Phenomenal Girl 5 (Elite Hands of Justice, #1)

Phenomenal Girl 5 (Elite Hands of Justice #1)

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3.63 of 5 stars 3.63  ·  rating details  ·  198 ratings  ·  43 reviews
Lainey Livingston has just been made a member of the Elite Hands of Justice, the world's premiere cadre of superheroes. Her work with the Red Knights and the Power Squad was impressive; all her senses are extraordinary, and her great strength and ability to fly are equally remarkable. But no one gets a free pass to active duty, and Lainey's next test is going to be her har...more
Mass Market Paperback, 1st Edition, 305 pages
Published October 28th 2008 by Dorchester Publishing
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Bookaholics
Phenomenal Girl 5 (SHOMI) by A. J. Menden

Mass Market Paperback Paranormal Romance – October 28, 2008
5 Stars

Once I started reading this book, I literally could not stop!

This book began with good, light-hearted fun and intriguing characters. And then it became so MUCH MORE! It has surprising depth and explores the characters personalities and emotions in a way that makes you love them.

Phenomenal Girl 5 moved me to tears and proves that good does triumph over evil. If you are looking for a boo...more
Jane Stewart
This is a new and different world. I wanted more action and emotional connection. There was more conversation than action.

STORY BRIEF:
Instead of Superman and Batman hiding their identities, this world has many super heroes seeking publicity, popularity and selling action figures. Lainey is strong and can fly. She has chosen the name Phenomenal Girl 5. The previous four didn’t work out or died. There are different groups of super heroes who fight villains. Lainey was previously part of the Power...more
Katie(babs)
Lainey Livingston has a dream of working for the Elite Hands of Justice, which has the best group of superheroes in the world. Lainey is a superhero herself and goes by the name of Phenomenal Girl Five. She excels at flying, has great strength, and is intelligent as well. Even though she comes quite recommended, she is given a preliminary membership until she can prove herself with the group. For the time being, she will train with the Reincarnist. The Reincarnist is the smartest man on Earth be...more
Linda
When I think of a SHOMI book I want romance and action and, more importantly, a connection. I loved DRIVEN by Eve Kenin aka Eve Silver and COUNTDOWN by Michelle Maddox. Then there were some SHOMI books that I would rate at the bottom of the barrel. PG5 was OK, not bad...just not great.

Lainey Livingston has a gift and she is going to be trained by the Reincarnist, Robert Elliot. You'll see some action though not as much as I expected. And yes, there is a romance, but I just did not feel the conne...more
Linda
When I think of a SHOMI book I want romance and action and, more importantly, a connection. I loved DRIVEN by Eve Kenin aka Eve Silver and COUNTDOWN by Michelle Maddox. Then there were some SHOMI books that I would rate at the bottom of the barrel. PG5 was OK, not bad...just not great.

Lainey Livingston has a gift and she is going to be trained by the Reincarnist, Robert Elliot. You'll see some action though not as much as I expected. And yes, there is a romance, but I just did not feel the conn...more
Kay
This was a free book that I recently got for my Kindle. I was between books and looking for something different to read and decided to give this one a try. This was a very entertaining book. It is definitely more PNR than Urban Fantasy. The focus of the book is more on the relationship between the two main characters, but it was well done. The main characters are all super heros and this was a different take on the urban fantasy premise but it was nice to read something different. At first I did...more
Urs
I had never heard of SHOMI books before reading this book, so I did not go into the book with any special expectations. The description was just interesting to me.

Readers going into this book should realize that it is primarily a light romance story between superheroes in a world where superheroes and villains are quite common. This book reads kind of like a Star Trek TNG episode plays in that there is some action here and there, but the real focus is on the relationships and situations between...more
Jess
Snarky characters, diabolical dialogue, intriguing premise.. and you got me reeled in. Thought it was great, and so different from other things I've read. The premise is that this is a world where there are superheroes and villians and alternate dimensions and magic. Phenomenal Girl 5 (Lainey) is just trying to find her place in the world and join in on EHJ. She has superstrength and can fly. She is teamed up with The Reincarnist (Robert) so that she can be trained for her new job. But of course...more
Bluemoon
Ok I only bought this book because it was free on Kindle, so technically I didn't literally buy it. Amazingly enough,though, I actually liked the book. It reminded me of Mystery Men (The movie), but these people actually have super powers. hehehehehe...

Anyways, I love the whole concept of the reincarnist. I just didn't really like what happened to the relationship between Robert and Lainey. It was weird what happened there and it took me awhile to get used to it. It just seemed like I was readin...more
icedtea
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Adam Shields
Short review: I picked this up when it was free for kindle. Well worth it for free :)

It is a good comicbook superhero/romance. Nothing earth shattering, but well written. I get frustrated with some of the clichéd romance story lines. But this book I really thought about how much truth some of the clichés have. This was an enjoyable take. Had some magic and action with the superheros. And the romance portions were PG13.

Full review on my blog at http://www.mrshields.com/phenomenal-g...
Bitten_by_Books
Lainey Livingston has never really fit in. Orphaned as a child, she was placed in a foster home until her special powers earned her a place at The School. Being one of the youngest and kind of a nerd, she was picked on by the other kids...

