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Sovereign

(Nemesis #2)

April Daniels (Goodreads Author)

4.28 · Rating details · 2,992 ratings · 472 reviews

Only nine months after her debut as the superhero Dreadnought, Danny Tozer is already a scarred veteran. Protecting a city the size of New Port is a team-sized job and she’s doing it alone. Between her newfound celebrity and her demanding cape duties, Dreadnought is stretched thin, and it’s only going to get worse.

When she crosses a newly discovered billionaire supervilla ...more

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Paperback, 315 pages

Published July 25th 2017 by Diversion Publishing

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· 2,992 ratings · 472 reviews

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Apr 28, 2017 Elle (ellexamines) rated it liked it

Shelves: sff-scifi-dystopias, 3-star, y-2017releases, x-arcs, z-2017reads, x-series

No one is sadder than I am about the fact that this sequel does not quite live up to book one. While the ending was worth it, this is definitely a drop in quality. I liked book one a lot, but I think this one feels like the same thing repeated and I'm not into superhero novels enough to really care.

Pointless sequels are honestly an epidemic that needs to stop. Yes, there were a few loose threads after book one, but Danny had a great character arc and got some good friends. Here, it's as if she ...more

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Feb 04, 2017 Justine rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017-read

4.5 stars

Sovereign is an excellent sequel to Daniels' debut book, Dreadnought. Danny has had some time to adjust to her new powers and continues to deal with the fallout of the events of the last book. She and Doc Impossible are in a holding pattern with Graywytch in terms of the continued future of the Legion, but she loves her new job regardless.

The story moves quickly and there are some nicely written fight scenes. In addition, Daniels continues to keep a level of humorous dialogue which lig ...more

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Feb 06, 2017 Lindsay rated it it was amazing

It's a while after the first book and Danielle Tozer aka Dreadnought has taken over the protector of the city role from the now nearly defunct Legion. But it's not all good news. Graywytch is making Danny's work and personal life difficult, things are really strange with Calamity after the events of the first book and Doc Impossible has become a raging alcoholic. And on top of all that, maybe Danny has issues of her own that maybe can't be dealt with just by punching people.

While not explicitly It's a while after the first book and Danielle Tozer aka Dreadnought has taken over the protector of the city role from the now nearly defunct Legion. But it's not all good news. Graywytch is making Danny's work and personal life difficult, things are really strange with Calamity after the events of the first book and Doc Impossible has become a raging alcoholic. And on top of all that, maybe Danny has issues of her own that maybe can't be dealt with just by punching people.

While not explicitly calling it out this entry in the series has a strong mental health sub-theme, with Danny struggling to deal with her not-all-that-long-ago child abuse as well as whether it's a great idea for an recent abuse survivor to be super-punching people for a living. There's also whatever is going on with Calamity/Sarah as well as Doc and her issues. There's also no neat solutions here and the book is very much about the heroes keeping on going while dealing with their damage.

But more than in the first book, this really does feel like a love letter to the whole super-hero genre. Like the first one, a lot of work has been put into the world-building along the lines of what it would take to have an Earth like that of the modern DC or Marvel universes. How do super-heroes pay for themselves? Where does the law stand around them? If a world has super-heroes then why has technology and society developed so similarly to our Earth?

There's also a lot of thought put into why people with these sort of abilities would actually be super-heroes or villains and a lot of that comes through in the characters. Not least of that is the sheer joy that Danny derives from being Dreadnought. And some of that may not actually be all that healthy and that's addressed too.

There was really only one sour note for me and that's the way that the author has taken the character of Graywytch. Graywytch as an embodiment of Germaine Greer and her anti-trans attitudes is one thing, but (mild spoiler) (view spoiler) feels a bit much. Her attitude is already nuts which makes the overt step here feel unnecessary.

One final thing: Dreadnought had some great incidental characters. This one follows that up with even the villains being great fun, particularly Princess Panzer and Red Steel.

