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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I absolutely love Jessica Redland’s books and the world that she has created in Whitsborough Bay. So when I found out that not only were we going to go back to Castle Street, one of my favourite places in Jessicas world and there was going to be cats, I was in !
We meet Tabby, not a cat, but a young woman who has dreamed her whole life of a career with cats. Sadly it has taken the inheritance from her beloved Grandmother to make this happen but she always believed in Tabby.
Leon is Tabby’s boyfriend and with Tabby’s blessing has gone off on a cruise ship to fulfil his own dreams but he is coming back, isn’t he ?
Tabby is so excited about the cat cafe and the return of Leon but out of the blue she receives news which leaves her absolutely devastated and all her plans look like that they could all fall to pieces.
Tabby is not about to be beaten and she has faced obstacles before in her life.
This is another uplifting and insightful book, Tabby has been previously diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and I found this part of her story really interesting as I have friends with the condition and this helped me understand and empathise how debilitating the pain can be.
As with all Jessica’s books there are tough times but also hope, friendship and this one also has Christmas which makes it such a wonderful cosy read to snuggle up with this time of year.
Am I allowed to say that this book is purr fection !
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
We meet Tabby, not a cat, but a young woman who has dreamed her whole life of a career with cats. Sadly it has taken the inheritance from her beloved Grandmother to make this happen but she always believed in Tabby.
Leon is Tabby’s boyfriend and with Tabby’s blessing has gone off on a cruise ship to fulfil his own dreams but he is coming back, isn’t he ?
Tabby is so excited about the cat cafe and the return of Leon but out of the blue she receives news which leaves her absolutely devastated and all her plans look like that they could all fall to pieces.
Tabby is not about to be beaten and she has faced obstacles before in her life.
This is another uplifting and insightful book, Tabby has been previously diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and I found this part of her story really interesting as I have friends with the condition and this helped me understand and empathise how debilitating the pain can be.
As with all Jessica’s books there are tough times but also hope, friendship and this one also has Christmas which makes it such a wonderful cosy read to snuggle up with this time of year.
Am I allowed to say that this book is purr fection !
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.75 :)
What a very sweet book. This was much deeper than other Christmas romances out there - which I also totally love, so nothing bad said here. But this book surprised me with the deep and detailed relationships, the cat café story was so lovely, and the overall story was great. Definitely worth a read. :)
What a very sweet book. This was much deeper than other Christmas romances out there - which I also totally love, so nothing bad said here. But this book surprised me with the deep and detailed relationships, the cat café story was so lovely, and the overall story was great. Definitely worth a read. :)
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Christmas At The Cat Cafe by Jessica Redland
I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Blurb
It had always been Tabby's dream to work with cats and an inheritance from her beloved nanna has finally made that a reality. Idyllic Castle Street in Whitsborough Bay couldn’t be a better place for pastry chef Tabby to open a cat café with her boyfriend, Leon. But when Leon leaves her in the lurch, the pressure mounts for Tabby. With Christmas fast approaching, she has to open the café on her own – a daunting prospect, especially when she's been hiding her health issues from the ones she loves. Faced with local resistance to the café – and somebody seemingly determined that she won’t succeed – Tabby will need her friends, family and cats more than ever to recover her broken Christmas spirit and pull together for a Christmas miracle. Will the cat café bring the festive joy to Castle Street as Tabby had hoped or will it be a cat-astrophe? And can the magic of Christmas on Castle Street mend Tabby's broken heart as well as her business?
My Opinion
I have now read a few books by Jessica Redland and I have to wonder why I didn't start sooner. Right from the beginning I knew that this was going to be an enjoyable read. I have to say that this book will play with your emotions. This was one of those books that I just couldn't get enough of, as soon as I put it down I wanted to pick it straight back up again.
We follow Tabby as she learns how to cope with running her business following a fibromyalgia diagnosis which I thought had been delicately handled and well-researched. This is a relatable read as nothing everything goes according to plan. Personally I feel that whilst set at Christmas this would be a sweet read for any time of year. It goes without saying, but there are a lot of cats featured but there is a handy list at the beginning. Are you ready to step inside the cat cafe?
