All Superheroes Need PR

Supers in the City

De: Elizabeth Stephens

Narrado por: Dara Brown, Sean Bassett

He’s a villain looking for a hero rebrand. She’s the marketing genius who can make it happen in this fantastical romantic comedy by the author of the Beasts of Gatamora series.

Over two decades ago, forty-eight young, gifted superheroes fell to Earth and were eventually marketed as opposing brands: heroes and villains. Now, one exceptionally gruff bad guy is looking to hop teams. Hello, PR director Vanessa Theriot.

His real name is Roland Casteel a.k.a. the Pyro. First, swap that with the less incinerating the Wyvern. Next, put him in spandex to highlight that near-godlike body. Finally, give that hero in training a heroine—if Vanessa will play the part in a pretend romance guaranteed to make the city swoon. She’s game. As shy as Vanessa is, it’s her job to be Roland’s very own Lois Lane. Who knew that fake dating would change their worlds?

But falling head over heels for real makes for a dangerous shift in the narrative. A monstrous supervillain is bringing out Roland’s bad side again. This time, it’s to save a woman who, against all the odds, is becoming the human love of his superhero life.

©2025 by Elizabeth Stephens. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A deftly crafted and imaginative blending of fantasy, romance, and humor, All Superheroes Need PR is an original and fun read from cover to cover. Author Elizabeth Stephens showcases a genuine flair for the kind of distinctive and engaging storytelling style that is aptly suited to engaging her reader’s enthusiastic attention with distinctive characters and surprise laden plot twists.”—Midwest Book Review

“Finally, my God! Elizabeth Stephens is the blerd of my dreams! This novel is a fizzy, fast-talking takedown of celebrity culture, fandom, and the fine print of heroism—with enough heat to melt vibranium. Stephens delivers an absolutely swoony, steamy love letter to the power of reinvention.”—Nikki Payne, author of Pride and Protest

“The book we need, the writer we need, the hero we need, the new series we absolutely need! All Superheroes Need PR is unique, and fantastical, and funny, and so sexy it’s absolutely on fire! It brought me places where I desperately needed to go, it gave me everything I wanted and more, and it healed the part of me that has been sad since the Beast turned into a human. I want a million more novels set in this universe! Elizabeth Stephens is a jaw dropping talent, and I’m in awe of her mind!”—Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author

Super!

This book has it all—adventure, emotion, comedy, heat, and heart. Once I started reading, I didn’t want to put it down.

The grumpy/sunshine dynamic, fake relationship trope, and found family elements were all so well done, and the truly diverse cast made the story even richer.

A fun, heartfelt read that’s impossible to resist!

Original, exciting, and unpredictable!

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 🖤💙❤️💚🩷
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍
Character development: 🙃🙁😀😋🥰
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration

The heroine: Vanessa Theriot - she is the owner and PR Director at a marketing firm called The Riot Creative that specializes in crisis management. She hasn’t dated a guy since college. Men make her nervous. She has PTSD from her early childhood and is a pretty anxious person all around. She has a crush on Tyrannis, the most well-known superhero in the world. There are whole media outlets that are dedicated to the 48 and he is the biggest of them all. She is hired to rebrand the Pyro from a villain to a hero. Her firm is the smallest to ever represent one of the 48 aliens that crash landed on Earth as children twenty years ago.

The Hero: Roland Casteel (a.k.a. the Pyro) - when the forty-eight came to Earth, they grew up with host families and as the grew older, problems arose with some of them. Later thy were classified as heroes or villains and each side formed their own association. The villains have the VNA (Villains Network of America), while the Heroes formed the (CEO) Champions of Earth coalition. Some of the 48 didn’t join either group, they remained free agents. As Pyro, Roland was known as one of the minor villains of the 48 and he was one of the free agents. Recently, he was offered an amount that was enough for him to consider working with the heroes despite the fact that he was known to not really care about anything.

The Story: Nessa always liked the creativity of the PR business, though she didn’t want to be in the public eye, but representing Pyro was a huge boon for the firm. She really hoped that the meeting with Pyro would go well, but it failed from the start and Pyro left before they could even pitch their ideas to him. Her and her co-workers go out to drown their sorrows and Vanessa sees the Pyro again at the bar, after she has had a few too many to drink. The next day she finds herself signing a ten-year contract to manage the PR for the Pyro.

I really enjoy the premise of this story, and I love that there are 47 others that can be used in future books in this series. The world building was terrific with the way there are superheroes and supervillains each with a company behind them and PR firms with massive budgets that really form their identity to the world who treat them like the highest form of celebrities. Vanessa and her team rebrand the Pyro as the Wyvern, and I actually had to look up what a Wyvern was. I guess it is basically a two-legged dragon, while dragons have four legs. I wasn’t quite sure why they didn’t just rebrand him as a dragon. Maybe the name adds a unique touch that separates Roland from more traditional fire-breathing imagery.

