Full Steam Ahead, Felix: Adventures of a famous station cat and her kitten apprentice by Kate Moore

Full Steam Ahead, Felix: Adventures of a famous station cat and her kitten apprentice Reviews

• 
  Sophie Crane

  This is a wonderful and heartwarming story of the love for one - then two little cats. The love the staff give to the cats begs the question why do all workplaces not have a cat - or two. Certainly all the best jobs have.
  
  All cats should be loved and cared for like this!
• 
  Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice)

  Full Steam Ahead Felix is the follow-up to Felix The Railway Cat which I read last year and really enjoyed. Felix is the official cat at Huddersfield Railway Station here in the UK and has many adventures. Some of them are happy and others aren’t quite as joyful. A great book for cat lovers!
• 
  Stephen

  thanks to netgalley and the publishers for a free copy in return for open and honest review
  
  this book is the further adventures of felix (senior pest controller) the Huddersfield station cat where as she is getting older from her first adventures in felix the station cat and having become an internet/facebook star, she lights up people's life , also towards to the end of the book bolt the kitten apprentice is introduced.
  this book is an easy and joyful read which would cheer most people up and they don't have to be cat lovers to enjoy the adventures of felix
• 
  Jo

  The highs and lows of a celebrity cat and her human underlings. This second book about the station cat at Huddersfield details Felix's fame and her legion of fans and introduces the reader to Bolt, apprentice pest controller. A charming read.
• 
  Harriet

  I’m not really one to write in-depth reviews, but since half-reading this book just over a month ago it’s been plaguing me ever since and so I thought I’d give it a go. Described as a heartwarming story, the book is constructed of anecdotes and tales about the adventures of Felix the railway cat set on the platform at Huddersfield in Yorkshire. I chose to reattempt reading this book (with previous reads having been unsuccessful) as a break from the numerous academic texts scattered about my room, wanting something a bit more lighthearted. Now I would say I am a cat person, having my own black cat (and until recently a handsome ginger boy who is deeply missed), so it made sense to retry this book seeing as it covers two things I enjoy: cats and trains. And contain them it does! But it is the writing which I struggle with the most.
  
  I usually try my best to finish books, finding it unsatisfying to leave them half-experienced. Yet each time I have picked up this book determined to reach the end, I barely reach the centre - I am yet to get to the section introducing Felix’s new friend Bolt. The writing is just uninteresting and plain, a commentary on the everyday lives of people that seems to go nowhere. I found my mind drifting to other topics, slightly bored by the narration that I feel moves slowly. I struggle to understand why after a day’s work you’d want to sit and read about another individual’s monotonous life, albeit with a cat thrown in. I will admit I found the section on Felix’s attempts to catch a pigeon slightly amusing, but aside from that the rest blends into one overexaggerated ball full of unnecessary descriptions and over the top depictions of mundane objects.
  
  I can see why some may enjoy this read, especially after a stressful day when they need to slow down a bit, but I think I may have just found it too slow and I couldn’t wait any longer for something exciting to happen. Perhaps the book does pick up and I was simply too impatient to wait for it, in which case oh well, but if you are looking for something a bit more stimulating then from what I’ve read I would look for something else. However one thing I will say I liked about this book was the numerous cat pictures in the middle. I did enjoy flicking through those. :)
  
  (Apologies if I’ve been a bit cruel on a book about cats but I just felt quite disappointed).
• 
  Richard

  I write this review only hours before I am about to leave on my honeymoon to the United Kingdom, where one scheduled stop will be Huddersfield train station, home to Felix and Bolt. I read Felix's first biography earlier this year and immediately added meeting her to my bucket list. Her second book picks up where the first one leaves off, and is a bit misleading from the cover. It explores Felix's time as a senior pest controller, senior being in the sense that she's entering the twilight years of her life, and although the TPE staff noticed her slowing down, acting more lazy and being less interested in meeting fans (oh no!), it isn't until the last 50 pages that her new apprentice, the kitten Bolt, first makes an appearance. Frankly, I expected more of his story in this book!
• 
  Hayley Webb

  Got to page 40 in a month and just couldn't bring myself to read it. I absolutely love cats, in fact I am a crazy cat lady! This book is dire. So much boring drivel about people.
• 
  Sandra

  I have been following the adventures of Felix, the Huddersfield station cat, on Facebook for quite some time. She is quite a character and I was curious to know more of her story. Full Steam Ahead Felix is a delightful read and tells how much of an asset the cat is to the station. People come from all over the world hoping to get a glimpse of Felix, or her apprentice Bolt. The lucky ones get a photo and Felix gets some dreamies! I’d definitely recommend this to all cat lovers out there. Next time I’m in Huddersfield I’ll be on the lookout for Felix too. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Justkeepreading