Rating: 4/5
I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Blurb
It had always been Tabby's dream to work with cats and an inheritance from her beloved nanna has finally made that a reality. Idyllic Castle Street in Whitsborough Bay couldn’t be a better place for pastry chef Tabby to open a cat café with her boyfriend, Leon. But when Leon leaves her in the lurch, the pressure mounts for Tabby. With Christmas fast approaching, she has to open the café on her own – a daunting prospect, especially when she's been hiding her health issues from the ones she loves. Faced with local resistance to the café – and somebody seemingly determined that she won’t succeed – Tabby will need her friends, family and cats more than ever to recover her broken Christmas spirit and pull together for a Christmas miracle. Will the cat café bring the festive joy to Castle Street as Tabby had hoped or will it be a cat-astrophe? And can the magic of Christmas on Castle Street mend Tabby's broken heart as well as her business?
My Opinion
I have now read a few books by Jessica Redland and I have to wonder why I didn't start sooner. Right from the beginning I knew that this was going to be an enjoyable read. I have to say that this book will play with your emotions. This was one of those books that I just couldn't get enough of, as soon as I put it down I wanted to pick it straight back up again.
We follow Tabby as she learns how to cope with running her business following a fibromyalgia diagnosis which I thought had been delicately handled and well-researched. This is a relatable read as nothing everything goes according to plan. Personally I feel that whilst set at Christmas this would be a sweet read for any time of year. It goes without saying, but there are a lot of cats featured but there is a handy list at the beginning. Are you ready to step inside the cat cafe?
Rating: 4/5
WONDERFUL book! Wow! Very unique and not so predictable unlike other Christmas stories. This definitely lived up to the hype!
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I think the problem I have with this book is that it was just too long and drawn out.. It felt like Tabby spent forever setting the cafe up, and then it was over halfway through the book for her to realize her feelings for Tom/get with him, and then it ended so abruptly in the sense that all of a sudden she doesn't want to continue with her lifelong dream? Also, I predicted that Amelia was Mimi pretty early on in the character being introduced and so even the "big plot twist" wasn't super surprising or dramatic for me. I don't have fibro myself so I definitely can't speak to understanding her experience but I felt like it was tied in well. The other thing I couldn't get behind was a lot of repeated phrases/weak writing which made the whole plot drag a little. Overall it was a cute and original enough plot for me to continue reading but pretty fluffy and a little bit boring.
So the first half of this book is basically a self help book for fibromyalgia that is actually really great info for someone who may be just coming to terms with their diagnosis or someone with a friend/family member with it that they want to understand more...and thats great and all, I even recommended it to a few patients....but its not what I want in my cute christmas read. The second half of the book is much better and more of the story I thought I was getting in terms of a cute little holiday love story with cat cafe shenanigans
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Firstly this is not about Christmas at all so don't be fooled by that.
Secondly as someone with fibro, it was evident before I had it confirmed that the author does not have fibro. As much as they *really* wanted to show that they've read the Wikipedia page about it, it was transparent AF that they did not understand the lived experience, and in places just painted the main character with fibro as helpless.
All here for rep, and in sporadic places it was pretty accurate, but mostly this was just not great at all. It's clear that the good bits came from the conversations the author had with friends that they mentioned. I would describe the writing as wholesome in places but mostly *live laugh love*. I think this had potential but it was wildly not lived up to.
Thirdly the approach to the criticisms about cat cafes was just weird? Like I'm not 100% against them but I do fully get the critiques of them as a practice. But this author went all the way in on painting people protesting it as hardcore insane criminals.
Hopefully I don't feature in another blog post from the author ranting about negative reviews, which is a weird move let's be honest.
DNFed about an hour and a half before the end of the audiobook because my time became more worthwhile and the plot was pretty transparent.
Secondly as someone with fibro, it was evident before I had it confirmed that the author does not have fibro. As much as they *really* wanted to show that they've read the Wikipedia page about it, it was transparent AF that they did not understand the lived experience, and in places just painted the main character with fibro as helpless.
All here for rep, and in sporadic places it was pretty accurate, but mostly this was just not great at all. It's clear that the good bits came from the conversations the author had with friends that they mentioned. I would describe the writing as wholesome in places but mostly *live laugh love*. I think this had potential but it was wildly not lived up to.
Thirdly the approach to the criticisms about cat cafes was just weird? Like I'm not 100% against them but I do fully get the critiques of them as a practice. But this author went all the way in on painting people protesting it as hardcore insane criminals.
Hopefully I don't feature in another blog post from the author ranting about negative reviews, which is a weird move let's be honest.
DNFed about an hour and a half before the end of the audiobook because my time became more worthwhile and the plot was pretty transparent.