If it was possible I'd give this 4.5 stars. As it is, I'll bump it to 5 just for the entertainment value if not for the serious well thought out look at superheroes. ...more

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Aug 22, 2017 Inge rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: pretty-fly-for-a-sci-fi, magic, young-adult, lgbtqiap, fantasy

Dude, that was frickin' badass.

"I don't care who you are or what you can do. I don't care how much I'm outnumbered or how badly I'm hurt. You bring the fight to me, and I'll bring it right back to you twice as hard, and I will make you regret the day you thought you thought you were hard enough to take on Dreadnought."

Sovereign is a pretty damn great sequel to Dreadnought, and a pretty damn great ending to this duology – or is it a trilogy? It felt kind of final, but if there were to be another ...more

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Feb 28, 2019 Faith Simon rated it liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really enjoyed returning to this series, especially Danny's funny and sarcastic narration. This book reminded me of why I love her so much as a character. The narrator via audiobook really brought her personality to life for me, and she had so many different voices for all the characters, I'm not sure how she managed to make them all sound so drastically different. I really enjoyed the voice she used for Charlie.
This book is great because it's not just a follow-up to the first book, its it's I really enjoyed returning to this series, especially Danny's funny and sarcastic narration. This book reminded me of why I love her so much as a character. The narrator via audiobook really brought her personality to life for me, and she had so many different voices for all the characters, I'm not sure how she managed to make them all sound so drastically different. I really enjoyed the voice she used for Charlie.
This book is great because it's not just a follow-up to the first book, its it's own brand new story and plot as well. We get the characters we loved (and hated) from the first book, but we also get some new ones as well. This book has less ass-kicking action and more dialogue and is more plot-driven than the first book.
I didn't really enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed the first one, and the reason for that, I think, is because this one felt longer for some reason. Maybe it is? I didn't have the physical copy, so I'm not sure. Rather than tie up any loose ends from the first book, this book kinda just leaves them be or lets them drop, or continues to ride them through the book until the end, which in that case I liked. What I didn't really enjoy was the villain of this book. While I was intrigued and interested by the villain in the first book, I couldn't care at all for the one in this one. A lot of the plot revolves around him, so that's where I think this book lost a lot of interest from me.
This book has a lot of dialogue. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, however, sometimes I got distracted and found I'd missed something crucial in the story because of it. And honestly, most people don't really want to read a lot of dialogue over an engaging plot.
And Danny and Sera!!! FINALLY. GOD, I WAS WAITING, HOPING IT WOULD HAPPEN. AND IT DID. HELL YEAH. I routed for these two so much, especially in the beginning when their relationship was so strained.
Something this book does really right is elaborating on the relationships between characters, these books are relatively character driven, and we grow strong attachments towards them, and this made me engage in the story and enjoy it.
This is a worthy follow-up to the first book. ...more

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Aug 28, 2017 Kara Babcock rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017-read, thriller, young-adult, transgender, science-fiction, own, superheroes

April Daniels might single-handedly be restoring my faith in superhero fiction.

Spoilers for the first book but not this one, unless you think revealing that Graywytch is still a massive problem for Danny is a spoiler, in which case … oops. Keep reading, then? :P

I love the idea of superhero fiction, but most of the actual superhero novels I’ve read so far have been underwhelming at best. It turns out that this is a subgenre quite difficult to pull off, in terms of plot and characterization. I ten ...more

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Aug 11, 2017 Veronique rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbt, r2017, young-adult, favourites, fantasy

4.5

Having loved Dreadnought, I couldn't wait to read this sequel. Once more Daniels delivers an incredibly packed, complex, superhero story, full of breath-taking action of course, but much more than that too. Danielle not only has to deal with the 'usual' tasks from her job as sole active protector of New Port, stopping super villains, but also the emotional and psychological effects stemming from it, especially when you take into consideration the years of abuse she suffered at the hands of he ...more

