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A review by kimikat273
Christmas at the Cat Café by Jessica Redland
emotional
sad
medium-paced
3.75
Tabby has always dreamed of owning a cat cafe. She is just days from realising that dream when her boyfriend dumps her, leaving her struggling to cope with the cafe and her own disabilities. With family and friends pulling together to help, will Tabby be able to keep her cafe open?
I don't often find books about cats - they're usually about dogs - so I was looking forward to reading this one. However, several plot points made it lose out a little on the scoring. Firstly, there's no way on Earth I would subject my own cats to the general public. Whether deliberately cruel or just careless, I know accidents happen and I found myself growing tense whenever the author described the cats reacting with the cafe's customers. Most of the time, everything went well but my worst fears were realised when a kitten was killed. For me, this was totally unnecessary - when I am reading a cozy Christmas story I don't want to read about a kitten's death, regardless of whether it happens 'off camera' or not. Secondly, once Tabby realises she can no longer run the cafe, she then goes on to open a cat rescue centre. And this is easier to run than a cafe? Not sure the author thought this one through. Thirdly, although the book is called Christmas at the Cat Cafe, Christmas only happens towards the very end of the book. It could have been set at any time of the year and I can't help feeling that the author was only cashing in on the popular Christmas market.
All said, I enjoyed the story up to a point. I enjoyed Tabby and Tom's developing relationship, although I could have banged their heads together at one point! I also enjoyed reading about the cats. Don't let my reservations put you off if you like to read about cats, but bear in mind the kitten sadness towards the end.
I don't often find books about cats - they're usually about dogs - so I was looking forward to reading this one. However, several plot points made it lose out a little on the scoring. Firstly, there's no way on Earth I would subject my own cats to the general public. Whether deliberately cruel or just careless, I know accidents happen and I found myself growing tense whenever the author described the cats reacting with the cafe's customers. Most of the time, everything went well but my worst fears were realised when a kitten was killed. For me, this was totally unnecessary - when I am reading a cozy Christmas story I don't want to read about a kitten's death, regardless of whether it happens 'off camera' or not. Secondly, once Tabby realises she can no longer run the cafe, she then goes on to open a cat rescue centre. And this is easier to run than a cafe? Not sure the author thought this one through. Thirdly, although the book is called Christmas at the Cat Cafe, Christmas only happens towards the very end of the book. It could have been set at any time of the year and I can't help feeling that the author was only cashing in on the popular Christmas market.
All said, I enjoyed the story up to a point. I enjoyed Tabby and Tom's developing relationship, although I could have banged their heads together at one point! I also enjoyed reading about the cats. Don't let my reservations put you off if you like to read about cats, but bear in mind the kitten sadness towards the end.