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How to Date a Henchman

3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 · rating details · 43 ratings · 18 reviews

Gina Hall is a college dropout with big dreams. Working as the receptionist at EnClo Corp isn't one of them, but she needs the paycheck, and she amuses herself by speculating what the mysterious company actually does. She's even more intrigued when the owner arrives, bringing with him a very attractive man named Burke.

Burke's job is more deadly than dead-end: as head hench...more

Kindle Edition, 76 pages

Published September 3rd 2012 by Carina Press

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Sep 04, 2012 Jess the Romanceaholic rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-read, antihero, arc, assassin-mercenary-or-bounty-hunter, beautiful-heroine, carina-press, short-story-or-novella, hooked-up-with-villain, steam-level-chaste, no-smexin, wickedly-funny

This is a Quickie Review. For the full review, please visit The Romanceaholic.

Expected Release Date: September 3, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Carina Press
Author’s Website: marifee.com
My Source for This Book: Netgalley
Part of a Series: No (For Now)
Series Best Read In Order: N/A
Steam Level: Chaste

With sweet chemistry, likable characters, and a new twist on the “superhero” phenomenon, this novella was so much fun that I read it in one sitting.

I loved the idea that the delineation between hero...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Guilty Pleasures rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: guiltypleasures-kittyangel

Kitty's review posted on Guilty Pleasures

3.5 Stars

What a fun, easy read How to Date a Henchman was. Mari Fee brought to life a superhero and super-villain that were both egotistical and funny as hell. Yes, the story is mainly about Burke and Gina and their attraction to each other, but, Static and Glimmer just make this book wonderful. They bring the book from a classic boy-meets-girl to a whole different level.

Gina works as the receptionist at EnClo and can’t help but wonder what is on B2. Mr....more

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Sep 06, 2012 Jaclyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: net-galley, novella, arc

Gina is working as a receptionist for the mysterious company, EnClo Corp in a small town in Saskatchewan. The job itself is boring, she is left alone to watch the security cameras during the day while the rest of the company’s employees go to the basement to work on a secret project. Gina is dying to know more about the company and what’s in the basement, and she gets her wish when her anonymous boss, Mr. Sparks, shows up. What Gina does not know is that Mr. Sparks is the notorious American supe...more Gina is working as a receptionist for the mysterious company, EnClo Corp in a small town in Saskatchewan. The job itself is boring, she is left alone to watch the security cameras during the day while the rest of the company’s employees go to the basement to work on a secret project. Gina is dying to know more about the company and what’s in the basement, and she gets her wish when her anonymous boss, Mr. Sparks, shows up. What Gina does not know is that Mr. Sparks is the notorious American supervillian, Static – known for putting subliminal messages on the radio to start a riot after a terrible break-up.

Yes, in this alternate reality there are supervillians and superheroes. But in Canada vigilantism is outlawed, so when the superhero, Glimmer arrives to thwart what one would assume are Static’s dastardly plans, Glimmer is actually the one breaking the law. Lucky for Gina, she has Static’s hot henchman, Burke to protect her.

Fee’s novella was a light, amusing read. It was in novella format so it was short, but I found that the plot and the romantic elements made sense unlike some other novellas that I have read. The author did not try to cram too much in the space of 76 pages and there was no insta-romance, rather a believable possibility of a relationship between Burke and Gina.

I also liked how the author started each chapter with fictitious excerpt, like quotes from henchman. For example, one quote from a henchman is:

“ ‘I get beat up at least once a month by some spandex-wearing idiot convinced the dry cleaning I’m picking up for the boss is actually a death ray or blueprints for a moon rocket. Obviously, my health care plan is really, really good.’” (p. 62)

For me these quotes made the novella. I found the author’s commentary on the superhero genre amusing and I liked how the supervillian wasn’t quite so villainous as one would think – rather socially awkward in fact and not at all interested in taking over the Internet, he’s not a Super Nerd after all!

I think this novella would appeal to those that have read A.J. Menden’s Elite Hands of Justice series. Overall, it was a light, short read, one that I would recommend for someone that’s looking for something cute and doesn’t have time to read. The novella, especially something as quirky as How to Date a Henchman, is perfect when you don’t have a huge chunk of time to read.

*Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this novella.
(less)

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Aug 25, 2012 Danielle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley-arc, romance

Novellas get an unfair rap for a lack of plot or character development. While it’s true that you won’t get as much depth as a 300 page novel, a 300 pager doesn’t have as much depth as a 13 book series. No one suggests that every book needs an epic string of sequels, so why should every novella be fleshed out into a full length novel? At just 26,000 words, How to Date a Henchman is kind of like a mini pie. It’s a self-contained bite of sweet romance topped with fluffy plot and sprinkled with genu...more Novellas get an unfair rap for a lack of plot or character development. While it’s true that you won’t get as much depth as a 300 page novel, a 300 pager doesn’t have as much depth as a 13 book series. No one suggests that every book needs an epic string of sequels, so why should every novella be fleshed out into a full length novel? At just 26,000 words, How to Date a Henchman is kind of like a mini pie. It’s a self-contained bite of sweet romance topped with fluffy plot and sprinkled with genuinely funny lines. I also love it about as much a I love pie. Which is a lot.

Gina Hall is a sci-fi loving, martini-drinking, mom-exasperating receptionist at EnClo, who starts our story unbearably bored. She could do her filing, but instead she checks up on the doings of the superheroes in NYC. Canada has passed anti-vigilante laws, so the extraordinary never venture so far north, and she has to make due with stories about Glimmer and his arch enemy Static. That is, until the mysterious owner of the company, Mr. (ahem,) Sparks arrives with his...assistant, Burke. They’re here for a meeting with the scientists on B1, which Gina is required to escort them to due to an insanely convoluted security system.

Mr. Sparks takes off his shoes and scoots about the carpet in his socks, which is totally normal and not at all supervillain behavior. This is especially true when paired with the purpose of the meeting: brains. Nope, nothing weird over here. Gina returns to her desk in time for a courier to arrive for Mr. Sparks. This is fortuitous, as no one knows Mr. Sparks is there or that he owns EnClo. It’s like there’s a certain type of person who shows up whenever eccentric scientists start talking about brains...The courier takes off, the meeting finishes up, and Gina engages in some insta-lust flirting with Burke. From there, the plot follows a basic superhero arc, with some very notable exceptions.

I’m not going to reveal plot details, but everything is a little more grey than your average Superman movie. Plots are hatched, heroes are heroic, and something goes boom, but in between Static, Glimmer, and the extraordinaries in general are given a more realistic bend. In fact, Gina’s probably the least fleshed out character in the bunch, with no real backstory or ambition beyond, “get out of Saskatchewan”. She finds her footing by the end of the story, and while she may not be super, she’s savvy, smart, and willing to see past initial appearances. She also drives an extremely hard bargain.

Burke does suffer from being a somewhat stereotypical romance hero, always a bit stiff and chauvinistic. He’s also super, though not enough to warrant superhero status. Thus, henchmaning and the alpha-male hero tropes you would expect to go with it. Even as it annoyed me that he kept pushing Gina away and behind, I enjoyed his interactions with Static, his expositions on the world, and his grudge against Glimmer. Speaking of Static, he’s the real star of the show. His character was actually laugh out loud funny. In fact, large portions of dialog had to be read, read again, and then read out loud to my husband for their witty skewering of superhero tropes. The parking meters? Genuinely charming, funny stuff.

How to Date a Henchman probably won’t set the world on fire, and it may not be for romance fans who lean towards the more erotic side of the genre, but as a short, fun diversion, you could do a lot worse. (less)

