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2014 Readers' Favorite Bronze Medal Award WinnerFrom the author of “Dogs Aren’t Men” comes “To Love a Cat”, a contemporary romance novel.Catherine “Cat” James’ life is simple and orderly, and she likes it that way. She loves her job as an accountant. Working with numbers is safe and routine, no surprises. Her childhood had been very abusive and unstable. She vowed not to live that way as an adult. She also made a promise to herself to become a foster parent. She wished someone had been there for her as a teenager, to let her know she wasn’t alone.Cat agrees to foster Ethan Summers, a troubled teenage boy whose childhood closely resembles her own. Suddenly, her nice and orderly life is filled with chaos and uncertainty. Things really start to spin out of control when circumstances bring police detective Mitch Holt into the picture. He’s handsome, charming, and definitely not what Cat needs right now, or so she thinks.

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 5, 2014

24 people are currently reading
606 people want to read

About the author

Billi Tiner

25 books61 followers
Dr. Billi Tiner is a veterinarian who lives with her husband and two children in Missouri. Dr. Tiner loves animals and has three dogs and three cats of her own.

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5 stars
116 (39%)
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105 (35%)
3 stars
52 (17%)
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16 (5%)
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3 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
Profile Image for Lexxi Kitty.
2,060 reviews477 followers
February 16, 2016
My second book by this author and 13th Chick Lit book.

I knew the first book in this series, Dogs Aren't Men, was a part of a series, but I had the odd impression that the books were less connected than they actually turned out to be. I mean, the main characters from the first book, Rebecca and Derek, turn up in this one - slightly larger role than cameos. Derek is much more of a slightly larger role than a cameo, while Rebecca is just shy of a side character. Mitch, a side character in the first book, takes over lead in this one. Along with Cat, who wasn't involved at all in the previous book.

The book is mostly about how Cat, who was physically abused while growing up, and eventually kicked out at 15, has made a life for herself since then and feels the need to act as a support for someone in a similar situation to the one she was in when she was a kid. So she goes through the process of becoming a foster mom, and gets a foster kid. Named Ethan. Who is 13. The mother left shortly after Ethan was born, and the father was very abusive.

Mitch, being the other co-lead, is a committed bachelor and ladies man. He's also a police detective and so a good part of his story involves mysteries and crimes.

There's something of a cliché that popped up in this book that came close to just barely causing me to give this a lower rating. A damsel in distress type of situation where the weak weak woman had to be saved by a strong man. This seems to go down three tracks - if the woman is presented as strong and able to take care of herself, which one would lead to believe given Cat's back-story, then a) she gets knocked out and that's the explanation for why she needed to be saved; b) she gets injured in the process and is in the process of mostly saving herself when the big man turns up, or c) she saves herself and the big manly man turns up to save the day to find that he was needed more as transportation away from the crime scene. That's, of course, in the rare situations when the woman is presented as strong. Most of the time the woman is just represented as this fragile injured bruised flower whimpering in a ball of fear. I'm not going to say what happened, just that events unfolded in a way that both annoyed me and kept me from lowering the rating.

I've only read two books by Tiner, but I already see a pattern. Everyone who turns up in the book has to have some romantic connection presented for them to deal with. As in, in the prior book the main characters were Derek and Rebecca, but various other people were set up with 'people to play with'. The receptionist, the lab tech, etc. In this book, a second pattern point that I hadn't thought of until this moment popped up. In addition to everyone, including the 13 year old boy, finding some opposite sex person to drool over (and yes, it always has to be an opposite sex person), there's something of a jumble of people to wade through to see who might end up matched up - in terms of the main woman in the story.

For example, in the first book, Rebecca's mom gave Rebecca's phone number to Derek's mom. But it was Mitch who called and got entangled with Rebecca. While Derek hovered angry-like. In this book, Cat just kind of had two men somewhat aggressively pursue her (Mitch and a guy named Paul), while in the background a third man moaned in pleasure at every glimpse of Cat (this being Ethan's principal).

