Catwoman: SoulStealer by Sarah J. Maas

I’ve loved Catwoman since I watched Batman Returns, the 1992 movie depicting Michelle Pfeiffer as the crazy awesome, leather-wearing, badass kitty-cat. I was probably thirteen or fourteen, somewhere around there, and I thought this character was absolutely insane but also incredibly fun to watch, so naturally, when I saw this book titled Catwoman: Soulstealer, I had to read it. 

It begins with Selina Kyle awaiting her fight in Falcone’s illegal fight ring with her bullwhip at her side. She’s the undefeated champion. She’s part of a gang in Gotham City called the Leopards, and she lives in the East End, the bad part of town. Not that there’s a good part of Gotham. 

She wins her fight. 

And she goes home where her little sister, Maggie, is. It gives a little insight into Selina’s life, including the fact her mother’s an abusive drunk and her father’s not in the picture. But Selina and Maggie, big sister and baby sister, are adorable. Unfortunately, Maggie has a life-threatening illness. 

Selina takes care of her and has to pay the bills (medical and non) which is why she works for Falcone and becomes a Leopard, and she goes to school. Selina is a genius and a gymnast. 

The trouble begins when a social worker and two corrupt cops show up at the sisters’ door. I won’t give too much detail but one thing leads to another, and Selina gets arrested. In the room, handcuffed and worried about Maggie, she meets Talia Al Ghul, leader of the League of Assassins. She offers Selina a spot in her secret school located in Italy, and Selina accepts with one condition: Maggie gets moved into a safe home with good people who want to adopt her. 

Two years later, Selina returns to Gotham City but as someone else, a socialite named Holly, and Selina sets her plan in motion. She’s going to bring Gotham City to its knees.

The story is told from a dual POV, one is Selina and the other is Luke Fox, or Batwing. 

He’s the son of Lucius Fox, CEO of Wayne Enterprises, and he works with Bruce Wayne/Batman to help protect Gotham City using his skills in tech and his training as a Marine. While Batman is out of town on a secret mission, Batwing/Luke protects the city alone and he’s met his match in the new thief known as Catwoman. It seems she’s a challenge he can’t beat. 

Selina and Luke circle each other, as both their masked identities and themselves, but Luke isn’t the only person with whom Selina creates a bond. She allies with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. Sort of a makeshift version of the Gotham City Sirens which I loved. Some of the best moments in the book are when Selina, Ivy, and Harley are committing crimes, heists, and robberies. 

And Batwing constantly fails to catch them.

Selina and Luke are great characters. Getting to know them and understanding their lives makes the story really interesting. Their love story is problematic but in a way, they relate to each other. I wasn’t sure about their pair-up considering Catwoman is usually Batman’s love interest but I made an exception, mostly because I enjoyed this version of Selina Kyle’s backstory. 

My favorite duo, though, was Selina and Ivy. They don’t trust each other but they slowly become friends because Ivy is someone Selina can lean on, someone she can see as an equal. They were both young when their tragedies happened and they found themselves in the dark parts of who they were. They made the best of their crappy situations. It’s an interesting friendship. 

Catwoman: Soulstealer is a story filled with deception, secrets, girl power, and sisterly love starring new versions of famous characters in Gotham City. If you’re a DC fan or you’re looking for a book with thievery, snide comments, and badass women, then this book should definitely be on your TBR list.