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Sep 01, 2017 Danika at The Lesbrary rated it really liked it

This is my favourite superhero story I've ever read. I actually liked it even more than the first one (which I loved). I felt like the first book set up the premise and this one really took off from there. It deals with crunchy, interesting questions about what superheros would actually be like. (For instance, what are some of the dangers of taking a teen from an abusive home, giving them superstrength, and rewarding them for pummeling bad guys?) Aaaand it doesn't hurt that this one has a F/F re ...more

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Dec 31, 2020 Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, fantasy, read-in-2020, ya, not-a-romance, part-of-a-series, lgbtq, 4-stars, tranx, f-f

My second to last book of 2020! I shoved a library loan to the back burner to listen to this before the year's end, and I'm glad I did. This was a bit disjointed and chaotic, and I don't think it was supposed to be the last one since there are things left dangling, but it's still a good place to leave this series. Danny's learning to accept herself as she is, but she still had a lot to learn here about coming to terms with her life and her disappointment with her parents. She's just a kid still, ...more

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Jun 19, 2017 Annie Deo rated it really liked it

I loved the first book so much that I gave it a 5-star rating and was absolutely thrilled to be approved for an ARC of the second book - so how did I fare?

I thought after weathering all the ups and downs of Dreadnought, I was prepared for the sequel, but I was SO wrong. This book hurt me on a deep spiritual level because of how much pain and suffering the protagonist went through, and yet I couldn't stop reading. I was up til 3am finishing this off because I needed to know how it ended and if it would all be okay for Danny at any stage EVER.

Spoiler warning: there is light at the end of the tunnel! But you're gonna feel like a train ran over you by the time you get there.

Props to the author for an addictive and compelling novel - I'm going to be bold and say this is the pinnacle of YA storytelling and we need more like it. I LOVE that the plot is complex and labyrinthine and you need to pay attention otherwise you may get lost! Sometimes I find YA a little too simplified or issues skimmed over because it's for 'young adults', so it's great when authors aren't afraid to load on the convoluted story arcs and heavy themes and trust their audience to keep up.

I still love Danny as much as I did when I first met her in Dreadnought - she's only fifteen, but her resilience, her steadfast determination to do the right thing and refusal to back down in the face of adversity shows such astounding maturity. And yet she's not flawless, she's still a believable, well-rounded character; we see her grappling with the morality & ethics of being a superhero, how she saves the day but enjoys the violence and danger a little too much. It's exciting to follow Danny's journey because I never knew which side she would land on, whether she'd give in to the recklessness of her inner adrenaline junkie or if she'd pull back in time.

--

The remainder of my review is posted on my blog.

Disclaimer: I received a digital copy free from Diversion Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Oct 14, 2017 Kaje Harper rated it really liked it

Shelves: f-f, ya, paranormal, trans-genderqueer, lgbtq, favorites, signif-past-abuse

This sequel to Dreadnought gives us a chance to get to know Danny, as she grows into her powers and responsibilities. All is not well in superhero land, with new villains and plots and political maneuvering stressing their depleted ranks. An impending disaster hovers in the background - the possibility of having more and more superpowers awoken, that would change the fabric of a society where currently the few protect the many from the few. What if everyone had powers? What if some could steal p This sequel to Dreadnought gives us a chance to get to know Danny, as she grows into her powers and responsibilities. All is not well in superhero land, with new villains and plots and political maneuvering stressing their depleted ranks. An impending disaster hovers in the background - the possibility of having more and more superpowers awoken, that would change the fabric of a society where currently the few protect the many from the few. What if everyone had powers? What if some could steal powers?

This book works on a bigger canvas than the one before, mirroring political issues from our current world. What if someone is wealthy enough to buy their own rules and protections? What if bigotry is used to keep someone from doing a vital job? How can courts be manipulated to a personal vendetta if you have the right lawyer? Who do governments answer to? When does a valuable political movement cross the line into becoming exclusionary and punitive? How does fanaticism shape actions?

