#Crystal Cestari

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Super Adjacent

Author: Crystal Cestari

Series or standalone: standalone

Publication year: 2020

Genres: fiction, LGBT+, fantasy, romance, contemporary, science fiction

Blurb: Claire has always wanted to work with superheroes, from collecting Warrior Nation cards as a kid to drafting "What to Say to a Hero" speeches in her diary. Now that she's landed a coveted internship with the Chicago branch of Warrior Nation, Claire is ready to prove she belongs, super or not. Complicating plans is the newest WarNat hero, Girl Power (aka Joy), who happens to be egotistical and self-important...and pretty adorable. Bridgette, meanwhile, wants out of WarNat. After years of dating the famous Vaporiser (aka Matt), she's sick of playing second, or third, or five-hundredth fiddle to all the people in peril in the city of Chicago. Of course, once Bridgette meets Claire - who's clearly in need of a mentor and wingman - giving up WarNat becomes slightly more complicated. It becomes a lot more complicated when Joy, Matt, and the rest of the heroes go missing, leaving only Claire and Bridgette to save the day.

[lgbtqreads]

I was wondering if you have any sapphic or queer books about superheroes or villains. I finished reading Super Adjacent by Cestari Crystal which got me into queer superhero’s.

Absolutely! Julie Murphy's got the Faith duology, and CB Lee's Sidekick Squad series is really fun. TJ Klune has one called The Extraordinaries, and actually I have a whole list of them on the site so I can just share that:

Superheroes and Super Villains

Female

Harley Quinn: Reckoning by Rachael Allen – B

Super Adjacent by Crystal Cestari

The Nemesis Series by April Daniels – T

Cinnamon Blade: Knife in Shining Armor by Shira Glassman (f/f)

Unsung Heroine by Sarah Kuhn

Not Your Sidekick (Sidekick Squad #1) by CB Lee (f/f) – B

Not Your Backup (Sidekick Squad #3) by CB Lee – A

Faith Herbert Origin Story by Julie Murphy – B

Girl Reporter by Tansy Rayner Roberts

Cute Mutants by S.J. Whitby (Graphic novels)

Shattered by Lee Winter

Male

The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune

Superior by Jessica Lack

Not Your Villain (Sidekick Squad #2) by CB Lee – T

You First by J.C. Lillis (m/m)

Hero by Perry Moore (YA) – G

Junior Hero Blues by J.K. Pendragon

Infinity Son by Adam Silvera – G, B

Rise of Heroes by Hayden Thorne

Non-Binary

Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault – Aro

[bessmakes]

Bess' Book Recs: Happily Ever Island by Crystal Cestari

Get your copy here! (more…) “”

[the-final-sentence]

It's a magical place to be.

Crystal Cestari, from Happily Ever Island

[queer-and-dear-books]

Title: Happily Ever Island

Author: Crystal Cestari

Genre: New Adult Fiction | Drama | Romance | Friendship | LGBTQ+

Content Warnings: N/A

Overall Rating: 9.8/10

Personal Opinion: If you’re a Disney fanatic, you’d probably love this book and its concept. An island where you can embody (almost) any iconic character from the grand house of mouse. But even a casual enjoyer such as myself can fall in love with the adventures Madison and Lanie embark on on this island. It’s full of magic and wonder and romance. It’s tough to find a more enchanting book than this.

Do I Own This Book? Nope.

Spoilers Below For My Likes & Dislikes:

Likes:

- I’m not a Disney fanatic. I’m more of a casual enjoyer. But as a casual enjoyer, I really love the references and the magic in this book. Everything from the way the island was built to the concept of “hero moments” were just lovely. I wish I could’ve read about every hero moment from the intimate point of view of the characters involved. But the backstage perspective on “Let It Go” and the romantic scene of Madison and Val watching the floating lanterns was more than enough for me.

- I also love that all the titles are Disney songs. It didn’t hit me until “Be Prepared” (the second chapter) and even then I thought it was a coincidence. I think it’s so clever and I love the way Cestari incorporated them into the chapters.

- Madison and Lanie have a wonderful friendship. Proof of that is that when they had a fight, Lanie was trying to think of ways to repair it while Madison was already barreling toward her ready to fix it. The fact that not even 24 hours later and Madison was willing to go to great lengths to say sorry shows what a great person she is.

