Loved reading this book, it is fab. I reviewed it a few years ago now but often think about it. Can't wait to read more by this author, though I don't see any more on Goodreads just yet. Fingers crossed.

I quite enjoyed reading The Bobcat. This debut novel has Laurelie, a young art student suffering from the aftermath of a sexual assault. Moving away from the city to a small college in rural Vermont may not have been the best decision?

Captivating, the story was a good read and I'm hoping to have an opportunity to read more by this author in the future. Can't wait for more books!

Sometimes small things in a book can just rub me the wrong way, and it completely sours the reading experience for me. Seeing as this has mostly 4 and 5-star reviews on Goodreads, I might be in the minority here on this one.

The story follows Laurelie, who after a sexual assault moves to a small college town to care for a little boy. One day, while babysitting, she happens upon a bobcat and a hiker (no name given) who has been keeping track of the bobcat's movements. She forms a friendship with the mysterious hiker. There aren't a lot of plot points with this story, mostly character and scenery descriptions (which are not typically my faves in a writing style). There's very little dialogue as well, and I struggled to connect with any of the characters too.

The tiny thing that turned me off was how Riley continually describes the hiker's nostrils flaring or pulsing. This was a plot point later determined to show that he has extraordinarily good sense of smell, but I kept getting distracted by this descriptor whenever it came up (and it was pretty much in every scene with the hiker).

I thought the basics of the story would have been interesting, but even though this was a pretty short book, it just dragged on for me. I appreciated the writing style but there were a lot of elements that just didn't work for me.

Sadly stopped after chapter one. The writing style just wasn’t for me. It was very flowy and wordy. The synopsis sounded great so I think others would like this novel.

I loved the writing in this book. It was a story of hope, healing, the beauty of nature, resilience and how to overcome the darkness that is left on your soul after a trauma. The descriptions in this book are what brought this book to life. This is an extraordinary debut and I can't wait to see what Katherine Forbes Riley does next.

This book may be short (not even 200 pages) but it packs one hell of a punch! In her debut, Katherine Forbes Riley really wows. Her writing is evocative and vivid and she creates characters and a world that are truly dreamy despite the serious subject matter. This isn't a book you read quickly. You want to savor each page and bask in the beauty of what the author has built - a story of healing, of finding your voice, of the power of art and of connecting in a wonderfully unique way.

Thank you to NetGalley, Skyhorse Publishing and the author for an advanced copy to review.

Laurelie is an art student and a survivor of sexual assault, which has left her very anxious and uncomfortable with others. She transfers from a university in a hectic city setting to a college in rural Vermont, hoping to find some peace. Her art, and babysitting her landlord's son, become her main focus. One day, while walking through the woods with her landlord's son, Laurelie spots a pregnant, injured bobcat. Shortly after, they come across a hiker who has been following the bobcat for miles. Laurelie and the hiker strike up a friendship which develops into a romantic relationship. The hiker is an unusual fellow with deep sensitivities to his surroundings which are fascinating to Laurelie.

This was a wonderful read. The characters are intriguing for their uniqueness and the story line was pleasantly original. Strongly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author Katherine Forbes Riley, and the publisher Skyhorse Publishing for the free ARC I received in return for my honest opinion.

Thank you Publisher and Netgalley for the early copy~

I did not connect with the writing style/plot and decided to put this one down.

Haunting and magical, with the perfect mixture of melancholy and whimsy. I loved this authors writing style. I am late to reviewing this one, but I really loved this lyrical story. I loved the length of this one. It gave plenty of time to dive into the story and be captivated by its prose, while also leaving room for wonder and amusement after it had ended. I highly recommend this one for lovers of literary fiction!

A mystical story of healing and love told from the perspective of Laurelie, a young aspiring artist who has been a victim of sexual assault. The setting, a small college town in Vermont is perfect for the unfurling of this highly sensuous tale. Riley has taken a simple tale and turned it into a magical journey through the use of often elegant, beautifully constructed prose, ripe with metaphor. She enables us to share the journey of Lauelie's soul as she becomes entwined with the mysterious and and almost magical Hiker. A wonderful read.

This book was just not for me. I liked the overall message and theme of the book, however, it was extremely slow and hard for me to get through. I understand the author wanted it to be this beautiful prose, but there was too much description about things that I often ended up confused. I had to re-read sentences quite often. I wasn’t fond of the majority of the characters not having names, because then I wasn’t able to connect with them. I do realize that Laurelie is the main character and the focus should be on her, but there were also other main characters that I feel deserved to be known as more than “the _________”. Overall, I felt as though I was reading a ton of similes and metaphors which made it very hard for me to connect with the story itself. I don’t doubt that this book will resonate with others though.

