Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Christmas on Castle Street #4

Christmas at the Cat Café

Rate this book
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? Escape with million-copy bestseller Jessica Redland this Christmas for the purr-fect festive treat!

367 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2023

862 people are currently reading
2172 people want to read

About the author

Jessica Redland

61 books1,152 followers
I was born in Teesside but now live in Scarborough on the stunning North Yorkshire Coast. My home inspired the creation of the fictional seaside town of Whitsborough Bay where I set many of my books although the Hedgehog Hollow series takes readers to a gorgeous new countryside setting in the Yorkshire Wolds.

I live with my husband, our teenage daughter and sprocker spaniel, Ella. I'm a self-confessed stationery addict with a ridiculously large collection of notepads who loves chocolate (although it doesn't love me), hedgehogs, 80s music, collectible teddy bears and lighthouses.

Other than a career detour into retail to set up and run my own teddy bear shop (the inspiration for novel Bear With Me), I've always worked in HR, specialising in resourcing, coaching and L&D. Writing always had to take a back seat to the day job until June 2020 when I left the world of HR to become a full-time author. I'm so very grateful to anyone who has bought or borrowed my books in whatever format, helping me fulfil a long-held dream of writing full-time. I still can't believe I get to spend every day chatting to my fictional friends and making stuff up.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
1,910 (42%)
4 stars
1,335 (29%)
3 stars
879 (19%)
2 stars
273 (6%)
1 star
68 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 539 reviews
Profile Image for chloé ✿.
246 reviews4,613 followers
December 20, 2025
dnf @ 20% ☹️

if i’m going to read a Christmas book i need it to: 1. make me feel good and 2. feel festive.

this book did neither. Christmas hadn’t even been mentioned 20% into the book and our main character was very whiny. i empathize with chronic pain but i can’t just slog on reading about someone who is constantly miserable. the entirety of the book felt as though it were about “fibro” and fibromyalgia. over and over and over.

miserable main characters can have their moment the other 11 months of the year but my December reads need to be fun and merry, sorry. 🫢

Edit: apparently a cat is killed or dies later in the book very unnecessarily and the book never really feels like Christmas. I’m so glad I DNF’ed this.
Profile Image for Regina the Constant Reader.
396 reviews
February 15, 2024
⭐️ -NetGalley ARC

Review: ⚠️SPOILERS⚠️
This book would make a great drinking game. Take a shot every time she says “Fibromyalgia”…maybe not though, you might die of alcohol poisoning. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m literally a plethora of autoimmune diseases; Primary Sjögren’s with Secondary Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and yes…Fibromyalgia; My issue was the amount of times it was mentioned and thanks to this book, I’m now in a full blown flare, because this book stressed me out so much. Who kills a cat in what’s supposed to be a warm-hearted Christmas romance book?! Seriously…who does that?! I could go on about what a pile of cat crap I think this book is, but I need to go hug my cats.

Edit: 01/28/24
I stand by my one star review. The first 70% of this book is her talking about her fibromyalgia, getting dumped, and getting the cat cafe ready to open. The last 30% you finally get some Christmas vibes and the cat cafe is finally open for business, but that’s short lived because she decides it’s not what she wants. There’s also not much romance. You can tell he’s carried a torch for her for a long time, but I didn’t get that from her. It was more that she was glad she had someone who understands her and helps her so that made her “love” him. The whole thing with the cats going missing and one dying was totally unnecessary and in my opinion ruined the whole book, which wasn’t that great in the first place, but I would have given this 2 or three stars if it wasn’t for that.
Profile Image for Srivalli (Semi-Hiatus).
Author 23 books729 followers
September 17, 2023
3 Stars (outliner)

One Liner: Nice, but that’s it

Tabby is an ailurophile (cat lover). She has always wanted to own a cat café to combine her love for cats and baking. The inheritance from her Nanna makes her dream come true. However, days before the opening, Tabby’s boyfriend Leon decides he’s not up for it and breaks off. Tabby is heartbroken but knows she can’t let him shatter her dreams.

However, with her medical condition (still a secret from her family) and business hurdles, it will take a Christmas miracle to save her business from loss even before it has opened. Also, someone out there could be sabotaging her café.

The story comes in Tabby’s first-person POV.

