Hi there! Today, I’m featuring a review of a contemporary M/M superhero story from Hal Bodner. FABULOUS IN TIGHTS features a uberstrong superhero who’s survived a LOT of bad guys, but Centerport’s newest villain might just break his heart before killing him. This is the first book in the Adventures of the Whirlwind series, and I’m so ready for the sequel!

About the book:
Alec Archer isn’t just a superhero… he’s a survivor.
* He’s survived being harpooned by the megalomaniacal captain of a steampunk airship.
* He’s escaped being drowned by a sex-crazed mermaid.
* He’s narrowly avoided being reduced to a glowing pile of mush by a radioactive grandma.
* Even Kryptonite probably couldn’t hurt him.
(His inability to think before he opens his mouth, on the other hand, will probably get him killed.)
By day, Alec is the owner of a successful male escort service, living an idyllic life with a husband he adores. By night, Alec is the only man strong enough, fast enough, and svelte enough to reluctantly squeeze into the skintight turquoise mantle of the superhero known as the Whirlwind.
No matter how many supervillains choose Centerport to kick-off their crazy schemes of mass destruction and world domination, the Whirlwind will always be there to defeat them.
And he will always look fabulous in tights!

My Review:

Alec Archer was an out gay teen his parents turned out to the mean streets of Centerport. He had to prostitute himself to survive, but that he did. In fact he’s survived a lot more than nasty tricks at this point. He’s all grown up, and running a legal escort service, now that his former tricking partner was voted the mayor of Centerport. And not a little to early, because Alec met his beloved husband Peter when some of Peter’s colleagues hired Alec’s services to celebrate Peter’s promotion. It was kismet, and Alec committed himself to being the very best partner he could, once Peter got over the shock and dismay of falling so hard for a rent boy–even a beautiful rent boy like Alec.

Meanwhile, Alec has an even bigger secret life than that of a former prostitute-turned-“madam”–he’s strong and fast, virtually indestructible, and he moonlights as the Whirlwind to save the good folk of Centerport from all sorts of supervillains. The newest one on the scene, Thanatos, has targeted Peter’s agripharmaceuticals company, Greene Genes, all a mess. Peter’s boss, Jackson Greene, is an idealistic entrepreneur who’s now dying of cancer. While this is going on, Thanatos has planned industrial espionage to steal the secret plans of the Feed the World program. This program could end world hunger, but there is a weird glitch and only the top scientist on the program can unravel it. The Whirlwind comes to the rescue, but he’s only able to save a few folks that were trapped in the building before a bomb went off. It takes time for Thanatos to reveal his true purpose, and monetary demands.

Despite being both monogamous and completely committed to Peter, Alec can’t deny he has a big attraction to Thanatos. There’s something chemical about their mutual fascination, even though they are both unwilling to admit it. We mostly have the story told from Alec’s POV as himself or The Whirlwind, but there are moments of third-person POV from others including Thanatos, and Jackson Greene. This whole story is engaging, with the kind of odd-ball heroes and hero support one might find in a Deadpool spin-off. I really enjoyed Alec, he’s such a funny guy, and his deadpan humor had me smirking along as I turned the pages. This is the first book in the series and it’s not exactly ending on a high note for Whirlpool. Thanatos is a bigger menace than he’d predicted, and the stakes are way higher than Alec could have fathomed; he’s at risk of losing himself or Peter in this melee. I was a bit stunned with the ending, not because I didn’t see it coming, but because I was really so engaged I didn’t WANT things to go that way.

Not going to give any of the secrets away, but wow, am I hooked on Alec, and hoping his next book will bring both peace and happiness.

Interested? You can find FABULOUS IN TIGHTS on Goodreads, and Amazon.

About the Author:After almost a decade writing predominantly horror fiction, and receiving a couple of Bram Stoker Award nomination in the bargain, Hal returned to his comedic roots with Fabulous in Tights and A Study in Spandex, the trials and tribulations of the reluctant superhero known as the Whirlwind. He is eagerly looking forward to the release of his Browne & Brownie series of comic capers, starting with Into Thin Heir. With this new series, Hal hopes to turn classic Noir fiction upside down, and tint it with a healthy splash of lavender.

After the death of his first husband, Hal married again. His second husband is a wonderful man, roughly half Hal’s age, who had no idea that Liza Minnelli was Judy Garland’s daughter. He is also responsible for this website!

You can catch Hal on his website.
Thanks for popping in and keep reading my friends!