Some of those issues directly interface with Danny being trans, particularly the intersection of trans women and exclusionary feminism. Some are more general, like the power conveyed by having money. Within the personal aspects of Danny's job, her contracts, her relationships with Doc, with her parents, with Calamity we see those questions played out on a personal, a regional, and a world-wide scale.

I don't want to suggest that this book is heavy or full of philosophical commentary. It's an action fantasy book. There are lots of fights, moments of peril, dramatic rescues, damage, gloating villains. In fact, I thought this one had more drawn-out physical fighting than it needed, although it does serve to highlight Danny's partial vulnerabilities, both psychological and physical. (She can be badly hurt, even killed, by some traumas, although the physics of her powers are a bit inconsistent.) The violence also showcases some of the flaws and choices Danny makes, for good or bad. I liked that she felt plausibly young, angry, frustrated, and not always dealing with those things well. I liked that she was not constrained to be a stereotypical girl, as some M2F trans main characters seem to be. I loved that both gender and orientation are here as separate axes of identity.

What I missed from the first book was a little more realism with focus on Danny's emotional life, her reactions, and her relationship with Calamity. There was a lot of big action and message here, but it didn't impact me as strongly as the first book. The final antagonist felt a bit cartoon-like (which, yeah, is an odd thing to complain about in a super-hero story, but most of the characters had more of a human feel.) Still, I recommend both books, and applaud the effort to cover important topics while giving us a fairly focused adventure about Danny. I really appreciated the inclusion of Kinetiq, a nonbinary superhero. The new characters were interesting and I never felt overwhelmed or confused by the number of players in the story. I'll definitely read book 3 when it comes along. ...more

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Jun 30, 2019 Lost Planet Airman rated it really liked it

Shelves: series-in-progress

Disclaimer: I've been both an agnostic and a born-again Christian. My current opinions on transgender and LGBT+ issues are... complex. Rather than air them here, I'm not going to air them here. My disclaimer now disclaimed, let us review.

Danielle Tozer lives in a world we know from comic books -- superheroes fight crime and battle supervillains armed with magic or hypertech or superpowers, and have since somewhere in the 1930s. In fact, nine months ago Danny was present at the battle that ended Disclaimer: I've been both an agnostic and a born-again Christian. My current opinions on transgender and LGBT+ issues are... complex. Rather than air them here, I'm not going to air them here. My disclaimer now disclaimed, let us review.

Danielle Tozer lives in a world we know from comic books -- superheroes fight crime and battle supervillains armed with magic or hypertech or superpowers, and have since somewhere in the 1930s. In fact, nine months ago Danny was present at the battle that ended the life of the Superhero Dreadnaught. And Danny inherited the mantle of one of the most powerful superhumans ever.

She has now had those nine months to come to terms with those powers -- she thinks. But not all problems are solved with force, and as she finds the troubles with her family, friends, and former teammates doubling and redoubling, she learns that there is more than one way to destroy a hero. And her latest foe turns out to be adept at all of them.

=====
Among the really-goods of this book is that both the 'science' and the art of super-heroing have been well thought out -- super-hero capabilities do not completely flaunt the laws of physics, and cause leads to effect even in magical battles. Chekov's gun may be a laser pistol or a spell book (metaphorically, of course) but it still gets introduced before it is fired, for the most part.

Almost everyone has a human side, and these are well handled. The plot moves forward nicely, with all the little surprises a real-world adventure may provide.

Do I have issues? Yes, a few. We begin to see a darker side to Danny, one that doesn't really seem to flow from the teenager we met in the first book. Oh, the seeds are there, and this darker side is _understandable_, but it seems to be an overt plot/thematic point by the author, and not a natural result of events.