What I Like:

The setting is beautiful, be it the small town with friendly business owners or the interiors of the cat café with murals. It’s easy to visualize most of it.

The book has fifteen cats! Each has a name and is described (color, breed, etc.). I didn’t note it all, but I’m sure it would have been a fun exercise. They have distinct personalities, too. I have a friend with around 18+ cats (adopted strays), so I thought of her immediately.

Tabby’s family is wonderful (even if her brother annoyed me at one point). They are supportive, caring, and ready to step in and help whenever necessary. Tom is a sweetheart, of course. I wouldn’t have minded if he had more depth. It would have helped his arc more.

Tabby has fibromyalgia, a chronic medical condition that causes varying degrees of body pains, fatigue, and brain fog. I love how this aspect is seamlessly incorporated into the plot. While it may seem a little excessive, it is not. This condition is life-altering and can affect a person (and their family) any day. So, every day they wake up pain-free is a win. It makes sense to include this (especially since the book is in the first person). I learned a lot about fibromyalgia and how to handle it positively, which is a definite plus.

The traffic lights and spoon theory used to measure her pain/ fatigue levels is a great addition. I really liked this concept.

There’s HEA and an epilogue, so another yay!

What Could Have Been Better for Me:

With Christmas in the title, I expected it to have a bigger role in the book. However, the story starts in November. We get to the first week of December in the last quarter. Not much of Christmas in this one, except for the Spirit part, which, TBH, can be used any time of the year. People helping others isn’t seasonal.

The cover makes the book appear to be a warm and cozy romance. However, romance is secondary and not so well done. While it does have warm moments, the love/ romance angle doesn’t hit the mark.

Despite the first-person narration, I couldn’t see Tabby in love with the guy. But I could see his love for her almost from the beginning. It works to an extent as the FMC is in another relationship at the beginning, gets dumped, and has to recover. Even then, when the shift happens, it doesn’t seem convincing from her side but is spot on from his side.

The narration is long-winded and slow. It drones on in some places, and there’s quite a bit of repetition. Moreover, I’m not that into dubbing for cats (or animals) and having a two-way conversation with myself. I do talk to animals and non-living objects, but I don’t put words into their mouth and make them talk back to me in different voices. This is a little weird.

I could spot the culprit for sabotage right away. Not an issue since this is not a mystery. It was supposed to be obvious. However, that track didn’t have to be so long. No need to give so much importance to a fourth-party character, even if there’s a sort of lesson in there.

Reading the author’s note was enlightening and informative. I didn’t like a certain plot development and wondered about the reason behind it.

The notes say the author wanted to write about

To summarize, Christmas at the Cat Café is nice enough but didn’t charm me as I hoped it would. It’s a one-time read and might be better suited for the series/ author’s fans.

Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

#NetGalley #ChristmasattheCatCafé

***

TW:
Profile Image for Melike.
489 reviews
November 13, 2023
I am so glad I decided to read this book, it was such a good story and I connected so much with the main character, Tabby. She loves cats and I do too, and she has fibromyalgia which is a chronic illness I was diagnosed with almost thirty years ago. Tabby was diagnosed with it 1.5 years ago and she is learning to live with all its challenges. That aspect of the book was done really well. Reading about the cat cafe and all its decorations made me wish I had a cat cafe near me. It also made me miss owning cats. The romance between Tom and Tabby was slow to get going, but I didn't mind it so much. They made an adorable couple.

Jessica Redland is a new to me author and I became an insta fan of hers. I already downloaded another Christmas romance by her and can't wait to get started on it.
1,722 reviews110 followers
September 1, 2023
I loved this one. It had romance and lots of cats with sadness thrown in. I hope we get more of this series as I would love to find out more. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.
Profile Image for Stacie Champlin.
245 reviews14 followers
September 2, 2023
So Christmas and cats are probably two of my favorite things, and if I could own a cat cafe, it would be an absolute dream. I expected a lot of warm fuzzies from this book and it was very different from what I was anticipating.

Pros:
-Loved the cats-also loved that there was a list at the beginning of the book giving details on each of the cats in the book.
-Loved the concept of a cat cafe-baking and owning a cat cafe are some serious life goals.
-Appreciated the background of Tabby and her having to come to terms with her debilitating fibromyalgia-I always enjoy when the main character is facing something that is not just a superficial problem and you get to see how they learn, develop, and grow.

