Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Blog Tour & Review: A Whiskered Perspective by M.G. Spear




Synopsis: "Meet the cutest new black kitty in fiction, Pumpkin!

Like cats? Relationships? Then A Whiskered Perspective is for you.

Relationships are hard, but they are worth the effort. You should try your best, no matter what, to work things out, right? Not always.

Miller thinks she has found love but her cat, Pumpkin, tells a darker story. Not all love is equal, even if you desperately want it to be.

It’s a different take on relationship turmoil and the power of a connection between a cat and his human."

My Review: I knew I had to read this book when I saw the cover and read the synopsis, cats always get me! This book is definitely not for the faint of heart. I really enjoyed the beginning of the story, with Miller and Pumpkin finding their way as cat and human companion. I loved the portrayal of the way nine lives works in this story. Then enters the relationship portion with the new love interest Rob. I appreciate the perspective from Pumpkin, it gives you a fly on the wall perspective and the relationship develops. I wasn't a huge fan of the more human abilities given to Pumpkin, he can read, I feel like it took it a bit away from being a cat's perspective, I would have preferred a little more instinct based behaviors. I also found that it was a very quick story and I wasn't able to really get involved in the story and become super attached to the characters. The story does take a very dark turn and I would have liked to have felt the emotions throughout the second half of the book. With all that said, it was a quick read and a hard hitting one with some very tough subjects, and one very lovable and noble cat.

My Rating: While I did enjoy this story, it is a rather dark one and may be triggering to some readers.  I did find that the human abilities given to the cat took me out of the story a bit. I also would have liked to have the story fleshed out a bit more to draw me in more and let me really grow connected to the characters.  With that said it is a good and hard hitting short story.  I give it a rating of Two Paws and a Stump Wag.



I received a complimentary copy of this book from Pump Up Your Book & the author. The following is my honest review and opinion.

You can obtain your own copy in print or digital format from Amazon https://amzn.to/30K9Tsx






Have you ever been set on fire?
            I have.
            Tied up, thrown into a bag, the smell of gasoline filling my nostrils…
            Such is the way of the warrior.
            I had been minding my own business, hunting mice for dinner when the neighborhood bully caught me by surprise with a pillowcase.
            The local humans would whisper I was the trouble tom, always picking fights with their house cats, or spraying on their fence line.
            And, of course, attacking the neighborhood bully when he threw rocks at me.
            Now he had the advantage. My sharp claws could only do so much damage through the fabric, and he grabbed my legs and tied them so my claws would no longer be an issue. I yowled and spat and hissed with the rage of fire but to no avail. The way of the warrior is to accept death, but this was my seventh life, and I was not ready to give it up. But I could see no way I would survive as the pillowcase caught fire.
            “Hey!” a woman screamed.
            I heard the bully run away laughing as my flesh started to sear. The pain was building, and even with meditation techniques, I could not get my mind far enough from the pain.
            Then my miracle came. Someone doused the pillowcase in water. Cold, blessed water.
            The ropes came off and the makeshift sack was opened. Delirious as I was, I knew not to struggle as this random woman, this passerby, scooped me up in her arms and carried me down the street. She took me into her house and tended my wounds while I lay panting, grateful to be alive.
            Weeks go by, and I continued to heal and snuggle with this woman. I made sure to do nothing to upset her, to throw me away, and only sprayed in the litter box and did my business there. She was grateful for this kindness and cleaned it every day for me.
            Her house was a small three-bedroom house. She lived alone, a teacher educating other people’s children but coming home to no one. I was the answer to her loneliness. She talked to me every day about the goings-on in her life. She kept a diary, which I read from time to time. We were grateful for each other.
            This is the story of my friend and me.



M.G. Spear is a teacher who writes for stress relief, and currently has published multiple books with more in the works. She teaches Biology to both college and high school students, and mostly her days are filled with logic. But M.G’s creative side comes out in her writing.

M.G. has been writing for as long as she can remember and hones her craft by reading books and constantly writing. She is very eclectic in her writing passions, from general fiction to horror books, to motivational and humorous posts on her blog. Her major influences are Edgar Allen Poe, Gillian Flynn, Chuck Palahniuk, and Frank Peretti. She published her first short story collection, Jumping on the Trampoline, in 2006, but then life got in the way. Now she is back in the game, ready to bring more stories to life.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:


http://www.pumpupyourbook.com
 

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