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lifeinthebooklane's review
4.0
Why oh why have I left it so long since last reading a Carol Van Natta book?
I'm a real book whore, I see a blurb, a cover, a particular authors name and my grabby little hands can't get hold of it quickly enough. However this eclectic and unfocused method sometimes means good authors, really really good authors, get ignored and left by the wayside. This is what has happened for me with Carol Van Natta.
From the first line I was hooked, I fell in love with both main characters (as well as two very 'superior' characters) and enjoyed every single moment of the book. The writing flows so smoothly, whilst acronyms and specialist knowledge are explained seamlessly within the plot, making this east to read as a stand alone book.
Kedron and Ferra were incredibly well written, very easy to warm to and so believable with their secrets and their idiosyncrasies. The world building was amazing, it was so easy to picture both the facility and the planet that most of the story was set on. There is so much story that it's hard to believe this is a novella, and my only wish is that it was longer.
I would have loved more of Kedron, Ferra, Novo and Boz but if I can't have that then I'll just have to make do with reading the rest of the Central Galactic Concordance books, because I'm definitely hooked on them now.
I'm a real book whore, I see a blurb, a cover, a particular authors name and my grabby little hands can't get hold of it quickly enough. However this eclectic and unfocused method sometimes means good authors, really really good authors, get ignored and left by the wayside. This is what has happened for me with Carol Van Natta.
From the first line I was hooked, I fell in love with both main characters (as well as two very 'superior' characters) and enjoyed every single moment of the book. The writing flows so smoothly, whilst acronyms and specialist knowledge are explained seamlessly within the plot, making this east to read as a stand alone book.
Kedron and Ferra were incredibly well written, very easy to warm to and so believable with their secrets and their idiosyncrasies. The world building was amazing, it was so easy to picture both the facility and the planet that most of the story was set on. There is so much story that it's hard to believe this is a novella, and my only wish is that it was longer.
I would have loved more of Kedron, Ferra, Novo and Boz but if I can't have that then I'll just have to make do with reading the rest of the Central Galactic Concordance books, because I'm definitely hooked on them now.
lolasreviews's review
4.0
Cats of War features a female and male that both have some mental scars and secrets that meet each other on a processing plant in the middle of a swamp planet. While this was a short read I liked being able to get to know both characters a bit and I liked seeing them connect and overcome the obstacles in their way. I liked those little moments when they decided to trust the other and share something about themselves. There is a nice romance and I liked the epilogue. While I wouldn't minded reading more about these two as I really liked this story, I think the pacing of this story was well done and it felt complete and not rushed.
Then there are the two cats who were awesome. I liked how the cats got tied to the main characters in a way that made sense and it was fun to read about their antics and how they helped the characters and how in turn the characters helped the cats find a home too. The cats are totally awesome, with telepathic abilities, wings and camouflage skin.
This story works great as a standalone, but for fans of the series there's a small reference to Ayorinn's prophecy which is an important part of the main storyline. And I understood the world and minder abilities better because I am already familiar with the series. I liked how these two have some interesting minder abilities, while they don't have strong minder powers, they do turn to be very helpful in the situations they find themselves in. All in all I really enjoyed this story and was a bit sad when it ended as I wanted to read more about these characters.
Then there are the two cats who were awesome. I liked how the cats got tied to the main characters in a way that made sense and it was fun to read about their antics and how they helped the characters and how in turn the characters helped the cats find a home too. The cats are totally awesome, with telepathic abilities, wings and camouflage skin.
This story works great as a standalone, but for fans of the series there's a small reference to Ayorinn's prophecy which is an important part of the main storyline. And I understood the world and minder abilities better because I am already familiar with the series. I liked how these two have some interesting minder abilities, while they don't have strong minder powers, they do turn to be very helpful in the situations they find themselves in. All in all I really enjoyed this story and was a bit sad when it ended as I wanted to read more about these characters.
qwordyq's review
4.0
A very fun and fast novella! I'm amazed at how Carol Van Natta was able to make a slow burn romance in only 120 pages while the major plot was going on around it and yet she did! I had one instance of I think the author used the wrong term when describing a character. It was stated the character looked "intersex" when a person who is Intersex is not usually visibly intersex and i think she meant transgender. There's also a possibility it was a term for the scifi world that I'm unfamiliar with but it still didn't exactly read well with me. The rest of the story however is great and I loved the cats, excuse me, superior cats though I do wish they had showed up earlier in the story as the book was already halfway done by the time we got to them. I haven't read anything else in this author's repertoire nor in the Central Galactic Concordance series so I may have missed some other context but overall I think it reads well on its own.
harderthanjade's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
wanderfca69's review against another edition
5.0
It started out a bit slow, but this book slowly captures your imagination. I love when the cats come into the story. The characters are well fleshed out and relatable. I thought it was a good story and I enjoyed reading it. I would recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
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