Alfie the Holiday Cat

Alfie #4

by Rachel Wells

The Sunday Times bestseller returns for a fourth book! Alfie and his mischievous kitten George are back for more adventures – this time taking them a long way from home…

Alfie and George just can’t seem to keep out of trouble. So when they hear that their owners have got a new holiday home, they can’t wait to visit it and enjoy some new adventures.

But when they arrive, they don’t find the comfort they’re used to. Crumbling walls, peeling paint, dripping ceilings…this little Cornish cottage is clearly on its last legs.

Family and friends rally round to try and save the cottage – but it soon becomes clear that the locals don’t want them there at all. It’s up to Alfie and George to make sure their family is welcomed into the village – that’s if they can keep out of the way of the nastiest cat they’ve ever encountered…

Genres: Animals, Cats, Fiction, Christmas, British Literature, Contemporary, Holiday

344 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 16, 2017

About the author

Rachel Wells is a mother, writer and cat lover who lives in North Devon with her son, Xavier and her cat Lady A. She grew up in Devon but lived in London for a number of years, working in Marketing and living in a tiny flat with an elderly rescued cat, who she called Albert.

After having a child she moved back home and is currently juggling writing full time and being a single mum.

She has always had cats as pets, ever since she was a young child, and she has always loved writing. Delighted to have been able to combine her two main passions, ALFIE THE DOORSTEP CAT was her first cat novel. She has continued with A CAT CALLED ALFIE, ALFIE & GEORGE and the new book, ALFIE THE HOLIDAY CAT. Delighted to be able to continue to bring Alfie’s adventures to life, Alfie has become a part of the family. She has also written two books for children about Alfie; ALFIE – CAT IN TROUBLE and ALFIE – FAR FROM HOME.

Reviews

[Chantal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part 4 of the Alfie books. I had to laugh really had a couple of times because of kitten George and his "blindness". The new setting made it interesting, but I do miss at the end of the book that they came back to Edger Road and were welcomed by the neighborhood cats. I also had hoped that Snowball would have come for a visit or something. Overall, I am waiting on book 5.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether it’s my age or not I don’t know, but I have become a cat lover quite late on, getting my first cat less than two years ago. I won’t go into how old I am but having a dog also I hope I don’t fall into the crazy cat lover category just yet! Only joking for all the crazy cat lovers out there.

Doing my food shop I always go down the book aisle in my local supermarket and of course as soon as I saw Alfie and George staring at me from the shelf, I mean how could I resist those faces? So off into my trolley it went.

I haven’t read any other books by this author so obviously haven’t read any other books in the Alfie series. That didn’t matter one iota though as this easily read as a stand alone, though of course it has made me want to go and read the others also now.

Alfie is quite a sophisticated cat. He has been around awhile and is quite intelligent. Not like little George who is still very young and just what you would expect a kitten to be like. Both cats are staying with a family who have been left a house of which they wish to turn into a holiday home for them and their friends.

I could almost feel the heat radiating from the pages whilst reading of their stay in the beautiful Cornish cottage. To be able to spend a summer with the sea and sun just sounded bliss. Only problem is some people are not happy about their arrival and their intentions for the cottage and it is down to Alfie to save the day.

Alfie the Holiday Cat is an engaging and wonderful read. It transported be from my home during a very cold time of year to the heat and warmth of a summers day. (P.S it does start off and ends off at winter time hence the Christmassy look) A great read for most ages and a must read for all the animal lovers out there.

[Monique Takens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik heb de Nederlands talige uitgave gelezen : Alfie , Kat op vakantie . Een uitgave van HarperCollins Holland november 2019 .
Claire erft een oud boerenhuis dat vlakbij de zee gelegen is en waar ze als kind de heerlijkste vakanties heeft doorgebracht . Het heet Zeebries en is helaas nogal verwaarloosd , omdat het zo groot is wordt het te duur voor Claire en Jonathan om het op te knappen zodat ze het als vakantie woning kunnen gebruiken . Na overleg met hun beste vrienden Polly en Matt + Franceska en Tomasz wordt besloten om er een gezamenlijk project van te maken want er is ruimte genoeg om er een vakantie huis voor 3 gezinnen van te maken . Natuurlijk gaan Alfie en kitten George ook mee waarbij Alfie weer heel wat problemen op moet lossen en zijn baasjes dit keer letterlijk uit de brand moet helpen .
Ik geef eerlijk toe .. ik ben al vanaf boek 1 helemaal verkikkerd op Alfie en kleine George is zóó schattig . Ik hoop dat deel 5 gauw in het Nederlands uitkomt !