- Speaking more on Madison, I love that we saw her creative mind at work from the start. Way before she even made it to the island. She’s a full-on romantic with a head full of grand gestures. It’s no wonder that she’s such a natural fit as a Disney cast member. That’s foreshadowing done correctly.

- Lanie’s anxiety is represented so accurately. To me. For a hot second, I was on Madison’s side until Lanie said she “didn’t want to bother Madison.” And then I was like, “ohhhh, that’s me.” I hesitate to rely on my own friends too because they have so much on their plate and I don’t want to dump anything more on it. So I get Lanie and I love that Madison is always there for her to be a shoulder to cry on or lean on. I love that Ethan didn’t question anything when she was crying and just held her. I love that she got that support because she deserves it.

- Sal and Dorothy are so cute. I especially love the imagery of this middle-aged man reciting lines from a Disney film to himself on a plane. He is adorable. I love them and I wish them nothing but the best.

- Madison’s “stepsisters” are great too. They’re genuinely nice people and honestly, I just think that’s pretty cool.

- Something else that’s cool are the activities. A canoe trip around the riverbend? Going snorkeling in King Triton’s sea? Those sound like so much fun. And I just could not stop myself from laughing out loud when the canoe intruded on the “Kiss The Girl” hero moment. Like that was genuinely so funny. Can you imagine watching “The Little Mermaid” and then a boat containing Prince Charming and Merida bursts onto the scene? And the way the musical score kept going just cracked me up.

Dislikes:

- I have my issues with Disney. But I would love to do this. But sadly, I don’t think I’d get the role I want. Would Disney allow a man to play Belle? Because I want to be surrounded by books and to slow dance with the Beast.

- You know a role I do not want? Cinderella. I cannot believe that Madison willingly put herself in a situation where she would be surrounded by an “evil” step-family. Especially with a Lady Tremaine that horrible. Granted it just so happens to be this specific Tremaine. If it was a woman who was less intense about live-action roleplay then maybe it’d be more fun. But yeah anyway, fuck that Lady Tremaine.

- Does Lanie’s mother actually say “disappointment” in that one scene before they head off for vacation? Because if so, fuck that. Bruh, Lanie was right to hang up on her. I want nothing to do with a parent like that.

[ninja-muse]

Finished this one but can’t recommend it.

[brewdarrymore]

BOOKS I’VE READ IN 2021: Super Adjacent by Crystal Cestari

“I may not be a hero, but I can’t watch the world fall apart.”

[once-adaydream]

2020 / 10 of 40 / Super Adjacent

Review: I was really excited about this one as it seemed like a fresh take on superheroes (aside from Renegades by Marissa Meyer which is on my TBR, I’m not aware of any other superhero YA), but it didn’t start out good. Claire was annoyingly eager (far too many exclamation marks for my liking). And I didn’t really connect with or find anything particularly compelling about Bridgette either. I spent most of the book waiting for the heroes to go missing (as promised in the blurb) and felt that the structure was a little off. I lot of things just didn’t feel built up enough. I wasn’t really convinced of Claire’s relationships with either Joy or Bridgette and the world building felt a bit flimsy at times. I debated giving up on this, but towards the end the action did pick up, and I wanted to keep reading. I had high hopes for this premise, it’s just a shame that it didn’t deliver for me.

I got this advanced reading copy through the bookshop I work at.

[radedneko]

Everything leading up to the victory is hard, dark, a world I never even considered.  A world I don't like.

Super Adjacent ~by Crystal Cestari

[everythingyaattlls]

Be Super, Be Extraordinary -- READ! Check out some new superhero novels: Super Adjacent by Crystal Cestari, The Extraordinaries by T. J. Klune, Faith: Taking Flight by Julie Murphy

[2020ya]

SUPER ADJACENT 

by Crystal Cestari

(Hyperion, 3/17/20)

9781368023986

Add to Goodreads

Purchase from Indiebound

Claire has always wanted to work with superheroes, from collecting Warrior Nation cards as a kid to drafting "What to Say to a Hero" speeches in her diary. Now that she's landed a coveted internship with the Chicago branch of Warrior Nation, Claire is ready to prove she belongs, super or not. But complicating plans is the newest WarNat hero, Girl Power (aka Joy), who happens to be egotistical and self-important . . . and pretty adorable. Bridgette, meanwhile, wants out of WarNat. After years of dating the famous Vaporizer (aka Matt), she's sick of playing second, or third, or five-hundredth fiddle to all the people-in-peril in the city of Chicago. Of course, once Bridgette meets Claire-who's clearly in need of a mentor and wingman-giving up WarNat becomes slightly more complicated. It becomes a lot more complicated when Joy, Matt, and the rest of the heroes go missing, leaving only Claire and Bridgette to save the day. In this fresh and funny take on the world of supers, author Crystal Cestari spotlights what it's like to be the seemingly non-super half of a dynamic duo with banter-filled romance and bold rescues perfect for readers seeking a great escape.

