Series: The Extraordinaries #3
Author: T.J. Klune
Publisher: Tor Teen
Released: July 19, 2022
Received: Own

Heat Wave is the third and final novel in T.J. Klune’s The Extraordinaries series. If you wandered across this story after finding (and falling in love with) The House in the Cerulean Sea, then you better prepare yourself because this is a totally different beast. T.J. Klune is the master at changing voices.

Nick is finally the extraordinary he had always dreamed of being. Better yet, he has his boyfriend, best friends, and family at his side, helping him keep the city safe. Yet there’s a new darkness looming over the city, as always seems to be the case for heroes.

While fighting to protect the city, Nick can’t help but feel like he’s missing something. Only time will reveal what it is that he’s been overlooking.

“Silence, only interrupted by Seth banging his head against the nearest wall over and over, each hit punctuated by the word why.”

Back into the fray! I’ve been looking forward to Heat Wave, though admittedly, I slightly dread having to say goodbye to this series. Especially Miss Conduct, she’s my favorite and I’m not really to let go.

Nick has got to be the happiest and most cheerful hero I have ever seen, and I’m a fan of MHA (though I do think Lumillion would give Nick a run for his money). It’s endearing. His character makes for an interesting foundation, as the world and story revolve around him.

It didn’t take long to fall in love with Nick’s quirky personality and explosive nature. The past two novels were a delight, making it easy to look forward to the events of Heat Wave. Unfortunately, I think I may have made the mistake of letting myself get a bit over-hyped.

I’m not going to say that Heat Wave was bad – it wasn’t. But I don’t think it was as strong as the first two novels. It almost felt like something was missing, though I couldn’t tell you what for the life of me.

Still, it’s a fun and fast hero read with solid characters. This series has never been afraid to touch upon current topics to make a point, and I respect that so much. This fictional world has grown with its audience, which can sometimes feel like an impossible task. So let’s give some credit where credit is due.

As for the main plot, I can’t say too much about that. Even a light description would risk spoiling a significant reveal – though I think readers will feel it coming long before it happens. I would be curious to see what everything else thought about this twist. Feel free to reach out!

Long story short, Heat Wave was still a good read, but now the mind-blowing read I had come to expect from this series.

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