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☆ ☆ ☆ THREE STARS

I’m just going to be honest. The cover and author drew me to this book. 1. It’s SO SPARKLY. I’m like a magpie for these things. 2. I ADORED Throne of Glass and thought ‘what could it hurt?’ to give this a try. I found it quite difficult to rate this book. There were some really high points that I LOVED and some super low ones that practically felt like reading a phone book. Overall though, it was an enjoyable read. I didn’t LOVE it but considering the fact that I’m not a fan of DC or anti-heroes this should be taken as a win.

The high point of this book, for me, was the atmosphere. Maas superbly re-created that gritty Gotham tone that drew me in. That said, I really did not like Selina (AKA Catwoman) in this story until around the half-way point in the book. This made the first half VERY HARD to read. With the gradual inclusion of other DC side characters though, it was easier to get through and more enjoyable. If you’re a fan of DC, I think you’d really enjoy this book from the Icon Series.

CHARACTERS

Selina – AKA Catwoman. She was strong-willed, manipulative and just a bit rude. She also was doing the wrong things for the right reasons… so I couldn’t dislike her entirely. She reminded me a lot of Amanda Clarke from Revenge. A one woman show out to get her endgame no matter the collateral damage or cost (at least until half-way through the book). I warmed up to her a bit though when she opened up to Poison-Ivy and Harley Quinn.

Luke – AKA Batwing. He was loyal, kind and a total sweetheart intent on doing the right thing. He was just a good, wholesome guy that was practically impossible not to like.

Poison Ivy – was MY FAVOURITE character. She was a gem in the rough. A good girl doing bad things for the right reasons. Her vulnerable side really drew me in and pulled at my heart strings. She was such an intrinsically likeable character and improved my opinion of this book. I mostly kept reading to see what would happen to her.

Harley Quinn – She was entertaining and brought some life to the story. While I don’t exactly approve of her commitment to the Joker there were other themes at play here that made me see her decisions in a new light. It was harder to judge her when the trauma of her past and current life were put on display. Not many people could survive that intact and it gained my respect as well as sympathy for her as a character.

Joker – Meh. He was in here briefly. I generally despise him as a character so this wasn’t much of a bonus for me but it might be for others. His role was small but semi-important to the end of the plot.

Overall, this was a pretty decent read and could have been great if I’d enjoyed the first half of the book a bit more. The story had decent pace and good character development, as per usual for Maas (in my opinion).

// have you read any of the other books in the DC Icon Series? what do you think about anti-heroes? //

Jen