Erryn reviews ‘Transparent is a Color (Subparheroes Book 3)’ by Kaje Harper. The book was self-published on May 23, 2024 and is 271 pages.
Why Erryn read: I was absolutely intrigued.
Perry’s mother told him he’d develop the superpower of flight, like his grandfather. She even named him Peregrine, so folks would call him “The Falcon.” Spoiler— they don’t. Because when he did come into his power, all he got was the ability to change colors. Not even himself, like some kind of Chameleon Man, but the color of objects. He can de-pukify the shade of his bedroom curtains, turn a bully’s sweatshirt pink, or even turn a red traffic light green. (Not a good idea.) He hasn’t told anyone except his disappointed mom about his power. What would they call him? The Interior Decorator?
Back in high school, under stress, he did convince his power that transparent was just another color. Now that ability’s sometimes fun in an illicit way. Then one morning, in the mailroom at work, he turns a cardboard box transparent and sees a bomb inside. And Perry’s ordinary life explodes.
Sergeant Deckard of the Nova City Bomb Squad never thought much about superheroes, or supervillains for that matter. He has plenty of work with ordinary humans and their explosives. Until he and his bomb-sniffing dog, Nix, get called to a possible-explosives situation in a highrise mailroom. The guy who reported the bomb is a nerdy twink in dark-framed glasses who pushes all of Deck’s buttons. When he finds out the young man has a weird superpower and may be the target of a villain, every protective instinct comes into play.
Deckard’s goal is to keep his job, his dog, Nova City, and Perry intact. His libido can just sit down, shut up, and take a number. But as their attraction gets hotter and the villain closes in, their future might be blown apart before it even has a chance to start.
Transparent Is a Color is a part of the multi-author Subpar Superheroes MM romance series.
(Content warning for abduction, parental emotional abuse)
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Erryn’s review:
There was nothing subpar about this book!
When an author I love steps out of their comfort zone to try something new, I’m always both in awe and a little hesitant. In awe because stepping out of one’s comfort zone is a brave thing to do and a little hesitant because readers might not always appreciate the bravery involved.
Kaje is a favorite author of mine, so I grabbed a copy of this book and read it in an afternoon. With love and affection. I totally related to Perry (Peregrine). His mother had high – and unrealistic – expectations for him. So, having ‘disappointed her’ and left the nest, he’s making his way through the world on his own. His power, as a child, was to change the color of things. Oh, I would’ve loved to be able to change the color of my high school bedroom. Peach should NOT be a thing. Nor puke green.
As an adult, Perry’s discovered he can also make things transparent. For fun, he checks out the packages of the people whose parcels he delivers at him hum drum day job. I get monotony as well. His power shows him things he’s rather not see (was that a vibrator or a dildo he’s spotted – I’m so traumatized for him that I can’t remember) He’s bored right up until the day he spots a bomb. His whole life is turned upside down. What has been a casual quirk has now become a life-or-death situation.
Enter Sergeant Deckard – Deck to everyone. He and his bomb-sniffing dog – an adorable cocker – Nix (who is named after the Goddess of Night – whether intentionally or not is a question because the dog is just so cute!). Deck’s suspicious of Perry in every way. And also attracted. But, you know, those ethics. Kaje is good about rarely letting her characters step over ethical lines – so this book takes ssssllllloooooowwww bbbbbuuuuurrrrnnn to a whole never lever. And it worked! As Deck worked to figure out who was trying to kill people with bombs, he was falling more and more in love with Perry. As Perry tried to figure out what SPAM was, he was also struggling with his new ‘superhero’ powers. Powers that, as you might imagine, come in handy.
I loved this book – loved everything about it. Humor, adventure, a cute dog…what’s not to love? Yes, this isn’t a normal Kaje book – but you can also find that little bit of angst she’s so good with. I recommend the book and the series looks pretty nifty too!
Erryn’s Rating:
10/10 Points of Gold (100% Recommended) – Compares to 5/5 Stars
About the Author
I get asked about my name a lot. It’s not something exotic, though. “Kaje” is pronounced just like “cage” – it’s an old nickname, and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I’ve been writing far longer than I care to admit (*whispers – forty-five years*), although mostly for my own entertainment. I write M/M romance, often with added mystery, fantasy, historical, SciFi, paranormal… I also have Young Adult short stories (some released under the pen name Kira Harp.)
After decades of writing just for fun, my husband convinced me I really should submit something, somewhere. My first professionally published book, Life Lessons, came out in May 2011. I now have a good-sized backlist in ebooks and print, both free and professionally published, including Amazon bestseller The Rebuilding Year and Rainbow Award Best Mystery-Thriller Tracefinder: Contact.
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