Saturday 7 May 2016

Daughter of the Sun (Cult of the cat book 1) by Zoe Kalo: a review

It has been really long that I have read a pdf file as a full fledged book but when I caught hold of The Daughter of the Sun, book 1 of the cult of the cat series by Zoe Kalo, I could not stop myself. I just had to read it and yes, I need to mention here that I was not disappointed at all. The cover and the blurb both had me at their first glance and since these days I am in the mood of a bit of fantasy fiction, this was the best book I could read. Here is what the blurb told me-

According to the blurb- Sixteen-year-old Trinity was born during a solar eclipse and left at the doorsteps of a convent along with a torn piece of papyrus covered with ancient symbols. Raised by nuns in the English countryside, she leads a quiet life until she’s whisked away to the Island of Cats and a grandmother she never knew.  But before they can get to know each other, her grandmother dies. All that Trinity has left is a mysterious eye-shaped ring. And a thousand grieving cats. As Trinity tries to solve the enigma of the torn papyrus, she discovers a world of bloody sacrifices and evil curses, and a prophecy that points to her and her new feline abilities. Unwilling to believe that any of the Egyptian gods could still be alive, Trinity turns to eighteen-year-old Seth and is instantly pulled into a vortex of sensations that forces her to confront her true self—and a horrifying destiny. 

CULT OF THE CAT - Series Blurb 

According to ancient Egyptian prophecy, three feline goddesses—Bastet, Sekhmet, and Mafdet—would one day be reborn as triplets during a solar eclipse.  But someone—or something—separated them at birth. Because if ever they were reunited, they would unleash a blistering power that could destroy the world.  In an adventure where the past confronts the present, and blood, betrayal and secrets abound, the triplets face each other for the first time. And discover they’re the only force able to stop the evil god Apophis from enslaving humanity. 

See? Now I guess you know what my first reaction was when I read the blurb for the first time. I will be very true here and say that once I finished reading it (which is a while back) I couldn’t wait to do two things 1) write what I felt of the book and 2) read the next book of the series. First, I would like to mention my feelings about the cover of the book. Exceptionally bright and depicting exactly what the book is all about; the cover catches more attention especially because of the title of the book. I am a book buff and have been reading books a lot so for me, when I see a book with an attractive title; I am automatically drawn towards it.

Now, speaking of the characters. Since it is basically a fantasy fiction based novel, the characters had to be many. And not only many, the characters had to be well defined yet very well layered. I would like to give a thumb up to the author for making the characters so likeable. Even though it essentially features around Trinity, there are many other characters which you would love or probably hate. In the very beginning, the author has taken a lot to make a base for the characters, which I felt later in the book that was much needed. Once I speak of the characters, I would also mention the fact that not once in the book I felt that I am reading a character because I felt that many of the views expressed by the character was mine, the fears were mine and that is something not every author is capable of doing.

Having said that, the story is carried forward beautifully as I keep on turning the pages of the book (err...clicking the screen of kindle!). Not once in the book would you be bored with whatever the book is trying to tell you and the eagerness of what happens next grips you to the core. After reading the book you would surely feel like asking yourself one question! What if your family too had a secret? Falling in love with Egypt all over again, all the cat lovers reading this should also get hold of the book. And I guarantee the fact that you are in for a wonderful read.


Coming to the cons of the book, I would say that this book is a tad too confident book. By that I mean, the book did not have a jaw dropping ending but it had a very clean end. This clean end would urge you to read the next book of the series but it would satisfy your urge as a standalone book too. For me, the books which are in a series should have jaw dropping ends which would level up my excitement for the second one. Next, there were few minor errors in the book which could be neglected by large. The beginning was a bit slow and for people who are not used to reading fantasy fiction would find it a bit dragging but that’s alright. Isn’t it? Keeping all the pros and cons in mind, looking forward to the next book, I would like to rate it 3.75 out of 5.

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