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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
This one … the first one really soured the book for me - I loved the other two novellas but Spottedleaf's heart… that one was garbage and I refuse to see it as canon.
SPOTTEDLEAF'S HEART
This book was painful to read. It was horrible, creepy and I have no idea how this ever got published - for kids no less! Thistleclaw is basically grooming her - she is an apprentice, so 6 moons old when he is already an adult warrior. He is ambitious and wants to use her - so he starts telling her - effectively a child that he loves her and wants to be with her once they are both warriors- it was insanely creepy and mortifying to read- especially when he wanted her to come with him to the forest at night and not tell anyone where she is going or who she is going to be with. It was inappropriate, it was creepy and gross and it didn't do anything to redeem the character to me - I hated Spottedleaf before but this novella made me loathe her even more - and it didn't help that she had barely any personality at all- she wants to be a warrior, deputy and a leader - like every other kit ever and the romance felt so forced, especially because she falls for Thistleclaw immediately without a second thought - it was just garbage. Not to mention the original books all harping on and on about how she wanted to be a medicine cat from the start and that being straight up forgotten in this book - and these two barely having any interactions in other books but now suddenly being secret lovers- no, just no. It's garbage, don't read it to your kids and if you do use it to teach them about stranger danger.
PINEHEART'S CHOICE
We meet young Jake in this one. I love Jake. Jake made the story 10000 times better even though he is barely in it - it's about Pinestar, the leader of the Thunderclan. Goosefeather saw his future and that he will leave the clans for kittypets. Once he reaches his last life he is warned that his son Tigerstar will destroy Thunderclan and he must kill him. He is struggling with so many of his clanmates dying battling and he doesn't have the heart to kill Tigerkit so he chooses to leave and become a kittypet in place of his kittypet friend that died when she was hit by a monster- it's a nice story, I liked Pinestar enough, kittypets were great- especially Crystal and Shanty- It's a good novella.
THUNDERSTAR'S ECHO
I always enjoy reading books set back in the dawn of the clans, when the first clans were formed- this one is about Thunderstar from Thunderclan. He is struggling with being a father and wanting to protect his kits, but what if he can't protect them from something and they die? The dogs attack the camp so he and his deputy/best friend go after them and make sure that they don't attack the camp again - his deputy is killed and he has to appoint new one even though he is still grieving, the clans also decide that every clan should sit a one night long vigil for any cat that dies from then on, and I always enjoy seeing clan cats visiting each other freely and being friends rather than constantly battling over territories. This novella was also really good and I enjoyed it a lot.
I loved the second and third novella but the first one was so bad that it dragged down the entire book for me and I probably won't be rereading this one any time soon.
SPOTTEDLEAF'S HEART
This book was painful to read. It was horrible, creepy and I have no idea how this ever got published - for kids no less! Thistleclaw is basically grooming her - she is an apprentice, so 6 moons old when he is already an adult warrior. He is ambitious and wants to use her - so he starts telling her - effectively a child that he loves her and wants to be with her once they are both warriors- it was insanely creepy and mortifying to read- especially when he wanted her to come with him to the forest at night and not tell anyone where she is going or who she is going to be with. It was inappropriate, it was creepy and gross and it didn't do anything to redeem the character to me - I hated Spottedleaf before but this novella made me loathe her even more - and it didn't help that she had barely any personality at all- she wants to be a warrior, deputy and a leader - like every other kit ever and the romance felt so forced, especially because she falls for Thistleclaw immediately without a second thought - it was just garbage. Not to mention the original books all harping on and on about how she wanted to be a medicine cat from the start and that being straight up forgotten in this book - and these two barely having any interactions in other books but now suddenly being secret lovers- no, just no. It's garbage, don't read it to your kids and if you do use it to teach them about stranger danger.
PINEHEART'S CHOICE
We meet young Jake in this one. I love Jake. Jake made the story 10000 times better even though he is barely in it - it's about Pinestar, the leader of the Thunderclan. Goosefeather saw his future and that he will leave the clans for kittypets. Once he reaches his last life he is warned that his son Tigerstar will destroy Thunderclan and he must kill him. He is struggling with so many of his clanmates dying battling and he doesn't have the heart to kill Tigerkit so he chooses to leave and become a kittypet in place of his kittypet friend that died when she was hit by a monster- it's a nice story, I liked Pinestar enough, kittypets were great- especially Crystal and Shanty- It's a good novella.
THUNDERSTAR'S ECHO
I always enjoy reading books set back in the dawn of the clans, when the first clans were formed- this one is about Thunderstar from Thunderclan. He is struggling with being a father and wanting to protect his kits, but what if he can't protect them from something and they die? The dogs attack the camp so he and his deputy/best friend go after them and make sure that they don't attack the camp again - his deputy is killed and he has to appoint new one even though he is still grieving, the clans also decide that every clan should sit a one night long vigil for any cat that dies from then on, and I always enjoy seeing clan cats visiting each other freely and being friends rather than constantly battling over territories. This novella was also really good and I enjoyed it a lot.