  Felix is the cutest little cat ever. As huddesford stations chief rat catcher. Felix has got fame through Facebook and Instagram post that have gone viral. This is the latest instalments of Felix’s latest adventures and how Felix comes with new found fame. Such a cute book. Loved it.
• 
  Jeanne

  The rating is a category one. I've read a number of these, including Street Cat Bob books, and these are soothing and pleasant. The author has taken very little and made an entertaining narrative. Best of all, Felix and Bolt are still alive and well and I can follow them on Facebook.
• 
  Lindsay

  I've been following Felix since 2016 and their story is just amazing. I was traveling when this book caught my eye, not realising this is actually the second book! I could not put it down and so it was finished in a few days. Now I'm gonna read the first book. :)
• 
  Marie-José

  Such a pleasant story to read!
• 
  Heather

  Don’t let the title fool you, this book still mostly centers on Felix, but Kate Moore has done it again, weaving a lovely story about Felix and her impact on the Huddersfield station community and the wider world.
  
  Hopefully cheeky Bolt will be more prominently featured in book three. As I write this, two weeks from now my husband and I will be in Huddersfield hopefully having an audience with both members of the Transpennine Express pest controller department.
• 
  Kim

  I absolutely loved the first book about Felix, the station cat and was delighted to receive a copy of the second book from Net Galley. It was great to catch up with Felix's adventures and the way she captures the hearts of the passengers and staff alike. I have enjoyed following the facebook updates, since I read the first book.
  This book introduces the new apprentice, Bolt and how he had to win his teacher over.
  This is the perfect book for any animal lover, but particularly a cat person! I look forward to seeing how Bolt settles into his new role and whether he gets his own book one day!
• 
  Ian Swinden

  I read this book out loud to my wife who can no longer read and who also happens to be a lifelong cat lover.
  It’s perfect for the purpose, beautifully descriptive of even the more mundane aspects of life on a Yorkshire railway station. In fairness, it does revisit some of the territory covered in the first book but that doesn’t take away from its appeal
• 
  Helen

  Excellent book, funny, sad at times. Really enjoyable read.
• 
  Kim Coenen

  Een bijzonder boek, met een bijzondere en hele aantrekkelijke cover. Het boek is namelijk een biografie over een stationskat. Het is een waargebeurd verhaal, waardoor het gelijk mijn nieuwsgierigheid wekte. Op de cover van het boek zijn de 2 stationskatten Felix en Bolt te zien. Het is een foto, waar je als dierenliefhebber, meteen van smelt. Op de achtergrond is wazig het station te zien en de titel van het boek is enorm toepasselijk in een ouderwets stationsbord gezet. Ik weet niet precies wat ik moet en kan verwachten, het eerste boek van Felix heb ik ook nog niet gelezen.
   
  Het waargebeurde verhaal van de beroemde stationskat Felix en haar kittenleerling Bolt.
  Felix, de stationskat van Huddersfield maakt deel uit van een hechte gemeenschap. Haar eerste boek werd een besteller en lezers en volgers over de hele wereld hebben Felix in hun hart gesloten. Maar ook Felix wordt langzaamaan een dagje ouder en is daardoor wat minder actief als 'Ongediertebestrijder.' Om de werkdruk voor Felix te verlichten wordt er een jonge leerling gezocht die Felix mag gaan vergezellen en opleiden. Het wordt de superschattige kitten Bolt.
   
  Het boek is een verzameling van verschillende waargebeurde gebeurtenissen uit het leven van Felix en later ook Bolt. Het verhaal kent hierdoor hele korte hoofdstukken, die in chronologische volgorde elkaar opvolgen. De verhalen en gebeurtenissen zijn enorm uiteenlopend en hierdoor realiseer je je pas als lezer wat een stationskat toch allemaal in haar leven mee kan maken.
  
  De eerste verhalen zijn heerlijke grappige en lieve verhalen van Felix die op avontuur en ontdekking gaat op het station. Hierdoor wist Kate Moore er ook gelijk voor te zorgen dat ik de stationskat Felix in mijn hart sloot. Ze schrijft de verhalen op een hele levendige en sprankelende wijze, zodat je het helemaal voor je ziet wat voor gekke en leuke kapriolen deze stationskat uithaalt.
  
