In a world where dozens of alien babies landed on earth and grew up to have superpowers, a successful businesswoman pitches to have her company win the PR contract of a former “neutral” who is considering joining the hero alliance to fight against the villains. This book is like if the world of The Boys had a genuine Superman origin story but make it a spicy romance.

I really was enjoying it up until about the middle. The FMC Vanessa was just the kind of wounded bird I usually like - a foster kid still dealing with the trauma and PTSD of abusive parents, though having severe anxiety she has built a successful career for herself. The MMC Roland was fine - a fairly generic insta-obsessed tough guy who can barely communicate but is fiercely protective. The diversity in the characters was great too, with lots of black, Latinex and LGBTQ+ characters (Vanessa’s 2IC is trans).

Unfortunately the 2nd half of the book let me down in both plotting and character development. The world-building was overall quite shallow and disappointing, with many things left half-explained and the ending very rushed. I also would say the action sequences needed some work. The sexual relationship between the MMCs was crazy OTT intense, and this and the soft Dom vibe in the bedroom felt really out of place to me in what was otherwise a lighthearted romcom.

There are so many things I can say about this book. I felt myself slipping into a reading slump and this book singlehandedly prevented said slump. The banter, the heat, the tension - everything about this was delicious. Alien romance meets a rom-com, the humor and character development of this book really worked well for me.

Vanessa is the CEO of a marketing firm. She is an incredibly anxious human. She has PTSD and panic attacks and her family is extremely protective of her. Within a few chapters, Roland and Vanessa come to a head a few times. First he quickly makes it known he does not care for her after declining to work with her firm as the newest champion (hero). Second, she vomits all over him after too much wine. Next thing we know, they are fake dating. The tension from that point forward gave everything you want in a rom-com that is disguised as an alien romance.

Elizabeth Stephens writes books that work for me. I've read a few of her novels now, and they all give me exactly what I want when I'm reading them. I am so grateful to have read this book early to be able to shout from the rooftops. Thank you to the author for the early copy! I promise you're going to want to pick this one up!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

All Superheroes Need PR is a fun filled adventure. In a world full of heroes and villains, Vanessa is a n9rmal human who owns a PR company. She is shy and quiet, but very good at what she does. Roland, or Pyro his pseudonym, is one 9f 48 aliens who came to earth many years ago. They were raised on earth in foster families and because of their unusual powers became superheroes or villains. Roland has been walking the line between superhero and villain for years, until he meets Vanessa. He has never cared about or for humans before until her, but he soon finds himself obsessed and wanting to become a hero for her.

This story was a new, fun take on superheroes. The world building was not very detailed and easy to follow. The storyline was entertaining and the characters were fun. Vanessa has a history of abuse and neglect and doesn't trust others easily. Roland bursts his way into her life and completely takes it over. She finds herself swept up in hos world and in him. Their chemistry ans tension is palpable. The side characters were not very deep, but were still fun. The story was fun and a quick read. The story started off a little slow but quickly picked up. I would recommend if you like shy, soft FMCs, overbearing MMCs, forced proximity, and adventure filled shenanigans. Check trigger warnings.

WOW! Elizabeth Stephens continues to show me that she is the QUEEN of Sci-fi romance!

This was like any of the Avengers movies but a closer look at the romance between characters. Which is what I and I am willing to bet so many Marvel fans need more of in the movies.

Anyways I love the FMC, she is about her profession and her close knit community. She just wants to do her best for her crew of employees so she will stop at nothing. Something Stephens excels in is no matter the temperament of her FMCs there is strength in them! And I love that.

The mysterious MMC comes in the picture with a literal bang and no one in the book, nor I was ready to see what his outcome was going to be.

This was adventurous and funny and had lots of great steam!

This book was such a fun time. I really enjoyed the premise and I'm excited for the next book in the series to see how things will play out. The representation in this book was done SO WELL. As someone who has anxiety and social awkwardness, I could relate with Vanessa. This was the perfect mix of romance, action, and comedy.

I have enjoyed all of the books I've read by Elizabeth Stephens, but it feels like her two 2025 releases really hit the mark.

“she’s going to make a villain out of me.”

I’m obsessed with this book! I loved the world in which it was set and the characters and I cannot wait for more books in this series.