Misses
-Lacked any significant Christmas magic. And I don't mean the book has to have actual magic in it, but it was lack the festive quality of a Christmas novel and really the book could have taken place at any time of the year.
-Hatred toward the cat cafe-This could be because I am from the US and not the UK, but cat cafes in the US are adored by the public. They feature cats up for adoption, so the concept of using your own cats for a cat cafe was kind of lost on me.
-The cover gave me lots of warm fuzzy feelings, but the book had a lot of very depressing moments for me. Based on the cover and description, I expected more of a feel-good book and it was not really that for me.

Overall I have mixed reviews of this book. I think if it had matched my expectations more or if I had known going in what to expect and may have enjoyed it more. It was my first Jessica Redland book, so I think I will read another, but go in with different expectations.
Profile Image for Cozybooklady .
2,177 reviews119 followers
September 15, 2023
#ChristmasattheCatCafé #NetGalley is the first book I've read by Jessica Redland, but it won't be my last.
This story will touch all of your emotions, so be prepared to be happy, sad, and mad!
Tabby has had a dream of opening her own cat cafe, and after several setbacks, her dream is coming true.
The downside to this is Tabby gets dumped, she comes to terms with her diagnosis of Fibromyalgia, and finds herself the target of someone's hate crimes.
The story is well written, the author certainly did her research, and Tabby's love of her cats shines through in the description of each one.

As an older woman who has lived with Fibromyalgia for 7 years, I relate to the anger and frustration Tabby deals with in her life.
The fibro fog, the overwhelming fatigue, and constant pain is something we all deal with, and learning to live with it is a challenge. Having to admit that something as simple as sweeping the floor can send me to a red flare in a matter of seconds is hard to accept.
I love how she uses colors for her flare stages. I'm currently at a light amber flare, but in two hours I must motivate myself to get up and go to work.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.
I am definitely recommending this book to others.
Profile Image for Sheila.
3,101 reviews124 followers
January 13, 2024
2.5 stars. Tabby loves cats, she has 16 of them! This book was good until the end, I did not like her decision about the cafe.
Profile Image for Alison Hodgins.
24 reviews
December 16, 2024
Heartwarming, multifaceted and a cozy read for December. Cat lovers will adore this one :) 4.5 ⭐️
Profile Image for Melanie’s reads.
867 reviews84 followers
September 21, 2023
The biggest compliment I can give this author is how incredibly spot on she got living with an illness that isn’t going to go away. As someone who is also fiercely independent like Tabby, the struggle in asking for help, hiding the whole truth and the guilt was and is something I do regularly. Or should I call a spade a spade and use the term stubborn too? While mine is unfortunately progressive and rare, compared to Tabby’s fibromyalgia (even most doctors haven’t heard of mine) the feelings of loss to a life dreamed are the same. So even though I did wonder if I really wanted to read something I live everyday, I’m glad I did.

The second biggest is I love cats so of course I was going to love a book about a cafe full of them. My little terror Percy Mayhem would be the one found swinging from the bunting or attacking feet under the tables due to his bizarre foot fetish.

As much as those things were big parts of the story, this was also so much more. It is a story of family in all its nuances, of community showing up for each other and two people who just want to be loved for all that they are.

Tabby was such a lovely character and Leon was a cowardly fool for leaving her just when she needed him the most. But as the frog hops off to the water along comes a prince. The path to true love never runs smoothly though and this little cobbled street will have its fair share of bumps….

A thoughtful, well considered and carefully researched book full of heart and little fluffy wonders.
Profile Image for Sarah.
1,618 reviews178 followers
November 22, 2023
Redland has done it again, this time a touching story featuring a lot of cats at Christmas. It was a lovely read and I was drawn to the narrative, finding I could not put this book down until it was finished. And when I was done? I felt bereft of the paw-fect narrative.

Cat lover? Baking-mad? Cosy for Christmas? Even if it is just a yes to one of those questions, you are guaranteed to be in for a treat with this read as we follow Tabby in the run-up to opening her cat cafe. It has been a lifelong dream and she is excited by the prospect of seeing this turn into a reality… until her long-term boyfriend abandons her and suddenly the cafe is that metaphorical mountain that needs to be climbed.

