Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas

Summary from Goodreads:

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, Batwing is left to hold back the tide of notorious criminals. Gotham City is ripe for the taking.

Meanwhile, Luke Fox wants to prove he has what it takes to help people in his role as Batwing. He targets a new thief on the prowl who seems cleverer than most. She has teamed up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, and together they are wreaking havoc. This Catwoman may be Batwing's undoing.

Review:

This is my least favorite book by this author, so far.

To put my cards on the table, I was an early fan of Throne of Glass, and I have come to really enjoy that series. I’m beyond looking forward to the last installment that is due to come out this fall. On the other hand, I really did not like her other series that started with A Court of Thorns and Roses, and with each installment of it, I’ve liked it less and less –I don’t think I even read her latest one in that series…

So, I knew going into this one that there was a 50/50 chance. I happen to really like the character of Selina Kyle. And I kind of have a soft spot for all the ladies of the DC universe. They’re all so fierce, independent, and powerful, and since I was a kid, I craved girl superheroes (and villans).  I know Maas can write a fierce, independent, and powerful main character, so I thought I’d give this a chance –despite some negative reviews that were popping up.

To be fair, I loved the beginning of the book. I got super into Selina’s fighting lifestyle. I even thought her sister brought into the story, something new and interesting. I liked that Selina had something to fight for, besides herself. I let it slide that she was not so independent as she’s supposed to be. The whole thing with the League of Assassins was surprising for me. Again, Selina Kyle, is not known for teaming up with anyone –she is the most independent of female comic book characters…But, I thought this brought an interesting new viewpoint to her, and I guess I wanted to see what the League would inevitably bring out of her.

And that’s kind of when it all went downhill for me. The majority of the book was one heist after another with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. Selina comes back after 2 years with the Assassins (of which readers don’t get to see except in a few flashbacks), with a secret agenda that she doesn’t share with the rest of the gang (or the reader).  And I guess this is what led me to making all of my Throne of Glass connections. There’s the obvious: the names Selina/ Celaena, the fact that both main characters are trained assassins, and both strong ladies have close to the same personality... Then there’s the not-quite-as-obvious connections: Both Selina and Celaena had hidden agendas from their squads of friends and the reader, both had torturous flashbacks to bad times they survived, both had convenient weapons that could do almost anything at their disposal (magic for Celaena and a helmet that could do just too much for Selina), both had strong friendships with people who forgave them too fast, both seemed to learn an extraordinary amount in a short period of time, and both fall for the wrong guy.

There’s actually even more similarities, but I was getting exasperated thinking of them all and had to stop. I get that some similarities were inevitable and possibly out of Maas’s hands, like the name. But, this was just too much. Like, was she really writing about Selina Kyle, or was this just an extra side project to spend more time with Celaena, who she still can’t get out of her head?

My other problem with this book is probably my connection to the women of the DC universe. If I didn’t know what I did about Catwoman, Ivy, and Harley, I’d probably have enjoyed this a whole lot more. Like if I didn’t know Poison Ivy would rather die a slow, painful death than embarrassingly run away from Batwing for no apparent reason….Like she could have taken him so, so easily. Or that Harley would suggest blowing up a kids beauty pageant….and it’s Ivy that says that’s too far? It just felt like this author did not know these characters well….

Weirdly, I ended up liking Ivy more than I ever have. Maas made her so much more redeemable, and I guess that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It’s just strange…And again, maybe I would have loved this book, if I wasn’t so attached to these existing characters already.

I was hoping to get something totally different from Maas. I liked the idea of a stand-alone from her. And I gave her a fair chance going in. This just was too repetitive; too similar to her other books, and my beloved characters of the DC Universe were stretched out in ways that didn’t really make sense. All in all, this was a major disappointment. It was a good idea and the beginning was interesting, but I don’t recommend this to fans of Catwoman or to people who know the DC universe much at all. I give it a 4/10.