All Superheroes Need PR is a ‘fantastical romantic comedy’ that follows Roland and Vanessa - he’s a superhuman trying to decide whether to be a hero or a villain, and she’s the director of a PR/Marketing firm who want to be responsible for his rebrand. Their plan - step one, swap his villain name ‘Pyro’ for a more heroic name like the ‘Wyvern’. Step two - a makeover. Step three - every Superman needs a Lois Lane. The only problem, Vanessa herself wasn’t expecting to play that role - but she’ll accept the terms to fake date Roland if it means her firm gets the contract. What she didn’t expect was to fall for him for real. When a supervillain takes control of the narrative - can Roland still be the hero Vanessa wants him to be? When it might take a villain to save her - the woman who’s ‘becoming the human love of his superhero life’.

“You may be my fake girlfriend, but you’re still mine. And I look after what’s mine.”

Aaaahhhhh, Roland was just 10/10. The fact that we got chapters from his POV was just perfection! I loved the way he was so protective and possessive, but reigned it in so he didn’t scare her away and didn’t want to act in a way that wouldn’t be publicly favourable as he knew it would be damaging to her company (I.e. hurting the reporters that chased her and not kidnapping her). The fact he went to her co-workers for advice after their argument and the way he compensated the kids after they helped her! He was so gone for her from the start and I am here for it. Just obsessed!

In terms of Vanessa’s character, she has childhood trauma that makes it difficult for her to open up to people - issues with anxiety and public speaking. She’s the badass owner of a company - hugely successful, great manager and you can tell she loves her team, just doesn’t like the public facing stuff. Absolutely loved her character! The relationship she has with her brothers, and how they protected her, and the relationship she has with Margerie just shaped her into such a lovable FMC. I loved how she stood up for herself when it comes to Roland and how she put herself out there for him in the Lois Lane clause - even though it terrified her.

Overall I’m obsessed with their relationship - actual goals. The tension and subsequent spice - 10/10! I love a ‘there’s only one bed’ trope and forced proximity and this did it so well.

In terms of side characters, I loved all the employees at her firm (especially Margerie) and her brothers! Hopefully we get to see more of them in future books in the series.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one! If you’re looking for a superhero (or villain!) romance with lots of comedy, plenty of tension, spice and an obsessed MMC then this is the book for you!

ARC copy provided by Montlake & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was just okay. The concept was fun, but the execution didn’t quite land for me. I really struggled with the heroine’s voice; she was overly self-critical to the point of being frustrating, which made it hard to connect with her or enjoy her journey.

This is the second book of Elizabeth Stephens that has had this sort of heroine and I likely won’t read more.

I'm a big fan of Stephens' Xiveri Mates series and was really interested to read her take on aliens in a contemporary setting with this highly original and intriguing premise, despite not being much of a romcom fan.

Unfortunately, this was everything I dislike about romcoms, and I didn't find it even remotely funny. (I'm tired of clumsiness as the low-hanging comedy fruit, and I found Vanessa's ignorance of the correct title and its pronunciation for her Thai counterpart and the failure of a character who claims she can negotiate contracts in her sleep to note the Lois Lane clause that led to the fake dating plot to be frustrating and annoying rather than funny, considering she's the CEO of a major PR firm.)

Beyond this, I simply didn't care for Roland's character at all. The immediate hyper-alpha asshole vibes just really did not work for me in this context and also made it really difficult to feel like I knew anything about me. It simply overwhelmed his character arc for me. It's hard to root for a romance when you don't enjoy one of the characters in it.

I'm really bummed that this didn't work for me. It's such a cool premise.

Thanks to Montlake, the author, and Netgalley for the advance copy of this title.

I loved this book and reading it put the biggest smile on my face.

48 aliens with superpowers fell to the earth two decades ago and slowly they were labeled as ‘heroes’ or ‘villains’. Pyro is the last of the supers to not be labeled so he is a hot commodity for PR companies. This idea was genius and created such a wonderful and exciting world. I was a huge fan of Smallville growing up and this just scratched that same itch.

Vanessa was such a funny and relatable character. She runs a PR firm, but she also feels like a real person. She makes mistakes and she is very clumsy. She makes a fool of herself in their first meeting with Pyro, but then finds herself signing a 10 year PR deal. What she doesn’t realize when she signs the deal is that she has also agreed to be Pyro’s, soon to be rebranded as Wyvern’s, ‘Lois Lane.’ Enter one of my favorite tropes, fake dating.

I love the chemistry between Roland and Vanessa. I love the action in this story. I love the representation in both main characters and the side characters. I love that Vanessa and Roland both had foster families growing up but still had very different childhoods. I love how fast paced this story was and kept me reading until I finished in a single sitting. And I loved the spice.

