Reviews - The Ghost Cat | The StoryGraph

638 reviews for:

The Ghost Cat

Alex Howard

3.42 AVERAGE

b_is_for_bibliophile's review

3.0

emotional slow-paced

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an eArc of the US version of The Ghost Cat. (Even though I'm writing this way after publication.)

At the start of this book, we meet Grimalkin at the end of his first life and follow him throughout eight ghost "lives" centering around events in history of varying importance all taking place near 7/7 Marchmont Crescent, where Grimalkin lived the entirely of his first life.

The book started out strong; the introduction of the cat sith was super interesting and the idea that cats are bound to obey the law of three when it comes to their lives like in the English proverb, though it was a bummer that Grimalkin didn't get to decide for himself what kind of life he was going to be living.

I preferred the beginning stories and the way we got to view moments in history in a more casual setting. A lot of the events I had learned about in school but it's the still moments like the conversation between Sarah Fleming and Abigail Rockefeller that demonstrate the work that went into those discoveries and achievements. It's a reminder that even though the event is historic today, at the time, it was filled with civilians just trying to make it to the next day (like the Fourth Haunting).

However, as the stories progressed into the latter 1900s and then modern times, I lost interest in the stories.

The only human character I really cared for was Eilidh and with her passing there was noone with enough time to form a connection.

The moon landing didn't seem as thoughtful and while I know it affected more those in the race, I found myself wondering why it would be included in this book. It didn't seem to really affect anyone in Edinburgh beyond an excuse to party. Following this chapter, it didn't seem that much thought was put into the occasions; they were merely stepping stones to get to the current year and the self-insert. The narration style was also hard to fall into. I loved the idea of a cat's perspective, but I wish it had been any other cat. For a cat born and raised in Edinburgh, he thought more like a posh Englishman. I would have thought he'd have taken a little more after the mannerisms of Eilidh, since they had a strong bond, but instead his narration style made it seem like he'd come from nobility and made him appear condescending and pretentious.

Finally, I wasn't really a fan of the author insert, and another detraction was how the author had the cat refer to the couple. He was the "Brass Man" while his wife was the "girl"? Gross. Their entrance into the story seemed to override Grimalkin's role and his ending was anticlimactic and unsatisfying.

I'd have loved him to have another conversation with the Cat-Sith like at the beginning of the story. Cat Sith was so upset to have missed his passing; it would have been great to be "picked up" by the Cat Sith and escorted to the next stage of his existence, walking him to the light even. But it's like Grimalkin just faded into the house itself. The epilogue also didn't make any sense because why was the Cat Sith there? He couldn't have been retrieving Grimalkin because he passed three months prior, and the cat living in the house was alive and stayed alive.

It was a book with endless potential but not enough follow through. I would have liked it better if his lives had been tied to Eilidh and her family, given she's the one who brought him into the home, instead of the house itself but then the author would have lost his ability to write himself into the story. This book will be for someone, but that isn't me.

marciasadventures's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

What an incredibly delightful light-hearted reading. Reading this book was like sitting in a swinging chair, as you bask in the warmth of the spring sun as it emerged from its winter slumber. What a delightful little story that feels like a warm hug.

elliesautumn's review

2.0

I wanted to love this book. And, at times, I really did - after all, it made me cry twice. But those moments were fleeting, and ultimately, they weren’t enough to carry the rest of the story.

What I loved:

• The cat’s death at the beginning was beautifully written. The bond between him and Eilidh felt real, and I was looking forward to exploring that connection further.
• The introduction of Cat Sith, a fascinating fairy creature from Celtic mythology (sadly, it appeared only once and was never mentioned again).
• The deep, emotional link between Grimalkin and Eilidh when she died. I would have loved to see this explored more.

What I didn’t love:

• The writing felt clunky and uninspired.
• So. Many. Clichés. The book made me cringe in almost every chapter, with historical events awkwardly crammed into each haunting.
• Fatphobic and misogynistic undertones throughout.
• The story was so disjointed. I was hoping for Grimalkin to form a meaningful connection with someone and for that relationship to develop over time. Instead, he just encountered random strangers, with each haunting lasting only a few pages before the book lurched forward to another decade filled with more poorly developed, clichéd characters who had no lasting impact.
• The final chapter… oh dear. The author inserts himself into the story as “Lynx” while referring to his wife as “Otter” (boke). Calling her a girl while referring to himself as a man, and then saying things like, “I want din-dins in my tum-tum”, was beyond cringeworthy. I had to skip to the end out of secondhand embarrassment.
• The overuse of “get jiggy with it” in the 90s chapter. No further comment needed.

I would have loved to see more unexpected historical moments woven into the story rather than the most obvious, well-trodden ones. And I desperately wanted Grimalkin’s character to have real depth, rather than being overshadowed by decade-hopping plot points.

In the end, I was just relieved it was over. The first few chapters showed promise, but after that, it simply wasn’t worth the read.