In the end, despite displaying several cliché’s and issues I normally dislike, I enjoyed the book well enough to be entertained. If you liked the first one, you'll probably like this one. If you didn't read the first one . . um . . *rereads what I wrote to see if I gave spoilers*, technically you don't need to read the first book first since there are different main characters in the two books, but you'll 'know' what happened in the first book, for the most part, by reading the second.

(And for the love of all that is rational, don't read the third book before the first or second. Probably shouldn't start it before writing whatever you wanted to write in a review. I admit that starting the third book before writing anything in this box kind of impacted what I wrote here).
Profile Image for Angie ~aka Reading Machine~.
3,746 reviews133 followers
March 1, 2014
Detective Mitch Holt always thought of himself as dog person until stray cat proved him wrong. Mitch, Roscoe, and Tucker have unique bond with each other. Mitch finds a teenage boy roaming the streets in wee hours of the morning and returns him home. Mitch introduces himself as police officer to Ethan's caregiver Catherine "Cat" James. Cat knows that becoming a foster mother will help put old ghosts to rest along with the challenges of being a parent. Cat sees a lot of herself in Ethan. Cat doesn't want a serious relationship with Mitch yet feels drawn to him anyways. Cat and Ethan are starting to get closer when Ethan' father Keith Simmers re~enters they're lives. How can Mitch prove what he feels for Cat? What will Keith do? How wiil Cat and Ethan grow? Your answers await you in To Love a Cat.

What a sweet love story and mystery rolled into one book. Ethan is your down on your luck kid that needs a break. Cat needs to open her heart to the possibility of love. Mitch, a self proclaimed bachelor, finally has found the one. Each of these people have their own hardships that eventually will have the makings of a future. I look forward to the next work by this author.
Profile Image for Dee-Ann.
1,192 reviews81 followers
May 21, 2015
I really enjoyed this book and should give it 5 stars but I found some of the writing in paces a bit stilted and formula-driven. I really liked the mixture of animals and people, the friendship and support between people and found the violence unexpected, but realistic.
Profile Image for JoAnne Pegg.
107 reviews
March 24, 2018
Cat finds love

I loved this book. It was a nice combination of mystery, suspense, and love. Easy to follow from start to finish and I highly recommend it to all lovers of mystery who also like a little romance mixed in. Gave it 5 stars because it was such an easy going read, full of happy, positive happenings .
Profile Image for Bonnie Moore.
277 reviews4 followers
October 25, 2021
Love changes everything

I enjoyed this book a lot. The author showed how love can bring people together and form a family. She showed how people can become loving caring family even though they weren't related at all. This was a good feeling book with some excitement along the way
183 reviews
June 21, 2018
I laughed and cried

This one had my complete attention. I admit, I shed a couple tears, not a gusher like "Where the Red Fern Grows", but it had its moments. And every good pet story is really a love story anyway. Put this on your must read list.
Profile Image for April.
2,641 reviews175 followers
November 10, 2014
This was a great read!!I love the story so much. There are many levels to this sweet romance. It almost feels like fiction than a full blown lovefest romance. It was a very enjoyable read!

I loved playboy Mitch in the last book and hoped he would get a HEA. He definitely needed a lady who would make him work for her affections. Cat is perfect for him, because she does not easily fall into his charm. I love the slow build to their attraction. The feelings are a little quick, but I am willing to overlook that because it was such an engaging story.

Thing get heated, mostly kisses throughout but it ends with a smexy bang. The bedroom door is ajar, it gets a little spicy. Just when it starts to get hot, the door slams shut, so no serious detail to be seen.

The POV switches out between not just the leads but supporting cast. The switched are jumpy and brief at times. We go into somebody's POV for only a sentence or two and then back to the lead. It makes the story feel very disjointed. The great thing is the narrator does a wonderful job of keeping the reader in the know about who is speaking with her changes in tone.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Rebecca Roberts, who is great. I enjoyed her swift pace and smooth tone. She did a terrific job of infusing emotion and energy into the read. One of her best attributes was the way she handled the changes of POV. She helped keep them clear during a very choppy narrative. Her voices were consistent and distinct, which helped keep the switches clear. The only complaint is that she does a weird Southern-ish accent for the lead. It is subtle at times and at others pronounced. An odd choice in my opinion.

