If you think cats and water don’t mix, think again.Plunge into worlds of piratical cats: some selfish, some mischievous, all fond of hitting the catnip stash. From ships on the deep blue sea, to ships flying through the depths of space, and even visiting from beyond the veil, these cats are determined and on a mission.Featuring thirteen “tails” of adventure-loving cats, puns, and fun by: Megan … puns, and fun by: Megan Fennell; S.G. Wong; Rebecca Brae; Grace Bridges; Lizz Donnelly; Blake Liddell; Frances Pauli; JB Riley; Joseph Halden; Leslie Van Zwol; Krista D. Ball; Chadwick Ginther; Rose Strickman; and Beth Cato.
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Swashbuckling Cats: Nine Lives on the Seven Seas is an anthology of 14 tales edited by Rhonda Parrish. Now Hear This — A wonderful collection of cat tales. Each of the stories were quick reads and quite enjoyable. The writing was excellent. Received an ARC from Booksprout and this is my voluntary and honest review.
Swashbuckling Cats – Nine Lives on the Seven Seas
Edited by Rhonda Parrish
Twitter as a tool for authors to brainstorm and collaborate…that is what I believe happened with this anthology of tales that star feline characters with rather human abilities…and sometimes magical ones, too. Allusions to multiple lives, friendship, piracy, love, families, ghosts and so much more…this was a fun read and one that kept me guessing. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories I read and plan to read the rest later.
I found The Pride a to be a tale of trust and belonging while some might consider it more about betrayal and friendship across cultures (wild dogs and cats). The next book had a hint of the oriental and was about managing to achieve a third life before disappearing forever occurred. There was one with the question of whether or not cats that die go on to Valhalla that reminded me of The Rainbow Bridge I hope my own cats crossed when they passed on. So many stories and fun ones, too.
I believe that those who enjoy cats and perhaps see them as “more” will enjoy this collection as much as I did.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tcyche Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4-5 Stars
Nice, mostly family-friendly anthology with stories that would lend themselves to homeschool projects. PG10 due to battle scenes.
The Pride by Megan Fennellis about the beached ex-pirate Kit who is a jackal shifter and the ship *Pride* is a longer read for this anthology, taking a little over an hour.
The Comeback Kitty by S.G. Wong is a family-friendly quick read about Kit the ghost cat and 13-year-old orphan Ying the junior coaler.
The Motley Crew by Rebecca Brae is another family-friendly quick read about Captain Nereyda of *Destiny’s Scourge* and the contents of a crate.
Whiti te Rae (Let the sun shine) by Grace Bridges is a REALLY quick read about the yellow cat Sunshine on Lake Rotorua.
The Growing of the Green by Lizz Donnelly pitches O’Malley of Planet Emerald I-SLE in the 2-DOR solar system who specializes in growing ‘nip against Elizahiss the First.
The Cat and the Cook by Blake Liddell features *The Slippery Haddock* and the big white cat.
Pirates Only Love Treasure by Frances Pauli is another long one, took me around 90 minutes, about the aging Alex the Red who just wants to be beached on a deserted island to die in peace.
Buccaneer’s Revenge by JB Riley is satire and a longer read about a *Vanity Fur* article by Kit Chaton regarding Mr. Asparagus, reviving star of *Buccaneers 5: Read Beard’s Revenge*.
The Furgeldt Collector by Joseph Halden is a longer tale and starts with Captain Powderpuff on the Great Lake forcing law cat Marshmallow Mittens to walk the plank.
Cat Out of Hell by Leslie Van Zwol: Nikki Selfish can read hieroglyphics and ends up shifting to a cat aboard the ship of Capt Cambrie called *Curiosity*. This is a darker read, PG15.
The Perfect Kibble by Krista D Ball deals with the HMS Dartmouth incident on February 19, 2019.
All Cats Go to Valhalla by Chadwick Ginther is a mystery about Kills-the-Sky and crew after the nightmare kills their human servants.
Cat at the Helm by Rose Stickland will put a smile on your face and only takes about twenty minutes.
A Royal Saber’s Work Is Never Done by Beth Cato recounts the exploits of Elin the Royal Saber and takes about forty minutes.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Original and unusual, but a very nice collection of stories with the unlikely combo of cats and pirates. I enjoyed them, all an easy read for the evening.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Given the cover this looked like it would be a fun, albeit silly read. While some of the stories had some cute aspects that drew you in, there were several that just didn’t seem to go anywhere and fell flat, one in particular “The Furgeldt Collector” went a bit too gory for my liking.
As within anthologies some of the stories are well written others not as strong and as such can bring the whole review down a couple of notches.
There is a little bit of something for everyone, even if you are not a cat lover.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.