Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Release Date: August 7, 2018
Publisher: Random House
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult / Superheroes
Sizzling with action and suspense, #1 New York Times bestselling author SARAH J. MAAS delivers a coming-of-age Selina Kyle who will steal readers’ hearts in a new, highly anticipated YA blockbuster: CATWOMAN!
When the Bat’s away, the Cat will play. It’s time to see how many lives this cat really has.
Two years after escaping Gotham City’s slums, Selina Kyle returns as the mysterious and wealthy Holly Vanderhees. She quickly discovers that with Batman off on a vital mission, Gotham City looks ripe for the taking.
Meanwhile, Luke Fox wants to prove that as Batwing he has what it takes to help people. He targets a new thief on the prowl who has teamed up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. Together, they are wreaking havoc. This Catwoman is clever—she may be Batwing’s undoing.
In this third DC Icons book, Selina is playing a desperate game of cat and mouse, forming unexpected friendships and entangling herself with Batwing by night and her devilishly handsome neighbor Luke Fox by day. But with a dangerous threat from the past on her tail, will she be able to pull off the heist that’s closest to her heart?
Story Locale: Gotham City
Sarah J. Maas' Catwoman: Soulstealer is the fourth installment in the DC Icons series. Each book in the series is a standalone, and you don't have to read the previous books in order to find out what happens next. Nice change of pace for me. In this story, Selina Kyle steps into the role of Catwoman. The story actually starts when she's 17 years of age, and struggling to take care of her sister Maggie who has cystic fibrosis.
As a member of the Leopards, Selina is undefeated after dozens of fights. But, when the law catches up with Selina and her sister, Selina is forced into making a deal that will take her from Gotham City to Italy where she will train under Talia al Ghul and the League of Assassins. I am sure you've all heard of the League before, especially if you've watched Arrow on the CW. Anyway, after a few years away, Selina finds a way to return to Gotham City.
One can honestly say this is a story about a sisters love and how far she will go in order to say the one she loves from dying. As I am sure you are aware, there is no real cure for Cystic Fibrosis. But, in this world, there may be. Selina ends up uniting for a time with Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. I, like others, really loved Poison Ivy and hope that one day soon she will get her own story, and not depend on being Harley's out since the Joker is an Asylum.
Luke Fox is the secondary main character. I call him a secondary character because the story really is Selina's to tell and Luke is just around because he happens to be part of Bruce Wayne's rehabilitation project called Batwing. Don't get me wrong, I kind of liked Luke, and I liked the fact that the author actually does someone with PTSD pretty well. But, let's me real as well. Luke takes a long time to figure out who Selina is, and the romance wasn't my cup of tea. Nope not because it's interracial. Because I am an originalist who remember when Catwoman and Batman were a thing.
I've been reading Maas since the very beginning. I've watched as people called her a racist because she didn't have any so called diversity in her books. There were too many white people. Too many brown or black skinned characters were killed off too quickly, even though the same number of white characters were also killed off. You get my point. Then, when the writer does offer a bit of diversity, it is to change a character who was otherwise a normal character, into something else.
To top things off, Maas jumps into the all cops are racists and cruel and therefore we are going to write them as such in her books. Points deducted. I know 90% of LEO's are good people. I know of 60 who gave their lives attempting to save people in the Twin Towers. 381 have lost their lives in the past 2 years to hatred and mentally unstable lunatics. Are there exceptions? Of course, there are and you hear all about it in the media.
I am not a fan of diversity for the sake of diversity or because the author is receiving hate mail from fans of her books. Even though I am clearly not a fan of the romance between Selina and Luke, it had nothing to do with diversity, and everything to do with it being phony, or put together too quickly. I have nothing bad to say about the Harley/Poison Ivy Bi-lesbian romance. As I mentioned, the addition of Poison Ivy was a brilliant addiction to this story. I loved her intelligence, and the things that she has been able to do. I also liked the friendship that develops between Selina and Ivy, as well as the lengths that Selina goes through to save her sister even if it means walking into death itself to find answers.
Recommendation: Overall, the story isn't all that bad. The author only uses Purrr maybe a dozen times in total, and doesn't over do it. This Selina Kyle is not Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman, nor is she Anne Hathaway's Catwoman. Her origin story is unique, especially with the addition of the League of Assassins, Nyssa, and Talia al Ghul. If you are a super fan of the authors, then buy the book. If not, borrow it from the library.
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