Review: Sora's Quest (Cat's Eye Book 1)

Genre: YA Fantasy
Author: T. L. Shreffler
Rating: 4.0 Out of 5 Stars
Series: The Cat's Eye Chronicles
Blurb: 
A sexy assassin and a runaway bride... and a necklace that will steal your soul....


Sora planned on running away from her wedding, but she never expected to be kidnapped! Dumped into a world of magical races, arcane jewelry and forgotten lore, she finds herself at the mercy of a dangerous assassin, haunted by an even darker past. She yearns for freedom, but he won't let her go -- not when her Cat's Eye necklace is the only thing that can save his life.

But the necklace itself presents a problem. It is an ancient device from the long forgotten War of the Races, and its magic has the ability to steal souls. Can Sora learn to wield its power -- or will the power wield her?

Firstly, look at that amazing cover?! Just captivating. I love having a visual of the "Cat's Eye" on this cover. And although Sora has golden blonde hair, the strawberry tint is very attractive. Now to the gushy! 

Ms. Shreffler is making Sora's Quest FREE for 72 hours after this blog is posted (July 9-11) - so hurry and nab your free copy HERE! *high five* If you'd like, please thank her in a comment below. :)

Sum it up:

Sora, tired of her simple and boring girl-in-the-manor life, plans to escape the night of her wedding, wanting nothing more than adventures like the "stories of old." She has no idea that her desire will be fulfilled via a kidnapping - by the very assassin who murdered her father, giving her the very opening to escape, and his two Wolfy companions. What begins as hatred, turns to timid trust and wary friendship between Sora and her captors.

The yum:

Crash, the assassin, is mysterious up until the last page in Sora's Quest. Sexy, scary, and quiet are the three words best used to describe the man who seems to be running from his past. Ms. Shreffler has an interesting way of making her characters super sexy without being overt about their physical prowess or bragging about their beautiful features. Crash just is. Yum! ;)

Dorian, a mage Wolfy, is an effeminate creature with a biting sarcastic and endearing quality about him. I liked Dorian immediately - especially because he called Sora out on her irritating princessy qualities.

Burn is a large burly mercenary Wolfy that I just wanted to squeeze. He is the most open and kind of the three but still hosts his own unexplored demons.

Romance?

There was plenty of awareness occurring in Sora's Quest and I was waiting for a romance to unfold - but it seems like I have to wait until Viper's Creed (Book 2) to *hopefully* see some woo-age occur.

Overall:

Sora was a typical teenager and certainly irritated me throughout the book, but looking back, I love how the voice of Sora's voice ages from beginning to end.

The antagonist was a clever one, coming up with evil and interesting ways to follow, capture, and manipulate his prey. I enjoyed Volcrian, and the sympathy the reader had for him from chapter one.

So why the missing star, you ask? There were a LOT of unanswered questions: Who is Crash? Why are Crash, Burn, and Dorian together? Why did Crash murder Volcrian's twin and Sora's dad? What is a "protector" and is that what Crash is to Sora? 

After the entire book, I still am confused about our main characters. But I managed to really connect to them too.

I can't WAIT until Book 2 - released in winter of 2012. Grab your copy and tell me what you think! :)