Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Simon’s Cat
AUTHOR: Lotus Oakes
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 90 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 16, 2016
BLURB:
When Simon’s father dies, he leaves his oldest brother the business, his middle brother the house, and Simon, the youngest, his beloved Pet, Cat. While his brothers quarrel about what to do with the remains of their father’s estate, all Simon wants is for his family to go back to the way it was. He’s sure money will help. And clever Cat has an idea of how to get it.
REVIEW:
I find myself with mixed feelings about this one. On the whole, I enjoyed the ‘modern’ twist on the tale of Puss in Boots and making Cat a type of android was unique and I appreciated that. The story progressed much like the original tale, at least from what I remember of it, and as I remember liking the story as a child, it was kind of like taking a trip down memory lane, at least to a point.
The main characters of the story are Cat and Simon; Cat was, of course, very clever but there was also an underlying vulnerability under the confidence that made him seem more human and easier to connect with. Simon was, at his very core, a sweet individual who, while trying to keep his family together, finds that doing the right thing is more important than anything else his brothers might want. I liked them both though never really felt they worked together as a couple for a few different reasons. One reason deals with an aspect of the story that I really didn’t like at all and that is Cat’s origins. Spoiler ahead so be warned: When Simon inherits Cat, it is found that he’d been kept by Simon’s father as a sex slave for at least the last decade. While certainly a different, and completely unexpected, take on the Puss and Boots story, I just couldn’t reconcile the ‘relationship’ Cat had with Simon’s father with the one he and Simon were moving towards at the end of the story. It squicked me out a bit to be perfectly honest. If the relationship with Simon’s father had been anything other than it actually was, I probably wouldn’t have had an issue.
The story itself was enjoyable from a fairytale standpoint but the last section after Cat secured a Lordship for Simon was by far my favorite part of the book. Simon’s life changes while he still manages to remain as kindhearted as he was previously and Cat gets exactly what he deserves and more. Things ended on a happy note, which is always nice, and I was fairly content with how everything left off. If you enjoy a good fairytale, you’ll probably enjoy this one though if the relationship aspect with Simon’s father in the mix squicks you a bit like it did me, you’ll still like it but maybe not as much as you would otherwise.
RATING: 
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