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fivecatsinacoat's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy of this book.
This was fun, but also fairly flat. It read more YA than adult, which is fine, but it also wasn't very deep. I wish this book had pushed further into the idea of losing your history and background and how that affects you.
This was fun, but also fairly flat. It read more YA than adult, which is fine, but it also wasn't very deep. I wish this book had pushed further into the idea of losing your history and background and how that affects you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Mental illness, Confinement, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Kidnapping
ejthephoenix's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This book is super special and really funny. It's about two extraordinary people who become the best of friends and how they learn that they can choose who they are. I loved all the characters in the book and the plot was a little confusing but I loved it as well. I wanted to read this book because I'm a huge fan of Marvel and I love superheroes. It did not disappoint. This book makes me want to read more Superhero novels! :D
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Alcohol
Minor: Grief, Mental illness, Death, and Blood
readingthroughinfinity's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I stumbled across this while scrolling through Scribd and thought it would be my kind of thing (superheroes + mystery). Cut to a year later and I finally picked up the audiobook as part of my Asian readathon TBR, and it surprised me in all the best ways.
The narrative is funny and direct, the mystery surrounding the protagonists' amnesia is gripping, and the world-building feels very believable. Jamie and Zoe's friendship was definitely my favourite part of this novel. They begin the story as nemeses (though they don't stay that way for long) and end it as close friends, whose quest to recover their lost memories has bonded them for life. I really liked the fact that Zoe had super strength and near-invincibility, and she often had to save Jamie from moments of peril, as this subverts the usual stereotyped gendered roles we get in superhero-themed media.
Perhaps my favourite element of this book is the fact that there's no romance at all (apart from a minor side-romance (we only see the aftereffects of this)). Jamie and Zoe's friendship is a wonderful, strong, fulfilling bond and they don't share a romantic connection or sexual chemistry, which I LOVED. The author shows us that friendship is just as strong as a romantic relationship and that platonic love is in no way inferior to romantic love, and I adored that.
The narrative gets a little convoluted during some of the explanations of the antagonist's plans and a few parts of the final climax felt a bit too 'convenient' for me, but forgave these issues pretty easily because the great final twist and satisfying conclusion.
Content warnings for violence, amnesia, past death of a partner, on-page death of a spouse, building fires, gun violence, emotional manipulation, alcohol addiction.
The narrative is funny and direct, the mystery surrounding the protagonists' amnesia is gripping, and the world-building feels very believable. Jamie and Zoe's friendship was definitely my favourite part of this novel. They begin the story as nemeses (though they don't stay that way for long) and end it as close friends, whose quest to recover their lost memories has bonded them for life. I really liked the fact that Zoe had super strength and near-invincibility, and she often had to save Jamie from moments of peril, as this subverts the usual stereotyped gendered roles we get in superhero-themed media.
Perhaps my favourite element of this book is the fact that there's no romance at all (apart from a minor side-romance (we only see the aftereffects of this)). Jamie and Zoe's friendship is a wonderful, strong, fulfilling bond and they don't share a romantic connection or sexual chemistry, which I LOVED. The author shows us that friendship is just as strong as a romantic relationship and that platonic love is in no way inferior to romantic love, and I adored that.
The narrative gets a little convoluted during some of the explanations of the antagonist's plans and a few parts of the final climax felt a bit too 'convenient' for me, but forgave these issues pretty easily because the great final twist and satisfying conclusion.
Content warnings for violence, amnesia, past death of a partner, on-page death of a spouse, building fires, gun violence, emotional manipulation, alcohol addiction.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Gun violence, and Addiction
Minor: Death
laguerrelewis's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I want to start out this review saying I was really rooting for this book. The premise was so interesting, and I love to see superhero stories told by people of color. That said, this fell pretty flat with me. Mike Chen admits in the acknowledgements that this was originally a short story he revamped to be novel length, and I think I would’ve liked it better in it’s original format. Ultimately it comes down to good ideas that sputter out without much behind them. The action is a bit hard to follow. The mystery of the story doesn’t last very long, and the few questions left up in the air are pretty easy to predict. The characters are good, but their development is rushed, and I felt like I never actually got to know them beyond some surface level information. I was constantly questioning what audience this book is for—it read like the lower end of YA, but some of the subjects were more adult than I’d expect. It doesn’t really deliver on the “Superhero” or “Mystery” aspects. I don’t want to hate on Chen, but this was not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Violence
Moderate: Addiction and Alcohol
sarah984's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was a fun little popcorn movie of a book about a hero and villain with superpowers who meet by chance at a memory loss support group meeting. I noticed a few typos and I think the plot started to unravel a bit towards the end with a lot of revelations all at once (and the way things went down with the cop was kind of wishy-washy) but overall I enjoyed my time with this one. The characters weren't super deep but they were fun to watch and for the most part the action and comedy balanced well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Confinement, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Car accident, and Dementia
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