Because Tabby isn’t the perfect woman. Suffering with her health, Redland explores what it means to have a disability that doesn’t always present itself. I admired Tabby’s strength and determination, whilst simultaneously sympathising with her struggles as it seems that she never gets the break that she deserves. Even though her friends and family rally around, they don’t immediately know the full extent of Tabby’s troubles and I felt sorry for her that she did not feel comfortable in sharing this burden. It is evident that Redland has done a lot of research into this part of the story and I applaud how sensitively it is portrayed in the book; not only drawing light to Tabby’s condition, but presenting it in a way that is understandable and heartfelt.

But, never fear, this book is not all doom and gloom. The glorious cats will be there for a purr and a stroke, adding to the charm of this novel. I recognised some of the other businesses referenced in the story (some being past reads, others mostly because of my toppling TBR pile which features all the Redland books I have yet to get to). This added to the community spirit of the novel which is reflected when the team gather round to help Tabby when she is at her lowest. For sure, it is the cats that help define this novel and I felt my own feline friend was always seeking lap time when I was curled up with this cosy read!

The Christmas setting adds to the warmth of the story and I enjoyed the romantic sub-plot as well. I was surprised when I realised this was an element to the story and had not foreseen which character would be involved with Tabby. Furthermore, I could not have anticipated who was behind the negativity of the hateful comments about Tabby’s cafe and enjoyed seeing how different visitors added to the cast of colourful characters in the novel.

The ending of the story was reminiscent of the Hedgehog Hollow series; it made me wonder whether Redland will return to these characters in future or if this is the end of the road. I enjoyed this book with all the cats and characters that I am intrigued to know what happens next to them, but can imagine that a follow-on story would be in danger of replicating the prickly success of the hedgehog tales.

All that is left to be said is… meow! This was a paw-some read with purr-fect characters that will have you feline ready for Christmas in no time.

With thanks to Boldwood books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Karin houdt van boeken.
495 reviews22 followers
October 5, 2023
Thanks @netgalley for this review copy.

Tabby starts a cat cafe.
Her boyfriend doesn’t come back from work, so she has to deal with the cafe on her own. And that for someone who has fibromyalgia.

I love Christmas and cats! So this book really spike to me.
The book wasn’t as superficial as most cat-kinda books usually are. And I appreciated that.

The love interest though later in the book was a bit predictable.
But there was a lot happening in this book.
I really liked this one.
Profile Image for Bookworm86 .
1,973 reviews135 followers
September 26, 2023
BLOG TOUR REVIEW 


Review for 'Christmas At The Cat Café' by Jessica Redland.


Read and reviewed for Jessica Redland, Redland's Readers, Boldwood Books, Book & Tonic, NetGalley and Rachel's Random Resources Tours. 


Publication date 15th September 2023.


This is the first book I have read by this author although I could have sworn I'd read her books before. However I most definitely will be reading more!! 


This novel consists of 54 chapters. The chapters are short in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!


'Christmas At The Cat Cafe' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Jessica chronic pain and cruelty and the death of an animal.


This book has fantastic descriptions that set you straight in the scenes. The cover, title and synopsis suit the storyline perfectly. 


Where the heck have you been hiding all my life Jessica!!! Love, LOVE, LOVED this absolutely gorgeous page turner!! An absolute must read!!!