There are issues faced by the characters in the nature of gender identity and sexual preference. To my (somewhat un-sensitive) understanding, these are handled politely and sensitively, with one exception. It appears that characters are either sympathetic to the gender and sexual issues, or wrong, such that there is not really an exploration of issues but more a soapbox-in-the-park effect. On the flip side of the same issue, though, Danielle (who narrates in first person) is engaging and relatable as a person, so it is easy to understand and have sympathy for her side of the issues.

Overall, though, if you want a superhero adventure that has brains and heart and courage, this is a good read. Not without flaws, but a good read.

Using this to fulfill a local library Summer Reading task, for a "book in a series". ...more

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Jul 18, 2017 Jessica Strider rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, diverse

Pros: great characters, interesting plot, complex issues

Cons: some interactions annoyed me, a bit heavy handed at times

Note: This review contains spoilers for Dreadnought, the first book in this series.

Nine months have passed since the events of Dreadnought, and Danielle has a contract to protect New Port City. She’s begun to love the feeling of power being a superhero provides, beating supervillians into submission in ways that Doc Impossible finds worrisome. Her relationship with Calamity has ...more

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Aug 03, 2017 Amanda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.5 stars. The world needs more books like this!

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May 19, 2018 Loren rated it really liked it

This is the first book in a while that I've had to tear through because the main character is falling so hard and fast that I am frightened for her. Obviously, if you've been bullied all your life, you're going to have anger issues. If you suddenly become invincible, and you derive pleasure from -- and are rewarded for -- beating the crap out of people, sooner or later you're going to intimidate the wrong person. I thought that was handled really well.

Danny's imprisonment and torture were riveti ...more

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Aug 09, 2018 autumn rated it it was amazing

excellent!! better than the first book in every way - more mature, better plot, better executed, just overall much tighter and more impressive. i can't wait till the next!! ...more

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Aug 28, 2021 Andy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: queer-af, queer-rep-wlw-unspecified, queer-rep-trans, 2021-read, ownvoices, queer-side-character, disability-rep-loss-of-limb, middle-eastern-rep, queer-author, queer-rep-lesbian

Sovereign follows Danny Tozer as she attempts to take down Greywytch and her fake Legion. But bigger things are brewing in the world, and soon Danny has much more than she and Doc can handle. Luckily, she has some new friends to rely on.

I really loved this one! So much happens in this book and we get to spend more time seeing Danny being a superhero: fighting villains, trying to outsmart villains, rebuilding the Legion with her friends, learning more about her powers, trying to figure out what ...more

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Jun 30, 2022 Fraser Simons rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, social-justice, lgbtqia2s, commerical-fiction, superhero

Still worth reading, but slightly more convoluted in a way that just makes it feel like there’s a lot going on and not all of it is tied up or examined much. We go straight into the systemic issues of being a superhero. Paperwork, legality, insurance, money, publicity/optics, etc. and this acts as a springboard to talk about the systemic inequality trans people face, which I think, just like the first book, smartly bridges these concepts. But it’s also not exactly a great hook for the meat of th ...more

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Aug 29, 2021 Melanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: trans-rep, non-binary-rep

4.5 Stars

I am so sad by the amount of Transphobia in this book. It is seriously disheartening. But I love Danny and Calamity so much! I also love Doc. I thought it was really interesting to see what was going on in the aftermath of the first book, and how things have developed for Danny since then. There is still so much going on in this world that needs to be solved and looked at. It's really sad how corrupt everything is. But I thought this book was really good!

Content Warnings
Graphic: Transp ...more

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Apr 14, 2018 Simone rated it it was ok

Shelves: audiobook

Argh... I had such high hopes for this sequel! I really liked the first book, but somehow I didn't feel invested in any of the characters and the world didn't quite work for me. And then the plot kind of annoyed me, so I was just frustrated for most of this.

