Heat Wave by TJ Klune

If you could have a super power, what would you choose?

I want to teleport! If I could snap my fingers, blink my eyes, click my heels, whatever I need to do and be in Bora Bora…sign me right up.

I adore TJ’s characters. They are always so endearing, even when they are being absolutely ridiculous. Nick could easily come across as annoying, but he’s written in such a way you can’t help but love him. He is so snarky and hilarious. I laughed out loud countless times throughout this entire series. The dialogue between Nick and his Dad had me in stitches. And Seth is just the sweetest soul.

Another thing I love about TJ’s books is that even though they are always fantasy type novels, they tackle real life issues and focus on things that need to see change. He also always represents under represented people, which I love as well.

Klune will forever be an auto read author for me 💜

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillanusa for the arc!

This book came out in July, so go read the entire series! 😍

TJ Klune has done it again! I love this series and would love to get more stories in this universe!!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

The final book in the Extraordinaries trilogy did not disappoint. This story is profoundly witty and absolutely hysterical. No one does queer superheroes like TJ Klune.

As always, I appreciate the authenticity of the diverse cast. It’s effortless and true to form, while tackling taboo topics head on. Highly recommend you check out this trilogy.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Tor Teen for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

A good conclusion to the series. We see Nick and company again in this next addition and it's a fun book. Huge fan of TJ Klune but I like his adult books better.

The journey these characters had was fantastic. When you consider how wayward and unaware Nick was when the series initially began, the level of personal development and the stability of Nick's relationships with his family, friends, and significant other were very impressive.

Nick's tale remained the major focus despite the fact that this series had a fantastic ensemble cast of characters, and boy, what an epic evolution this dude underwent!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

Rating: 4.5 stars

I finished this one a couple of months back but due to some personal life reasons haven't been able to update my netgalley with any reviews. However, I absolutely loved this last book in the extraordinaries trilogy! (especially that ending!)

I don't want to say much due to the spoilery nature, but I would highly recommend this series to anyone that loves queer superhero books with a massive dose of good humour.

I loved this book. there were some twists and turns i didn't see coming. I'm sad that the series is over. I grew attached to the characters and their quirks.

As a whole, I’ve enjoyed this series so much. The friendship group, families, and the found family of their group. I was so ready for the conclusion of Seth, Nick, and the rest of the crew’s story. Especially with how book 2 ended!

I’ll be honest, it took me quite sometime to get through this book. The first half was slow for me, and a bit confusing at times. Once I got about half way, I was fully engaged. No spoilers here, but the ending didn’t disappoint! I did hope for a different ending for a certain character… maybe some kind of redemption, but aside from that I loved seeing how things turned out for these guys!

A fantastic conclusion to the Extraordinaries series! As an avid consumer of fandom content, I love seeing fandom life bleed into a main storyline of a novel.
The writing of this series is not quite what I'm used to from TJ, however I find this series a lot of fun! I've pre-ordered every book in this series and the audiobooks because it's my new favourite series to share with my fandom obsessed friends.
The conclusion of this series feels complete, which is something I always look for.

Rating 3.5/3.75. I think this was an overall nice conclusion to the series. My only complaints seem to align with many others. I think the first 30% was a bit slow and I felt like I missed something but as the book went on it made sense for the story. I still LOVED our characters especially Nick. I love his sassy humor which always catches me off guard and I end up snort laughing. Like all of Klune's books there is always lots of laughs but also lots of emotional moments as well. I also agree with others that I would have loved if Owen's story ended differently. I think it would have made for a more well developed character arc. I also think that some of the social and political commentary was a bit much at points but I get it. Overall, This was an entertaining series.

I received an ARC of this book Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I just adore TJ Klune’s writing! This continuation of Nick and Seth’s story was another awkward, laugh out loud, sweet and endearing book! The playful humor around teen angst and first time experiences in a relationship were so authentic and at times extremely educating! This story has such incredible insight and breaks down some serious adolescent issues in such an accepting way!

At times I felt there was a little too much length and detail during the fight scenes, but it is a super hero story after all. Plenty of gasp worthy moments with epic plot twists!

Heat Wave ended in the most splendid way and made me so happy. I’m gonna miss Nicky, Seth, Jazz, Gibby, Burrito Jerry, Miss Conduct, and all of the other phenomenal side characters we loved during this trilogy!

How can I give this anything less than all the stars in the sky? I laughed, I cried, well, I laughed a lot more than I cried but there were tears regardless. This was one of the most satisfying endings I have read in a long time. Outstanding.

This was hard for me. I generally LOVE TJ Klune and his characters. But I just could not with this book. The characters felt so dull and silly (not in a good way) and the whole series really fell flat for me.

Oh well, I suppose even the best stumble at times. Still eagerly looking forward to read more by the fabulous Klune.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free review copy.

-I love TJ Klune with anything he writes. He writes stories that warm your heart, make you root for the main character, and that make you laugh so hard.
-I love how our MC is neurodiverse with having ADHD and I totally get him since I have ADHD and I like how he uses it to his advantage
-I love the romance and the superhero’s.

4.5 Stars

A satisfying conclusion to this YA fantasy trilogy, I felt this matured with each book, as well it should as our teen hero Nick and his loyal friends all go through a lot, learning about life, love, and themselves!

