Lightning & Thunder by Sara Raasch
Official Summary:
Percy Jackson meets Thunderbolts in this action-adventure romcom where the descendants of gods protect humanity, and Zeus’s snarky, vigilante heir is forced to team up with the globally beloved descendant of Thor. As a Zeus descendant, Pollux “Lux” Keraunos never intended to be a villain. But if the cyber-crime hat fits, he’ll wear it to destroy the tyrant Hero Council led by his brother. Then his brother vanishes (not Lux’s fault). Zeus’s line must continue, and the Hero Council turns to Lux as the heir—with the caveat that he trains under Erik Thorson, his brother’s Viking-wannabe BFF. Lux’ll use this to bring down the Council, and he isn’t falling for Erik’s smoking hot with a heart of gold persona— Even if Erik didn’t know Lux’s brother was corrupt. Even if Erik actually helps people—and believes Lux can, too. As Lux tries the good guy role, the truth behind his brother's disappearance surfaces, and he’ll have to decide if he still wants to destroy the Council . . . or if he wants someone else more. Hero? Villain? Or a secret third disaster bisexual with a savior kink?
My Thoughts:
Lightning & Thunder is the first book in a new queer romantasy series by Sara Raasch. In this series, called Heroes and Romance, the descendants of various mythological Gods and Goddesses use their superhuman abilities to protect humanity from monsters.
Our main character is Lux, a descendant of Zeus. He's also a hacker who works to repair damage done by his careless and egotistical brother, Castor. When Castor vanishes in the middle of a monster fight, Lux is pulled into the Hero Council, where he's paired with Erik, a descendant of Thor... and Lux's long-time crush.
This feels a little like a queer version of the early Marvel superhero movies. It's a little more character-focused (and a lot more romance-focused), but it has a fun group of characters and action scenes with superpowered heroes saving New York City. The plot is engaging, with Lux's integration into the Hero Council and the Castor mystery both serving to keep the story propulsive.
The two main characters are excellent, and their romance is even better. Their relationship is steamy, but most importantly, it's healing. You can see so clearly how these two help make each other better. I love romances like this, and I always end up so emotionally invested!
The supporting characters in this are also really good. I already love Rameses, Hattie, and Ophelia so much. Molly, Yuma, and Tristan are standouts that I'd love to see more of, too.
I have to mention the friend group that develops. This group might be my favorite friendship from Sara Raasch's books, and that is saying a lot considering how much I love Coal, Iris, and Kris from Royals and Romance, and Sebastian and Orok from Magic and Romance! This group has such a fun mix of personalities that it leads to some truly amazing moments. There are also two potential future romances teased that I am very excited about.
As I've said many times now, I'm a huge fan of Sara Raasch. I think Raasch is consistently giving us some of the most fun, heartwarming, and romantic queer rom-coms available. If you're a fan of any of her previous queer romantasy novels, make sure you pre-order this one: you are going to love it. If you've never read her before, this would be an excellent book to start with!
My Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 (5/5 stars)
Pages: 336 (Kindle Edition)
Tropes/Tags: Queer, Achillean, Romantasy, Fantasy, Rom-Com, Mythology, Bisexual Main Character, Brother's Best Friend, Size Difference, Superheroes
Contains Depictions Of: Some Violence, Emotional and Physical Abuse, PTSD
Links: Storygraph | GoodReads | Pagebound | SaraRaaschBooks.com
Lightning & Thunder will be released on December 29, 2026, and is available for pre-order!
I received an advanced copy of this book for free, thanks to NetGalley, Bramble, TOR, and Macmillan. The above are my honest feelings about the provided book.
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OH PPL READING L&T AHHH
