"Robbery, mayhem, notoriety...What else could a girl want?" (Selina Kyle/Catwoman)
I was extremely excited to read Catwoman: Soulstealer for two reasons:
1) Catwoman is one of my favourite antiheroes.
2) This is my first Sarah J. Maas book.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the DC Icons series, having knowledge from comics and other forms of media is disadvantageous. I would have enjoyed Catwoman: Soulstealer more if I didn't know and love Catwoman.
After reading Wonder Woman: Warbringer and Batman: Nightwalker, I expected Catwoman's origins in Catwoman: Soulstealer to differ from her traditional origins. Catwoman has always been extremely independent, but in Catwoman: Soulstealer, she lacks agency and she's recruited by the League of Assassins, which made me mad enough to go on a full on rant. This is where I should thank all my friends who listened to me go on about Catwoman.
Selina's characterisation as Catwoman was better than I thought it would be. Catwoman is a fighter and a survivor who's mysterious, alluring and graceful. She's a thief and a murderer, but she's compassionate and loyal. Selina wants to do the right things, but she believes that the end justifies the means. Unfortunately, in Catwoman: Soulstealer, Selina is a little too perfect and she's unbelievably good at everything. I can't believe I'm saying this about Catwoman, but she was so boring, bland and distant.
If you expected Batman to play a huge role in Catwoman: Soulstealer, prepare to be disappointed. Batman's replacement in Catwoman: Soulstealer is Batwing/Luke Fox. Luke is a static character. He has no personality and no character growth. He's also such a disappointing superhero and couldn't catch any villains or bring them to justice. I expected more from Batwing! Luke has PTSD, and while I don't know much about PTSD, I couldn't believe that an ex-marine could be triggered by explosions and explosive sounds, but has no problem fighting crime at night. His PTSD is also used as a plot device to further his romance with Catwoman. It's also how Selina figures out that Luke is Batwing.
The romance between Selina and Luke is so forced. Selina and Luke have no chemistry. I couldn't get behind their romance. Maybe it's because I'm a Batman-Catwoman shipper. Selina and Luke are bland and perfect and are written so similarly. Selina and Luke also have so many character inconsistencies.
I'm pro-diversity and believe that books should include diverse characters. However, diverse characters should not be tokenised or included just so that a book can be called diverse. The diversity in Catwoman: Soulstealer is based on the comics. Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn are bisexual and Luke is black. There is, however, no mention of Catwoman's bisexuality. The diversity in Catwoman: Soulstealer feels so forced. Catwoman: Soulstealer tries too hard to be diverse and topical. Topics involving corrupt officials and police brutality needs to be discussed, debated and written about, but in Catwoman: Soulstealer, it was written about inconsistently, almost like it was an afterthought.
I enjoyed reading about the 'friendship' between Catwoman, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. I also like Harley Quinn's and Poison Ivy's relationship, although I do have some issues with it. However, Poison Ivy was a little too compassionate in Catwoman: Soulstealer. Poison Ivy is supposed to prefers plants over people and she wouldn't hesitate to manipulate and murder. I also miss the traditional Harley Quinn costume.
I'm a sucker for books about sibling dynamics and the 'big sister instinct' and 'little sister instinct' trope because I'm a younger sibling and I have an extremely close relationship with my sister. The only time I could relate to Selina, was when she interacted with her little sister, Maggie. It's why I found it odd that Selina only mentions her sister in passing, especially because her sister is her whole life. However, when I realised that Selina did everything with her sister in mind, she redeemed herself.
I was excited to read my first Sarah J. Maas novel, and I'm disappointed. The characters bled into each other and the plot and conflict felt so forced. However, while I found some aspects of Catwoman: Soulstealer problematic, Sarah J. Maas tells interesting stories.
"Cat-woman was a good way to describe her. The ears on the dark helmet, the oversized lenses, the claws that she'd retracted after that spectacular jump...Even her steps toward him oozed feline grace." (Luke Fox/Batwing)