I do like this series, I just wish the POV were more consistent. I like hearing from many characters, but it gets dicey at times. Overall, I am enjoying this series and can not wait to start the next book!

Disclosure - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Although, I did seek out the author and request a copy because it interested me. All thoughts, opinions and ratings are my own.
Profile Image for Chris Torretta.
900 reviews39 followers
April 21, 2014
Cutesy! Full of animals and lots of love.

I can tell Billi Turner absolutely loves animals. That love comes through on every page and this was great for me considering that I also love animals. I also enjoy reading about them. But this book isn’t only about animals, it’s also about some really cool people.

Ethan is a kid that has been stuck in the system due to some really bad stuff going on at home. Every mistake this kid makes is totally understandable. He’s so distraught when things are going good and ready for everything to break down. It just breaks my heart!

Then we have Cat. She’s pretty down to Earth but having Ethan really brings a lot out of her. I liked what they did for each other.

And then we have Mitch. Mitch is the kind of man that every gal wants to meet and every guy wants to mimick. He’s charming and secure and you know he’s going to protect you because he’s also a cop… in a word (or three) hot, hot, hot!

The book started fairly good and I was enjoying the cuteness of the plot and the characters. It’s not a deep book which can be great but it was almost dripping with sweetness. I stuck with it until about 80% in and then Billi lost me a bit. It was still good but I felt like after the character arc everything could have been cleanly wrapped up and another book could have been written. I enjoyed reading to the end but it was a bit much for the story.

BUT I really did enjoy how the relationship progressed. Although I wanted to get a better sense of time at the end I was able to put together how long they’d been together, months before the I love you was even spoken, which is how it probably should be in such a stressful environment but they are good for each other so I was waiting and wanting them to say it.

In short: Really cute, fun romance, with a few twists but nothing that will make your brain hurt to figure out. I’ll definitely read Billi Turner’s work again!

3.5/5
Profile Image for Stacie.
Author 6 books100 followers
September 24, 2014
To Love a Cat is a charming love story that pulls at your heartstrings, yet is also filled with many intense scenes that keep you on edge.

Cat James has been on her own since she was 15. Suffering abuse by the very people who should protect her, Cat vows to someday help a child in a similar situation. Her decision to become a foster parent changes her life in ways she never could have imagined.

Mitch Holt is a handsome single detective with no plans to ever settle down. But when fate steps in his whole life is turned upside down by the beautiful Cat James. Mitch can't seem to get her out of his head. Is he falling in love?

Ethan Summers has endured horrendous abuse at the hands of his father. Now, he is getting a second chance to grow up in a loving home. As Ethan adjusts to his new life with Cat, his father returns and only has one thing in mind, destroy his son's happiness. Can Cat protect him?

I found To Love a Cat to be a highly enjoyable novel. The author does a wonderful job of developing a variety of believable characters through realistic relationships and powerful situations. I was drawn to Cat's desire to love and provide for a child facing challenges much like she did. I was also pulling for Mitch to get his act together and win over Cat's heart. It was a story I couldn't put down.

To Love a Cat is an all around great read and I definitely recommend picking up a copy. You won't be disappointed.
Profile Image for Stacey.
1,024 reviews
October 1, 2014
Note to clean read and Christian readers: This book does contain profanity, sexual situations, and some violence.

Two of the things I enjoy about Ms. Tiner's books is the compassion she illustrates in her stories for animals and children. She brings real-world situations to the forefront (animal cruelty, fostering and mentoring children, and community service). Around this she adds romance and life situations. I do worry a bit about her characters. In every book of this series one of the main characters is seriously injured while dealing with a dangerous situation. With that being said, in these situations, you see the characters courage and determination to overcome their situation and be a stronger person, and they all have that "happily ever after" and promise of hope that I need when reading for pleasure. I recommend this story and series to readers of romance and to animal lovers too.