So, let's get into this. The plot felt all over the place and not explained enough at some points. There were also moments were I just didn't buy it. (view spoiler) Argh... I had such high hopes for this sequel! I really liked the first book, but somehow I didn't feel invested in any of the characters and the world didn't quite work for me. And then the plot kind of annoyed me, so I was just frustrated for most of this.

So, let's get into this. The plot felt all over the place and not explained enough at some points. There were also moments were I just didn't buy it. (view spoiler) A lot also seemed to happen in a very short span of time (view spoiler) I never quite cared about Danny and Sarah's relationship (view spoiler), fights took too long for my taste, and I couldn't roll with Doc's humanity... There was just a lot of stuff that wasn't working for me. I also got annoyed by some of Danny's dumb choices. (view spoiler)

I got annoyed by Danny quite a lot, actually. She kept underestimating everyone she fought and then she'd almost be beaten and finally get worried only to win through some trick or luck and go back to thinking she's unbeatable. And then there was the whole thing about her becoming too violent and possibly crossing lines. Rant incoming: (view spoiler) Phew, okay, let's move on from that.

This world is very interesting. We got some information about where the powers come from and how they work in this book, but it wasn't quite satisfying. I don't think we'll even really get more explanation than 'the Nemesis makes it happen,' but at least we now know what the Nemesis is. The end raised some questions about the future of this world and I have an Opinion about it: (view spoiler)

As for the narrator: the storytelling was fine, but some of the voices were distractingly bad. Still glad I listened to this one, though, because I don't know how long it would have taken me to read the physical book.

So, yes, this book was a let down for me. I don't know if I'll pick up the next book. I'm kind of curious about the effect of the ending on the world, but then story-wise, this was a pretty closed ending, so I could leave it here. I'll see how I feel when it comes out. ...more

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Sep 06, 2017 Aoife rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle, ya, diverse, own-voices, sapphic, trans-characters

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publishers/author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Trans girl Danni is now a bonafide superhero after being granted the mantle of Dreadnought but even though she defeated an ultra-villian, Danni still has to struggle for acceptance and fight for everything she’s earned, while proving to others she’s more than what they think.

Sovereign was good, but not as good as the first book Dreadnought for me. I’m not sure if it was the parti ...more

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Mar 09, 2019 C.T. Phipps rated it it was amazing

Shelves: superhero-literature

SOVEREIGN is the sequel to the well-received superhero novel DREADNOUGHT and the second volume of the Nemesis trilogy. The premise of the book is that Danielle Tozer is a transgender teen who has received the powers of the world's greatest superhero. This has also transformed her into her beautiful ideal form.

However, while she's managed to liberate herself from her abusive parents, she is still struggling to get respect as a superhero. Confronted with a anti-trans sorceress named the Graywytch ...more

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Jan 31, 2018 Rachel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sf-fantasy, ya-children, feminism-gender-lgbt

I am so loving this series! Dreadnought is a great teenage superhero, growing into her powers and the maturity to use them. There's plenty of action (and I love that the nasty supervillain is a TERF), and the action points up moral issues. I hope the series will continue--there are plenty of places to go with it, and there's the Nemesis. ...more

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Jan 25, 2018 Heather Henkel rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Fun read

This is a really nice superhero book. I liked all of the happenstances and fights that Danny got into. I also really liked the relationship of Sarah and Danny and I like that Dr. impossible took on the mother role.

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Mar 04, 2018 Taylor of Alethkar ❦ rated it really liked it

This duology was wonderful and exactly what I went looking to find. Lgbtq+ superheroes, what more could I have asked for <3

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May 21, 2017 Nicole Field rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley, f-f

There is SO MUCH going on in this one tiny little novel, and it is just so good. Okay, so maybe it's not one tiny little novel, but I managed to read it all in one sitting, so it seems really short. Maybe it's more that it's really good, so I found it impossible to put down until I was finished.