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Sep 05, 2012 Anna (Gatsby's Girl) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Gina Hall is a small-town, Canadian girl who is working as a receptionist at the mysterious Enclo Corp - so mysterious that she still doesn't know what they do and she's been working there for months! All she wants is for something exciting to happen in her life, or to possibly see a superhero. But since Canada passed anti-vigilante legislature unlike the U.S., that is highly unlikely. So she just reads about Glimmer and his arch-nemesis Static. When Mr. Sparks (the company's owner) and his rig...more Gina Hall is a small-town, Canadian girl who is working as a receptionist at the mysterious Enclo Corp - so mysterious that she still doesn't know what they do and she's been working there for months! All she wants is for something exciting to happen in her life, or to possibly see a superhero. But since Canada passed anti-vigilante legislature unlike the U.S., that is highly unlikely. So she just reads about Glimmer and his arch-nemesis Static. When Mr. Sparks (the company's owner) and his right hand man Burke arrive, the shit starts to really hit the fan. It turns out that Enclo Corp is a front for supervillain Static a.k.a "Mr. Sparks" and his latest scheme, which involves using his brain to gain more power in the international market. Of course, this causes Glimmer to follow him to Canada in the hopes of foiling his 'nefarious' plans. But is everything really is black and white as it seems? Who is really the villain when it comes down to it? And how on Earth will everything turn out, especially with Gina and Burke's explosive chemistry and Gina being shoved into the middle of the supers' fighting? I thought this sounded interesting and I love books about superheroes/villains. Usually I don't read novellas, but this one is on the long end clocking in at 76 pages or thereabouts. So I figured I would give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the characterizations were done, the plot was fleshed out and how little of it was focused on the sexual aspect of the romance (usually when a story is this short and a romance, there's at least one or two sex scenes). Mari Fee managed to write a compelling story about the shades of grey involved in right and wrong, a cute romance, the tribulations of super powers and it was funny too. If you're a fan of comic books or superheroes in general, I'd recommend this one. It's a quick, fun read and definitely time well spent.

VERDICT: 4.75/5 Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published September 3rd, 2012.*(less)

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Sep 18, 2012 Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: net_galley, crappiest-cover-award, contemporary-romance, adventure-fantasy

This one, provided by netgalley, was exactly the sort of book I wanted to read. I was between one book which had been a major disappointment Celtic Storms, and another which was just superb, but quite, quite different Tainted Innocence, and the one I'd just finished, Two Wrongs Make a Marriage, which while OK, wasn't enough of a palate-cleanser. Well, this one was perfect. It was like a nice serving of lemon sorbet - tart, with just a hint of sweetness, quite fun, but not so overindulgent that I...more This one, provided by netgalley, was exactly the sort of book I wanted to read. I was between one book which had been a major disappointment Celtic Storms, and another which was just superb, but quite, quite different Tainted Innocence, and the one I'd just finished, Two Wrongs Make a Marriage, which while OK, wasn't enough of a palate-cleanser. Well, this one was perfect. It was like a nice serving of lemon sorbet - tart, with just a hint of sweetness, quite fun, but not so overindulgent that I had to sleep it off.

I've never really liked that whole superhero thing. I always thought comics were for people that were too young or too lazy to read, and Superman, Batman, Spiderman etc always struck me as really quite boring, either in concept or on film, and not exactly decent romantic material for the female audience. OK, I'm slightly biased against the movie versions, because my office just happens to be really close to where lots of movies get filmed, including one of the Batman movies, and I had a stand-up row with some pay-by-the-day movie flunky on a power trip, who tried to stop me from leaving the office to pick up my daughter from daycare because they were filming (like I gave a s%!t!).. Anyway, I've never gone to the movies to see one of those films (except the Batman movie directed by Tim Burton, which was so gothic and twisted that I loved it anyway). I think part of me always hated that whole superhero thing, like they were so flippin' perfect they didn't use the bathroom, could eat whatever they wanted and still squeeze into their spandex costumes with ease (and without a dresser on stand-by BTW), never had to run to cash a check, never ran out of milk or toilet paper, or actually have anything approaching a realistic normal life. I also wandered how incredibly exhausting it must be for the bad guys to have to dream up all those complex evil schemes all the time, and then have them bashed up by the good guys.

Well, this book actually panders to all those bizarre mental wanderings of mine. We see a bad guy doing yoga in his underpants, see a good guy freaking out, and stop and think about why there are only superhero films filmed in Canada and never set there.. and all written with the most wonderfully light touch, spilling out line after hilarious line, that had me chuckling all the way through it.

So, if you fancy a nice, funny, entertaining read to cleanse your palate, ignore the cover on this one (which isn't particularly creative, let's face it), and just enjoy!

4 stars. I really liked it.(less)

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Sep 02, 2012 Stephanie Collins rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a cute quick read with a little bit of heat but mainly some fun repartee between the characters.

