Peanut butter is great. Chocolate is arguably even better. But peanut butter and chocolate together? Now we’re talking.
In Roverpowered 2, we have Drew Hayes, a wildly talented, emotionally fluent author on one hand, and a ridiculously overpowered, chubby Corgi on the other. Genius author + adorable magic dog? Yes, please!
As you might have guessed, because you’re smart like that, this is number two in the series, and what a series it is. I make no pretense of objectivity when it comes to either Drew Hayes or dogs, so you get what you get. And what you get this time is my love for a delightful book in what is shaping up to be a new favorite series.
This time around, Wanda and Wumble are starting their training. Things go wildly wrong, but not because Wanda isn’t competent. She is. She’s just both stronger and better trained than they realize. Sometimes it’s hard to be better than the norm, especially when no one notices.
I love how Wanda has no idea how overpowered Wumble is and neither does anyone else. The tools they give her to handle her mana flow are meant for normal wizards, not her, but she just assumes she’s doing it wrong and adapts. There’s something so charming about a character who is completely oblivious about how special they are. Wanda is special, too, not just because of her bond with Wumble, but because she’s smart, determined, principled, and clever. She’s also just really good at this. She has more training than they know, more power than they can possibly guess, and more grit than the rest of the class put together.
Competence mixed with humility is always fascinating, and I couldn’t look away right up until the ending landed, way too soon.
I support Drew Hayes’ desire to make a living wage, but I wish it weren’t keeping me from reading this faster. I wonder how much it would take to buy me a sneak peek into the unpublished volumes? Time to check my bank balance…
5 Too-Broke-To-Bribe Stars