When we last saw Nick and company, they were a solid incognito crime fighting team, and Nick was trying to come into his newly realized powers and potential responsibilities, all the while dealing with familial secrets and betrayals. Flash Fire left readers wondering about the future fate of all Extraordinaires as nemesis Simon Burke introduced a seemingly benevolent offer to cure their powers for the safety of the public, hiding a yet to be seen but inevitable sinister self serving plan. Toss in an off kilter ex-boyfriend who had escaped prison and an unbelievable cliffhanger reveal, and there were many questions left to be answered.

Though this plot line started out nebulous and confusing, what unfolds was a scary twist. Many might not like this crazy development, but I felt it ultimately played out nicely, forcing the gang and their wonderful parents, friends, and family to really band together to fight Simon Burke’s evil maniacal agenda.

What I truly appreciate about these 3 books is that with Klune’s deserved popularity and move into a more mainstream avenue, I’m grateful that a bigger publisher in no way impeded his unique and trademark brand of humor, style, and over the top brazenness. This doesn’t hold back on touchy topics, the uncomfortableness of growing up, the squeamish/embarrassing but relevant topics that all teens face, and Klune does it with frankness, truth, and outrageous hilarity and always with plenty of heart. It’s been a hot minute since I laughed so hard that I was crying, and then I soon found myself crying for real because of all the feels.

Overall, though some things in plot execution didn’t pan out as I wanted (do they100% truly ever?), this still had a fitting conclusion that fell in line with the themes and messages of each book. Things can’t always end perfectly (tho it was pretty darn close), and that’s how life goes - sometimes it’s tough, sometimes it’s really really great, and often it isn’t fair.

Sooooo bad guys are going to do bad. Good guys are going to their darnedest to stop them. There are certainly some setbacks, but this is fantasy fiction after all so don’t be too worried. Rest assured that our titular hero Nick definitely remains true to himself and learns plenty along the way as all YA stories go, leaving me with a big fat smile at the very end!

What an ending to an amazing trilogy I'd been waiting for so long! I am going to miss the wonderful characters and their journey.

Just cannot explain how perfect of a book and an ending it is for them all! Cannot wait to re-read them all togeteher to re-live the stories.

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.

How do I begin to review Heat Wave? It’s the end of a trilogy, so it’s dependent on the books that came before and it has the responsibility of tying up all the loose ends. That’s a tall order, and ultimately for me, it fell a bit short of its potential.

I loved The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune. I loved how self-aware it was, how tongue-in-cheek and yet absolutely true it was. I loved Nick in all his messy, ADHD glory, and I loved Seth and his superhero qualities. Flash Fire was okay. It felt very much like a middle book, but we saw some growth. Unfortunately by book three, the things that really worked in the first books just felt old and stale.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy parts of Heat Wave. I did. I loved watching Nick finally figure out how to use his powers but also come to the realization that being extraordinary wasn’t just about having cool powers. I also continued to love the extended cast of characters—Gibby and Jazz, the Dad Squad, etc.

But there were also parts that left me feeling scuzzy—as an adult, I don’t feel all that comfortable reading about teens having s3x. I’m very s3x positive, but for a YA book, this felt maybe a little too detailed. Or maybe I’m just old and out of touch. Either way, I’m happy that Nick and Seth get their happy ending (no pun intended), but I may have skimmed over a few bits.

An amazing conclusion to the series, which includes superheroes, queer pride, social justice, and found family. I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more! I love Nicky and his friends and want to protect him at all costs! I highly recommend these books!

This hurts me, so I'm not going to beat around the bush. I am just going to say it. This was not it for me. I feel let down after anticipating this release for so long.

When I read the first book in this series, The Extraordinaries, in 2020, I was blown away. It was my first time reading from this author and I loved how rapid-fire and intelligent the writing was. It was such a fun story and concept, with a great friendship group at the middle. The second book in the series, Flash Fire, which I read in 2021, wasn't quite all the stars for me like the first book, but I still really, really enjoyed it.

While it started out a little slow, by about 40% we started getting some startling new revelations that really helped to build the intensity. Additionally, I was having a lot of fun just being back with the characters I had grown to love. There was a cliffhanger ending to the second book that left me with hives and my jaw on the floor. It was so shocking and exciting. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series. I needed answers!!

I picked Heat Wave up on July 2nd and it then took me over 20-days to finish it. For a book in this genre, that is pretty unusual for me. The beginning was so slow. I just couldn't get into it and also, I was confused. All I could think about was that amazing cliffhanger from book two. I wanted to know what happened from there. It didn't seem to be touched upon at all. I started to think maybe I was misremembering the end of the second book. Had I somehow imagined it all? Did I make it all up in own head?

Eventually it was revealed why it wasn't making any sense to me and I was so disappointed. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. I was just like, 'nooooo, that can't be it.' After that disappointment, I switched to the audiobook in the hopes of being able to get through it more quickly. I was just about ready to give up.

Thankfully the audiobook narrator was freaking fantastic and breathed new life into the story for me. Also, the action definitely picked up in the later portions of the story.

So yeah, at the end of the day, I'm sad about this one. The ending was cute, but this isn't how I wanted this experience to go. I still love Nick, Seth, Gibby, Jazz and the Dads. I just wish we could have had a better time together. Overall, I still would definitely recommend this series as a whole. I know I am going to be in the minority opinion on this one and that's okay. Different stories work for different people and at different times.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Teen, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate it very much and look forward to reading more from Klune.