Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Books Written Before You Were Born. Since February is my birth month, I decided to make a list of Books Written the Year I Was Born. These books were written in 1993. Here’s my list:
1. Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore
2. Dangerous Fortune by Ken Follett
3. Night of the Living Dummy by R.L. Stone
4. Death: The High Cost of Living by Neil Gaiman
5. Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver
6. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
7. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
8. The Giver by Lois Lowry
9. Along Came a Spider by James Patterson
10. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
(All book covers from Goodreads)
What’s your list of books on your Top Ten Tuesday?
Title: We Could Be Heroes Author: Mike Chen Genre: Science Fiction Publisher: Mira Books Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: January 26, 2021 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
An extraordinary and emotional adventure about unlikely friends and the power of choosing who you want to be.
Jamie woke up in an empty apartment with no memory and only a few clues to his identity, but with the ability to read and erase other people’s memories—a power he uses to hold up banks to buy coffee, cat food and books.
Zoe is also searching for her past, and using her abilities of speed and strength…to deliver fast food. And she’ll occasionally put on a cool suit and beat up bad guys, if she feels like it.
When the archrivals meet in a memory-loss support group, they realize the only way to reveal their hidden pasts might be through each other. As they uncover an ongoing threat, suddenly much more is at stake than their fragile friendship. With countless people at risk, Zoe and Jamie will have to recognize that sometimes being a hero starts with trusting someone else—and yourself.
Review:
Jamie woke up one day in an apartment with a note that said he has a superpower to read and erase minds. He decided to use that power to rob banks, giving him the name Mind Robber. Zoe also woke up in an apartment with a note that said she has super strength and a name tag with Zoe Wong written on it. Zoe stops criminals and has been given the name Throwing Star. When Jamie and Zoe clash, they start to realize there are similarities between their pasts. The two vigilantes work together to figure out where they came from.
This was such a thrilling superhero story. It started out with Jamie and Zoe in action, with him robbing a bank and her trying to stop him. It developed into a broader story about identity. There were loads of secrets that they kept from each other and that they had to learn along the way. I really couldn’t put this book down.
My only criticism is that the ending felt a little long. There was a long, technical action scene. However, the final pages were definitely worth the wait!
This is a great science fiction superhero story!
Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen
Vicious by V.E. Schwab
About the author:
Mike Chen is a lifelong writer, from crafting fan fiction as a child to somehow getting paid for words as an adult. He has contributed to major geek websites (The Mary Sue, The Portalist, Tor) and covered the NHL for mainstream media outlets. A member of SFWA and Codex Writers, Mike lives in the Bay Area, where he can be found playing video games and watching Doctor Who with his wife, daughter, and rescue animals. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @mikechenwriter
Have you read We Could Be Heroes? What did you think of it?
This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!
What I just finished:
This weekend I finished We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen.
What I’m currently reading:
I’m currently reading This Golden Flames by Emily Victoria.
What I’m reading next:
Next I will be reading City of Glass by Cassandra Clare.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.
This Sunday I’m reading We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen.
Goodreads Synopsis:
An extraordinary and emotional adventure about unlikely friends and the power of choosing who you want to be.
Jamie woke up in an empty apartment with no memory and only a few clues to his identity, but with the ability to read and erase other people’s memories—a power he uses to hold up banks to buy coffee, cat food and books.
Zoe is also searching for her past, and using her abilities of speed and strength…to deliver fast food. And she’ll occasionally put on a cool suit and beat up bad guys, if she feels like it.
When the archrivals meet in a memory-loss support group, they realize the only way to reveal their hidden pasts might be through each other. As they uncover an ongoing threat, suddenly much more is at stake than their fragile friendship. With countless people at risk, Zoe and Jamie will have to recognize that sometimes being a hero starts with trusting someone else—and yourself.
Title: Wench Author: Maxine Kaplan Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy Publisher: Amulet Books Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: January 19, 2021 Rating: ★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
A funny, fiercely feminist YA epic fantasy—following the adventures of a tavern wench
Tanya has worked at her tavern since she was able to see over the bar. She broke up her first fight at 11. By the time she was a teenager she knew everything about the place, and she could run it with her eyes closed. She’d never let anyone—whether it be a drunkard or a captain of the queen’s guard—take advantage of her. But when her guardian dies, she might lose it all: the bar, her home, her purpose in life. So she heads out on a quest to petition the queen to keep the tavern in her name—dodging unscrupulous guards, a band of thieves, and a powerful, enchanted feather that seems drawn to her. Fast-paced, magical, and unapologetically feminist, Wench is epic fantasy like you’ve never seen it before.
