Hey Everyone,
it's been a long time since I have done a book review here on my blog, but I am definitely planning on catching up with that in the near future because throughout the summer I've read so many good books and I am so excited to share my opinion about them with you.
Today I am going to review Take me to the Cat by. This book I was sent by the publisher, Verona Booksellers in exchange for an honest review. I got so excited, when they reached out to me, because I've been planning on exploring new genres and this book being a YA psychological thriller, is perfect for that. I am always a bit hesitant about thrillers in general because I am a person with very vivid fantasy and these kinds of books definitely make my anxiety level rise in general. So, without me rambling, let's jump into the review, but first here is the synopsis. Keep in mind that this review is entirely spoiler free.
The synopsis:
One innocent reunion. One dark and deadly secret. And the truth that threatens them all.
Nostalgic high school senior Michael Jackson wants nothing more than to reunite with his friends from elementary school—and possibly change his name. Transferring before middle school after his parents’ nasty divorce, Michael always felt he was at his happiest back in his Oklahoma hometown. Inviting his lifelong crush Catherine, among other former classmates, to a spring break reunion party seems like the perfect plan for Michael to get closure on the formative years of his life.
Yet nothing is as he remembers when Michael finds himself entangled in his own confusion between reality and nightmare. Suddenly, secrets from his childhood resurface, and the fanatic ringleader from Michael’s past will do whatever it takes to silence his friends. Now it’s up to Michael to save them all before it’s too late. But does he have the courage and strength to go up against his own worst enemy?
In this quirky psychological thriller from the mind of Bryant A. Loney, Michael will go through hell and high water as he faces his inner demons, unaware that the revelation he seeks demands the ultimate sacrifice.
My thoughts:
I kind of have mixed feelings about this book, hence the fact I gave it 3/5 stars on Goodreads. Let's start with the main character Michael. First of all, finally a book with a male lead, I would love to see more male leads in books, especially in YA. But sadly I was more annoyed with Michael than I liked him. He is a character who lives in the past and wants his old friends back, while he seems to have good enough friends where he is.
A huge plus for this book was a number of diverse characters in it. In this book, there are not only LGBTQ characters, but there is an Otherkin character, which was interesting because I have never heard about them before. So, that was a surprise. If you don't know who Otherkins are definitely read about them. Although it's very good to see diversity in books, I feel like, in this book, the writer tried to put as many diverse characters he could and because of this, they didn't feel whole for me. I don't feel like I got to know either of them enough to truly care about them.
About the story itself I don't really want to go to much into detail, because of the spoilers, but the thing I will say about this book that the beginning was very slow. Half the time while reading the first 100 pages I was wondering if I missed something or not. But after the first 100 or so pages the story took off and I loved the writing. I will definitely read other books by Bryant A. Loney because although the story in this book wasn't really appealing to me, the writing was very good and kind of saved this book for me.
Altogether I think if you love psychological thrillers you can pick this one up, but stick with the book until after the first 110 pages.
Although I had problems with this book, I definitely enjoyed reading it and I will for sure pick up another book by this author, because I loved his writing. And I would like to say thank you again for Verona Booksellers for sending me an eARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
Until next time,
Bianka
