Hardcover, 304 pagesRelease Date: August 7, 2018Published by: Random House Books for Young Readers
Read from: August 9-August 16, 2018DC Icons, #3Source: BoughtTW: N/A
For fans of: Superheroes/ Villains, Comics, YA
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.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Having read the first two in the series, I thought I knew what to expect with this one. I knew it was going to be an origin story about how Selina Kyle became Catwoman, but I did not know it would also be a story that made me feel sorry for her and give her more respect in the end.
"Let the bloodying begin."pg. 9
Selina Kyle finally gets out of Gotham City's slums... To end up right back in Gotham City two years later. Batman is gone, but Batwing is left to watch the city while he's away. What he's not expecting is to find the new, infamous Catwoman here to team up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn teaming up together to stage heists and wreak havoc on the city. They may both be the other's undoing.
"For Luke Fox, hell wasn't fire and brimstone. It was friends he'd laughed with in the morning at the canteen winding up in body bags by lunch."pg. 47
As a huge fan of heroes (my favorite person ever is Wonder Woman), I did not understand why they added Catwoman to this series. It's not someone I thought I would have cared about. But once I started reading about it, I understood a bit more. By finally having a book just about Catwoman, it made me stop and see the reasoning behind why she started down this life of crime. And I have to say, it's not what I was expecting. So, although I wasn't on board with them choosing her at first, I'd love to see other villains and their origin stories as well. Just under a different name than DC Icons. Because let's face it, I would still rather hear about a hero than a villain.
"People will see what they want to see, Talia had told her. Give them the illusion. Become the illusion. And never let them know, even when you are long gone. Even in your triumph."pg. 93
As for the writing style, I think it was a bit too long for my taste. It got to be a bit redundant towards the middle and I found myself feeling like I was slogging through it at a point in time. I was thinking it was possibly a reading slump, but there were others that I could read just fine. It wasn't until the last 60 pages or so that everything tied together and began to make sense. It totally redeemed it for me because I was a bit disappointed and leaning at 3 stars. (If you know me, you know I'm not a fan of waiting for the end of the book to get good. I have DNF'ed many a book because only the last couple pages are good.)
"Perhaps reality wasn't so far from the myth."pg. 105
I also really liked that this is told as a dual POV. Having the villain and the hero in one book both telling their own sides of the story seems as if it would be confusing, but it actually wasn't. I'm not sure if it was easy to follow because I was used to Maas' writing, but whatever the case may be, both MC's had a distinct voice and I was able to fall for both characters actually.
"Catwoman was a good way to describe her. The ears on the dark helmet, the over-sized lenses, the claws that she'd just retracted after that spectacular jump... Even her steps oozed feline grace."pg. 118
It's always hard for me to root for the villains, but with this one it was surprisingly easy. Selina Kyle was not the villain as you would expect her to be. This book definitely has some surprises and I can't wait to see what other people think of her!
Overall, I give this