I loved the second and third novella but the first one was so bad that it dragged down the entire book for me and I probably won't be rereading this one any time soon.
Spottedleaf’s Heart- 4 stars
Pinestar’s Choice- 3.5 stars
Thunderstar’s Echo- 3.5 stars
Pinestar’s Choice- 3.5 stars
Thunderstar’s Echo- 3.5 stars
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Spottedleaf was a victim of grooming by Thistleclaw.
Pinestar's choice made Tigerstar the cat he became.
Thunderstar became a father and had to make some hard decisions.
adventurous
informative
I picked up this book because I wanted to know why Pinestar became a kittypet. His story didn't end up being the most interesting. I liked Spottedleafs the best.
spottedleaf's heart 5/5
-omg so good
-hdkjfd
pinestar's choice 2/5
-oh pinestar,,
-lionheart is so cool in this one
thunderstar's echo 5/5
-lightning and thunder so good
-violet dawn is the sweetest cat
-all the cats were actually so nice to each other in the olden days
-they were all besties literally
-omg so good
-hdkjfd
pinestar's choice 2/5
-oh pinestar,,
-lionheart is so cool in this one
thunderstar's echo 5/5
-lightning and thunder so good
-violet dawn is the sweetest cat
-all the cats were actually so nice to each other in the olden days
-they were all besties literally
I have to review these all out of order and separately bc I'm trying to read the series in chronological order, and all these novellas are mixed up, so:
Spottedleaf's Heart: I honestly think this storyline is overused, the warrior-to-medicine cat path, and i was surprised that she would ever love Thistleclaw. I love her in the original series, and I don't think I'll really consider this novella as a part of her character, although I did like her interactions with Bluefur. 2/5
Pinestar's Choice: Probably the best one of the series for me, seeing as it's just so unexpected and such an interesting storyline, for a leader who is supposed to give his life to the clan to leave and be a kittypet - really makes for a more 3-dimensional cat and unique story. I think the Erins recycle a lot of material, so this story is one of a kind. 4.5/5
Thunderstar's Echo: honestly okay, I love Lightning Tail but Thunderstar is a meh from me. A solid Warriors excerpt, I can't believe they would kill Lightning Tail off just like that in 100 pages :( 3/5
Spottedleaf's Heart: I honestly think this storyline is overused, the warrior-to-medicine cat path, and i was surprised that she would ever love Thistleclaw. I love her in the original series, and I don't think I'll really consider this novella as a part of her character, although I did like her interactions with Bluefur. 2/5
Pinestar's Choice: Probably the best one of the series for me, seeing as it's just so unexpected and such an interesting storyline, for a leader who is supposed to give his life to the clan to leave and be a kittypet - really makes for a more 3-dimensional cat and unique story. I think the Erins recycle a lot of material, so this story is one of a kind. 4.5/5
Thunderstar's Echo: honestly okay, I love Lightning Tail but Thunderstar is a meh from me. A solid Warriors excerpt, I can't believe they would kill Lightning Tail off just like that in 100 pages :( 3/5
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'm only giving this a 3* "I liked it" for Pinestar's Choice. It's so rare to see a cat go from Warrior to kittypet, and I did feel some connection with Pinestar. Spottedleaf's Heart was borderline boring and Thunderstar's Echo was fullblown boring and wholly unnecessary. I never thought I'd say this, but maybe the Erins needs to hang it up; their best stories are behind them with no signs of improvement on the horizon.
So, here is the deal. I love this authors work, i really do. However this one had SO MUCH death in it ! i was like, ugly crying for most of the stories ! But still, each story was well written and caught my interest all the way through. I liked the last one the best as i really enjoy hearing about the start of the clans.
Spottedleaf's Heart -3.5 stars
The underlying theme in this novella was very dark. The Erins have only dipped their tow into how wrong this theme is.
Pinestars Choice-4 stars
To start this off, Shanty was an amazing character. She could've been the best character in the novella. This novella was interesting, and I think that this is part of the reason Tigerstar was so evil.
Thunder's Echo- 3 stars
This novella was in all simplicity, boring. It was unneeded and provided nothing for DOTC.
The underlying theme in this novella was very dark. The Erins have only dipped their tow into how wrong this theme is.
Pinestars Choice-4 stars
To start this off, Shanty was an amazing character. She could've been the best character in the novella. This novella was interesting, and I think that this is part of the reason Tigerstar was so evil.
Thunder's Echo- 3 stars
This novella was in all simplicity, boring. It was unneeded and provided nothing for DOTC.