Sarah J Maas is known for her incredible writing skills. Some of Maas’ more notable works include her Throne of Glass series and her A Court of Thorns and Roses series. The stories she masterfully crafts create a lasting image on her readers’ minds. Simply by diving into one of her books, the reader develops a close relationship with the characters inside them.

Her book Catwoman: Soulstealer, a fantasy novel that is part of the DC Icons Series, turned out to be the opposite of her usual style.

The story follows Selina Kyle as she returns to Gotham City after learning that Batman has left its protection to his sidekick Batwing. She returns as Holly Vanderhees, and she uses Holly’s status as a rich socialite to gain access to the most exclusive of parties and hide her true identity. Meanwhile, Luke Fox, also known as Batwing, tries to stop the havoc-wreaking Catwoman and her teammates Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn before they cause too much destruction to his precious city.

While the book was well written and very descriptive, it didn’t provoke the sort of emotions or attachment that her other books usually do. Additionally, the story felt rushed, and her characters weren’t given quite enough depth. At the beginning of this story, I developed a sense of sympathy for the main character Selina Kyle and her situation, but essentially, that was my only connection to her.

The relationships between certain characters were very rushed too. People were automatically becoming friends or lovers without any real background or reasoning as to why that was happening. A lot of the characters were very dynamic and constantly changing, and while it was very interesting to watch them as they grew, their growth was still rushed.

Another flaw of the book is that there are many points in the story that don’t make sense and aren’t fully explained by the end, which left me feeling frustrated. Throughout the book, Selina is put through many trials that seem to be completely unrelated to each other. By the end, some of the events are explained but most aren’t. This left me extremely confused and wanting to know more.

However, despite its flaws, the story was very thrilling. Every time I thought of it, my foot began tapping in anticipation, leaving me to impatiently wait until I had the book in my grasp once again.

But the feeling was fleeting. It was like the thrill of waiting for Christmas morning to arrive, only to skip the opening of presents with the reunion of family and go right to the cleaning of the wrapping paper with the saying of goodbyes.

Because Maas is an incredible writer, it is very disappointing to see her publish a book that is far less superior to her previous books.