Magno Girl

Title: Magno Girl
Author: Joe Canzano
Publisher: Happy Joe Control
Pages: 320
Genre: Comic Urban Fantasy
Format: Paperback/Kindle/Nook
Price: Paperback $9.89/Kindle $2.99/Nook $2.99

When a Manhattan pizza maker is found dead in his own dough, Magno Girl enlists the aid of her biker ninja boyfriend to help solve the crime – and quickly discovers there’s more to the pie than meets the eye, including a sinister plot that spans the globe. 

Magno Girl leaps into action. After all, she can fly, she can fight, and she can use her fearsome superpower, the “Gaze of the Guilt,” to bring a hardened criminal to his knees. But the road ahead is hard. The city’s other superheroes despise her, and the cops don’t want her around, and her own mom won’t stop spitting out advice about marrying a “respectable guy” and trading in her crime-fighting career for a baby carriage—but is she attracted to “respectable guys”? And is she interested in emotional commitment? And will finding real love be her biggest challenge of all? 

Welcome to the world of Magno Girl, an absurd place filled with humor, action, and romance.

For More Information

• Magno Girl is available at Amazon.
• Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
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• Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

 My Review:

This was a fun quick read. It took me a bit to get into it, because it's not a super serious book. It's meant to be funny and a little immature, which isn't something I'm used to reading. It's a light-hearted, tale about a female superhero in a town full of super heroes. They don't really take her seriously because she's not out to be famous, just help people.

I liked Mags (Magnolia) and I liked her boyfriend wanna-be, Ron. I liked how Mags was in it for helping people and doing right. She's definitely a unique character. Ron is good too, but was a bit stalkerish at times. He seemed super obsessed with the fame aspect of being a super hero, but I knew deep down he was a genuine guy.

The fight scenes were a little hokey and comical, but I think that fit the "feel" of the book. If anything, I wished there was more action. Otherwise, I think that those scenes were my least favorite. I'm not sure if it was the cartoonish qualities of the scenes, but they just felt...flat.

My only grump is that there isn't a whole lot of backstory about the characters. You're just kind of introduced to them and off you go! Obviously you learn more about them throughout the book, but I started off feeling a little put off by Mags aloofness and Ron's obsession with her. They grew on me, but a little intro to them would have been great. I hope in future books we get more background?

Anyway, if you're looking for a quick, fun read then Magno Girl is great.

Book Excerpt:

Magno Girl stared across the windswept roof. Her lips shimmered in the moonlight like a couple of beer-soaked cherries. From the depths of Manhattan below came the clanging sound of a city that was never satisfied.

Was she thinking about me? I was desperate to know.

I took a deep breath. “Mags, when can I see you again?”

She stared at me with those vivid green eyes. Her black hair, streaked with savage shades of crimson, billowed in the hot summer breeze.

“I’ll be around,” she said. Then she looked away. “I have to warn you, Ron. I’m not very good at relationships.”

I grinned. “That’s just one more thing we have in common.”

“Also, I don’t want to do any commercials for soft drinks. That’s definitely out.”

“No problem—the soft drinks can slide. What else?”

“Well, since you asked, I’d like to fight some crime. I’ve discovered an evil plot, and my superpowers might not be enough to handle it. Things could get crazy and absurd.”

“Hey, I want to help you with that. I’m totally on board!”

She smiled. “Okay, call me tomorrow. I’ve got a job for you.”

“Count me in.”

I puffed out my chest and stepped toward her, wanting to wrap my arms around her sleek body and kiss her long and hard—but she saw it coming, and she put out her hand and stopped me. She leaned forward and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

It was something, and it was good. My whole body felt electric.

“Just tell me what you need, Mags. Anything.”

There was a spark in her eye. “Sometimes I need to be left alone. We’ll talk soon.”

She leapt from the roof, her powerful body snapping like a switchblade as she dove into the death-black valley of bricks, glass, and steel. I briefly envied her ability to fly and then took the stairs to the street. I hopped on my chopper and rode to the liquor store.

I woke up alone the next day, with the morning sky vomiting its sunshine through the grimy window of my East Village apartment. I groped around for my phone and found it under a pile of empty beer cans. I fumbled a bit and finally made the call.

“Hi, Mags. It’s me.”

“Hi, Ron. Can you meet me somewhere?”

She sounded friendly, and for a second I felt like I was floating. But as usual, there wasn’t much talk.

“Any place you want. Did you eat breakfast?”

“Yeah, but it’s noon, so I guess we can eat lunch. I’m over on St. Mark’s.”

“I’ll be right there.”

About the Author

Joe Canzano is a writer and musician. He lives in New Jersey, U.S.A., in a house with a basement where he usually stays. Occasionally he leaves the basement and visits the kitchen. 

He is a graduate of Rutgers University, where he majored in English. His short stories have appeared in a half-dozen printed literary journals, as well as in the Akashic Books online series, "Mondays are Murder."  

He recently formed his own publishing company, Happy Joe Control, and published his debut novel, Magno Girl. 

For More Information

• Visit Joe Canzano’s website.
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