  Daarnaast volgen er ook verhalen over hoe Felix in zijn bekend en beroemdheid weet te groeien en zelfs uiteindelijk een hele merchandise van haar te krijgen is. Wel iedere keer worden de opbrengsten hiervan besteed aan een goed doel. En daar blijft het niet bij, veel mensen zoeken hoop, troost en steun bij deze stationskat. Hierdoor komen er ook veel verhalen aan bod van mensen die speciaal naar Huddersfield afreizen om Felix in levende lijve te ontmoeten. Helaas is Felix niet altijd voor iedereen beschikbaar, maar het is wel heel bijzonder om te lezen hoeveel troost en steun mensen weten te vinden bij deze stationskat. Ook bevat het boek een fotokatern met verschillende foto's van Felix, Blot, de station medewerkers en ook een aantal mensen uit de beschreven verhalen.
  
  Verder volgen er ook verhalen over Felix die voor de zoveelste keer op dieet wordt gezet, Felix die ziek is, maar ook Felix die naar de trimsalon moet en hier totaal niet van gediend is. Door deze uiteenlopende verhalen die je op verschillende manieren weten te raken, blijft het boek ook gewoon enorm leuk om te lezen. Tegen het einde van het boek komt ook de zoektocht naar kitten Bolt en de introductie met Felix en station Huddersfield aan bod.
  
  Ik heb echt genoten van de gevarieerde mooie, grappige en aandoenlijke gebeurtenissen van stationskat Felix en Bolt. Voor iedereen die een dierenliefhebber, of eens een bijzondere biografie wilt lezen, dan is dit boek een enorme leuke aanrader. Dit boek kan ook prima gelezen worden zonder het vorige boek van Felix te hebben gelezen.
• 
  Veronique Wilbrink

  Deze recensie is eerder verschenen op
  Koukleum.nl.
  
  Vorig jaar las ik ‘Felix de stationskat’, en die vond ik echt geweldig. Dus dit nieuwe boek met niet alleen Felix, maar ook kitten Bolt, moest ik gewoon lezen. Het verhaal begint met een voorstelling op het station Huddersfield. Als je het perron oploopt weet je meteen, wie er weet dat er een stationskat is. Diegene kijken om zich heen op zoek naar Felix, diegene die zich hier niet bewust van zijn kijken vooral naar de aankondigingsborden om te kijken hoe laat de trein vertrekt. Ondanks dat ik zelf nog nooit in Huddersfield ben geweest ben ik uiteraard wel op de hoogte van de stationskat van dit station, en al haar avonturen die ze beleefd.
  In het begin van het boek gaat het vooral over Felix die verder op ontdekking gaat op het station en de duiven wegjaagt die zich op het perron ophouden. De duiven probeert zij soms ook te vangen, maar deze zijn haar altijd te vlug af. Maar zij begint ook langzaam een beroemdheid te worden en de bezoekers van het station, komen vaak ook speciaal voor Felix naar Huddersfield en de traktaties die zij krijgt, zorgen ervoor dat Felix op een bepaald moment op dieet moet. Felix wordt natuurlijk ook een dagje ouder en begint toch ook wat luier te worden. Dus haar taken als ‘hoofd ongediertebestrijder’ blijven soms wat liggen. Dit weet Kate Moore, weer op een geweldig leuke manier te omschrijven, waardoor je het gevoel hebt, alsof je zelf op het station erbij bent.
  
  Maar dit boek is meer dan een boek over de stationskat. Het gaat ook over de band tussen de verschillende medewerkers. De band die zij onderling hebben, maar ook wat Felix voor hen betekent. Felix zorgt regelmatig net voor dat extraatje, waardoor de werkdag extra leuk wordt. Maar ze vinden ook steun bij Felix op het moment dat een jonge collega, vrij plotseling overlijdt. Dit boek laat wederom zien dat Felix als stationskat veel meer is als ‘Hoofd ongediertebestrijder’.
  
  Wat ik echter een beetje jammer vind, in dit boek, is dat dit boek ‘Felix & Bolt’ heet en hierdoor verwachtte ik dat Bolt toch al vrij vroeg in het boek geïntroduceerd zou worden. Echter dit gebeurd eigenlijk pas aan het einde van het boek. Dit vind ik op zich een gemiste kans, want hierdoor lijkt het boek veel op het eerste boek van Felix, en is het niet heel erg vernieuwend. Natuurlijk blijven de verhalen over Felix superleuk en kan ik als kattenliefhebber hier geen genoeg van krijgen, maar ik had ook meer verhalen over de streken van Bolt verwacht. Wellicht dat er nog een derde boek volgt, waarin de nadruk meer op Bolt en zijn avonturen komt te liggen. Want als het boek eindigt is Bolt nog in opleiding tot Ongediertebestrijder en is hij nog niet volleerd.
  
