I... don't know. This is such a 2 stars for me, but I feel like it should be rated higher because the last story I read that focused on this trio (Gotham City Sirens) was so dry and shallow and sexist that at least this was a bit better?

The thing I generally love most about the superhero genre is the ability to explore morality, the blurred lines between good and evil, and that comes from attempting to upset the stark contrast between heroes and villains that the superhero genre generally perpetuates. I happen to be reading a series right now that is doing this wonderfully ([b:Renegades|28421168|Renegades (Renegades, #1)|Marissa Meyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1494896884l/28421168._SX50_.jpg|48526305]), so it made it more obvious that this book didn't really upset it. Sure, there's a slight romance between the hero and villain, Catwoman is seen trying not to kill and only focuses on stealing from rich, horrible people, but there is still the constant distinction of her as villain and Batwing as hero. It somehow had all the parts it needed to subvert these tropes, yet never actually did it.

I also don't think I would've gotten through the book had I not bought the audiobook on libro.fm. I own the hardcover and intended to just sit down and read it (with my eyes!) but I was tired and the first 20-50 pages were not gripping me at all. This book seemed to have none of the actual characteristics of Maas's writing I actually like, what makes her writing enjoyable and easy to read. It was also just slow? Like things were building up constantly, I was under the impression that the story must be going somewhere, but reader's weren't given access to Catwoman's actual goal.

Spoiler

We knew she was hoarding money, that she was on the run from the League, but we didn't know that all of that was because Maggie was struggling and would die soon, and Catwoman didn't want that to happen. Instead, Lazarus pits are randomly thrown in there, Catwoman is suddenly interested, and later we finally learn why.

I also felt like there was a lot of social justice stuff just thrown in for the fun of it. We have racism, classism, 'eco-terrorism', etc. and literally none of it was done well. Race was only sometimes mentioned by Luke in passing, where he pondered what people would say if they found out Batwing was black, mentioning how much harder his mother had to work because of her race, being pulled over by cops, etc etc. But Maas never actually did anything with this, just pointed it out (which I guess is also good? But I don't know, it felt cheap). There was also the constant class issue, and readers were under impression from the beginning (or at least I was) that Catwoman's motivation was to upset the power structures in Gotham City so people like her and her sister no longer had to struggle. And sure, at the end

Spoiler

she gave money to a children's hospital to pay the bills of families who couldn't afford treatment, she also just straight up mentioned not desiring to upset the balance of the city now that her sister was surviving and thriving in it

. The worst was probably the environmental issues, because I loved Poison Ivy's determination to save the world, to steal in order to rebuild forests, but she was constantly looked down upon by both Catwoman and Harley Quinn for this aspect of her personality. She was a 'fanatic' and a 'freak' for those beliefs, and even her veganism was put down by the duo. This especially grated me because while I'm not vegan, I know vegans, and the hatred towards them is entirely unwarranted. (Also, Harley shitting on vegan food really bugged me because it can very often either taste the same, or great in its own way).

Admittedly while reading I didn't have that many issues, but I was kinda just listening and along for the ride. But the more I think on this book, the less I'm finding that I like.