Catagenesis (Cat Ship, #3) by Jody Wallace – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, cats, humor, Jody Wallace, pets, romance, scifi romance, series, talking cats

Review of Catagenesis

First – I love this series!  Cats that can teleport and sometimes read minds.  To be honest, I am not so sure that part is science fiction.  In the Catship series, cats have also evolved to be able to talk.  To humans.  Using human words.  So, cool!

Humans also play a large role.  In Catagenesis, we have Han-Ja Gee.  Drug / information dealer, in debt to a mobster.  “Smarmy” to quote Farah Shine Collins.  (Han-Ja was also in Catapult (book 2) in a very memorable scene involving mind altering drugs (mota), and a talking feline masquerading as a robotic cat.)

Farah is newly awakened after sleeping on a generation ship for 3,000 years.  A former law enforcement liaison, she is not nearly naïve as Han-Ja believes or as she is first presented.  Her mom is Dear Barbara (the cat’s name for her). 

After a murder on the gen ship, Farah and Han-Ja team up to figure out what the heck happened.  Dear Barbara is the prime suspect since she is the one who found the body.  Otherwise, clues are nearly non-existent.  What is not non-existent is a lack of suspects.  The non-cat loving crew members blame the cats.  There is of course, much disagreement on that, especially from the cats. 

More murders, riots and pandemonium ensue.  The author continues to throw in little mayhems to complicate the story and provide plenty of humor.  For cat lovers, you will get plenty of tail swishing, face washing, brushing against legs and sudden bolting from the room.  Plus, a gigantic superior attitude.  Yep, cats.

Romance is there too.  Farah and Han-Ja do not hit it off at first.  But as these things go, each begins to see the appeal of the other.  Kissing and heroics ensue.

This book is for anyone who enjoys sci-fi romance, cats, mystery and hilarity.  It stands alone, but the first two books are just as good and several characters cross over.  So read the entire series I say!

I received a copy of this book from the author. My review is my honest opinion.

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About Catagenesis by Jody Wallace

Han-Ja Gee has made a fine living on Trash Planet trading information and secrets with those who are willing to pay, either in money or in more secrets. He thought he knew everything…until a talking cat interrupted a business meeting. But cats can’t talk. Cats are so rare that only very wealthy people own them. If he can discover the truth about the cats, he can pay off the life-debt he owes and leave Trash Planet forever.

Farah Shine Collins is a passenger on an ancient generation ship who wakes up two thousand years late in a galaxy that barely survived a catastrophic war…and the cats on her ship have become sentient. Her struggle to adjust becomes infinitely worse when she’s asked to partner with an information broker named Han-Ja, who is clearly trouble, to solve a murder on board the ship.

A murder for which the primary suspect is Farah’s mother. A murder that not even mind-reading cats seem to know anything about. A murder that is only the first in a string of deadly attacks that threatens to tear the whole ship apart.

Han-Ja just wanted to escape a brutal racketeer. Farah just wanted a place that she and her mother could call home. Neither expected to fall in love while locked on a murder ship with three thousand terrified colonists and almost as many angry cats. But if they cannot stop the killer, the collateral damage will be a lot more than their hopes and dreams. It will be their lives.

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Another Year!

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5 stars, academia, Ahsley Poston, Blake Crouch, books, cartography, Contemporary Romance, fairies, genetic engineering, ghosts, Heather Fawcett, historical, historical romance, humor, India Holton, Madeline Martin, magical realism, maps, Mimi Matthews, paranormal romance, Patricia Briggs, Peng Shepherd, romance, scifi, series, urban fantasy, witches, WWII

7 years ago today, I shared my first book review on Whiskey With My Book.  To mark this occasion, I thought I’d recap last year by listing my 10 favorite 5-star books of 2022.  It is really hard to choose only 10, but for your sake and mine, I did.  It is even harder to rank them, but I managed.  Note: If I reviewed the book, I included the link. Clicking on the cover will take you to Amazon. Use of these links supports this blog and is very much appreciated. I also recommended checking with your library (if you want to save some $$$)!

