Catch Lili Too
Catch Lili Too by Sophie Whit Published by NineStar Press on November 16, 2020
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 321
Format: eARC
ISBN: 9781648901
Goodreads
Lili is a Mesopotamian siren, and life as an immortal being is hard enough as it is. She’s asexual (which is incredibly difficult to reconcile if your entire point as a mythical being is to seduce people to death). She’s also struggling with depression from being alive for so long.
Lili is an absolutely shoddy improv-detective trying to track down a serial killer so ruthless that it makes even her murderous soul uneasy. However, there’s something larger at work than just one serial killer. A small town is hiding an even deadlier, global-scale secret. Forget Area 51 conspiracies. This one beats them all. With magic.
So, what better way to spice up her eternal life than being hired as a vigilante detective to stop a serial killer? Anything, literally anything. She’d trade her left lung to get out of this. Or, perhaps, somebody else’s.
Thank you so much Sophie Whit for providing me with an eARC for review!
Listen – an asexual siren?? WHY HASN’T ANYONE DONE THAT BEFORE??? Or maybe they have and I just don’t pay attention. EITHER WAY. I love the concept so much. Also just books with sirens, because I don’t get enough of that. I love having main characters that are mythical beings!! There were a lot of elements of this book that I liked, but ultimately it fell a bit short. However, I do think there are lots of people who will love this!
Things I Liked
There are so many interesting characters in this story!!! As I said, Lili is an asexual siren, but there is also a gay ghost, a trans necromancer, a lesbian witch, a bisexual ghoul, an Indigenous shapeshifter/old god, and the list goes ON. THE DIVERSITY, PEOPLE. I am here for it. Also these people end up making a found family which, I mean, you know how much I love found family. They were all super cool but I do wish we could’ve gotten to know them a bit better.
I also like the mix of fantasy and mystery genres. Obviously with all the mythical beings and magic this is fantasy, but really this is the story of a hunt for a serial killer – so a mystery! I love genre mashups, I think every book should be a genre mashup hahaha.
This is also kind of minor, but the chapter titles/headings/locations were hilarious and I loved reading them. The snark of the characters was also great (though a bit too over the top occasionally).
What Didn’t Quite Work
I really struggled with the plot. The pacing felt very uneven and clunky, and I also think the author tried to do way too many things at once. I almost felt like every chapter was something brand new that almost felt connected to the story, but was disconnected enough to be quite jarring.
The ending also felt very rushed and anticlimactic, even though there were reveals that were clearly trying to make it huge and epic. I think it could have been! But it needed a bit more work to make it that way.
I’m definitely excited to see future works from this author, I think they have TONS of potential and a great imagination!
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