[lgbtqreads]

Do you have a list of superhero novels? I've already read the Sidekick Squad series by CB Lee and the Nemesis trilogy by April Daniels, and I'd love to read something similar!

Sure do! You can find them under Superheroes here: https://lgbtqreads.com/sff/paranormal-sff-by-protags/ Here's what's currently there:

Superheroes and Super Villains

Female

Harley Quinn: Reckoning by Rachael Allen – B

Super Adjacent by Crystal Cestari

The Nemesis Series by April Daniels – T

Cinnamon Blade: Knife in Shining Armor by Shira Glassman (f/f)

Unsung Heroine by Sarah Kuhn

Not Your Sidekick (Sidekick Squad #1) by CB Lee (f/f) – B

Not Your Backup (Sidekick Squad #3) by CB Lee – A

Faith Herbert Origin Story by Julie Murphy – B

Girl Reporter by Tansy Rayner Roberts

Cute Mutants by S.J. Whitby (Graphic novels)

Shattered by Lee Winter

Male

The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune

Superior by Jessica Lack

Not Your Villain (Sidekick Squad #2) by CB Lee – T

You First by J.C. Lillis (m/m)

Hero by Perry Moore (YA) – G

Junior Hero Blues by J.K. Pendragon

Infinity Son by Adam Silvera – G, B

Rise of Heroes by Hayden Thorne

Non-Binary

Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault – Aro

[mobilepubliclibraryteens]

Amber! I never even thought of that! Maybe she can tell you your match." Whoa. Now that's interesting. Amber Sand has spent half her life solidifying other people's happily-ever-afters. As a matchmaker, she has the ability to look into anyone's eyes and see their perfect match. But lately, her powers have been on the fritz, and not only is she totally unsure whether her matches are true, she can't see anyone in the eyes of her boyfriend Charlie Blitzman. With Amber and her friends graduating high school and about to take off for various colleges, Amber is hoping to have one last carefree summer-but she's also dying to find a way to fix her powers, and learn, for better or worse, if she and Charlie are truly meant to be. So when an online matchmaker named Madame Lamour comes to Chicago, Amber sets out to talk to her and find out who her match is once and for all. Of course, when it comes to the magical community, nothing's ever that easy, and Amber soon finds herself caught up in a breathless showdown that involves a fairy family feud and a magical-creature auction--and requires teaming up with a certain siren nemesis. Can Amber and her friends save the day one more time before setting off for their new lives? And will Amber ever learn whether Charlie is her one true love?

[publishedtoday]

Happily Ever Island - Crystal Cestari 

Head-in-the-clouds romantic Madison and driven pragmatist Lanie are unlikely best friends, but the two would do anything for each other. So when Madison’s life starts to fall apart, Lanie agrees to join Madison for the test run of Disney’s newest resort experience during their first college spring break: Happily Ever Island—an immersive vacation destination, where guests can become their favorite Disney character for a week. Madison decides to go as the iconic princess herself, Cinderella, with Lanie as bow-wielding Merida. It’s not Lanie’s idea of fun, but she knows Madison needs her, and besides, she could use the break from her strenuous courseload anyway. Plus, maybe she’ll get to shoot things. But once on the island, Lanie and Madison begin to drift apart. Madison finds herself either missing out or messing up all the enchanting moments she has dreamt her whole life about, and is forever running into their annoyingly perfect (and distractingly cute) vacation’s coordinator, Val. Meanwhile, Lanie unexpectedly finds herself swept up in the magic of it all. She strikes up a secret romance with Prince Charming—but there’s no telling whether he’s just playing a part.

[yacovergalore]

[rhomie]

" Our paths will diverge someday, taking us in a separate directions, making our relationship A brief but beautiful spot in a series of unforgettable encounters. Either way, it will be a journey worth taking. Either way, it will be a love story." Amber Sand

( pg. 328 THE BEST KIND OF MAGIC BY CRYSTAL CESTARI )