Laurelie is an art student more comfortable on her own, and even more so after experiencing a sexual assault. She relocates to finish college and encounters a hiker who is even more connected to the natural world than she is.

Healing through nature, finding a voice in art, the power of connection.... And just enough strangeness to keep me guessing. I'm still thinking about the end.

The Bobcat was a lovely lyrical book about recovering from PTSD after the main character was drugged and raped in college at a frat party. The book does not go into great detail about the event but does discuss the emotional aftermath in great detail so warning for anyone who may find that triggering. The author does a great job of using language and her descriptions of the people around her to move the main character from a place of isolation and fear to being back as part of a community. Her art is described nicely and also follows this transition. The shift towards using names for people versus descriptors is well done and interesting to watch the transition occur during the story. The virus thing was a little far-fetched but allowed for a second character who had to learn to live in the world again as well without also giving him a traumatic past. The Bobcat also seemed a bit unrealistic, but it fit in the story’s feel of a fairytale in the woods. This is partly why found the virus part so out of place and it broke with the lyrical feel. I do not think all the information on viruses was needed. This is a very short book and a thoughtful read.

This story is just as lyrical and colorful as its cover.
The writing just flows and wraps around the story like a beautiful present wrapped in the prettiest bow. It fits the story and setting perfectly, lets you savour each moment and revel in the emotions it brings up.
The characters are well-rounded and well described, especially Laurelie. Her inner thoughts and ideas set the mood and her interest in art paints some truly gorgeous imagery. (I spent many minutes on Google Images looking up the artists and paintings to understand the references.) The book features little dialogue so every spoken word feels precious and full of meaning.
The hiker was interesting and I was waiting every page to find out more about him. And I can say I am usually not a fan of kids, I enjoyed every visit of the boy.

The story deals with some heavier topics without it feeling overdone or glossed over. I loved to see Laurelie develop and heal from her trauma and see how navigates through life during that process.
I think the ending could have deserved a few more pages but I was still satisfied.

*Trigger Alert* sexual assault
Laurelie, a young artist, is sexually assaulted on her college campus.
She is severely traumatized and never feels safe.
She transfers to a small college in Vermont, hoping that she can move on from her fears.
Laurelie rents a guest cottage off campus, and baby sits her landlord's little boy to offset the rent.
One day they are walking in the woods near her cottage and come across a hiker and his dog. He is tracking an injured and pregnant bobcat.
They meet him again later, and he shares where the baby bobcats and mom have their lair. He seems to have a special bond with the animals.
As the relationship between Laurelie and the hiker slowly becomes closer, and she is able to create art, she begins the healing process.
This debut was a unique and magical book. Bewitching and lyrically written.
Although it was short , the author managed to infuse the characters with so much emotion. A story to savor and contemplate .
Thank you to Arcade and NetGalley for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

In her debut novel, The Bobcat, Katherine Forbes Riley explores the aftermath of assault, art, and the human condition.Following her assault at a frat party, art student Laurelie becomes increasingly withdrawn from her Philadelphia college peers, connecting only with two rescue kittens, before dropping out and eventually transferring to another university in small-town Vermont. There, she finds safety in solitude in her cottage near the woods, bonding with her landlady’s son through their nature walks. This peaceful balance is dramatically upended in a fateful encounter with a wounded, pregnant bobcat, and the hiker who has been tracking her for over 300 miles. Overstimulated by large populations, the hiker recognizes something in Laurelie, pushing to forge a connection, and she cautiously reciprocates. The novel follows Laurelie testing the waters of trust, belonging, love, and self-expression as she works to finish her academic career.

As a survivor of sexual assault on a college campus, I approached the book apprehensively at first, unsure of how the subject material would be handled. I was pleasantly surprised when I found that my shoulders relaxed, my teeth my unclenched, and I could finally breathe easy while reading. Although I was reading about a fictional character’s healing process, I knew that reading this novel, and subsequently writing this review, was part of my own process as well.

In an age where perpetrators of sexual violence have become increasingly brazen and have tightened their hold over notions of credibility and acceptability, and the sexualization and exploitation of assault for profit runs rampant, Riley’s writing stands out. In striking prose, she crafts a narrative of hurt and healing, desire and deprivation, risk and refuge, threading these concepts and their counterparts seamlessly together until they become inextricable. Riley deftly handles the complexities and emotional baggage that come with these concepts and the topic of assault and in doing so creates an extremely inviting, sensitive, and responsible survivor narrative.
After finishing this book, I felt as if my internal landscape had been rubbed raw. Not harshly with an abrasive material, but carefully, methodically, exfoliating me until I emerged pink and cleansed and at peace.

