#BookReview Of Cats and Sea Monsters by Wren Cavanagh (@WrenCavanagh )

Of Cats and Sea Monsters by Wren Cavanagh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the idilyc coastal town of Urchin Cove, Jericho, the official clinic cat for the town's only vet had hoped to spend the summer relaxing after helping break up a dog fighting ring in the spring.

He had been longing to let the summer sun soak into his jet-black fur, but it was not meant to be. He is dragged into a missing persons case that leads to one murder, and then another, Jericho's summer goes off with a bang.

Worse, the seas monsters are returning to Urchin Cove, the mono-clawed kitten is missing, and a haunted ship has set sail from the furthest reaches of hell with cargo and passengers keen to wipe the Cove of the map.

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Of Cats and Sea Monsters is the sequel to the novella Bits and Pieces. And, it's just as charming to read as the first novella. First, I want to say that it's probably wise to read Bits and Pieces before reading this novella, to get the backstory of the characters and know the events of the first novella. 

Personally, did I find that there were moments when I felt lost, despite having read the previous novella, but that's because it's over six months since I read Bits and Pieces and my memory isn't what it used to be. It didn't affect the reading, but it was more like "who is this person again?" moments. It's nice getting older, everything feels new! ;)  So, reading both in a row is perhaps the best idea. At least, if you are as forgetful as I am. And, since there are short stories doesn't it take a long time to read them both.

The story is interesting. Jericho is a big talking cat and he is definitely the star of these novellas. In this book, must Jericho and his "owner", the towns vet Dr. All, fight dangerous sea monsters and some dangerous humans as well. And, there is also the mysterious clock that seems to be very important.

I quite liked Of Cats and Sea Monster, and I'm looking forward to reading the next installment when it comes. Also, if you have read Arachnohazard by Wren Cavanagh is there a cool link to that story.

I want to thank the author for proving me with a free copy for an honest review!

#BookReview The Last Flag by Wren Cavanagh

The Last Flag by Wren Cavanagh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What would you do to pay the bills; to survive, or to just get rich, would you compete against other teams in a quarantined town filthy with zombies wanting to bite out your throat?
Emma and Lewis sign up for the race, they need the money to save his life. But they won't just be racing the dead, the surprise blizzard or the other contestants.

Because anger and vengeance know no bounds and like everyone in the blighted town they become pawns in a game of retribution.

The contestants become nothing more than live entertainment to viewers who watch and judge their every move in the town of Prideful as they race each other to arrive alive to a final flag. The team that makes will get airlifted out alive and go back home richer for it, the others walk back to a pittance and if they are not careful. They won't get out at all.

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This is actually how I imagine the zombie apocalypse to be, a way for people to earn money. Both, those that can profit from it by even thinking of a TV show where people must go through a town full of zombies to find flags and people that can earn "easy" money fast.

The Last Flag, is just as the title describes a book about different groups fighting for flags and their lives. I found the book to be very refreshing to read because it felt very different from what I'm used to when it comes to zombies. Instead of people getting surprised by zombies and are trying to hide from them are the people on the teams' hellbent on winning cash. And, don't get attached to the people in this book. It may start off slowly, not much interaction with the zombies, but there comes a moment when everything starts to go to hell, not for the people on the teams, but for the ones behind the show. That's another thing I really liked about this book. There are a lot of things going on behind the camera that, well screw things up for some people.

This is the third book I have read by Wren Cavanagh and just like Arachnohazard and Bits and Pieces were this book a great read. I liked the humor in this book, and the action and I especially liked that Cavanagh manages to make a trite subject like zombies interesting again.

I want to thank the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

Bits and Pieces: Cat Daddies Mysteries Series by Wren Cavanagh

Bits and Pieces: Cat Daddies Mysteries Series by Wren Cavanagh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What is a cat to do when he sees his cat daddy framed as a killer?

Murders most brutal strike the close knit community of Urchin Cove. Bodies keep dropping, animals and people go missing, suspicions grow and fingers are pointed in this unusual Oregon coast town.

It soon becomes a dangerous case for the unique (and huge) Jericho. His cat dad and new town vet, the young and handsome Dr. All Medley is under suspicion and it could cost them both everything.

To bring justice to the cove and rescue his human Jericho must deal with a ruthless murderer and criminals involved in a horrific animal fighting ring. Along the way, the huge feline fellow becomes a cat daddy himself.

Bits and Pieces is the first novella in the first cycle of the Cat Daddies Mystery series. This exciting new series will culminate its first cycle in a full size novel on its fifth book.

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I like cats. I especially like cats in books. Characters that have cats win bonus points in my opinion. And, in Bits and Pieces, we have a very large and unusual cat called Jericho who doesn't like that his cat daddy, the town's new vet, is being questioned for murder. So, he decides to help solve the murder, with some help from humans and animals along the way.

I found Bits and Pieces to be a very entertaining novella. Quite far from the horror book Arachnohazard, my first introduction to Wren Cavanagh. Although Bits and Pieces have a bit of gore as well, not as graphic and horrifying as in Arachnohazard perhaps, but they do have to pick up a murder victim in pieces...

Bits and Pieces is a perfect novella for when you want a mystery, with a cat, and some very interesting characters (both human and animals). The especially liked how the story ended, and I'm curious to see what will happen next.

I liked Bits and Pieces very much and I look forward to reading the rest four novellas!

I want to thank the author for proving me with a free copy for an honest review! 

Arachnohazard by Wren Cavanagh

Arachnohazard by Wren Cavanagh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Devon Douglas returns home only to find his mother and aunt dead and his father Terry dying a very horrible death. Terry had found out that John Edwards, a college of him had done horrible experiments with spiders and tried to put a stop to it, but in the end, Terry failed. And, Edwards revenge towards Terry was merciless. But, he didn't stop there. He took his creations, his mutated spiders and in what looks like harmless butterfly boxes he is spreading the spiders all over the USA...

I won this book a while back and I was really looking forward to reading it. This is actually my second spider book (See The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone) I have read this year. And, for some strange reason, despite not really liking spiders in real life do I like to read about spiders in a book. Or like, that's perhaps not the right term. It's more like I have found something to read about that really is dreadful (in a good way). And, it's not hard to get sucked into a story with awful mutated animals. Especially when it's well-written and never dull for a moment. Like this book. 

The book starts off with a BANG, or perhaps more with OUCH. Devon is at his father's deathbed. The doctors can't do anything more for him and his sister Aneni hasn't managed to get back in time. It's on Terry's deathbed that Devon learns the truth of Edwards, or parts of, more will come later. And, when Aneni gets back they decide to do as their father asked them to stop Edwards for good themselves since the army would only try to take him alive. And, as they prepare to stop him the butterfly boxes are starting to reveal its true content...

I found this book to be really good, and I enjoyed the illustrations in the book by Daniela Morescalchi. That was a very nice move. There are a lot of characters involved in the story. Some have important roles while other are just there for the moment. And, you could never really be sure who would live or die. Sometimes I felt a bit lost when the focused shifted to someone that I couldn't place, but only for a moment. The only time I was really confused was when I thought a soldier had died and then he was alive a couple of pages later on, but then again, there were a lot of soldiers and a lot of action going on with them and the mutated spiders. 

The book was great and as I said before, never a dull moment, and definitely not towards the end when everything came together for a spectacular finale. 

Arachnohazard is perhaps not an ideal book to read if you have arachnophobia. But, if you like well-written mutated spider books, then I recommend this one. And, if you ever see a butterfly box? RUN!