Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books 
 Not Your Sidekick is an adorable YA superhero romance with an Asian bisexual heroine, science fiction elements, and some cute robots. It's also about mistaken identity - a common theme in superhero stories, but one that irritates me no end (as does the Big Misunderstanding trope, which have many similarities). For this reason, I wasn't crazy about the plot of this book, but I did love the characters and concept. 
 Unfortunately, I was not gripped by the plot, which hinges almost entirely on a case of superhero identity that anyone with an IQ higher than that of a piece of cheese will decipher in about five seconds. To be fair, the completely obvious superhero (or villain) disguise is a beloved and time-honored comics trope. Batman wears a mask that exposes at least a third of his face, and no one can recognize him. Meanwhile Clark Kent and Diana Prince are only "indistinguishable" from Superman and Wonder Woman because Clark and Diana wear glasses. Many people find this quality of comics to be endearing but it drives me right up the wall, making the plot of Not Your Sidekick a terrible match for me. I found Jess's inability to put two and two together to be annoying rather than funny, and I thought the plot was pretty predictable. 
 In some ways, this book qualifies as a romance novel - I wanted Jess and Abby to get together, and no other ending could satisfy me as the reader. However, the dynamic between the friends and between Jess and her family is actually much more interesting than anything that involves Abby or the plot involving the Monroe Company. Bells has a whole life off-page that I am dying to read about. The backstory of Jess's parents would make an amazing dystopian novel, albeit one lacking in wacky hijinks. I feel like any of these stories would be more interesting and less predictable than the one Jess finds herself in, even though I liked Jess and I enjoyed her character development. The story is told from Jess' point of view, and as a result Abby is a bit too perfect. She's more of a device to help Jess come into her own than a fully-rounded character. 
 This book is the first in a planned trilogy and I'm very excited about future installments. I loved the world - but I wanted more of it. I loved the characters because they were fun and their interactions felt realistic and natural. I loved the light, silver age comics tone. I just wish that the plot hadn't been so predictable and that Abby had been just a bit more developed as a character. 
 In the meantime, I never got tired of wondering what everyone would eat next (all the characters spend a lot of time eating and I got really hungry while reading this) and what color Bells' hair would be in the next scene (he likes to change his hair color all the time). While the book doesn't work so well as a cohesive whole, the component parts are fabulous. 
 - Carrie S.