The Cat and the City

Book Title: The Cat and the City

Author: Nick Bradley

Date Started: February 10th 2020

Date Completed: March 24th 2020

Genres: Contemporary, Short Story

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Two Stars

Final Rating: Two Stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

In all fairness to this book, I spent most of it comparing it to other works of Japanese literature I'm familiar with, primarily Murakami (because it feels like it's trying really hard to be Murakami) and that's a hard act to follow. But it also didn't do it for me, at all. I jumped at the chance to read this because I thought the idea of snippets of lives that somehow cross paths with this tortoise-shell cat in Japan sounded cool! Turns out the cat isn't so much a motif or a thread; just a coincidental object each story shares. Fine, but the individual stories weren't working for me either.

I made it three short stories in (a fair percentage through the book), but none of them clicked, whether it be the pacing, the themes, the characters etc. The fact that most of what I was expecting was hindered on the cat motif or a cultural exploration of Japan (which from a Western perspective is already ambiguous) meant that I was disappointed. It might have the setting, socio-political events and I guess references of Japan, but it doesn't feel like it has the heart, and isn't offering anything else besides to hold my interest.

All the King's Men

Book Title: All the King's Men

Author: Nora Sakavic

Series: All for the Game #3

Date Started: February 25th 2020

Date Completed: March 22nd 2020

Genres: Contemporary, Thriller, Romance

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

All for the Game was an unexpected favourite of mine when I picked it up on a whim a few years ago. I ended up turning to the last book when I just couldn't get into anything else and wanted a fun, engaging read where I could invest pretty much 100% in the characters and zone out of the real world. As always, this series delivered. I was actually expecting something more dramatic for the final conclusion to the trilogy, but what Sakavic chose instead was satisfying, fulfilling and just right (and pretty dramatic in all fairness).

These books are all about characters, and rightly so with a cast like this. The Foxes are a total mess in just about every way, but their diversity and (believable) complexity is immediately appealing. Really it's all melodrama, somewhere between a teen drama and gang thriller. But the stakes (both criminal and domestic) are so convincing that you completely buy into it - it's a masterclass in creating empathy in characters and an engaging storyline alongside.

I've really enjoyed this series; I'm very glad I randomly decided to take a stranger's recommendation and pay the 99p (!) to buy the first book. It isn't a cult classic for nothing, though I am still surprised it hasn't been picked up in the mainstream yet. Her work isn't just entertaining, Sakavic is a damn good writer - and she might make a good screenwriter too, especially with stories like these.