  Als je kattenliefhebber bent, moet je dit boek gewoon lezen, want ik verzeker je, je legt het boek pas aan de kant als je de laatste pagina gelezen hebt.
• 
  Lucy-Bookworm

  A slightly unusual name for a female cat, but this is no ordinary puss! She is an official member of staff, with a title of Senior Pest Controller - but more than that, Felix the station cat has become a bit of a celebrity with her own Facebook page & 100,000 followers around the world who love the antics of the "floofy one"
  
  This is the second book about Felix. The first covered her arrival at the station and the people she worked with. Many of those characters appear again in this book - however it does stand alone so if you haven't read the first book, you can still appreciate this one!
  By the time we start this book, Felix is already a star & this book focusses on her interactions with people - staff, passengers & the people who travel to Huddersfield especially to see Felix! We meet Eva, the little girl with failing eyesight who's one wish is to meet Felix, but every time she comes to the station the cat is nowhere to be found; we meet Gloria who finds out that she only has months to live & see how the staff make her feel special when she travels across the country to tick off item #1 on her "bucket list" - "Meet Felix"; we grieve with the staff when one of the station's own staff dies suddenly.
  The book is well written with excellent descriptions - I could absolutely picture Felix using her adorable green eyes to beg for treats from passengers when the vet put her on a restricted diet and the time when she was taken to the groomers ... the usually laidback cat needed 3 people to hold her down & was referred to as a Tiger ... but once her matted fur had been sorted out, she became her old self again!
  I loved to hear about the "Felix Day" that the station held, and it's fantastic to hear that all proceeds from books & memorabilia related to Felix, as well as gifts from her adoring fans, are given to local charities.
  
  
  Towards the end of the book, the official "Senior Pest Controller" adds a new title to her badge "Line Manager" as we are introduced to Bolt - Felix's new apprentice Pest Controller. Felix is not entirely sure about her new role ... will she accept this interloper or reject him completely?
  
  Overall this is a fun, lighthearted book with plenty of humour - I am sure it won't be the last book as there are surely plenty of tales to come about the "Apprentice Pest Controller" and his adventures, even as Felix starts to slow down & approach retirement
  
  Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book free from NetGalley. ALl opinions are my own.
  #FullSteamAheadFelix #NetGalley
• 
  LightWorker

  Felix the Huddersfield Station Cat returns for more adventures. Read her first book early in the year and liked it enough to pick up this one.
  
  For the most part it's more of the same, although Felix is by now older and is struggling a little with her Day-to-day activities at the Station, and meeting her adoring fans from around the World, who want to see her. Hence why the TPE team decide to get another Cat to share the duties of pest control and public visitations. What makes this book a little different from the first is the hooman's stories (albeit not quite as numerous as the first book) - Gloria's & Eva's story especially made my heart flutter a little, with just how being with Felix made their Day/Month/Year, as well as Felix's charity work, which ballooned massively. It's beautiful how generous people can be... although... you can't help but feel it would be nice if people were this giving with or without a cute fluffy Cat as it sometimes feels exploitive (it's just what I felt at times when reading).
  
  It's a bit of a shame that TPE and their members themselves don't get as much time or credit themselves as they were forefront to Felix's work and arrival, but you just don't get to hear them as much. Same for Bolt too, as he's only given a few pages towards the end of the book (maybe his adventures are yet to come in a third book?!).
  
  I still have some issues with how the book & stories are written (giving Felix apparent speech & thoughts, naming things around her - Percy the Pigeon etc) it's just a little juvenile for my liking. But a very nice easy read, expect some awws, laughs & tears.
• 
  Vivienne

  My thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Full Steam Ahead, Felix’ by Kate Moore in exchange for an honest review.
  
  Its subtitle: ‘Adventures of a famous station cat and her kitten apprentice’ pretty accurately sums up the content of this adorable feline biography.
  
  I have followed Felix on Twitter for a while and she has an active social media presence for some years. This is the second book chronicling Felix’s adventures and her rise to fame as a social media star.
  
  It is full of charming anecdotes about Felix and the employees and regular visitors to the Huddersfield rail station. I actually hadn’t realised that Felix was a she cat given her name. She is joined late in the book by her new apprentice, Bolt, an adorable black kitten.
  