This is a Romantasy/Sci-fi romance that reads a lot like a contemporary romance. This is a wonderful book for readers that have read a lot of contemporary romance and are looking into dipping their toes into the fantasy/sci-fi side of romance. There isn’t a ton of world building and the world building is simple to understand.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy and an advanced listener copy so I read this wonderful story in tandem and really immerse myself into this world and this story.

Think you've had enough of Marvel like superheroes? Then you need to delve into the world of the 48!  These superheroes are flawed, sarcastic, egos the size of a mountain and lots of missing memories.

Meet Vanessa.  PR Guru but shyest person on the planet.  She strategizes and develops brands like a pro but people - them she can do without. Her small group of friends/colleagues are supportive and affectionate but they can still call-out each other like no one's business!

Meet Roland, formerly known as Pyro and now the Wyvern.  AS one of the 48 he controls fire. He initially wants as little to do with being a hero as possible.  But after meeting Vanessa, he fires her and then comes back with the most ridiculous contract. But Vanessa, ever the people pleaser agrees and now she finds herself Lois Lane -ing to Roland's character.

I loved this story hard.  Its like Marvel and Hitch had a baby and that baby was diverse and queer friendly.  The representation for bigger girls, black and brown main characters and queer/trans characters was flawless to my eyes and I just loved deling into the world.  It's set almost in a Smallville type town and the heroes and villains are working for a corporation (surprise, surprise).

The found family vibes are impactful as Vanessa finds herself with not just a loving, supportive adoptive family (and far too many blinking brothers!) but also a small tribe in her friends, especially Margorie who is just the best friend everyone wants to have. There are many scenes that made me laugh out loud, not only the initial "meet the family" scene.  It is very instalove but it's very comic/superhero driven so that makes sense - everything moves at warpspeed!  Roland is very good at the growly, possessive, dirty talking and Vanessa is the "good girl" incarnate.

This isn't just comic like banter and fight scenes though, the MC's are dealing with traumatic childhoods, learning to fit in, social anxiety and self esteem issues

I'm here for more!  I read this as an ebook ARC via netgalley and am impatiently awaiting my PB copy for the shelf!

DNF'ed at 15%. I think with the cover and description I had a very different idea of what this book was going to be like. I loved the diversity of characters and the idea of a PR firm needed for a potential superhero. However, the instant love and growl/tough MMC who is over protective and obsessed with the FMC is not what I enjoy to read. I don't DNF often, but I was completely unprepared for this book. I know tons of people enjoy this kind of book, but the cover and description didn't give me the heads up to make sure this book found its intended reader!

I snagged this title when it was Read Now on NetGalley. I love seeing different people’s takes on superpowers so this seemed like fun. I was entertained but there was room for optimization.

I was surprised to learn this wasn’t a debut. Stephens has a bad habit of stopping the narrative flow to throw in backstory or a flashback in time. It makes things clunky and awkward. Don’t interrupt the action to tell us something that can be moved elsewhere in the narrative. This did not pair well with the early name dropping (employees, brothers).

The plot and concepts were interesting. I love seeing different takes on superpowers. A lot of it got dropped at the end so the story felt unbalanced. We start with a lot of human drama and end with a ridiculous battle scene. It was like MCU’s Civil War had a weird baby with a romcom.

You wouldn’t guess it from the beginning but there’s also some quality smut. The door is open and the sex is plot critical. The romance had some tropes I’m not fond of: insta-love, touch her and die, and some DarRo tendencies from our love interest. They weren’t bad, just not my vibe.

Overall, I was entertained and am interested in future books in this series. I’m hoping future books get a smoother flow and a better balance of human drama and high action plot.

Hero? Villain? Maybe Rolland is a bit of both. But image is everything which is why Vanessa is going to give him a rebrand from Pyro to Wyvern and pose as his Lois Lane. But that is only just the start.

Read if you like:
-Alien/Monster Romance
-Only One Bed
-Fake Dating

I love how All Superheroes Need PR developed! I'll admit that I wasn't the biggest fan of the first few chapters. I had trouble finding my footing. It felt like everything was moving so fast, but I grew to love Elizabeth Stephen's quick-and quick witted-writing style. My favorite thing about the book was the push and pull between the hero and villain potential inside Rolland. He really did make a great hero, but would have been a really good villain.

I throughly enjoyed this book! When I saw superheroes in the title I thought, “oh this is going to be good!”. I loved the twists and turns and trying to figure out where the plot was going. I didn’t expect that whole discovery at the end! I need book two! I have so many questions that need answers! Very fun, very cute and kept me interested!

Well that's an interesting premise. This genre isn't my favorite but Stephens has a fluid and engaging style that kept me reading even as I rolled my eyes. Good characters and a bit of humor made this a good read.

