Review: All Superheroes Need Photo Ops by Elizabeth Stephens

Supers in the City, Book 2

I am fully, completely, cosmically obsessed with this series. Elizabeth Stephens has built a world that is equal parts action-packed chaos, alien thirst-trap energy, razor-sharp humor, and emotional devastation—and somehow she makes it all work. Book 1 hooked me. Book 2? Book 2 slapped me across the face, stole my wallet, and still had me thanking it.

What Works (AKA: Why I’m Ferally In Love With This Book)

💥 The MMC: Taranis—villain, menace, morally questionable lightning daddy.
I’ll be honest: the first 25% had me ready to launch this man into the sun. He is awful. Not in the “ugh, he’s grumpy” way—no, no. He’s an ego-drenched, petty, sharp-tongued alien golden boy with the emotional range of a cactus and the ethics of a wet gremlin.

And then? Stephens redeems him. Not by sanding down his edges, but by showing exactly why he’s built them—and what crumbles when Monika gets close. The villain-to-lover arc is chef’s kiss perfection.
By the end, I was fully feral for this man. Glittering horns and all.

📸 Monika: The badass photographer of my dreams.
Monika is a strong-willed, capable, emotionally grounded FMC who makes smart choices in impossible situations. She’s nuanced, confident, and so easy to root for. She also navigates complex D/s dynamics with clarity and agency, making the spicy scenes both scorching and grounded in solid consent.

⚡ The chemistry… my GOD, the chemistry.
This book is spicy—like “my Kindle needs a cold compress” spicy.
We’re talking:

• D/s dynamics
• Degradation + praise
• Jealous, possessive, obsessive MMC
• Tail action
• Blue alien peen (yes, really)
• A limo scene that nearly had me calling in sick

It’s explosive in every sense, but always character-driven.

🌍 The worldbuilding ramps up.
Everything introduced in book one intensifies. Higher stakes. Deeper lore. More danger. More villains. More emotional payoff.
Stephens somehow balances humor with legitimate tension—and it’s addictive.

What Didn’t Work (For Me)? Honestly… nothing substantial.

This book is bananas—in the best, unhinged, absolutely intentional way. If you like tightly buttoned, grounded contemporary romance… this is not your stop. But if you want superheroes, aliens, espionage, and erotic chaos? Welcome aboard.

Narration

Emery Erickson and Sean Crisden knock it out of the park. The emotion, the banter, the tension—everything lands. The audio only made me more obsessed.

Overall

All Superheroes Need Photo Ops is the rare sequel that outshines the already-great first book. It’s hilarious, filthy, heartfelt, action-heavy, and so compulsively readable I was sprinting back to it between tasks. It’s everything I want in a sci-fi romcom and absolutely one of my favorite reads of the year.

If you like:

• Morally gray (fine, villainous) MMCs
• Confident, capable FMCs
• High-octane action
• Sharp humor
• Heavy spice
• Alien romance that isn’t afraid to be weird

Move this straight to the top of your TBR.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 (infinity stars in my heart)
🔥 Spice Level: “My house is now a smoking crater”

This series deserves way more hype, and I will be yelling about it until book three drops.