Our heroine, Gina, is stuck in a dead-end job with no real idea of what the future will hold for her. She's not happy being a little cog in the machine but hey.. a job is a job.... I felt bad for her at the start of this cause I know how that feels. She's smart but tied down in a lot of respects with her family and what they expect from her. She isn't quite sure what the company does she jus...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Turtles rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-modern

This was a fun book, a random read; but it was way too short! The author had some brilliant ideas, and could have easily made a full length novel out of it! Instead of "How to Date a Henchman" a more apt name would have been "A Date with a Henchman" or something since the book took place over the events in a single night. Girl is a receptionist unknowingly, to a super-villain in Canada. Where all supers are considered vigilantes, unlike the bias in America for heroes etc. She learned some of the...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Melissa Mason rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: edelweiss-netgalley, 2012, superhero

How to Date a Henchman is a slice of novella heaven. It proves that short books can have well built plots and fleshed out characters. The book focuses on Gina Hall, a receptionist at EnClo Corp. The few years she has worked there, she still hasn't gotten clearance to see the entire building, much less know what the company actually does. Her life is simple, considering she lives in a world where superheros and evil villains exist. Though they never seem to go to Canada much to her regret.

The boo...more

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Oct 11, 2012 Ashley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, ebook, for-review

Thanks NetGalley!

This story was really cute. I really liked the way that it made you empathize with the villains and made the super hero the 'bad guy'

My one complaint is that I wish it was a little longer. I wanted more of everything. But I think that is a fairly good problem to have. I want more story, more love, more of the fabulous characters. I think it ended well, and I hope to see more of Gina and Burke

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Oct 25, 2012 Becky Moe rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, netgalley, novella

This was a super cute, fast, fun read. I thought the beginning and middle were stronger than the end--hence three instead of four stars--but honestly there really isn't anything to complain about with this book other than the usual with such a quick read--I wish there were more to it. This is one book that definitely could have taken things further, especially with the "good guys aren't always so good" vibe it had going on. I loved Burke and Gina, was less than sold on Static--though he grew on...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Nicole Luiken rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook, sfantasy, novella

Light-hearted and fun superhero novella. I loved the premise and wanted to read this as soon as I heard the title. Gina and Burke had good chemistry, though the romance doesn't go beyond a kiss and a first date. Best of all is the Canadian setting and a very Canadian attitude toward superheroes.

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Sep 30, 2012 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, paranormal-romance, novellas, superheroes

This is a cute novella about superheroes and their henchmen. It's very short, but lots of fun, and I'll be reading more of Ms. Fee's writing in the future. If you enjoyed Jennifer Estep's Bigtime series (Karma Girl, Hot Mama, Jinx), I think you'll enjoy this novella immensely.

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Sep 27, 2012 Lucy rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a very cleverly written and adorable short story. It was a great choice to read to break up the genre rut.

See more at http://ebookobsessed.com

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Oct 10, 2012 Hope is currently reading it

I'm exactly 50% into this one. My attention got caught by a couple other things so I'll come back to this one later.

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Apr 07, 2013 Gretchen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fandom-geekery, magic, novella, paranormal-romance, paranormal, romance, superheroes

Funny, light-hearted read. I loved the take on superheroes and supervillains, and what really makes someone good or evil.

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Sep 28, 2012 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, for-review

The characters are likeable, the chemistry between Burke and Gina sparked and the world where superheroes are not necessarily all good and supervillians not necessarily evil was interesting. It’s a cute, light read that left me smiling.

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Dec 31, 2012 Vi rated it 2 of 5 stars

There was one interrupted date. The book read like a set-up for a sequel.

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May 13, 2013 Cass added it

Shelves: bcc-wishlist

May 05, 2013 Lynn marked it as to-read

Mar 27, 2013 SassySami marked it as to-read

Shelves: owned

Mar 24, 2013 Purple_monkey marked it as 02-to-read-cr

Mar 29, 2013 Alex rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: villainous-hero, short-story, quick-read, office, contemporary, bombshell, alternative-reality

Jan 27, 2013 Kagama-the Literaturevixen marked it as to-read

Jan 24, 2013 Rachelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Jan 14, 2013 Jessica (Firefly Book Loft) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dec 23, 2012 Andy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

Dec 23, 2012 Patti marked it as to-read

Dec 23, 2012 CoffeeTimeRomance andMore marked it as to-read

Dec 18, 2012 KarenF marked it as to-read

Shelves: kindle

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About Mari Fee

From the author's website:

Mari Fee is a tea-swilling former archaeologist and heritage conservation consultant currently earning a Masters at the University of Calgary. Other interests include adventuresome cookery, growing tomatoes, exploring, and indie music. Interesting anecdotes include that one time Mari dug up a skeleton, and that other time she watched a black bear eat a box of Hot Tamales....more

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