Hot Mama (Bigtime) [Paperback]

Jennifer Estep (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bigtime | Publication Date: November 6, 2007

By day, Fiona Fine is a successful couture designer, catering to the high society players of Bigtime, New York. By night, she's Fiera, a member of the heroic Fearless Five who can create and manipulate fire with her bare hands.

Fiona's personal life, though, isn't so hot. She still misses her fiancŽ, who was killed by ubervillains a year ago. Still, men admire Fiona's smoking assets, and she decides to get back in the dating game- especially after she meets Johnny Bulluci. But this notorious playboy has plenty of secrets to go along with his sexy smile. And, with two new ubervillains in town who are intent on raising hell, Fiona's love life might just crash and burn.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The superhero du jour in this smokin' sequel to Estep's debut (2006's Karma Girl) is flame-wielding Fiera, a member of the souped-up supergroup the Fearless Five, based in Bigtime, N.Y. As Fiona Fine, Fiera has a day job as a successful fashion designer, and in either incarnation, she is still grieving over the loss of her murdered fiance Travis (aka Tornado). There's romantic promise in the form of hunky Johnny Bulluci, the brother of a rival designer, but soon another Johnny surfaces, a crime fighter who's assumed the identity of the previously murdered crimefighter Johnny Angel and is bent on avenging Johnny's murder by villain Intelligal. Fiera & Co. are made plenty busy by Intelligal's plans for taking over Bigtime via Intelligal's infernal Vamp Machine, which supersizes villain Siren's hypnotic, people-controlling voice. Feverishly clever plotting fuels Estep's over-the-top romance. (Nov.)
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About the Author

Jennifer Estep is an award-winning journalist for a daily newspaper.

Product Details

• Paperback: 356 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (November 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425217345
• ISBN-13: 978-0425217344
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,197,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jennifer Estep is a New York Times bestselling author, prowling the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea.

Jennifer writes the Elemental Assassin adult urban fantasy series for Pocket. Books in the series are SPIDER'S BITE, WEB OF LIES, VENOM, TANGLED THREADS, and SPIDER'S REVENGE.

THREAD OF DEATH, an e-novella, will be released on Jan 31, 2012. BY A THREAD, the sixth book, will be published on Feb. 28, 2012, while WIDOW'S WEB, the seventh book, is tentatively set to be released on Aug. 21, 2012.

Also, HAINTS AND HOBWEBS: AN ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN SHORT STORY will appear in THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF GHOST ROMANCE to be published in October 2012.

Jennifer also writes the Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series for Kensington.

Books in the series are TOUCH OF FROST and KISS OF FROST. DARK FROST, the third book, will be published on May 29, 2012, while CRIMSON FROST, the fourth book, is tentatively set to be released in January 2013.

FIRST FROST, a prequel e-story to the series, is available as a download. HALLOWEEN FROST, an e-short story, is available in the ENTANGLED e-anthology.

Jennifer is also the author of the Bigtime paranormal romance series. Books in the superhero-themed series are KARMA GIRL, HOT MAMA, and JINX. A KARMA GIRL CHRISTMAS, an e-story, is also available.

For excerpts, free short stories, and more information, visit Jennifer's website at http://www.jenniferestep.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun series!, December 23, 2007

By 

Deborah Wiley (Winter Haven, FL) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hot Mama (Bigtime) (Paperback)

A new set of ubervillains are about to wreak havoc on Bigtime and it's up to superhero Fiera, aka Fiona Fine, to save the day!

Ubervillains Intelligal and Siren are up to no good. Fiera and part of the Fearless Five (minus Karma Girl and Striker who are on their honeymoon!) are tracking them but Johnny Angel keeps getting in the way. Johnny Angel seems determined to destroy Intelligal and Siren but is he truly on the side of the superheroes? Meanwhile, Fiona's personal life is in total disarray as she finds herself wildly attracted to Bigtime newcomer Johnny Bulluci. Is Fiona ready to move on or will her superhero secret identity keep getting in the way?

Jennifer Estep returns with her second book in the campy but purely fun world of Bigtime. HOT MAMA is by no means a serious book about good versus evil or superheroes versus ubervillains. No, the Bigtime series is entertainment at its finest. Each story is full of those tongue in cheek moments from the comic book superheroes that make us laugh even as the obvious "secret" identities are right before our very eyes.

HOT MAMA offers readers a splendid romance in the midst of all the superhero humor. Fiona's pain over the loss of her beloved fiancé, Tornado, is a wound that hadn't healed in the first book, KARMA GIRL. Her willingness to reach out for love once again is heartwarming, even as events with the ubervillains spiral out of control.

Jennifer Estep has found her niche with the Bigtime series. I can't wait to see where this series goes, as the possibilities are endless. Besides, who can't help but love a book where the author lovingly pokes fun at a genre with characters such as Halitosis Hal? Kudos to Jennifer Estep for incorporating the joy of the comic book superheroes with romance to produce such wonderful books. HOT MAMA is a hit!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Read, November 1, 2011

By 

SG - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hot Mama (Bigtime) (Paperback)

This is a fun read, just as you would expect. The second book in the series, with Karma Girl being the first one. If you're looking for a light book, a beach read or something for a long flight, you'll like this. Think a mix between Buffy and Superman.

3.0 out of 5 stars Fiona and Johnny are red hot together., October 11, 2011

By 

J. Markovic - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hot Mama (Bigtime) (Paperback)

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy:
[...]

A skinny fashionista that eats everything in sight? An only child who doesn't play well with others? A name dropping insider to the world of superheros? I was worried that over-the-top, in-your-face Fiona Fine was going to be a hard sell as a sympathetic heroine, but Fiona's loyalties and vulnerabilities won me over very early in the book.

On top of learning to love Fiona, Estep matches her up with Johnny Bulluci, a flashy hero with "heartthrob playboy" written all over him. Rather than dampen Fiona's personality, he compliments it, and I enjoyed watching these two go head to head. Johnny's grief over his father's murder allows Fiona to demonstrate how much she's grown since KARMA GIRL, further cementing my girl crush. Though my concerns about Fiona as a sympathetic heroine turned out to be unwarranted, her narration of the story ultimately didn't work for me. The switch from an outsider narrator in KARMA GIRL to Fiona's "superhero born and bred" perspective led to a deluge of Bigtime name dropping, which amped up the silliness of the novel over all. That humor was, unfortunately, hit or miss for me. Add to that some obvious (and acknowledged) misses on the "Who's got a secret identity?" question, and HOT MAMA wasn't able to stand up to KARMA GIRL in my estimation (though to Fiona's defense, you'd go nuts assuming *everyone* has a cape and a secret identity).

While those few shortcomings knocked the book down a bat for me, I found Fiona and her Johnny charming enough to carry me through to the end (and their chemistry is noteworthy enough to warrant a look if you're on the fence). I'll leave it up to book three in the series, JINX, to see if the Bigtime series overall works for me. Maybe a heroine born to a superhero family without the useful powers will be the perfect mix of insider/outsider narration for me.

Sexual Content: Explicit sex scenes.