Audible Book Review: Into the Wild Warriors, Book 1 by Erin Hunter

>This is interesting but not for children, IMHO.

Into the Wild
Warriors, Book 1
By: Erin Hunter
Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews

Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
Release date: 10-10-17
Publisher: HarperAudio
Genres: Action and Adventure, Animal, Cats, Fantasy
My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0 Overall; Story 3.75; Narration 4.25.

Publisher's Summary

Epic adventures. Fierce warrior cats. A thrilling fantasy world. It all begins here.
Listen to the book that began a phenomenon - and join the legion of fans who have made Erin Hunter's Warriors series a number-one national best seller.
For generations, four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest according to the laws laid down by their ancestors. But the warrior code has been threatened, and the ThunderClan cats are in grave danger. The sinister ShadowClan grows stronger every day. Noble warriors are dying - and some deaths are more mysterious than others.
In the midst of this turmoil appears an ordinary housecat named Rusty...who may turn out to be the bravest warrior of them all.
©2003 Working Partners Limited (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Review:
Rusty, an ordinary house cat runs off to join the wild cat clans. He stumbles into the ThunderClan where he is renamed ‘Firepaw’. He is given the chance to train and prove he can be loyal to the clan rather than returning to being a ‘kitty pet’.

Firepaw goes through a time of growth as he tries to overcome skepticism and bullying from other cats. He helps an injured cat from another clan which brings ridicule and suspicions. He also follows his leader on a special journey where he realizes that he has special strengths that can be used to help his clan.

I did like Firepaw who is a smart, brave, kind, and, yes, loyal, cat. I also like the top leader of the ThunderClan (Blue Star), and a few of the other fair leaders. Unfortunately, there are wicked, mean, conniving, spoiled, and sullen characters too. The problem I had is that I felt this was much too pugnacious and brutal to be a good story for children. If you check reviews, many readers liked the story more than I did so read the sample or take a listen and see what you think.

Audio Notes: I enjoyed the narration by MacLeod Andrews. He brought the characters alive with clear, unique voices. He also delivered the story with the appropriate energy and emotions. The audio helped me finish the book.

This took over a year to finish listening to it as a backup when books (other than Audible) weren't connecting in my car.

Source: 12/8/2019 Audible Daily Deal $2.95. This qualifies for 2022TBR and 2022Audiobook goals.

Book Review: A Christmas Feral by Mary Matthews

This is a fun, quick read.

A Christmas Feral (Magical Cool Cats #3)
by Mary Matthews


Kindle Edition, 24 pages
Published (first published December 4th 2011)
ASIN B006HY67XW
Series Magical Cool Cats #3
Genre: Cats, Holiday, Short Story
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Judge Scrooge won't even heat his home for Christmas in this Roaring Twenties' short story. Judge Scrooge says that when you pay the bill, you don't feel the cold. When Judge Scrooge rules incorrectly in a cat dispute, Magical White Cat Tatania and her companion Zeus teach him the meaning of keeping Christmas and cats.

Review:
This is a very cute, short parody of “A Christmas Carol”. On Christmas Eve an attorney seeks an injunction to keep a man from killing cats in the park. The Judge knows this attorney as “Her”, a colleague from his past. After ruling against the cats, Scrooge finds himself visited by the “Magical Cats” to show him the past, the present and what the future would be like without cats. Will their visit help change his miserly attitude so he can share the joy of Christmas, even with his cook’s son, Tiny Tim?

I found this to be a fun read. It doesn’t hurt that I like cats and I love the kindness that should envelop Christmas. This story made me interested to read more by Ms. Matthews and I realize I have several volumes of Magical Cool Cats Mysteries which I also got free on Kindle. I recommend this to readers who enjoy cats and Scrooge based stories.

Source: November 2016 Free Kindle. This qualifies for 2019TBR and #HoHoHoRAT.

#NetGalley Book Review: The Cat in the Christmas Tree: A Magical Tail by Peter Scottsdale

This is a sweet “tail” with a message on behavior.
The Cat in the Christmas Tree: A Magical Tail
by Peter Scottsdale

File Size: 2211 KB
Print Length: 26 pages
Publisher: Coffey Publishing (November 2, 2018)
ASIN: B07J34XPNT
Genre: Cats, Children
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

From Bestselling Author Peter Scottsdale Comes His First Children's Chapter Book For Ages 8 and Up
It’s Christmas Eve and Nathan’s cat is wrecking the holidays by destroying the Christmas tree. Fed up with Shadow’s antics, Dad wants the kitty out of the house – for good! So Nathan pleads for help in hope the magic of the holidays will allow him to keep his cat. In this enchanting tale (or should it be “tail?”), does Shadow change his misbehaving ways or will he ruin Christmas? Find out!

Review:
Shadow is a young cat who needs to some training. He is tempted to play with the Christmas decorations. Of course Christmas trees with hanging ornaments and hanging tinsel are a major attraction. Shadow has had several mischievous encounters knocking the tree and breaking ornaments. Young Nathan loves his kitty but Dad is ready to remove the cat because of its bad behaviors. Nathan makes a request for magical holiday help to save his cat. What can an enchanted tree do to teach Shadow better behaviors?

This is just a sweet little story where Mr. Scottsdale uses this very short story to share a message to youngsters about how their negative, sometimes just mischievous, actions impact others. The story shows that there are choices that can be made to not hurt others or the belongings of others.
I recommend this story as a nice Christmas (or anytime of year) story that can help teach caring manners to children.

Source: 2018 NetGalley. This qualified for 2018 NetGalley Challenge.