OMG!!! I absolutely LOVED this gorgeous pageturner and I would absolutely love to see this book turned into a series to see what happens in both Tabby and Shelley's lives!! Any books that revolve around animals is a HUGE bonus for me!!! I am a MASSIVE animal lover and all my pets have been rescues to then volunteering in rescues, working in rescues and now running my own little cat rescue (Golden Oldies Cat Rescue And Hospice which you can look up on Facebook if you are interested) so this book was a huge must read for me immediately!!! I really did absolutely love this unique, stunning page turner from the first page to the very last and cannot wait to get my hands on more books by this amazing author! Jessica's excellent writing skills and evocative descriptions drops the reader straight into the middle of Tammy's life and her cat café leaving them smelling the gorgeous cakes, feeding the cat gang and so much more!! However it isn't all love and happiness and there are a few heartbreaking moments, one especially that left me in tears and I'm a hard nosed woman so definitely have the tissues at the ready!!! The fact that Jessica has done an immense amount of research into both fibromyalgia along with running a cat cafe absolutely shines through the book. A MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS Jessica!!! It is a huge bear bug for me when authors don't do any research into their topics just for their books to the be littered with mistakes that could have been easily avoided with just a little research. I absolutely loved the community feeling at Castle Street as well as the beautiful Christmas vibes. It really is the perfect book to start getting you in the festive mood as well as warming your heart and soul!!!!  I was absolutely hooked throughout and could not put this down. I told myself time and time again I would just finish the chapter and then go to bed but something happened each and every time meaning I just had to read just one more, and then another until before I knew it I had completely devoured the book in one sitting. I genuinely felt like I had gone on holiday with Tabby and was devastated to come to the end of my holiday, returning back to reality and having to 'unpack my suitcase'!! I have never read a book filled with so many beautiful cats and kittens before which made it unique and just LUSH!!!!! It really is just amazing and I absolutely love it and I really cannot compliment this book enough!!! This book is just what the doctor ordered for my own stress and each page I read I could feel myself relaxing more and more!!!

This is one of those books that are very easy to read and perfect for any reading situations whether you are laying on a beach or curled up in front of a fire. It is an absolutely ideal read for anyone who is looking for a gorgeous and relaxing read that will have you hooked from beginning to end. I absolutely LOVED the realism of this storyline which made it so easy to picture everything that was going on which had been helped by Jessica's fantastic evocative writing skills. I cannot wait to get hooked into more of Jessica's books so I hope she is busy writing her next one while I get stuck into the previous books in this stunning series!! This is definitely one of those books that will turn a frown upside down and make life seem a lot brighter. It is packed with fun, laughter, animals, romance, friendships, a huge breathe of fresh air and everything you could ask for in a fantastic feel good book. Before I forget I also wanted to add that I absolutely adored the list of cat characters at the front and found it unique and helpful! If you ever need any more cat names Jessica, with over 20 rescues and having rehomed over 200 when I fostered I'm more than happy to help there!!! Grab your copy today and fall in love with Castle Street yourself!!


Well done Jessica on an absolutely stunning book that I fell in love with!!! 


This may be the first book I have read by Jessica but I cannot wait to get hold of more books by this extremely talented author!!! 



The characters were all an eclectic mix and each one of them were realistic and strong. I was completely invested in them all. It also makes them more realistic, believable and made me feel even more for them than I normally would. I absolutely LOVED Tabby who really resonated with me, especially with her love of animals and wanting to help them all as well as the fact that she suffers with chronic pain!!! She was like a fictional version of myself apart from she ran a cat café and I run Golden Oldies Cat Rescue And Hospice!!! It was amazing watching her look after the animals at her café as well as getting to see her personal life including her struggles with her fibromyalgia, her bond with her family, her friendships with Tom, Alison, the Castle Street community along with the amazing way she worked with her staff and some of her lovely (and not so lovely) customers as well as the many other characters and so much more!!! I loved seeing how she interacted with the cats who all had their own cheeky little personalities. Some of the other characters I loved getting to know and would love to meet again include Macey, Sarah, Harley, Cathy, Eileen, Tara and Shelley  just to name a few!! I also loved meeting Babushka, Boo, Marmalade, Winnie, Sybil, Viking , Smudge, Marmite, Pebbles, Ruby, Rubix, Binky, Heathcliff, Jupiter, Freyja, Effie and Cloud among some of the other cats and kittens and would absolutely love to see most of the humans and all of the animals again and hopefully very soon!!!! There were a couple of characters that I absolutely loathed but it wouldn't be the same if you loved all the characters in a book and regardless of you loved or hated them they all worked perfectly together to make this a stunning storyline. Each of the characters and animals are memorable and unique in their own ways and they are a group that I wont be forgetting any time soon! I'm hoping to see what happens next with Tabby and Tom. Hint hint Jessica 😉. 



Pick up this book and get lost in this absolutely gorgeous page turner!



Congratulations Jessica on an absolutely stunning read that I just could not put down!!! I am absolutely mind blown that I have never read any of your absolutely gorgeous books yet!! I am looking forward to reading more of your previous and future books. I would absolutely love to see this book turned into a movie!!! Welcome to my favourite author list and here's to your next success 🥂 


Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the first chapter of Jessica's 'The Start of Something Wonderful' which promises to be just as gorgeous as this book. It is one I'm definitely looking forward to reading myself!!



