https://twitter.com/InkyardPress/status/1275111347517349889?fbclid=IwAR0PU3gGEaZ_MKkJp601e4uvpkPzvtAElzDT9Rzr28yzP0qQ45pjBwQlVss

as of this tweet, I feel like I do not need to review this book, but did not want to report it as not giving feedback. I did not want to hurt my chances of getting other books or damaging my feedback ratio.

I am proud of this publishing company for taking a stand. Thank you.

This book is no longer being published and I no longer am comfortable reading and reviewing this book either after what I've learned about the author. I appreciate the pub pulling the publication of the book though. I do not want the non-reviewing to impact my ratio though so I'm submitting this.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I finished reading this book before becoming aware of the author's behavior.

Content warnings include: Cheating, mentions of drug use (consensual), violence, multiple scenes including non-explicit sexual content

First things first, the prose in this book is quite poetic. Unfortunately, it doesn't always make sense, and it glorifies problematic elements such as infidelity. The backbone of the story relies on the lore that allows Austin to be reincarnated, but there's very little worldbuilding or explanation behind this, and minimal exploration of Austin's backstory. Given that he's the main character, I expect to know more. Although I read an ARC, it felt more like I was reading a first draft minus editing/spelling mistakes.

While the messiness of relationships and romantic feelings is portrayed in a realistic manner, the rampant cheating in this book and the ultimate resolution of the tangled relationship web between the characters makes it very toxic. The book centers on Austin and his desire to be reincarnated so that he can continue being by Ophelia's side. The cat wanting to be in a sexual and romantic relationship with his owner was weird to me. The final relationships were also confusing and the resolution of the problems brought up by Austin's selfish actions (and, to a lesser extent, the selfish actions of the other characters), was very rushed and covered up.

Lastly, this author's toxic and hateful harassment have caused incredible harm to POC and other creators, authors, and readers.

Although this book has an interesting premise, I have become aware of the author's actions toward POC authors and I can't in good conscience review this book. I'm not willing to support authors who belittle others the way this author has

It is my understanding this book has been pulled from publishing due to the problematic actions of the author. I will no longer be supporting this

Given the recent behavior of the author of this book, the harassment that has come to light, and the fact that it was pulled by the publisher, I am not comfortable providing a review on the content of this book.

Taylor B. Barton's "The Ninth Life" is a fantastical and transcendental journey. Feline Caesar makes a Faustian deal with the goddess Zosma to be reunited with his love Ophelia. He is reborn as Austin Price, a seventeen-year-old with a complicated past. As the story goes on, there is an array of eclectic characters introduced to the world and a deepening plot. While certain jokes and beats show the potential of a franchise, yet first the reader needs to navigate the gauntlet of the first book. There's so much to look forward to at the end, but it can be challenging to make it through to the end. It's a series that needs a stronger anchor for this first book.

Really wanted to like this one, with such a unique premise, but I just couldn’t get into it. May still purchase for library depending on industry reviews.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I finished the book before I was made aware of the authors behavior. I will honestly say I really enjoyed the first third or so but the ending struck me as really toxic. Characters ended up together that shouldn't have because it was destiny? MISSY?

If you've read the book you know exactly what I am on about.

As much as I disapproved of the author's behavior I really did enjoy the first bit.

I hope they learned from this.

I was more than halfway through this book when I learned it had been pulled by the publisher due to problematic behavior from the author, so I thought I’d go ahead and review it anyway.

The premise of this book hooked me instantly: a cat, so happy with his person, wishes on a star to come back to her again in his next life. While the book did technically deliver this, it was much more a messy teenage romance book than anything else. The relationships and the prose were overwrought and not entirely believable. Austin’s understanding of human speech and behavior is inconsistent- sometimes it’s played really well, but other times it’s as though the author forgot Austin was brand new at being human. At those times, it felt like two different stories had been clumsily mashed together.

Still, there were some beautiful moments. While I wasn’t fond of the romance angle, the few platonic relationships were quite touching - especially between Austin and Missy. Really, the best written scenes were the ones where the animals contemplated their existence and fates - I definitely cried once or twice when reading their scenes.

TLDR: A melodramatic teen romance - a few tears were shed, but doesn’t quite live up to premise.

Thank you for selecting me as a recipient of The Ninth Life. Given recent events surrounding the author’s actions, I will not be writing a review for this title. I feel as though Inkyard Press has made the right choice in canceling the publication of The Ninth Life. I appreciate the knowledge that Inkyard will not tolerate such behavior from its authors and I look forward to reviewing future Inkyard Press titles!

I love me a good non-binary boy turning into a cat as much as the next reader. (seriously how UNIQUE is that plot!?) Unfortunately, despite an interesting premise and awesome queer rep, overall this book fell flat for me.

The writing was my biggest issue. I guess I'd call it clunky. This book feels a lot longer and more mundane than it needed to be. Both in the technical sense- there's a lot of repetition, strange info dumping, and some awkwardly phrased pieces- and in the sense that the characters are all extremely one dimensional. In all seriousness, I don't really read contemporary books, and I have criterias for them. They're supposed to make me feel for the main character. I want to suffer along with them. I want to fall in love along with them. I want to experience their joy, their pain. In a book in which a character is pretty much doomed from the start, I want to live each breath with them like it was their last.

This book did nothing for me.

The plot was imaginative and the familial and cultural representations vivid and authentic; however, this was poorly written.

Will not be removing as book was dropped from publication due to abuse and racism from the author so I will not be finishing this book

Thank you to Inkyard Press for providing me with this ARC. Initially I was intrigued by the premise, but due to the long history of Taylor B. Barton’s abuse and gaslighting of marginalized authors and members of the writing community that have recently been brought to light, I cannot in good conscience read, review, or support THE NINTH LIFE at this time—likely ever.

Oh boy- definitely this premise wasn’t for me. It danced too close to beastiality for my tastes. I thought the writing was overwrought, and basically everyone remained a terrible person.. I did like that it was emotionally messy bc that is true to life, but I just couldn’t get past everyone’s intentional destruction of relationships. I also felt like it glanced important topics but didn’t fully engage with them.

Due to the author's recent social media behavior, I won't be reading or reviewing this book at this time. But I do, wholeheartedly, thank the publisher for giving me the opportunity.

I am no longer comfortable reviewing this book based on information that has been presented to me about Taylor B. Barton/ Brooklyn Ray's behavior. I wasn't even aware the two people were the same person while communicating with them. Because of the nature of the complaints... and Taylor's clear acceptance of responsibility, I no longer want to review this title.

Initially, I had rated this book as 3.5/5 stars rounded up to four. However, given the recent information that has come to light about Taylor B. Barton's abusive/racist behavior in the publishing sphere, I will not be supporting this book with a review and will not be recommending it for purchase.

I excitedly began reading this book, but was quickly triggered by the POV of a cat about to die. I took a few days away, during which I learned about the author's long problematic behavior. I was troubled by their non-apology apology, and cannot support an anti-black author, so I declined to finish reading this book. I will not be recommending it for purchase in our program.

I've decided not to read or review this book because the author and their twitter presence really bothers me. I have multiple times seen them take a conversation they really shouldn't be at the centre of and use that to promote their book, and that just rubs me the wrong way.