[Gabriella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finito! Questa volta sono stata più veloce, ho deciso di mettermi d'impegno perché questo mese ho battuto un po' la fiacca e sono stata un po' più lenta nel leggere i libri... Sarà perché sono entrata nel mood estivo, nonostante abbia ripreso a lavorare. Sarà il caldo, sarà la voglia di mare... Mi sono rilassata!
E indovinate di cosa parla questo libro? Di vacanze!
Alfie e George, i due gatti protagonisti della storia, vanno in vacanza in un paesino di nome Lynstow, in una villa sulla spiaggia che Claire, una dei loro padroni umani, ha ereditato!
Anche qui le avventure non mancheranno!

L'unica cosa che posso dire di negativo su questa serie di libri non è tanto sul contenuto, quanto sulle versioni italiane: le copertine e i titoli si discostano di parecchio dall'originale. Inoltre nelle copertine compare sempre un gatto rosso, mentre invece Alfie, il protagonista assoluto, è un britannico dal pelo corto grigio!
George invece ha la pelliccia rossa, ma compare solo dal terzo libro in poi, motivo per cui non si spiega per quale motivo anche i primi due libri abbiano un gatto rosso in copertina! Mah! Lasciare quelle originali sarebbe stata sicuramente una scelta più corretta.

[Melanie Hoogvliet · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://bookstamel.com/2019/12/24/rece...

[Ale · Rating 4 out of 5]

questo libro è proprio una coccola, un abbraccio caldo e tenero

[Wouter van Noort · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are just so cute! And this one kept me on the edge of my seat. They're not incredibly sophisticated, sure, but they're lots of fun! Alfie and George make a new friend called Gilbert in this one, in their new family's holiday cottage!

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoyed the first 100 pages... got to page 175 and then skipped to the ending.

- repetitive and too predictable

I have enjoyed a few of Rachel's previous Alfie books but this one was just lacking...

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful quick read.

Claire has inherited a rundown seaside cottage from her aunt, a place of which she holds wonderful childhood memories. As the cottage would cost a great deal to renovate, Claire and Jonathan decide to share the cottage and the costs with 2 other couples and their families.

They all come to love the place quickly, but the woman next door and her two young girls are determined to run them off.

It seems that the cottage also has a phantom resident cat named Gilbert. Gilbert has managed for years on his own, entering and leaving the empty home through a cat door, but Alfie is determined to help him. He is eventually able to introduce him to his family and Gilbert is now formally a part of the family, although he will remain in the cottage and be looked after by the caretaker. He is after all a country cat and does not want to live in London.

As always, Alfie manages to save the day and bring everyone together.

[Nessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adore Alfie, I have enjoyed all of his journeys/stories since the very first book.

It was a delightful, adorable and enjoyable read, I smiled lots, and also giggled a fair bit. It was lovely to read how all of the previous characters were getting on to include the humans and the other cats especially George, who is a real sweetie and so adorable, always getting up to mischief. I absolutely love Alfie and George, just wanted to take them home with me.

If you haven't had the pleasure of meeting Alfie and George yet and all their cat friends and human families, then i highly recommend this book.

[Booknblues · Rating 3 out of 5]

We follow Alfie, the cat from one Christmas to the next in Alfie the Holiday Cat. Alfie takes his duties as dad to kitten, George very seriously, but he has other duties to his 3 human families which he cannot forget about.

These duties get a bit overwhelming for him as he watches over everyone during their Summer holiday at a beach cottage.

This is a fun and cute story, which I tend to love.

[Lisa de Goede van Nieuwenhuizen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik heb dit boek in een paar avondjes uit gelezen! Leest lekker makkelijk weg en heb er een paar keer hard om moeten lachen

[BarbaraP · Rating 5 out of 5]

I libri di Alfie sono sempre emozionanti. Spero che ne escano altri. Alfie è un gatto con una sensibilità speciale, che sa aiutare i suoi umani nelle situazioni difficili. Tenerissimo!

[Margie · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I had trouble knowing who all the characters were and deciding if it was the cats speaking or the humans, but once I figured it out, this was a very enjoyable story. An inherited house, three couples and children plus two cats, add a nasty neighbor and two nasty children, and nasty attempts to try to buy the house or drive the owners away, the story comes together.

[Anghus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am such a cat lover - it must be why I love the Alfie books! I have read all four - I love them and look forward to the next adventure. However, as it is a series and book number four, there are a lot of references to early books so this can be read as a stand alone. Good if you don't read them in order, slightly annoying if you are reading them as a series.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Alfie! This is a great new adventure!!

[Lizzy Craven · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m a cat lover and this was just reallly not my jam ahaha. One of the worst and cringey things I’ve ever read. Boring story that barely went anywhere then ended.

[Il salotto del gatto libraio Graziano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recensione completa sul Blog Il salotto del gatto libraio
https://ilsalottodelgattolibraio.blog...