The Bobcat is a revelation. This book made my throat swell with emotions, my eardrums pound with the sound of my heartbeat, and my pinched brow smooth away as the tension receded. Riley’s writing is as crisp and melodic as a autumn afternoon in Vermont. The plot transports you, like particles floating down a river, round bend after bend unpredictably. The characters will leave imprints in your heart, like footprints in a snow drift, long after they have left you. I will certainly still be thinking of this book for months and years to come, each time my heart warming like Laurelie’s fireplace in winter as I remember and reflect on this reading experience.

The Bobcat is out today and can be found wherever books are sold.

While I went into this book not really having any expectations, it definitely was not a story that I was expecting. Honestly, what got me to want to read this book was that it’s described as haunting and lyrical … who can pass that up?

While I agree with those words to describe the book and Riley’s writing, it felt a little forced at times or at least it got to the point that it was so constant on the pages that it stopped being mesmerizing and started to almost be too much paired with the story. I don’t know if that makes sense.

The writing was beautiful and easily sparked my imagination. The story itself, however, was a little slow for me and confusing at times. One thing that confused me at first was that we don’t learn the hiker’s name until way later in the book. Part of me didn’t like it while a part of me understood that by doing that, the focus is on Laurelie. I also didn’t quite understand Laurelie and the hiker’s love story … it seemed to just happen. Not quite an insta-love, but also not enough lead up? Or I could be unfairly comparing to other types of love stories.

As for the characters of the story, I’m not sure I quite got a good sense of any of them, even Laurelie. I got some sense of her character, but I’m not sure it’s enough. She’s definitely stronger than she thinks and I liked seeing the multiple ways she sees the world around her, mostly through the descriptions of art.

Honestly, I think this is one of those books that you just have to read yourself to decided if you like it or not. I think Riley’s writing is the strongest aspect of the book.

This book is beautifully written with lush descriptions of the power of art and nature as therapy. Laurelie uses her artwork to express what is unspeakable and bonds develop between traumatized (human and bobcat) outsiders that help them integrate back into the world.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and author for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Bobcat by Katherine Forbes Riley clocks in at 160 pages. I'm sure you're thinking to yourself (like I did) - "Well, that's cool. I can breeze through this book, and add an easy notch to my reading goal for the year."

Unfortunately, not so. With this special book, you find yourself trudging through waist deep waters of gorgeous language, which deserves to be savored. There is very little dialogue as the two main characters are recovering from individual traumatic experiences and find healing in the environment they have relocated themselves to; as well as each other.

I urge you to read the story of Lorelei and the hiker that she finds one day in the woods. It reminds us all of how human relationships can bring not only love, joy and companionship - but, healing and new beginnings as well.

Thank you to Netgalley, Skyhorse Publishing and Katherine Forbes Riley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Review Date: 5/31/19
Publication Date: 6/4/19

Life soon becomes a snare that entraps us when least expected. But it is the breaking free that visits the wild in all of us.

Katherine Forbes Riley weaves a tale unlike what you've been accustomed to in ordinary fiction. She combines earthy prose with untapped human emotions rarely voiced. The Bobcat turns the first pages with the fingertips of Laurelie. Lauraelie, an art major, is leaving behind a horrendous experience from the previous Fall in Philadelphia. The endless miles to start fresh in Montague College in Vermont hardly blur the same reoccuring snapshots of being sexually violated at a frat house.

Laurelie rents a small cottage off campus and submerges completely into her art. She sits daily in a local store sketching people that enter and exit. Her art finds its way into creative panels of action emulating the style of Klimt, Gauguin, and even Andy Warhol. She rarely makes eye contact with anyone except her art advisor at the college who encourages her to keep enhancing the panels.

But out of necessity, Laurelie strikes a deal with her landlord to babysit her two year old son to help offset the cost of rent. It is here that the story rises to a new level. Katherine Forbes Riley moves away from encasing her characters with cumbersome names. The young ward is known as "The Boy" who will ease Laurelie back into the sense-engulfing world of nature away from the cottage. They explore winding pathways and curious ponds filled with insects and small creatures. Each day finds Laurelie letting down her guard and welcoming small adventures.

One day The Boy notices a young man sitting near a tent and approaches him. He will be known as "The Hiker" who will play such an integral part in this story. He reveals a hidden place in the woods where an injured bobcat lay ready to give birth. The little group is awestruck that the bobcat allows them to approach even after her babies are born. It is this thread of deep connection that will permeate throughout the telling.

The Bobcat is to be savored and read with the simple expectation of human nature in its healing, its renewal, and its quiet desire to gently be understood. Like the patterned veins on each leaf, so different from one another, and yet so vital for growth and the vitality of the whole of its parts. The Bobcat will leave you with a continuous place to revisit in your thoughts long after the last page.

I received a copy of The Bobcat through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Skyhorse Publishing and to the talented Katherine Forbes Riley for the opportunity.