Content warning: Some magic in the book involves self-harm.
Review:
Tanya has worked at a tavern with her adopted father for the past ten years. When he suddenly dies one day, she loses the tavern. The Queen’s guard takes it from her, so she decides to travel with them to see the Queen and get the title for her tavern back. On their journey to the city, Tanya finds a magical quill that the guard is also transporting. Tanya ends up connecting herself to the quill through blood magic, which leads her on an epic journey through different worlds.
This was quite an extensive magical journey. Tanya went to many different kinds of lands, including forests, a palace, and a volcano. The blood magic was intriguing because it was irreversible. She was connected to the quill in a very intimate way that also had complications.
This story focused on Tanya, but it was written from a third-person perspective, rather than a first-person perspective. I think I would have felt more of a connection to Tanya if it had been written from her point of view. Tanya also seemed to get distracted from her goal of retrieving her tavern. She became focused on the quill and magic, rather than just working towards getting her tavern back. If she had stayed focused on her original goal, she could have completed it much quicker. Also, since it was called “Wench” I thought there would be more of a focus on her working at the tavern. That was a small part of the story, with most of it being about the quill and magic, so the title is deceiving.
This was a good epic fantasy story, but it could have been presented in a more accurate way.
Thank you Amulet Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
About the author:
Maxine Kaplan was born in Washington, DC. She and her twin sister spent their early childhoods trotting behind their journalist parents as they traveled around the world, eventually settling in Brooklyn, NY. Maxine graduated from Oberlin College in 2007. Following a long stint in the world of publishing, she has worked as a private investigator since 2009. She lives in her adopted hometown of Brooklyn, NY, with her dimwitted, but soulful cat.Her first novel The Accidental Bad Girl received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and will be available in paperback January 5, 2021. Her sophomore novel, Wench, is coming in January 19, 2021.
Giveaway:
One person will win a finished copy of Wench. The giveaway starts on January 25th and ends on February 1st.
Title: The Case of the Disappearing Pets (Mina Mistry (Sort of) Investigates #2) Author: Angie Lake, Ellie O’Shea (illustrator) Genre: Children’s, Mystery Publisher: Sweet Cherry Publishing Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: February 4, 2021 Rating: ★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Disappearing hamsters? Vanishing toads? Missing snails? This needs investigating.
This looks like a case for Mina Mistry…
An explosion at the local pet shop shows Mina that this pet palaver can’t be a coincidence. But why is someone stealing all the animals? What do they want them for?
About the Mina Mistry Investigates series: Introducing Mina Mistry, witty schoolgirl detective and soon-to-be Private Investigator. Mina Mistry Investigates is a fun detective series packed with comic-style illustrations and mystery-solving throughout.
Great for reluctant readers aged 7+ and fans of Planet Omar and Dork Diaries.
Review:
After a pet presentation at Mina’s school, a bunch of the pets who were brought in by students go missing. Then, there was an explosion at the pet store in town, with all the animals in the store going missing as well. Mina Mistry starts investigating the disappearance of all the pets.
This was another entertaining Mina Mistry mystery. I found some parts gross, like the bugs that children kept as pets, but young readers would probably find that funny. The illustrations were great at telling the story. They made the story a quick read. Some of the illustrations were funny, such as the way Mina’s best friend Holly would dress her hamster up in clothes and jewelry. Her hamster, Harriet, was famous on social media for all of her glamorous clothes. I loved those illustrations because they really showed how fashionable the hamster looked in clothes.
I didn’t really like the ending of the mystery. There were multiple solutions to the various different kinds of missing pets. Since they were all investigated together, I thought the different missing pets would have been connected, but they had each disappeared to a different place.
This was a great illustrated children’s book, but the solution to the mystery was disappointing.
Thank you Sweet Cherry Publishing for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
The Case of the Loathsome School Lunches by Angie Lake
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