For the entire review please go to the Best Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Review site on the web, Bitten By Books for the review of Phenomenal Girl 5 in it's entirety. You won't be sorry.
Anita
I had trouble with the beginning chapter of this book. I almost didn't make it to chapter two because the first few pages seemed too hokey for me. I was afraid the author was seting me up for a 1960's era superhero story - everything over the top and still perfectly tame for the kiddies. Then he heroine, Lainey, showed a little feminist rebellion that hinted the book might go in another direction, so I stuck with it. It was a bumpy read for me. There were a few more times when I groaned inwardly...more
Martina the Book Fairy
In a nutshell, I'd describe this book as a Superhero Romance. Lainey Livingston (aka Phenomenal Girl 5) has just been made a member of the Elite Hands of Justice, the world's topmost band of superheroes. It's a dream Lainey has been working for since she was a school girl. However, before becoming a full-fledge member, she must train for two years with The Reincarnist, Robert Elliot. Robert is a magician who, upon death, is instantly reincarnated as a 20 year old man who retains all previous mag...more
Tez
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Lexie
Who hasn't wanted to be a superhero at some point or another in their life? Popular culture is filled to its seams with the various caped crusaders of Justice. So that's why I was more then a little shocked to realize that PHENOMENAL GIRL 5 is the first romance I've read that deals even partially with the idea.

The world of PHENOMENAL GIRL 5 is our own, except super powers are just a routine thing. Menden doesn't keep everything happy-go-lucky sweet, however—sure, there are altruistic heroes who...more
Kim Dallaire
This is the first book I reread within a single library loan period. It starts simply enough, with a new addition to a superhero team being trained up, but then the twists hit back and forth and froth up the story into a frenzy. I admit I cried, really hard, around the middle of the book, which made my husband poke his head into the bedroom to make sure I was okay. Luckily, the book continues and gets better and better, and I was smiling by the end. An excellent superhero/fantasy/romance mix.
Artemis
This book was a light fun read, throw in a super heroic lady and a couple bad guys and you've got a great super hero novel! I really liked that our main heroine Lainey was tough and determined! I wish the author would have delved further into the character's past so we could have learned more about our heroine. The romantic aspects in the novel were sweet but of course there is still room for development and the pace was a bit quick I must say. Fun read I enjoyed this one! I'll definitely read t...more
Steven Smith
I enjoyed this book a lot but it could have been better. Sure it's a superhero book and well-written but it was a lot more 'romancey' than I would have liked. It probably should have been categorized as "Urban Fantasy/Romance" instead of "Leisure Fiction" but meh, no big deal and not enough to give it less than 4 stars because it was very entertaining and gave a very new (to me) spin on the superhero community.
Jordan
Strike one: This obviously wasn't written for my demographic.

Strike two: I am screamingly jealous of the author and can be a hyper-critical lit snob when confronted with someone more successful than myself in the publishing world.

So I assumed I'd have to trudge through this and say some obligatory nice things I didn't mean. Luckily, that wasn't the case at all. I got drawn into it immediately and just kept turning the pages. Sure, I was still hyper-critical. (Using "large" as an adjective twice...more
Eric
This one's for all the people pining for a Power Girl and Dr. Strange team-up (weird as that may be). And since this book's a superhero/romance hybrid, I kept waiting for the spandex-ripping superheroic sex. As expected, Karen Starr and Stephen Strange get it on, but all the biff-pow action takes place off screen. By the hoary hosts of Hoggoth, how disappointing!
Heather
Phenomenal Girl 5 was so much fun. I am a closet comic book collector and this book spoke to my inner nerd. It is also the best free Kindle book I have ever read. I loved Lainey! She is a kick butt heroine. Great Love Story + Adventure + Mystery To Solve = A Book That Sucks You In. This had it all and was hard to put down. I will definitely check out more books by A.J. Menden.
Scottsdale Public Library
Phenomenal Girl 5, aka Lainey Livingston, falls for her mentor, the Reincarnist, only to find herself battling villains seeking world domination, heroes more intent on publicity than saving the world and her lover’s death and rebirth! This book was funny and poignant at the same time, keeping me hoping for a happy ending.

- Lynn H -
Greymalkin
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Jessica
I never would have picked it up if I thought it was a romance book rather than a super hero book. But it's cool, cause I ended up liking it. It wasn't smutty, it was fun, the villain was despicable but the heros weren't so cut and dry they weren't interesting. Good quick read.
Jacqui Ainsworth
I downloaded this as a free ebook and wasn't expecting much. The title is a bit cheesy. But it was a very enjoyable read. It has a good plot with twists and turns and likable characters. I had trouble putting it down. I would definitely read others by this author.
Samantha
Another Kindle freebie, I was very pleasantly surprised!

My only complaint was that the ending was a little too quick and clean for my taste. I loved the two main characters and their chemistry and the love scenes were very nicely done.
Garland Coulson
As a lover of superhero comics, movies, etc., I was pleased to find this as a free Kindle book. I read it on my iPhone with the Kindle app.

A little different than I expected - more like a superhero love story. But very well done.
Heather
When I started this I wasn't at all sure I was going to like it as the superhero genre isn't really my thing. But the I liked the characters and found the story entertaining.
Summer
Phenomenal Girl 5 sort of reminds me of Noble Causes. If you are less of a comic book nerd than me, Noble Causes is a comic series from Image about a superhero family that's commonly described as 'a superhero soap opera'. Only Phenomenal Girl 5 was more of a superhero romance story in novel form. It had all a lot of elements from comics that I do like with lot's of great action scenes and SUPERPOWERS. But it took out a lot of my gripes with some actual well written characters that didn't take th...more
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Phenomenal Girl 5 (Elite Hands of Justice, #1)
Phenomenal Girl 5 (Elite Hands of Justice, #1)
Phenomenal Girl 5 (Elite Hands of Justice, #1)
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In her everyday life, A.J. Menden is a mild-mannered newspaper columnist and magazine editor who wanted to write books ever since she could read one. Her husband helped foster her love of superheroes and their house is now full of comic books and action-figures.

Here Facebook is http://www.facebook.com/ajmenden.
More about A.J. Menden...
Tekgrrl (Elite Hands of Justice, #2) Sorceress, Interrupted (Elite Hands of Justice, #3) The Girl with the Granite Heart (Elite Hands of Justice, #4) The Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance

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