Overall an unputdownable, gorgeous, STUNNING page turning book filled with cats, kittens, heartbreak, cake, loss, romance, fun, laughter, friendship and so much more!! A perfectly relaxing and stunning unique read!!!!



386 pages.


This book is just £2.99 to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited and £10.99 in paperback at time of review via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!! 


Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook. 


Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews. 




#ChristmasAtTheCatCafe #JessicaRedland #RedlandsReaders #BoldwoodBooks #theboldbookclub #BoldwoodBloggers #BookAndTonic #RachelsRandomResources #rararesources #BookReview #BlogTour #BooksOnTour #BookReview #BlogTour #BooksOnTour #Goodreads #Amazon #AmazonKindle #Bookstagram #Bookblogger #KindleUnlimited #Netgalley



@ChristmasAtTheCatCafe @JessicaRedland @RedlandsReaders @RachelsRandomResources @rararesources @BoldwoodBooks @theboldbookclub @BoldwoodBloggers @BookAndTonic @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86 @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86 @Goodreads @Amazon @AmazonKindle @Bookstagram @BookBlogger @KindleUnimited @Netgalley





https://kcmw86.wixsite.com/bookworm86




https://m.facebook.com/Bookworm1986/?...



  


https://m.facebook.com/Bookwork86/?__...




https://www.instagram.com/bookwormwhi...




https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3...



 


https://mobile.twitter.com/kcmw86



https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/profile/a...
Profile Image for Shalane Louw.
400 reviews5 followers
January 1, 2024
It had always been Tabby's dream to work with cats and an inheritance from her beloved nanna has finally made that a reality. Castle Street in Whitsborough Bay couldn’t be a better place for pastry chef Tabby to open a cat café with her boyfriend, Leon.

Leon though leaves her out to dry right before the Cafe is set to open and Tabby is besides herself.

Christmas is around the corner, the cafe is not nearly done and worst of all she suffers from chronic pain and the severity thereof which she has been hiding from family and friends.

She only agreed to jump at the cat cafe because Leon would be there helping her, and she isn't been dramatic when she says she WON'T be able to do it on her own.

After Tabby's cousin, who also suffers from fibromyalgia gives Tabby some pointers and positive ways to deal, Tabby decides that she will need her family's help and it will start with coming clean on how much she actually suffers.

If they were in her shoes, she would want to help them so she needs to give them the same courtesy essentially. Mom, dad, brother, sister in law and brothers best friend (wink wink, nudge nudge) who was fostered by their Nanna, take shifts seeing how they can help Tabby open the cafe and run it to see how much help she would need moving forward. 

You had me at cats, Christmas and Cafe.

Tabby has ADORABLE names and descriptions for each cat, I absolutely loved it.

I love the cozy settings, and everything surrounding the Cat cafe, each room was described so magically I could imagine the cats happy and thriving and it made me happy.

I love Tabby and Tom's friendship and how slowly but surely they both realize how lonely they have been and that having someone on your side in life is a great feeling.

I really enjoyed this one, it took me a second to get into it, but with the drama and the crazy family and physco employees lol there was always something happening.

Highly recommend the audiobook.
Profile Image for Ellie Parsons.
166 reviews
December 11, 2023
A very wholesome christmas book, just a bit boring at times and sometimes the writing was a bit cringe
Profile Image for Renee Babcock.
473 reviews11 followers
December 8, 2023
I really tried to like this but didn't. It could have been a cute holiday read, but wasn't. I made it halfway through before finally giving up. I found the main character really whiny. Everything bad that happened to her she whined but my dream, my dream, it's so unfair. I have a chronic pain condition so I get it. But early in the book was way too info dumpy. We don't need 3 pages explaining what restless leg syndrome is. We don't need pages describing what fibromyalgia is.

Other things that bothered me: 16 cats? Does the author not even realize how much work and expense that is? I love cats but come on! Also just expecting her 5 star chef boyfriend to have her same dream of opening a little coffee joint? I saw that break up coming a mile away. She buys a property for her cafe and then hires about 10 people to staff it? That doesn't even make sense.

