Black Widow: Forever Red

Cover image and summary from Goodreads:

Enter the world of the Avengers' iconic master spy

Natasha Romanoff is one of the world's most lethal assassins. Trained from a young age in the arts of death and deception, Natasha was given the title of Black Widow by Ivan Somodorov, her brutal teacher at the Red Room, Moscow's infamous academy for operatives.

Ava Orlova is just trying to fit in as an average Brooklyn teenager, but her life has been anything but average.The daughter of a missing Russian quantum physicist, Ava was once subjected to a series of ruthless military experiments-until she was rescued by Black Widow and placed under S.H.I.E.L.D. protection. Ava has always longed to reconnect with her mysterious savior, but Black Widow isn't really the big sister type.

Until now.

When children all over Eastern Europe begin to go missing, and rumors of smuggled Red Room tech light up the dark net, Natasha suspects her old teacher has returned-and that Ava Orlova might be the only one who can stop him. To defeat the madman who threatens their future, Natasha and Ava must unravel their pasts. Only then will they discover the truth about the dark-eyed boy with an hourglass tattoo who haunts Ava's dreams. . . .

Black Widow:Forever Red features all the heart-pounding adventure readers expect from Marvel, written by #1 New York Times best-selling author Margaret Stohl. Uncover a new side of the Marvel Universe that will thrill loyal fans and newcomers alike, as Stohl reveals the untold story of Black Widow for the very first time.

I’m not a big comics person, but I’ve really enjoyed the Marvel movies I’ve seen, and love watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on TV, and I really like Scarlett Johanssen as Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff. So when I heard that a YA book about her character was coming, I knew I’d have to read it!

There was a lot that I liked about this book: the action, the appearance of other Marvel universe characters, and the the way that the stories of Natasha Romanoff, Ava Orlova, and Alex connected. It was really fun to read.

However, the story was lacking something that really pulled me in. It took me a long time to finish reading. I enjoyed the book but didn’t feel really compelled to pick it up again once I put it down. I think I was hoping for more of a focus on Natasha’s character than I ended up getting, so I wonder if that means that I should pick up some of her comics.

All in all, I really liked Black Widow: Forever Red, and if there were others like it featuring Marvel characters – or especially another one about Black Widow – I’d definitely read!