luck with these types of books because I’ve ended up liking them way more than I thought I would in hindsight, but that wasn’t the case with Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains). And to think it started off so well!

At first, I found Blaze to be an endearing character. She was responsible, made me smile with her thoughts, and had a great relationship with her brother and his friends. It was also pretty easy to relate to her crush on a guy above her social ranking. At some point prior to the halfway mark though, Blaze became more annoying than endearing; and eventually, became one of the stupidest main characters I’ve ever encountered. Here’s why:

• Her infatuation with Mark – we never really get to know much about him other than the fact that he loves soccer and likes blondes – started to feel obsessive. 
• She and her friends continually talk about what a slut one of their classmates is and thereby continue to perpetuate that rumour. 
• After Blaze suggests that her friend, Amanda, flirt with a buddy of Mark and he ignores her, Amanda sexts a picture of Blaze in a fit of anger. Instead of dumping her frenemy, Blaze remains best friends with her. 
• Even before Mark takes an interest in Blaze, Blaze’s younger brother hints that his coach might be a player. Blaze chooses to ignore Josh’s warnings and promptly proceeds to lose her virginity to Mark – after one movie date where she lets him get to second base! – in the back of her van … without using a condom! Blaze then assumes Mark is her boyfriend for some reason. WTF?!
• Although it’s clear that her dad doesn’t give a damn about his family after leaving them to pursue his acting dreams, Blaze thinks her dad can help solve her problems and decides to drive to New York from Pennsylvania (without letting him know she’s coming).

Though Blaze essentially ruined the book for me, the big positive about Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains) was that Crompton showed the serious ramifications of sexting.

Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains) was released by Sourcebooks Fire on February 1, 2013. 

Comments About the Cover: I like the pink hair, but why is the model’s entire face covered by her hair? The windblown look makes it seem as if there’s a hairdryer or something positioned at the back of her head? 

Note: Unlike my ARC, the finished copy has illustrations that resemble those of a comic book.

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Sourcebooks) for free via NetGalley.