So this is the second novel in April Daniels' 'Nemesis' series, the first one being the equally amazing Dreadnought. Some would find it incredibly difficult to follow up such an amazing first novel with another of such calibre. Not April, apparently! Danielle/Dreadnought comes back just as powerfully from the very first pages of this new novel.

We start with a conversation between Danielle and her media representative, Cecilia, going over an interview and how she can do better. This is important for a number of reasons. First, it sets up that she's been interviewing, so that when we meet Kinetiq, a nonbinary superhero that Dreadnought has accidentally managed to rile up, it doesn't come out of left field. Secondly, it means that when she's trying to adopt a straight face and give nothing away in various interactions with the media, in court and with supervillains, it's convincing, ALL BECAUSE OF THIS SCENE.

Following that is a Comic Con for superheroes, located down in Antarctica (how cool is that conceptually, though??). This is actually where we meet Kinetiq. There is some stunning dialogue around here that manages to be both funny and serious as well as propelling the plot forward. If people are unsure about whether they are going to like Sovereign, this is probably around the time when they're going to decide, wholeheartedly, YES.

Can we also just talk about the cover art for this book, though? I know that's not technically something that a lot of authors have power over, but it's actually great because it sets the scene for so much about the way Dreadnought thinks about herself, her powers, the world, and is relevant to not just one but two incredibly important plot points that unravel throughout the story.

I think I'm doing pretty well talking about the story without spoilers so far, so let's get straight onto the character of Danielle/Dreadnought herself. First of all, everything is written in 1st person, so it's really hard not to feel like you are right there with her the whole way through. And she talks about some really intense things, like how she enjoys beating up people essentially for money. Several times, with a lot of analysis into the ethics of this. It's incredible, and not something that often gets brought up in superhero writing.

And if that wasn't enough, it then went into the consequences of where such things can lead for the second half of the story. I mean, this was just as perfectly built up as the plot points. April was very clever in her writing. It never seemed heavy handed, but things never seemed like they came out of nowhere for convenience sake, even if point A and point B weren't perfectly and directly linked. Reading this, I felt like I had a lot to learn as a writer, and I was definitely jotting down notes.

All in all, a fantastic follow up to Dreadnought. Just like last time, the TERF character of Greywytch was difficult to read, but I have high hopes that we won't be seeing her in book 3. Regardless, you better believe that's going to be on my shelves as soon as it's announced. ...more

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Jun 30, 2017 viktoria rated it it was amazing

Shelves: you-go-girl, i-m-not-crying, fantasy, i-am-a-little-in-love-with-you, lgbtqiap-plus-hooray, otp-what, read-multiple-times, yay-diverse-books-read, friend-tp, awesome-concept-is-awesome

I might be in the minority so far, because while I liked the first Nemesis book and rated a 3.5, bumped up to a 4, I genuinely, flat-out loved this book. The first book was cute and fun; the sequel is interesting and intriguing and so complicated, especially as far as character arcs go. Danny, in particular, goes through such a freaking fascinating character arc. You see her nine months after the events in Dreadnought, and how the power and fame has changed her, both in good and bad ways, and th ...more

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Aug 13, 2020 tatterpunk rated it it was ok

Shelves: queer-as-in-fuck-you

THREE STARS: aka, I might read this again, I might not. Really, it's more a 2.5 stars on my personal scale -- I'm pretty convinced I won't want to revisit this, and that the third installment won't be worth my while. The thing is, I love what it could have been so much, I can't bring myself to rate it lower.

Here's the deal and I'm just going to say it: I don't think Daniels is a good writer.

I hate pronouncements like that. For one thing, authors read GR reviews sometimes, holy shit I really don' ...more

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Jun 13, 2019 Sharon Tyler rated it it was amazing

Sovereign is the second book in the Nemesis series by April Daniels. I highly recommend reading this series in order, as character and story development in the first book, Dreadnought, is vital to fully enjoying this book. Since I enjoyed the first book so much, I do not think it will be a chore for any that need to go read, or reread, that first.