NOTE: If you are a parent of elementary-middle school age children, I highly recommend Ms. Tiner's children's books, "Heart of a Hero", "Friends for Life", "Welcome Home", and my personal favorite, "The Rescue Team". Great stories, with lots of character and heart.
Profile Image for Dermot Davis.
Author 16 books50 followers
August 30, 2016
I haven't read "Dogs Aren't Men" and I'm not sure if this one is intended as a sequel but the book was so satisfying I didn't feel like I was missing anything. This was my first introduction to Mitch, Derrick and Rebecca (who featured prominently in the previous book) but this story belongs to Catherine or "Cat" as she likes to be known (there is also a subplot storyline involving an actual cat, which is very cute). I loved this woman and her big heart and how she wants to make a difference by taking in a young troubled teenager, Ethan. Although the young boy brings along a lot of "baggage" with him (which creates lots of twists and turns in the story), he also brings with him some truly heart-warming moments that are shared between him and his new "mom," Catherine. Allied to this emotional relationship, Cat has also caught the attentions of Mitch, a really fine detective. The subsequent courtship and romance is sure to melt a hardened heart.
Profile Image for Cayla.
1,098 reviews36 followers
October 23, 2016
This book is sweet and heart-warming. Cat is a woman who grew up in foster care. Her childhood was anything but typical. Ethan is a child who currently stuck "in the system." His father is a complete moron who likes nothing better than to beat him up and make him feel worthless. Mitch is a man who believes in justice and pursues it as far as he's allowed to go. Solving cases and bringing people to justice means a great deal to him in terms of his career, but Cat means more to him.

This book covers abuse, foster care, adoption, the struggles to "connect" with others due to trust issues, and the emotional roller coaster that we call love. The feelings/emotions shown in this book are very realistic and the characters are well-portrayed. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Warning: About 90% in (toward the end of Chapter 22, I think!), you will run into sex. Personally, I didn't think it was necessary. The feelings between Cat and Mitch were fairly obvious.
Profile Image for Deb.
428 reviews24 followers
August 7, 2023
Don't judge this book by its cover. I went into reading it with preconceived expectations, and was wrong on all accounts.

Yes, there is 'a' cat in it, but he's only a minor player. On the other hand, Cathering "Cat" James is an amazing woman with a lot of emotional scars and a LOT of love to give.

When Cat fosters Ethan, she certainly didn't expect her heart to become so overwhelmed with love and joy.

Ethan is confused as to why he is now staying with Cat, but as long as he is away from his abusive father, he considers it a win and tries hard to make sure no one takes him away from Cat.

Mitch is a confirmed bachelor, but when his path crosses with Cat and Ethan, it isn't long before he realizes his life as a single man is doomed - in a good way!

When Ethan's father is paroled, the happiness Cat and Ethan have found is put at risk, as well as their well-being, and Mitch does everything in his power to keep them safe.
Profile Image for Sandra Lopez.
Author 3 books346 followers
January 4, 2017
Detective Mitch was never much of a cat person. He always thought they had an aloof and superior attitude. Boy, does he get a surprise when he suddenly has to take in an injured cat that breaks into his house in the middle of the night.

Catherine ,“Cat,” is reluctant to adopt a troubled teenage boy, but, after suffering abuse at the hands of her own parents, she feels it is her duty to give Ethan a home. The bond between Cat and Ethan is endearing. Both have baggage and demons from their past, and both are helping each other cope.

As Mitch and Cat struggle with their own dramas (Cat with Ethan; Mitch with the case), the two find themselves drawn to each other.

Things get frightening when Ethan’s father returns and tries to take back what’s owed to him (not Ethan, but money and jewelry). Luckily, he and Cat have a newly-adopted dog and one hunky police detective to protect them.

A heartwarming story!
Profile Image for Tom.
282 reviews6 followers
August 3, 2014
A woman who was abused as a child, becomes a foster mother for a 13 year old boy who has also been abused. The first night at his new home, he decides to take a walk after she is asleep and ends up getting picked up by an off duty Detective.

