Review for "Catwoman: Soulstealer" by Sarah J. Maas

"But once she’d gone to the League, Nyssa and Talia had taught her far, far more. Bring Gotham City to its knees."



Rating: 3 stars

My disclaimer for this review is that I know very little about the DC universe. I've never read any of the comics, seen any of the movies besides Wonder Woman and Justice League, or even read the preceding books in this series. I enjoyed the book enough, I would recommend it to people who love superhero stories, but I personally probably won't pick it again because of how slow it moves through the beginning and middle.

This book gets three stars, two stars for the first half of the book and four stars for the second half.
I just felt like this story dragged horribly through the first 150 pages. The whole thing was supposed to heist and action, yet I still felt like nothing was happening. 

“There are good people in Gotham. Protect them.”

Also, I had unanswered questions by the end of the novel and I hate that. I love how Selina was doing everything for her sister, but then why did she keep insisting through the beginning-middle that she wanted to "bring Gotham City to its knees"? I understand if she had to keep up that facade in front of Harley, Ivy, and Luke, but why was it in her personal thoughts? She could have just referred to a plan vaguely without making it seem like she really was what everyone thought she was. I wouldn't have had a problem with the evilness of it, it's just that it was contradictory to her personality at the end of the book. I suppose, though, that she did continuously try to get Luke to "protect the good people of the city", but overall Selina's personal moral compass and personality confused me.

"Her face was white as death. Blood covered her suit. A stab wound in her back, piercing through the shoulder. Still bleeding out. Yet she still held her sister over a shoulder. Fingers white knuckled as they clenched her. She'd been stabbed, and yet Selina had carried her sister here. Tears began sliding down her face. Her mouth trembled. "Please," Selina whispered. One word. Just one, as those tears rolled down her face, through the dirt and blood. Please."

I loved the ending of this book. I love the dynamic between Luke and Selina, I love the way Selina "stealing something" from Nyssa ties into saving her sister, I love the resolution between Selina and Ivy about their friendship. I wasn't fond of the whole "Harley's getting psychiatric treatment because she wants to be good" thing. It just doesn't seem canon to Harley Quinn's character, and I like her crazy lawless personality.