  It is heartening to read about the amount of money that has been raised for various charities by Felix in terms of calendars, books and other drives. I was also moved by how much joy and comfort she has brought to the lives of visitors.
  
  Having had a few long-haired cats myself and struggled to keep them tidy the grooming session to dematt Felix was something that I could relate to.
  
  An amazing cat and up and coming star kitten! I also look forward to reading about more of their adventures in the future. Royalties from the sale of the book will be donated to Huddersfield Samaritans and Action for Children.
  
  A delightful read for cat lovers.
  
• 
  Ellesse

  Full Steam Ahead is Felix's second book revelling the life of the moggy at Huddersfield Transpennine Express Station and it once again drew us in taking us on adventures around the station.
  
  I enthusiastically follow Felix and her antics on Facebook and was excited to find out she had another book on the way, and I wasn't disappointed! I was a little worried it would be a repeat but it wasn't at all, there was
  
  All the stories were carefully intertwined between stories of the staff, visitors as well Felix's (and later Bolt's) adventures. Some of the stories really hit a nerve and others were rather sweet.
  
  Once again I shed a tear (on a flight!) for the passing of a team member clearly loved and missed by the team. I book brings all the staff to life and you really feel it when sadness hits the station.
  
  I look forward to reading more about Bolt and his adventures, I wish there as a bit more in this one about him but I'm sure there will be more to come!
  
  They left it a bit open about her retirement which I would have loved to know more about as I would love to visit her one day but I know she's a busy lady so it is unlikely!
  
  The book is feel-good summer read, mostly light and easy to read! Definitely one to pick up!
• 
  Jo Cameron-Symes

  A lovely sequel to the first Felix book! What Moore does brilliantly is evoke a wonderfully warm feeling, when you read about all of the people and their stories of how much Felix means to them and how she's touched their lives. Felix is a very special cat, who through her social media popularity has raised a lot of money for charity, which is wonderful. I am lucky enough to live in the very town where Felix also resides (and Bolt the apprentice too!). The book accurately conveys the warmth and friendliness of many of the people here. Alas, I have never seen Felix or Bolt in real life, but my husband has been lucky enough to have Felix approach him once and brush herself against his legs (a cat greeting I guess!). I recommend that you read this book if you like animals and human interest stories. I wonder if they'll be a book three and perhaps a third cat?!
• 
  Shirley Jones

  I received this for Christmas and it was an excellent choice for me as a cat lover. I usually buy fiction so it made a change to read something based on reality. I did wonder how the story of Felix was going to run to so many pages given she's only six and this is a sequel but what I didn't count on was how invested I would become in the humans who run the station and their lives, loves and troubles. I was amazed to find myself crying over a very sad turn of events.
  My only negative observation would be how misleading the cover and blurb are. Bolt the black kitten doesn't feature until almost the end of the book and I think more could have been made of this. However I have since joined the Facebook fans and can see he's grown into a handsome sleek puss with lots of character. A very nice read and I shall look out for the first episode..
• 
  Kingfan30

  It wasn’t long after reading the first book that a colleague came into the office after a work trip and told us she had weirdly spotted a cat on a train station, ‘Huddersfield?’ I asked. ‘How did you know?’ she replied. I explained I had read the book not that long ago and she said she was off to get a copy.
  And it was nice to meet back up with Felix, although it did make me laugh when they say at 7 she is getting on and are talking about her retirement, I mean you should see my 17 year old girl go! That said there are some heart warming stories and the amount the station staff and Felix have raised for charity is fabulous. The appearance of Bolt is pretty late on in the book but he really does sound like a cheeky chappy, and the social media posts show just how cute he is. I guess there may well be a third instalment at some point.
  
  
• 
  Shahrun

  I think if you had not read the first Felix book, you can easily pick this one up and feel comfortable. Pretty sure first 8 chapters were just recap of life from the first book. Scene setting as it were. It felt quite repetitive all through out really (to bulk the book out). What I really enjoyed were the heartwarming anecdotes about all the charity work and the impact on people’s lives (staff & fans) when Felix does important meet & greets. Poor Bolt was confined to the last few chapters. The title being what it is, I was expecting much more about him.
• 
  Paulina

  I really loved the first book but this one was even better! I just love cat books in general and having met Felix in real life in 2017 was like a dream come true. Now she has a little apprentice, Bolt, helping her with the station duties and honestly this duo could not be any sweeter! Any cat lover will enjoy this book; it is so interesting, well written and lighthearted you will not be disappointed!