Se amte il mondo felino come me, non potete assolutamente farvi scappare questo dolcissimo libro.
Ovviamente, neanche a dirlo, i protagonisti di questa storia sono proprio i gatti, che con la loro sensibilità straordinaria e il loro bellissimo rapporto con gli umani porteranno allegria in ogni famiglia.
Alfie, ex gatto di strada e il suo cucciolo George, vivono nel Devon con Claire, Jonathan e i figli Summer e Toby. Claire ha appena ereditato dalla zia morta, un cottage decadente vicino al mare a Lynstow, nel Devon settentrionale e avendo bellissimi ricordi delle sue vacanze estive adolescenziali, vorrebbe tanto tenere per se e la sua famiglia la casa ma obiettivamente, i costi di ristrutturazione sono veramente troppo elevati.

Fortunatamente però sembra esserci una soluzione infatti anche le altre due famiglie che in passato si sono presi cura di Alfie, sembrano abbracciare l'idea di ristruttare Brezza Marina per farla diventare una seconda casa adibita alle vacanze estive e ai week end.
Claire, Polly, Franceska, i bambini e i gatti partono quindi per iniziare i lavori di ristrutturazione a Villa Brezza Marina.
Tutto sembra andare per il meglio, i bambini si divertono dividendosi tra il mare, la spiaggia, lo sport e i giochi con i nuovi amci, Alfie tra un pisolino e l'altro è sempre pronto a togliere dai guai il piccolo George che sembra aver preso una cotta per una gattona antipatica di nome Chanel e i lavori per la casa, seppur con qualche ritardo causato da incidenti veramente molto strani, procedono al meglio.

Eppure perchè Alfie non si sente così tranquillo? Gli incidenti a Brezza Marina sono veramente così casuali come dicono gli operai o qualcuno sta cercando di sabotare la casa? E perchè la vicina Andrea e le sue terribili bambine voglio a tutti costi impossessarsi di Brezza Marina? Riuscirà Alfie a venirne a capo?

Devo dire che nonostante sia una super gattara, spesso non trovo molta simpatia per i libri che parlano di gatti perchè purtroppo tendono sempre a rappresentarli come dei poveri esserini indifesi che devono essere salvati dall'uoma ma che, quasi sempre finisce al contrario. Il bello dei felini però è proprio il contrario, sono loro infatti a scegliere te e non viceversa ed Alfie è proprio l'esempio lampante di quello che vi ho appena detto. Ama destreggiarsi tra diverse famiglie, passa del tempo con ognuna di loro ma ha deciso di vivere in pianta stabile, con Claire, Jonathan, Summer e Toby e per la sua famiglia, ma soprattutto per il suo micetto, sarebbe disposto anche a mettersi in pericolo.
Qualcuno vuole sabotare Villa Brezza Marina ma Alfie, George e il suo nuovo amico Gibert faranno di tutto per salvaguardare l'armonia che regna tra le loro famiglie.

E' un libro semplice, leggero che divorerete in pochissimo tempo, la scrittura dell'autrice è molto scorrevole e piacevole. Grazie al piccolo velo di mistery poi non vi ritroverete a leggere un libro che parlerà solo di gatti e dell'amore, per e dagli umani anzi, sarete talmente curiosi di scoprire come riuscirà Alfie a fermare la scia di questi incidenti poco casuali che non potrete fare a meno di rimanere incollati al libro.
Purtroppo solo leggendolo mi sono resa conto che in realtà questo si tratta del quarto libro dedicato ad Alfie e alle sue (dis)avventure ma niente paura, vi assicuro che potrete leggerlo tranquillamente anche così, vi verrà solo un po' più di curiosità sulla sua vita precedente.

Unica perplessità il titolo... sinceramente Il gatto che donava allegria stona su tutti i fronti... si sa che i gatti donano allegria no?

[Rachel Gilbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe it has taken me so long to finally read a book in this series. Alfie the Holiday Cat has been staring at me on my bookshelf for about 2 years since he arrived into my home, but its taken until now to sit down and meet him properly.

And awww how adorable are Alfie and his kitten George, and the three families they look after. I had to keep laughing at can only be described as puppy love from George, although I can assure you it was an unrequited crush on an old cat, and not a dog, that lead him to spend his time just wanting to catch a glimpse of Chanel!

Despite the book starting at Christmas, and the slightly festive looking cover, almost the whole book takes place over the course of a summer, and as such could easily be read at any time of the year. In fact the title is thus rather clever as I assumed the holiday cat would be Christmas holidays, and not a summer holiday!

It took me a chapter or two to get into the swing of things, as learning the dynamics of three families when you know you haven't read the previous books of the series, is always a large number of characters to get to know but once I had an idea about them, I was incredibly happy.