“I don’t just breathe fire…I am fire. I generate it through every pore”

“There are only two truths I’m sure of in this moment. I’m stupid obsessed with f’ing Vanessa Theriot and I’m absolutely going to kill something. I way the two realities calculating how my obsession will be affected by the murders I am about to enact.”

“She’s softness and vulnerability all laid bare, and I just want to do terrible things.”

There are a lot of things I liked about this book. I loved the way Roland reacted to Vanessa. Not in their first meeting, but after that. She is a bit of a hot mess, with how clumsy she is, how anxious she is and how she often has PTSD episodes where she kind of stares blankly while remembering things from her past with her abusive mother. Roland is good with her and tries to help her despite the fact that he was supposed to be a villain. I also liked a lot of the backstory, including the fact that the biggest supervillain the Marduk, when asked why he does the things he does, says something like “I’m looking for something. When I find it, you’ll know.”

I love the idea of superhero PR firms managing their public image like celebrities—there’s something so rich about that setup. It creates an interesting tension between perception and reality, especially with someone like Roland, who fully admits he's a bad guy but is suddenly navigating a rebrand into heroism. I love how deeply thought out the world-building is, especially with the structured divisions between heroes and villains, and the mystery of Marduk’s search adds a layer of intrigue.

Vanessa is a compelling heroine, too. Her anxiety and past trauma make her a vulnerable yet strong figure, and Roland’s fascination with her—especially considering he’s never cared about humans before—adds such depth to their dynamic. That second quote about his obsession with her and his inclination toward violence really highlights his inner conflict. He’s walking a fine line between attachment and destruction, which makes him unpredictable and dangerous in the best way.

This audiobook was narrated from multiple perspectives, done in dual narration by Sean Bassett and Dara Brown. Dara has a nice, clear voice though you can definitely tell she is reading. Though as the story gets going, I didn’t notice it as much. Sean Bassett has a deep voice, which I like for Heroes. He also reads at a bit of a slow pace, and you can tell he is reading.

I needed a superhero romcom in my life

Just read it! Please I beg one of my top romances of the year! Add this to your tbr if u are planning on watching the new Superman movie

Perfection

As a kid I loved comic books and was fascinated by superheroes. I mean Gambit was my first crush so I was so excited to read this book and it did not disappoint. All superheroes have an origin story and the story of The 48 is very similar to Superman’s which I personally love. Sure Roland is technically an alien but he’s a badass alien who could melt organs. He’s the best kind of grumpy, the kind that is gruff with everyone but his girl. You could feel the chemistry when he met Vanessa and I was rooting for them the whole way.

Vanessa may not be a superhero but she’s also a badass I mean she charged right to save Roland when he was captured. She is smart and brave and watching her let down her walls was heartwarming. She has so much trauma that she’s trying to work through and with Roland’s help she finds some peace and I loved that so much. Vanessa’s family was perfection, I want 5 brothers that’s would take on a superhero or 10 to protect me.

The action in this book had me on the edge of my seat. There were so many times when things were happening that I was holding my breath. There are so many unanswered questions and I can’t wait for the next book to see what gets answered. I don’t do spoilers in my reviews and this book has so many surprises it’s hard to really give an adequate review without saying omg I can’t believe that happened so you’re just going to have to trust me and check out this book!

Funny and beautiful love story!!

Another great book from one of my favorite authors! I can not wait for the second book to come out.

Great casting

Each voice seemed to fit the character so well. Kept me engaged in the story and dying to know what happens next.

yes I loved all of this 🤩

this book has all the spicy tropes!
he falls first, found mate, alien vs human, superpowers, shy MFC, diverse characters

it kinda a beauty meets beasts with a twist 😜

the voice actors did an amazing job, esp the male voice actor he definitely made the MMC one of my favorite book boyfriend's.

this author never disappoints I want to read more of her books.

SWOON! So good!

Well, fine! You did that. You made me actually enjoy a romance from start to finish without cringing. I loved how real you made the characters seem and grown up! No fake “ansgty” drama pulling them apart. And Vanessa was so brave and funny. Dang! Now, I have to go read your others (insert resentful side-eye).

Secret Monster Romance

Love this turned into an alien romance mid way through. So good! I would recommend as an entry level read for new paranormal and sci fi readers

Hilarious

I wanted to read this right from the title, and I was not disappointed. It’s cute and cheeky. It has a lot of nods to superhero stories (of course) and Roland is a fantastic morally gray hero.