Only nine months after her debut as the fourth superhero to fight under the name Dreadnought, Danny Tozer is already a scarred veteran. Protecting a ci Sovereign is the second book in the Nemesis series by April Daniels. I highly recommend reading this series in order, as character and story development in the first book, Dreadnought, is vital to fully enjoying this book. Since I enjoyed the first book so much, I do not think it will be a chore for any that need to go read, or reread, that first.

Only nine months after her debut as the fourth superhero to fight under the name Dreadnought, Danny Tozer is already a scarred veteran. Protecting a city the size of New Port is a team-sized job and she's doing it alone. Between her newfound celebrity and her demanding cape duties, Dreadnought is stretched thin, and it's only going to get worse. When she crosses a newly discovered supervillain, Dreadnought comes under attack from all quarters. From her troubled family life to her disintegrating friendship with Calamity, there's no trick too dirty and no lever too cruel for this villain to use against her. She might be hard to kill, but there's more than one way to destroy a hero. Before the war is over, Dreadnought will be forced to confront parts of herself she never wanted to acknowledge. And behind it all, an old enemy waits in the wings to unleash a plot that will scar the world forever.

Sovereign is a complex and thought provoking book with character development that is impactful and sometimes as painful as the physical battles the characters undergo. Danny is still struggling with the changes of becoming Dreadnought and the devastating battles fought in the first book. She needs to deal with the physical and emotional scars while trying to fight crime , keep her promises, get free from her parents, and deal with the social complications of her life. Despite the powers and her intelligence, Danny is still young and reeling from abuse and betrayals, mistakes and assumptions are made making matters worse. I really enjoyed seeing Danny, Doc Impossible, Calamity, and the rest of the group come into their own and fight for what they think is right while trying to stick to their codes. I was floored by the honesty and raw truth of the characters- and how real the confusion, doubt, and complexity of their thoughts and emotions were. It is hard to get the balance of growth, feels, and action right- and this book hit it perfectly.

Sovereign is a book that I put off reading for far too long. I loved the first book so much that I was worried it would not meet my high hopes, thankfully that worry was unfounded. However, my worry of wanting more right now from the author was well founded. I am hooked and want more. I highly recommend Dreadnought and Sovereign to readers from middle school age right on up to adults. The only people I think would not enjoy it are those with something against the LGBT community, and they might need to read it the most. ...more

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Jun 04, 2019 Jonathan Pongratz rated it it was amazing

5/5

Five supervillain-crushing stars for this one!

After reading the first novel in this series just a short time ago, I was amped to read this one, and it. Did. Not. Disappoint!

After the defeat of Utopia, Danielle continues her life of crime-fighting, protecting the city of New Port all on her own. Only, she can't keep doing this. The city is huge, and there's just too much to handle. She needs help, and the only remaining members of the Legion are either out-0f-service or a total you-know-what ...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
YA Buddy Readers'...: Sovereign (Nemesis #2) by April Daniels--Starting August 27th, 2021	6	14	Aug 29, 2021 07:17PM
Challenge Corner: Sovereign (Nemesis #2) by April Daniels--Starting August 27th, 2021	5	6	Aug 29, 2021 05:36PM
YA LGBT Books: Sovereign (Nemesis 2) - Sequel to Dreadnought - April Daniels	28	46	May 05, 2018 09:11AM
Goodreads Librari...: Book details edit request	3	28	Nov 08, 2016 05:02AM

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Quotes from Sovereign

“He bites down on a further explosion, but Doc is already rolling with her counter-attack: "I am done letting you use my rape against me, you oversized hunk of shit!” — 1 likes

“They touch a finger to the painted stencil on their armor’s chest piece and find it dry enough to peel off. Big yellow block letters read EAT THE RICH.” — 1 likes

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Preview — Sovereign by April Daniels

Sovereign

(Nemesis #2)

Get A Copy

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About April Daniels

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