Cover Image: We Could Be Heroes

We Could Be Heroes

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This is a fun read told in alternating first person POV between Jamie and Zoe, both of whom have special abilities and no memories of their pasts.

Jamie, for all intents and purposes, could be considered a villain because he robs banks, using his ability to stun people minds and erase their memories of the event. But he does it in a way that he doesn’t harm anyone.

Zoe, could be considered a hero since she battles street thugs with the help of her extreme strength, exceptional hearing, ability to hover/fly, and other abilities. But she’s also usually drunk and doesn’t really care all that much.

When they meet and become friends, they start unraveling their missing pasts and uncover more than they ever expected.

I loved the friendship that developed between Jamie and Zoe. They truly cared and would do anything for each other. And they aren’t perfect, they make so many mistakes and run into so many problems. But their friendship holds strong throughout.

The book is filled with action and humor, and some unexpected twists and turns. And the ending! I can’t share my feelings about it without spoilers, but I felt all the feels.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book through Net Galley on behalf of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Was this review helpful?

This is such a cool book - Chen did an excellent job creating characters with depth and challenges. I really enjoyed the journey and adventure of this novel :)

Was this review helpful?

Ooh time goes by and if i don't write the review right away...sigh. I'm trying to be better. The best i can do right now is give a star count...

Was this review helpful?

As a reader, I think sometimes you just pick up a certain book at the wrong time. We Could Be Heroes may have just been that book for me. I made it through the first 3 chapters and was not enamored or drawn in by what I was reading. The story was just a tad too hokey for me and very predictable as well. I tend to love books that are unpredictable and keep me guessing. For this one, the writing was already on the wall.

Although I didn't finish the book, I'd love to add to my review if I ever decide to revisit it.

Thank you so much to Mira Books, Mike Chen, and NetGalley for the ARC of We Could Be Heroes.

Was this review helpful?

This book was decent but not spectacular. I found the characters tolerable and their abilities interesting.

Was this review helpful?

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to net galley and the publisher for the ARC.

I am not a HUGE science fiction fan but this book was intriguing, the idea that they didn't have their memories but have super powers was just very interesting to me. I felt like the choice to be good or bad wasn't made by their memories.

I really enjoyed the friendship between the two main characters, I haven't read many books where the characters are platonic it was a refreshing change.

Was this review helpful?

I struggled to complete this book. I didn't love the story line or the characters or their story arc.

Was this review helpful?

Mike Chen is a master of weaving together beautiful family and friendship stories, blended seamlessly with SciFi. We Could Be Heroes is no exception. It is a terrific adult book with teen appeal, and I will definitely be putting this fast-paced superhero story on my shelves.

Was this review helpful?

WAH wahhhhhhhhhh. I just couldn’t get into it. I don’t know why I continued, I guess I wanted it to get better. I love super heroes. But this one was just not for me. I felt it was too whiplashy and confusing. Long descriptions and but never knew who the narrator was talking about. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC digital copy. I have not been compensated for my opinion and this is an honest review.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish reading this ARC digital copy before needing to switch to other books that were being archived. The book is no longer on my Goodreads "want to read" list, but I will update my review to reflect an updated opinion if I decide to finish at a later date.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed the premise of this story a lot, I just found the plot to be too predictable, which is unfortunate. The characters also fell a bit flat. It was a quick, fairly enjoyable read but didn't really hit home for me.

Was this review helpful?

this was such a fun read, I loved the take on the superhero genre and boy does the author know how to write. The characters were great and I really enjoyed reading this.

Was this review helpful?

While I liked this, I wanted to like this so much more. I don't like superhero media, but I do love m/f friendship stories, and at the end of the day, the latter just didn't hit quite hard enough for me to love it.

Was this review helpful?

Unfortunately I can't provide feedback as I don't have access to the mobi file anymore and when I came back here to download it, it's no longer available! I didn't posted my star rating anywhere either. If you'd still like to get my review I'd love to be able to download the mobi file.

Was this review helpful?

This is my first time reading anything from Mike Chen. Romance is my forte, but I enjoyed this book. Despite the lack of romance, I appreciated the platonic camaraderie between the two mains. Written as a standalone, this book was a good read. Premise-wise, it’s an interesting story. Amnesia tropes are usually a hit or miss with me, but this time around it was enjoyable. Both of the main characters are definitely not what most people would call “heroes.” Jamie and Zoe are two very different people with two very different skill sets. Jamie and Zoe wake up with memory-loss and have no idea who they are. The pair meet at a memory-loss support group and the adventure begins. I enjoyed the diversity and LGBT representation in the story with its flawed, but relatable main characters. The ending was satisfying with most loose ends tied-up. Overall, this book was an enjoyable read.

Was this review helpful?

San Delgado and the surrounding area has a crisis of increasing citizens with super abilities. Jamie wakes in an empty apartment with his memories just as empty, but he has the power to read and erase other people's memories. He becomes The Mind Robber and robs banks and minds in his quest to leave San Delgado (a fictional town that mirrors San Francisco, CA). Across town, Zoe wakes in a similar state: memory-less with cryptic clues as to her identity and new powers. Zoe and Jaime meet in a memory-loss support group and find themselves in an unlikely friendship in order to fight what may the root cause of the rise in supers and increase of rolling blackouts throughout the city.

X-Men meets Hancock in this superhero novel. The only thing truly is super is in the characters' abilities as the protagonists are quite flawed. Zoe and Jaime strike up a platonic friendship and find that they balance each other out as they learn to trust themselves while peeling away layers of who they might be. I liked that there was a larger villain/corporation they both have to fight (rather than each other). Some of the fight sequences were difficult to follow and some of the settings difficult to picture, but this was a fun book that explores who/what we could be and how we would evolve even when the proverbial slate is wiped clean. The pacing works for the book, but I wish there was a bit more background on the "villains" as that's a major segment that seems more rushed and occurs "off screen." Overall, a fun read for fans of superhero/action books! 3.5 rounded up.

Was this review helpful?

Jamie is the Mind Robber. His goal is to steal enough money to retire comfortably in the Caribbean. He doesn't know anything about his past apart from the last few months. He does not want to hurt people and steals only the memories of people at the bank robberies, so they cannot identify him.

Zoe is a vigilante called The Throwing Star. Her purpose is to help people, or so she believes, given her impressive abilities.

This is a dual point of view narrative of two unlikely people with no memories of their lives coming together to learn their purpose in life. There is also some LGBTQ+ representation.
Their pasts have similarities they just cannot ignore and it might have something to do with a reconditioning facility. And there is a more sinister plot that we slowly learn more about.

Despite the slow pacing at the start of this book, which seemed to drag on for more than half of the story, the ending was good.

Was this review helpful?

Took me a bit to get into, but it turned out pretty action packed! I would love to delve further into the world Chen is building here. Great entry in the superhero/antihero world.

Was this review helpful?