Book Review: A Cat's Tale, by Melissa Snark

A Saucy Read--I just love that word 'saucy', and I so seldom get to use it, but for this book, this review, that word just fits. Josephine the cat is just saucy. She's sexy and saucy, and I loved her in this book, A Cat's Tale, by Melissa Snark.

HARD TO RATE A CAT'S TALE

This was a hard one to determine a star rating for, because I can't quite give it a full five stars for overall story, plot and writing (in general). I'm used to reading suspense and thrillers, with intricate plots that just leave me amazed or feeling defeated, and erotic and romance are not my usual genres. When I compare this book to those really good thrillers, I can't quite give it five stars. BUT... for the genre it's in, it's a five-star book all the way. I mean, I've read some really bad erotica, some really lousy and formulaic romance, and this book is neither. I do enjoy a good story, regardless of genre, and that's what makes A Cat's Tale a good read: it tells a good story. But then, add to that the saucy erotic and intimate nature of the relationship between our two lead characters, and you have a hot erotic love story, with an actual plot!

So I figured that alone warranted a higher star rating. I'm tired of reading erotica that skimps on story and plot to just get to the sex, and then doesn't even do that very well. A Cat's Tale actually tells a story with all that luscious loving. For that reason, I feel A Cat's Tale, by Melissa Snark deserves five stars.

THE PLOT OF A CAT'S TALE

Josephine, okay, Josie, was a little cliché for the name of a shape-shifting cat, but it made me chuckle. And the pitting of 'cats and dogs' together is a bit cliché as well, but it's cute. It works. In the story, Josephine is a shape-shifter, part cart/part human, and she's on the prowl for a man… but not for herself. No, Josie is a captured--but not so beloved--'pet' of a vampire, having to do her mistress's bidding. Jared, unbeknownst to those who have captured him, is a strong shape-shifting part wolf/part human.

Throwing a cat and a dog in a pen together is sure to create some tension, regardless of their shifted or human form, and this is exactly what happens when Jared and Josie, both now prisoners of the vampire mistress, are held together to service her needs.

While Jared allows the vampire to feed from him, he requests to keep the 'cat' as a plaything or a toy, so he can have the pleasure of the kill. The vampire agrees, but Jared doesn't have any intention of killing Josie. The two have a mutual lust and a mutual distrust of each other, but through the trials of being held together, they have to learn to overcome that natural fear and cat/dog tendency to work together for freedom.

But who knew they might actually fall for one another? Can a cat and a dog, regardless of their human forms, ever truly form a bond with one another? Will they even make it out of the vampire's lair to give it a chance?

WRITING STYLE, EDITING, FORMATTING

You'll have to read to find out. The story is well-written, the editing is good too, and it flows nicely. The length is perfect for telling the type of story that this is—not too long, but not so short you feel cheated. It flows easily and it has a good dose of humor, something I always appreciate in a story. It sucks when a story gets too heavy and this one stays sarcastic and humorous enough to make it enjoyable, while these two characters chart a tough situation. It's suspenseful in places, but not really a suspense story. The vampire part of the story is really played down, so the main focus is the shape-shifting and erotic romance that develops between Josie and Jared.

SEXUAL HEAT LEVEL

The heat level is way up there, and the sex is aggressive and demanding, but it's not overpowering or odd. The tension between the characters is believable, though there are misunderstandings that don't have to happen if they'd just communicated better. I read one review that had a bit of an issue that there was some sexual activity while Josie was only partly shifted to human, and that this sort of creeped her out, but when I read it, I didn't get that at all. The reason she was only partially shifted is clear, and it just fits with the story. I don't think most people are going to have any problem with that.

All in all, I'd recommend this book if you like erotic romance. The fantasy and shape-shifting part of it is really secondary to the erotica, and adds an element of fantasy to it, but not enough I'd actually characterize this as fantasy. It's more simply good erotic writing, with a decent storyline and fantastical characters.

I would definitely read more by this author.