i am trying to read more sci fi and fantasy and i really love emily woo zeller (the narrator of the audio book) so i thought this might be a good one to try. honestly i think if it was narrated by someone else i might not have liked it this much. but the last third of this, especially the climax, was hard for me. it was too much and the focus seemed misplaced to me. i do like the overarching friendship between the two characters that transcends memory - and that it was a rivals to friends instead of rivals to lovers - but otherwise this is just okay for me. ( )

I loved the concept of two people (a “hero” and a “villain”) with extraordinary powers meeting somewhere ordinary and becoming allies. The first half pulled me in. The second half dragged badly with reiterations of known information and pacing issues that made the finale anticlimactic. The tone of the book was badly confused. While the beginning was more serious, the end, that probably should have been more serious, took aim at some humor that fell mostly flat. Fun concept, disappointing execution. ( )

Jamie can't remember anything beyond two years ago, when he woke up in an apartment with a cat meowing outside the window. His ambition is to retire to a Caribbean island, and to fund it he has been robbing banks - only FDIC insured banks, no one gets hurt - and using his abilities to remove memories to get away. Then at a memory-loss support group, he meets Zoe, a young woman in a very similar boat who has extra speed and strength, who has been beating up bad guys as the vigilante, Throwing Star, in between food delivery. Maybe they can figure out their pasts together if they team up?

This story was a lot of fun, easy to read, and wears its science fiction lightly. We're not really given much of an explanation for Jamie and Zoe's powers, and much of the time I could see this being made into a film. I especially liked that Jamie and Zoe become first uneasy allies, then friends, and it doesn't become romantic (more of this, please!). The line between superhero and villain is fuzzy - even as a bank robber, Jamie has principles, and even though Zoe is beating up bad guys she discovers there are negative side effects to what she does. A very enjoyable sort-of-superhero origin story that doesn't take itself too seriously. ( )

The story of two people who connect when they realize that they both woke up two years ago without memories and with superpowers. Together, they investigate their possible shared, unknown history.

Definitely for fans of Austen Grossman's [b:Soon I Will Be Invincible|645180|Soon I Will Be Invincible|Austin Grossman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320554514l/645180._SY75_.jpg|955983] as well as classic Doctor Who fans. ( )

A competent and fairly interesting superhero origin story. Not really my genre though, so I'm not invested in these people. ( )