Felix Unbound by Cathy Gunn {Book Tour Review}
{I was gifted this book in return for an honest review as part of the Virtual Book Tour.}
Hello Readers,
It’s my turn on the Virtual Book tour for Cathy Gunn’s Felix Unbound and I’m looking forward to telling you more about this book and my thoughts on it. The actual Book Tour started on the 16th of May and you can find all the details for it at the end of this article, if you’d like to know more and read the other reviewers thoughts.
But, now let me tell you more about Felix Unbound by firstly sharing the synopsis from the back of the book before I get into my thoughts…
“Did you ever wonder what might happen if your cat turned human?
When feisty Tiffany loses her temper with boyfriend Anthony, and accidentally topples a set of inherited Egyptian figurines, ancient forces take their mischievous revenge… and grant her careless wish that men were more like her tabby cat Felix.
It’s fun at first, as Tiffany and Felix gleefully launch him into her social circle, but it soon becomes clear that charismatic Felix spells trouble. As he wins lightning-fast success as a talented artist, Tiffany and her friends’ relationships begin to flex and recalibrate - not always for the better.
There’s something more afoot here; and Tiffany realises that whatever’s got into her cat and his art, has appeared before in her curious family.
Suspicious elders; Ozzy and Iris, circle as “Felix” and his artworks peak and spiral into trouble. Tiffany meets a promising new love and, in this tightly-woven dark comedy of manners, develops a conscience about some - but not all - of Felix’s effects on her friends’ lives. Torn between helping fast-deteriorating Felix evade Ozzy and Iris’s sinister grasp, or just washing her hands of him, she finally chooses. But none see coming the bizarre opportunity seized by fading but predatory and cunning Felix.”
After reading the synopsis, my interest was immediately captured due to the mention of cats and Ancient Egypt. Ever since I was first introduced to Egyptian mythology at primary school, which included a cardboard Pyramid building project, I have been fascinated with it! I have a number of books on the subject, including one that can teach you how to read Hieroglyphics.
So I was really looking forward to reading Felix Unbound to see how the Ancient Egyptian references within the story would work and I wasn’t disappointed. There are numerous Egypt references, from the actual country to a few of the myths; I enjoyed that certain characters where liken to certain gods by Felix. Though I completely understand why his owner Tiffany didn’t quite understand the compliment of being referred to Hathor, since she’s often depicted as a Cow! So I was so happy that Cathy Gunn had weaved the subject through almost every aspect of the book ~ I could tell she knows the subject well.
While this book comes under the fantasy genre, it’s definitely not a full on fantasy ~ of course a cat turning into a human is pretty fantastical, but it reads and feels more like a contemporary where this one magical event happens at the beginning, than a fantasy. Although I didn’t mind that as I read more contemporary than fantasy, but that’s just something to be aware of if you’re picking this up thinking it’s full on fantasy.
The family and friend group drama {which was mainly centred around Felix} added to the contemporary feel as well. They’re all an interesting bunch, many of whom are distantly related and while this added to the intrigue, I’ll admit at times, I did struggle to remember how certain characters were related. Then when extra connections were revealed, it took a moment of thought to fit them into the family. I think having a Family Tree at the beginning of the book would be really helpful so you can keep track a little easier.
As a main character, Felix was an interesting one and remembering he is actually a cat made some of what he was doing quite strange at times. But I thought it was clever that even as a human, his behaviour was still quite cat like. He was charming in a way only a cat can be and his way of moving through the group, essentially “sofa surfing” was how he had been as a cat, visiting the different houses within the area of where he lived with Tiffany. Also, he was a full on Tom Cat at times, which okay I understand because he is a Tom Cat at the end of the day ~ but knowing that made some of the type of relationships he was forming with some of Tiffany’s friends a little bit uncomfortable for me to read.
Overall, I did enjoy this book once I got into properly. I struggled at first with the perspective it was written in, which was mainly third person, with some first person type thoughts. But I think that’s more of a “me thing” than Cathy Gunn’s writing style as after reading a lot of first person narrative, it can take my brain a little bit to adjust. But once I got to around the 100 page mark, I found my stride and the story seemed to pick up. I found myself more eager to see how things would turn out for Felix, Tiffany and the rest of the group. I liked that there didn’t seem to be any loose ends when the story finished, I read a lot of book series, so it’s nice to read a book with no cliffhanger ending for a change. I will admit that I figured out one or two of the reveals towards the end, but I don’t see that as a bad thing as this isn’t a thriller, mystery, or crime novel where that can ruin the story. I always take it as a sign that I’m following the story as the author intended.
So I’d say, that while this book may not be for everyone, if you’re looking for something a little different with a unique premise, have an interest in Ancient Egypt and enjoy family / friend drama in your books, then this might be a good choice for you.
Thank you so much to Literally PR for giving me the opportunity to read Felix Unbound and join the Book Tour.
Stay Safe. Read a Book.
L x
If you’d like know more about Cathy, you can find her on Instagram ~ @Cathyghut Also, if you’d like to follow the tour and catch up on the reviews that have already being posted, here is a list of the dates, the names and social media handles of all the other people involved:
16th May: Krissy ~ @KrissysBooked
17th May: Joanna ~ @thelibraryofimagination
18th May: Anasua ~ @a_n_a_s_u_a
19th May: Riya ~ @CosmicLatte45
20th May: Louise ~ @louiseslittlelife {That’s me!}
21st May: Suzanne ~ @bookread2day
22nd May: Jan ~ blue wolf-reviews.com
23rd May: Sue ~ @Suewall61433384
24th May: Lucia ~ @butterflys1974
25th May: Natalie ~ @reading_with_wine
26th May: Denise ~ @DeniseBrownUK
