It's review time again. I seem to be on a furry superheroes kick at the moment, between my previous review of 'The Shadows That Linger', the subject of this one, and 'In The Doghouse of Justice' which I have waiting to be read.

I'm going to be upfront and honest and say that I actually know the author of this book, he's a friend of mine. However, I am going to make this an honest and unbiased review.

So, let's talk about 'Save the Day' by D. J. Fahl, featuring a number of cool interior illustrations by Vince Suzukawa.

It's a furry superhero/gay romance story, focusing mostly on gay couple Jay Carson and Ted Rodriguez. Sick of his boyfriend's constant lateness and missing of appointments, and his lame excuses and outright lies, Jay confronts Ted, demanding honesty. And Ted relents, revealing his big secret: He is actually the renowned superhero Star Coyote, member of superhero team the Extraordinaries.

The book then proceeds to follow their relationship through the ups and downs, the problems and obstacles, that result from this revelation. Can Jay ever come to terms with the fact that his boyfriend has super powers and fights dangerous super villains? That some day, he might not survive one of those battles? And can Ted ever manage to integrate his superhero life and his personal life? Can he ever feel comfortable enough to come out to his team mates?

I'll give away no more spoilers than that. I will say that it is a very good, well-told story that I enjoyed immensely. I would say it can get a little wordy in the first few chapters as it's establishing the world and characters, there's a fair bit of slightly unwieldy exposition, a few obvious info-dumps. But they're not too bad, and once you get past them, the book becomes a lot more special and enjoyable.

And to be fair there is a lot of establishing to be done, world-building being one of the book's major strengths. It quickly becomes obvious that a lot of thought and effort has gone into this world, the way it works, the politics and history surrounding the superheroes and villains, the way the team works, how they handle the security of their loved ones, etc. It really works to help you get invested and engrossed in the story.

Another of the book's major strengths is the characters. The two central characters of Ted and Jay are great, very well rounded and realized, with their own strengths and flaws, and they work well together as a couple.

The other hero characters are all good and likeable as well, even the ones we don't get to spend a whole lot of time with or get to know very well come off as being fully realized and three-dimensional. The villains were all quite interesting as well, a varied bunch, with a wide variety of motivations that did a good job of keeping things interesting.

To sum up then, 'Save the Day' is an excellent book. Yes, it could probably have done with a bit more editing and some cutting back on the exposition in the early chapters. And I suppose it may take some time for some to get used to the writer's rather wordy style. But in my opinion, it is well worth overcoming these things. The book does a great job of blending a superhero tale with a sweet gay romance, telling a compelling story about love and relationships, secrets and honesty, and of course, about saving the day.

This book is highly recommended. I loved it so much, I couldn't stop reading it, and finished it in a day! So go buy it, read it and enjoy it for yourself.

'Save the Day' can be bought here: http://furplanet.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=437