Y’all Elizabeth MFing Stephens did the damn thing with this book. She’s on a glorious roll this year.

I honestly had no idea what to expect going into this book. I love Elizabeth’s writing, and I was willing to give a new to me romance subgenre a chance with her at the helm.

I was not disappointed!

This book had everything you can ever want in an ES heroine and hero with Vanessa and Roland. The misunderstandings, the obsession, the swooning, it was all there!

The thing that grabbed me from the beginning was the anxiety rep from the heroine, and the diverse represenation of the characters written. I just absolutely loved the world building. I was so enthralled with how everything was explained and the story flowed seamlessly throughout.

Plus it has some of my favorite tropes: office romance, forced proximity, and fake dating.

This is Elizabeth’s very first trad published book, if you like her stuff or this seems like it would be right up your alley, you can pre-order it now! The release date is next week, 27 May!

This such a cute steamy romance. I loved the pacing and the action scenes. Our characters were diverse and despite short appearances not one dimensional. The descriptions of mental health were so well thought out and received. I could relate to the FMC. Our MMC was the perfect mix of broody and in love. The only reason I rated 4/5 stars is that the PR/fake dating storyline (which had seemed to be the whole premise of the book) kind of died midway through. It was more of an introduction turned background issue. I would have loved a bit more of the fake dating trope. It was kind of glossed over and not really impactful to the overall story. However,
I still enjoyed the book and would recommend to other readers! It still made me feel good and was perfect for a reading slump. I probably would re-read again myself!

4.5 stars

This was so much more that I expected to be honest and I had a blast! The story was intriguing and at times incredibly funny. I love a “touch her and die” MMC that actually fits well in the story being told. Having the enemies-to-lovers turned fake-dating but be fairly short-lived really worked for me personally. Often a drawn out enemy vibe makes the characters get too cruel to each other and I’m too soft I fear. I had fun with the villain to hero story line as well, it was well fleshed out and at times we could feel the turmoil of the MMC.

My only issue was with some of the FMC’s traits and background, particularly the clumsiness. I didn’t really understand the point of it. I did understand the anxiety due to her childhood trauma however I feel like the trauma was either not well fleshed out or made me think it was going in a different direction. I genuinely thought for a bit that maybe she was also an alien but was found by her parents and when she didn’t have powers they acted the way they did. However that may have just been me looking for a reason for the neglect and abuse beyond just shitty people doing shitty things.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

First she wrote Kane and I because obsessed. Then she gave me Adam and I swooned so hard it was ridiculous. But I thought what will I do if she tops that. Then she wrote Calai and I was a goner, lost with no way to return. Because give me the guy that will burn down the world for me! And oh baby did she take that pretty literal. Now we have Roland Casteel and I’m certain I’ll never be the same. Not to mention in the midst of those top tier book monster/berserker/viking boyfriends she gave me Abel, Echo, Starling, and Vanessa and my heart is so full thanks to those beautiful, brave, fierce women. Elizabeth Stephens is a gifted and exceptional writer and belongs on every bestseller list there is. This book was hilarious, endearing, captivating, unique, and sexy in a delicious sort of way. It’s one of those books you can finish and easily go back to beginning and start it all over again. I was absolutely giddy over Roland when my heart wasn’t breaking and rooting for Nessa. And I haven’t even talked about the amazing cast of secondary characters who give you all the warm found family vibes you can’t help but want to be apart of. This was just so effing good! And I can’t wait to see what she does with this series because the subplot is absolutely incredible! I’m torn between wanting the next book in this series and demanding she get back to working on the Beast of Gatamora. Why is she pulling my heart in so many directions? It’s really amazing to love an author so much and know they deserve all the praise and recognition, but to then read a book that undoubtedly is about to lunch them into the stratosphere! That’s just magical! Early congratulations on the astronomical success this book is due to receive Elizabeth!

The setup? Vanessa is a quiet, ultra-competent PR powerhouse who just wants to do her job and stay out of the spotlight. Her newest client? Roland, aka The Pyro—a fire-wielding supernatural wildcard with a bad reputation and no idea how to handle the very intense feelings he develops for Vanessa. He’s smitten. He’s confused. He’s mad about it. And he is not subtle.
As Vanessa works to turn him into a hero, their professional boundaries go up in smoke in the steamiest, most delightful way.
With fated-mates energy, sharp banter, playful world-building, and a romance that burns hot from start to finish, this one’s tailor-made for lazy afternoons, beach days, and late-night reading binges.
I loved everything about this book and I cannot wait until I can start handselling it at the store.