Also constantly referring to her cats as her fur family, and all the cutesy cat puns. It was too much. I couldn't tell if she was 30 or 13.
Profile Image for Marley.
95 reviews3 followers
December 25, 2023
Wtf. I thought this would be a low-stakes, cute Christmas romance.

Instead it was about a disabled woman giving up on her dreams. And a CAT DIES HORRIBLY. It’s not described graphically, but jfc, I was not prepared.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Susanne Baker.
726 reviews30 followers
September 16, 2023
I enjoyed my visit back to Castle Street and was excited to visit the Cat Café! The concept completely intrigued me as I loved walking by the one in Scarborough, peeking in at the cats relaxing in the window display there, and I was interested to discover exactly what was involved with running such an establishment.
It was so interesting to watch Tabby overcome all the obstacles and to manage (against all odds) to fulfill her dream. Once again Jessica gave us a wonderful caring community to support her, a new trader, and a sprinkling of mystery too.
You could tell that a huge amount of research went into this story, for Tabby’s illness and for the creating and running of a cat café.
Some sad and difficult moments were counterbalanced by some uplifting moments, and overall you just felt the love blossoming throughout the story both human and cat.
As always, lots of things going on that kept you on your toes, and the desire to find out what was going to happen next kept me turning the pages avidly.
A fabulous feline festive story that was filled with emotional moments and determination to carry on and achieve a dream, despite some very significant setbacks and occasional self doubt. An honest story featuring characters who you believe in. And a ton of adorable cat characters to fall in love with too! A gorgeous book!
Profile Image for Julie Kristine.
572 reviews3 followers
August 28, 2023
Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review!

When I saw the title, I immediately wanted to pick this book up because I LOVE cats!!! The descriptions of all the cats early on in the book was amazing, I felt like I was there meeting all of them myself!

I read this book in just over 24h (including a night's sleep). That doesn't happen often for me, not when the book is over 300 pages long. I've been keeping a running list of likes and dislikes about this book, and I don't want to give away many spoilers, so I'll keep it short, starting with my one dislike: Leon. However, everything happens for a reason, and none of Tabby's story would've happened if it wasn't for Leon making the decisions he did!

As for my likes... There's a whole lot more. Just to mention a few:
- Short chapters
- Chapters that alternate between the past and now
- Being introduced to new cats throughout the chapters
- Talking about fibromyalgia and the daily struggles for fibro warriors
- Tabby talking to the cats and then talking back in voices and accents
- The family's support around Tabby's fibro
- All the other business owners helping after... Incidents.
- Tabby following her dream despite her fibro and figuring out how they fit together and what it is that she wants
- Shelleythecatqueen
- Kittens!!!!!
- The ending ❤️

If you're a person looking for tropes, here's a few: chronic illness, brother's best friend, friends to lovers, HEA, cosy Christmas setting

I loved everything about this book and it's a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for me!
Profile Image for ♥ Dani ♥.
74 reviews
January 5, 2025
Ngl this book wasn’t very Christmassy - only the last 25% or so. Most of the book is about the main character being broken up with and dealing with fibromyalgia, which imo was mentioned way too often. Feel like her selling the cat cafe wasn’t the expected outcome, but makes sense considering her condition. Happy that she ended up with Tom though
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Calliss.
341 reviews26 followers
January 9, 2025
I wanted to love this book more than I did. But it lacked the charm from the previous books (weird since I LOOOOOVVEEEE cats).

I would have loved more chats with out previously MC and their family, but they were mostly mentioned briefly only.

Also something happened that I do not care to read about, so it almost took the story one star down.

Still a little cozy read, just missed a lot that the other books had.
25 reviews
October 13, 2024
Well written, great coverage of an autoimune disease and how it affects people, lovely story.
Profile Image for Beth.
96 reviews
January 3, 2024
It was a little creepy when Amazon recommended a book about a woman with chronic pain who owns a cat cafe. I guess the algorithm was at work there. I really enjoyed this. I thought living with a dynamic, chronic illness was pretty well depicted. And there were cats!
Profile Image for Kelci Judas.
300 reviews34 followers
December 31, 2024
3.5 ⭐️

I enjoyed being back on Castle Street! I loved the idea of the cat cafe and I think it was executed really well.
My only issue with this book was that the end of the book felt slow and clunky.
Overall this was a cute Christmas read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy of this book!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 539 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.