Black Widow Red Vengeance (A Black Widow Novel) (A Marvel YA Novel)

First off let me start by saying I love Natasha Romanoff and I will buy anything that she's in. Okay so this book is super action packed but not so much that I can't follow the story (which was a problem I had in the first one) Ava's arc throughout the book was really interesting to see as well as Nat's. I like how it tied together their two stories and also included some of the MCU characters that I love so much. Also CAROL DANVERS aka Captain Marvel (kinda spoiler-ish I think) was in this so it pretty much gets an A+ from me. Anyways I really hope this gets a sequel and possibly gets us a Black Widow movie.

I have to admit that I'm honestly baffled by the reviews for this book. Red Vengeance can't even seem to decide on what sandbox it's playing in, having references to both MCU and to the comics but makes absolutely no effort to make these make sense in any coherent way. So it plays more like flying out buzzwords to ensure that no matter what route you happen to take to be a fan of Black Widow there will be something you recognize. But there is zero effort put forth into reconciling these, so for those interested in a coherent story universe, it falls drastically short.

Even judging it by the standards of the previous novel, Red Vengeance just doesn't measure up. The character moments that were so compelling with Natasha and Tony, Natasha and Coulson, and her referenced fondness for Pepper in Forever Red are nowhere near as on-point here. They ones that work do so mostly on a comedic basis more than because they demonstrate characters clicking together in a genuine way, which was the one thing I really enjoyed about Forever Red.

While Natasha's grief at the end of Forever Red made obvious sense considering the situation, this book spends significant narrative focus on how Natasha needs to Stop Being So Cold and Get In Touch With Her Feelings which just isn't a particularly appealing take on the character. Overall I'm left honestly wondering what version of Black Widow Margaret was pulling from, because here she comes across more as a caricature than actually in theme with the character that I have loved for most of my adult life. I am not against Natasha having friendships and caring about people -- I am against the way that urge was written in this book.

I was honestly tempted to put the book down halfway through, were it not for dragging out one of my favorite names from Natasha's mythos (I wont spoil this particular point) but they don't really do anything significant with it, aside from possibly setting up fodder for another sequel.

Natasha's relationship with Ava is neither dynamic nor interestingly written with little development over the bulk of the novel. Much like Forever Red, Ava remains the weakest link, even when compared to the other teenager characters that get significantly less screentime. Although unlike in Forever Red where she bordered on antagonistic for most of the book, in this case there is far less justification for her poor handling. Ava at this point really seems like a character that could be done very well, if handled by a different writer. She is an interesting character and I would love to see her get a comic run.

Much like Forever Red the plotline is not so much hard to follow as rather underwhelming. Everything everyone says plays into the plot, so half the time these characters that we are told are geniuses come across as rather slow on the uptake. Overall my biggest complaint is that Red Vengeance continues to be bad at everything that Forever Red was bad at, but fails to even live up to its successes.

I'd recommend a hard-pass for Widow fans. But, it's a fast read, and pretty mindless. If you're just looking for a ridiculous scifi story with some spy elements and Marvel flavorings, this fits the bill in a generic sort of way with enough action to hold someone's attention for a few hours. This book, much moreso than Forever Red, reads as a YA book targeted entirely at that demographic with no aspirations to be enjoyable to anyone else because of lazy writing.

I LOVED THIS BOOK, ABSOLUTELY AMAZING AND IT SHOULD BE A MOVIE

I enjoyed Stohl’s first Marvel YA novel, Forever Red, so I didn’t hesitate to order the sequel. This one was also entertaining, with some improvements over the first and a few issues.

The first book was told was the POV of Ava, a young woman saved by Black Widow while on a mission. The events of that book left the two of them with a “quantum” connection. Here, Ava has been training at SHIELD Academy to hone her powers and skills. The story opens with her and Natasha in South America when they become embroiled in a new conspiracy originating from Russia’s infamous Red Room.

One of the things I liked so much about this book is that is alternates POV between the two Widows (rather than just Ava). This provided for more suspense and tension as readers see events from both perspectives. Ava is now the Red Widow, but she’s still a trainee struggling with PTSD and the death of Alexei. I love that the author doesn’t shy away from her making mistakes – like an actual rookie – but even better that she learns from them. I also liked that Tony Stark takes a more active role in the mystery when the events go global. And Captain Marvel and Maria Hill also make appearances. This was more than just a spy mission.

A couple things didn’t work. The SHIELD debriefings, that opened each chapter in the first book, are continued here. They worked great in “Forever Red” because most of the book was Ava’s POV and they let readers in on SHIELD’s perspective. They didn’t work as well here. They still fit the theme, but too often they interrupted the flow of the story, which became frustrating. Another problem was the sudden jump to Dante’s POV at the end of the novel. This didn’t just slow the story, it was like a screeching halt. It felt like a contrived effort to suddenly show readers things happening with the villain.

Overall, this was another well-done novel set in the Marvel Universe. I love the blended nature of these books – characters from the comics and films mingle seamlessly and the characterizations of those that appear in both mediums are a good mix. It’s the best of both worlds. The ending had a nice hook for a potential third book, without leaving readers hanging.

Really glad I was able to hunker down and finish reading this book. I was really sad that it had been left half read for so freaking long. This one was slow and a little more angsty than the last one so I kinda get why it took me so long.
I wonder what Ava will end up doing on her own and how the rest of the pieces will fall. Nice to know they're bringing in some Inhumans story.

In this book the Black Widow now has a protégé but she is used to working alone for so long it is unknown hoe this teaming up so she can teach her new hero in training will work. What is worse is both Widows, Black and Red, are after the same people, one cunning and precise, the other more headlong and reckless.

In the sequel to Black Widow Forever Red Margaret Stohl raised the bar, the action is non-stop, and the suspense sometimes will keep you up past your bedtime until you find out what happens. However, it is the twists and turns that keep you guessing how things will turn out in the end. I really liked this awesome book even more than the first. Sometime I would also love to review the audios of this series to hear how the narrator puts her spin on the book as well.

I love how this book came with a plastic wrap from a library. To me this is a new book. For the price I'm so happy. Between this one and the first one I paid $10 in total for both books combined. I only buy for personal use so getting them for good prices is a must for me. Thank you!

Very good read.

This is a good book

Good book