10 and 9 – The Bell of Belgrave Square and The Siren of Sussex.  These are the first two books in The Belles of London series by Mimi Matthews.  The historical romances are about women and men who find love outside society’s expected boundaries. 

8 – Soul Taken (Mercy Thompson, #13) by Patricia Briggs.  Between 2021 and 2022, I read (or listened to) the entire Mercy Thompson series.  Binging the urban fantasy series was a great way to soak it up. I reviewed 1-12 before I read #13.

7 – The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin.  Wartime in London is fraught with danger and heartbreak.  This was a moving story enriched by historical detail, complex characters, and books.

6 – The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd.  An absolutely fascinating bit of magical realism, secrets, maps, mapmakers, and intrigue. 

5 – Upgrade by Blake Crouch.  This was one of two Blake Crouch books I read last year.  Upgrade examines the ethics of scientific advancements.

4 and 3 – The League of Gentlewomen Witches and the Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton.  The first two books in the Dangerous Damsels series are highly entertaining.  Crammed full with humor, romance and flying battlehouses, what’s not to love?

2 – Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett.  I was completely charmed by this tale of two academics whose study of faeries becomes an adventure you will never forget.

1 – The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston.  I don’t read a lot of fiction set in current times, so I was quite surprised that this contemporary romance turned out to appeal to me so much!  I even recommended it to my library’s book club.  I hope they love it as much as I did.  I plan to share a review of this book eventually.  I might save it for Valentine’s week.

Thank you for following my blog. I hope, if you are looking for a good book to read, you will find something great here! 

Fury of Frustration (Dragonfury Scotland, #6) by Coreene Callahan – Review

Tags

4 stars, Book Review, Coreene Callahan, dragons, paranormal, paranormal romance, romance, Scotland, series

Review of Fury of Frustration

Ferguson McGlivery, is slightly more than human.  She just doesn’t know it yet.  Good thing she learns fast!  A she learns about her inheritance, The White Hare inn, and she must take on the dragon-warrior Kruger.  

Kruger is a shrewd businessman just as likely to get what he wants through negotiations as hostile takeovers.  He wants The White Hare.  But neither the previous innkeeper, nor Fergusen will sell.  The couple starts out adversarial, but as these stories go, they can’t fight the attraction between them. 

This series features tough, mean, don’t-mess-with-me male dragon heroes who have a soft spot for the women they fall in love with.  Which makes me like them.  Not so with Kruger.  At the outset of a confrontational first meeting with Fergusen, he lets loose an onslaught of very personal insults which I found despicable.  In real life, people who treat others that way don’t change overnight.  And yet, it would seem Kruger did.  I did like how Ferguson retaliated, especially when Kruger returned to the inn.  I’d tell you, but you need to enjoy that scene, with no spoilers!  Basically, I did not like Kruger at all.  That one scene ruined him for me as a hero.

Beyond my dislike of Kruger, there is plenty more to the story.  Magic, danger, dragons and romance pack the pages of this book and make for a thrilling tale that enhances the Dragonfury narrative.  Readers of Ms. Callahan will want to add this to their collection.

Through Booksprout, the author provided a copy of this book. My review is my honest opinion.

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About Fury of Frustration by Coreene Callahan

Ambition can be deadly…

Born of a powerful god, but exiled on earth, dragon-warrior Kruger conceals the truth of his origins from the world. Forced to live a lie, he proves his worth by becoming a tycoon in a powerful business empire. But when a beautiful woman with ambitions of her own gets in his way, he must decide—accept what he cannot change, or eliminate the threat once and for all.

Haunted by ghosts, Ferguson McGilvery needs out. Out from under her step-father’s thumb. Out of the toxic whirlwind her step-brothers create. Out of the country, far away from the dysfunction that has overtaken her life. When a surprise inheritance sends her to the Scottish Highlands, she clashes with Kruger, a man so infuriating she’ll do anything to foil his attempts to make her leave.

His ruthlessness is legendary. Her obstinance knows no bounds. Can two stubborn souls go from enemies to lovers…or will the fates finally admit they made a mistake by throwing the pair together?

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