“This lighthearted read explores deeper themes of escapism and asserting independence from parents while deepening ideas of responsibility and growing up.”
Lorehaven review, 2022

Power Play

· December 2021 · for ,

It’s dangerous to go alone. Even for superheroes.

Laleh Ashe has found her first real friends at Camp Sable, a refuge for at-risk superpowered teens, but her politically ambitious mother has other plans. Mrs. Ashe is determined to send Laleh to a fancy, overseas boarding school—far from her friends and the life she’s come to love. To drown her sorrows, Laleh agrees to a table top role playing game with her friends, Marco and Jake, as well as the new girl at camp—shy, withdrawn Rian. Too bad no one warned her about Rian’s reality bending superpowers.

Sucked into a fantasy world created by Rian’s imagination, Laleh and her friends must scramble to master their magical new surroundings and complete their quest if they are to have any hope of getting home again.

This magical world is less fun than it sounds, but as Laleh and her friends face the various challenges, Laleh can’t help but remember that all that waits for her in the real world is separation from her friends and a life under the thumb of her overbearing mom. Maybe going home is seriously overrated.

Book 2 of the Supervillain Rescue Project series.

Review of Power Play

· December 2022

Laleh, Marco, and Jake live at Camp Sable, a rehabilitation facility for superpowered teen villains. What happens when a fourth member joins their trio and she doesn’t have control of her abilities? What will the teens do when they get sucked in to their game? Author H. L. Burke blends tabletop gaming with young-adult superpowers in Power Play, book 2 of the Supervillain Rescue Project. This lighthearted read explores deeper themes of escapism and asserting independence from parents while deepening ideas of responsibility and growing up.

Best for: Fans of superhero stories, Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing games, or portal fantasy books.

Discern: Characters play Dungeons and Dragons and use fictional magic in that setting, implied parental abuse as well as teens rebelling against parents.

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