Alter Ego, by Kate Sheeran Swed, is an urban superhero novel, with the heroes and heroines described as Independent Operatives (IO), famous and popular with the people! The story follows the secretive life of Mary O’Sullivan, who has an alter ego, her struggles at keeping her identity a secret and keeping the public safe from enemy #1: Mange, who has a hot temper!
I was a little sad I started this on my Kindle, I would have liked to buy the paperback version. When I finished reading, I knew I would be buying the rest of the series, the next one being ‘Anti-Hero’. I connected with all the characters, their fight for good was believable, as when I read a superhero comic I think: “That wouldn’t happen”, and I found myself rooting for the romance side of ‘Alter Ego’, desperately willing it to move forward… which I will only know about in the next instalment!
***SPOILER ALERT*** – yes I know this whole article is a spoiler… but there’s one thing I LOVED – a twist! When you think the good guys are on top and are winning, the plot twists, making the villains and criminals looks like they’re saving the world rather than the IO’s. Kate Swed wrote each chapter from the viewpoint of that hero or villain, which was an interesting technique as most authors write in the third person for all the characters, rather than giving them each a chapter to hear their side of the story.
I do think that Kate Swed managed to find a new type of hero… I mean, we all know about a water hero, fire hero, strong hero and mind control hero or few, but there is a new hero in this story which I found mysterious and unpredictable: The Pearl Knife. She finds herself trying to live up to her parents’ leadership of the LIO, but she feels she hasn’t even mastered her abilities and her fears kept me gripping my Kindle, wondering whether she would suddenly lose control and hurt the people she loved!
A new collection of heroes, who are highly relatable and enemies with potentially good sides? This is a great read, and I would recommend it to adults 18+, full of action, fast-paced with a hint of romance for good measure!
Thank you, Kate, I’ll see you in the next book, and you can see her works here.
Hannah Baller RSLM 
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