Official Review: The Rival by A J Dormaar

[s-e-hood]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Rival" by A J Dormaar.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Rival by A J Dormaar follows a hilarious tomcat named Henry as he fights to protect his human from her latest and most dangerous suitor. Set among the glitz and glamour of present-day high society (the actual setting is never mentioned), the story begins when Henry's supermodel owner, Yvette, spurns Chris Farnwell after learning that he doesn't like cats. But the rich and powerful Farnwell is unused to not getting what he wants, and he soon sets in motion a plan to win back Yvette and get her "darling" Henry out of the way.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. It's an entertaining read filled with outrageous feline adventures and is never short on humor. It made me laugh out loud again and again, and there are plenty of "inside jokes" that every cat lover will be able to relate to.

Much of the story is told from Henry's point of view. He is entertaining, smart, believably feline, and absolutely never sorry. He's easily my favorite character and makes for a fun protagonist, though he's hardly the only cat wreaking havoc on Chris Farnwell's plans. After all, even the cockiest of kitties could use a helping paw or two when dealing with fur-brained humans!

While all the cat characters were wonderfully written, most of the humans came off as shallow and one-dimensional. I would have liked to see a little more depth to Yvette and Chris in particular, especially during the parts written from their points of view. There's a brief mention early on of Yvette's past, but this subplot is never really explored and only comes into the story when Chris uses it as a weakness against her.

Some of the plot twists seemed too convenient even for a melodramatic and humorous adventure tale like this one. I couldn't tell where the story took place--for the most part it "felt" American to me, except for the British spelling and repeated British phrases like "torchlight" and "old chap" and "bloody." There were occasional grammatical errors, though not enough to be distracting. Offensive language was used throughout, though sparingly enough that it never felt overbearing or obnoxious. There are plenty of thinly veiled sexual references that might prompt young readers to ask awkward questions.


Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Though never very deep thematically, it makes up for it with sheer entertainment value. Cat people looking for a fun and easy read will love it.

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The Rival
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