The next day, the boy is caught shoplifting and is sentenced to community service. Now it may sound like bad news all around, but these two events and the people he comes into contact with through the police and social workers and other social contacts have a positive affect on the boy until.....

His father gets out of jail and looks him up.

Well, now the adventure begins. To see what happens, you're going to have to read the book. I am sure you will enjoy it.

P.S. They lived happily ever after.
Profile Image for Sandi Bedell.
109 reviews
April 25, 2016
I really liked this book. The characters loved animals and difficult teens. I spent the last part of my forty year teaching career at a continuation high school by my choice (people often assume the assignment is a punishment! :(. The vast majority of these students are adrift because of life circumstances (parental terminal or chronic illness, death in the family) or choices made by the so-called adults in their family. Given a chance and someone who has faith in them, they can succeed. The romances that develop were a bonus along with the pet interactions. Give them a chance, you'll enjoy!
Profile Image for Lance Morcan.
Author 37 books626 followers
August 6, 2016
An easy read with more than a few surprises


This is another of those feel-good stories. And how appropriate our central (human) character is called ‘Cat’ – a big-hearted lady ever-ready to come to the assistance of the underdog. (No pun intended!).

This romantic comedy will appeal to all animal-lovers and, indeed, all who enjoy an easy read with more than a few surprises – of the human and animal kind – along the way.

Recommended!
Profile Image for Elaine.
Author 29 books29 followers
May 4, 2016
An easy reading romantic tale where Cat, short for Catherine, must come to terms with her past before opening her heart to a new love. She starts by becoming a foster Mom to a teenager in desperate need of a home, and finds that there are many problems that she must encounter. She soon feels like a "real" mom and begins to defend and love him as her son. She is aware that another love is ready to enter her life.
Good warm feelings abound in this down-to-earth and emotional story.
27 reviews
July 30, 2016
**I received a copy of this book through a goodreads giveaway**

A sweet love story and a perfect Sunday read. I think I had a stupid smile on my face the entire time I was reading the story - sometimes an uncomplicated happy ending is just what the doctor ordered. Thank you Ms. Tiner for sending me a copy of this book!
1,587 reviews30 followers
March 2, 2015
A totally sweet read. My first book by this author - and I'll now be reading her others. I truly enjoyed ALL the characters in the book - and how friendships developed, not just the romantic love story - but other types of love as well. Of course, having animals woven throughout the story is a GREAT attraction to this reader.
729 reviews7 followers
December 30, 2016
Heartwarming

This is a story that grabbed me by the heartstrings and wouldn't let go. I'll definitely reread this. It brings to you some of the problems that can lead to a child ending up in foster care and how important the foster parents, case worker and good adult role models are to these wonderful children.
359 reviews
October 13, 2016
Never read a book from this author, but WOW

Great book, I could not put it down. A bit too much tension for me about half way through but I just skipped some of the details there.

I will try one of her kids books next!
1,834 reviews3 followers
January 12, 2017
Wonderful

This is a very sweet, clean, heartwarming romance. I love that the story revolves around an adult who was abused and abandoned as a child and a teenager who was also abused and abandoned. The prince charming is a cop. Love it!
Profile Image for Debbie.
364 reviews20 followers
September 20, 2014
Loved this book. In fact all 3 in the series are a greatread.
2,237 reviews3 followers
April 21, 2016
Ebook

Great story about a young woman that had an awful childhood, she fosters a young man and in the process gets to met a cop that falls for her
Profile Image for Michelle.
1,918 reviews15 followers
April 21, 2016
Be warned, there is some fairly graphic violence in this romance (not between the people falling in love).
Profile Image for linda m. johnson.
162 reviews
May 2, 2016
To Love ACat

This was a great book. The story is full of romance, suspense and about the second changes that one gets through out their lives.
213 reviews5 followers
Read
July 5, 2016
Cute book, but a bit predictable. Mitch puts in the work and in the end his gets the girl (Cat).
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews

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