This is such a fabulous book written through a cat's eyes. I loved how Alfie felt responsible for everything, how clever he really is and how in tune his humans seemed to be with him. From Alfie's point of view we see this new holiday home and everything that is going on, even before the humans are aware just what lengths the locals are going to to drive them away.

And watching Alfie and George get to grips with the beach, eating ice-cream, paddleboarding are some of the sweetest and funniest things i have read in ages.

Heartwarming, full of love and laughter, this is an incredibly adorable book that has already got me craving to read more of this series. I really did love it and read around the last 200 pages in one sitting, when I possibly should have been doing other things.

A purrfectly wonderful story!

Thank you to Avon for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily,

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alfie is a doorstep cat who has three families. He lives with Claire and Jonathan and their children. Polly, Matt and their children are their neighbours and Franceska and Tomasz and their children are former neighbours. All three families are very good friends with each other, thanks to Alfie. Claire and Jonathan get a kitten named George and Alfie becomes his adopted father.

Claire inherits a cottage from a great aunt ... she has great memories of spending time there as a child and wants her children and friends to experience the same. They discover the cottage is now rundown so the three families agree to pitch in money to renovate it and plan on spending holidays there for many years to come.

The wives, the children, Alfie and George spend the summer at the cottage and their husbands visit on the weekends. As renovations are going on, the families are enjoying being by the water. The only problem is there is a nasty neighbour next door named Andrea, who has two daughters and a cat named Chanel who are as equally nasty. George falls in love with Chanel but she won't give him the time of day. Andrea is determined to buy their cottage and will do anything to drive the families away. It's up to Alfie to make sure this doesn't happen.

This is the fourth in Alfie series (there are currently five in the series) and I liked it. Though it's part of a series, it works as a stand alone. It is written in first person perspective in Alfie's voice. We can see the conversations he has with other cats. Plus he understands the conversations of humans around him (rather than "blah blah blah blah blah Alfie blah blah blah). Though he can't talk back to them in their language, he does try to communicate in cat-talk and expressions. As a head's up, though the story is about cats, it does have mature themes.

I look forward to reading others in this series.

Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2019/01...

[Jill Jemmett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I’ve ever read that is narrated by a cat! It was so funny to see everything from Alfie’s perspective. He got involved with all of the human problems, and he also had his own cat dilemmas.

This is part of a series, but I didn’t feel left out even though I haven’t read any of the other books. At the beginning, it took me a while to learn who everyone was, especially since there were a bunch of similar young families and cats. Alfie also considers himself to be part of many families in the neighbourhood, so it was difficult to distinguish between them. But once they all went to the cottage, I was able to tell them apart.

I’ve never owned a cat, but my mom and I look after the stray cats in our backyard. It’s so heartbreaking to see them abandoned and living outside, but it isn’t possible to take them in since I have a dog. We do our best to keep them fed and warm, especially in the winter months. I kept comparing the cats in the story to our outside cats. We even have a mischievous cat named George, so I thought the kitten in the story was very funny!

This is a cute story for cat lovers.

I received a copy of this book on NetGalley.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A heartwarming tale of a cat named Alfie and his son, George, and their adventures when their families decide to renovate a seaside cottage. This book is 4th in the series.

This is probably the first adult book I've read that was narrated by a cat. The writing is simple and a bit repetitive at times, and the characters are hardly complex, but I found it was a really enjoyable read at the end of a long day. It allowed me to escape into a world where good and bad are easily identified and the wrongs are always righted. The major appeal in this book is the narration of Alfie himself. He's an incredibly sweet, kind-hearted cat who watches over his family, both human and feline, and always manages to get into some kind of mischief along the way. As a cat lover, I was charmed by his wry observations of humans and life in general.

I would absolutely recommend this to a fellow cat/animal lover looking to read simple, lighthearted, quirky "pet lit." Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another heart-warming tale (tail?) of Alfie the cat and his extended family.
This one sees Claire inherit her aunt's old cottage down by the seaside in North Devon, a cottage where she spent many happy summer holidays as a child. She wants to retain it but it needs a lot of renovation work doing, which she can't afford on her own, so she teams up with her friends and their families with the idea of doing it up and all of them making use of it as a holiday home.
The book mainly follows the summer holidays where the wives and children (plus Alfie and George of course) live there and oversee the renovation work, with the husbands visiting at weekends.
As usual, there is a spanner in the works in the form of a nasty neighbour who wants to buy the property herself, and resorts to underhand tactics to try to get her own way.
Naturally Alfie saves the day and it all ends well.
Hopefully, there will be more tails of Alfie and his extended family to follow.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another cute entry in the Alfie series. In this one, the three families go together to refurbish a beach-side home left to Claire, who has very happy childhood memories of it. They plan to share it - either all at once or individually. Initially, the three women with the children go to Devon to start the refurbishment and oversee the contractor/builders, while the men visit on weekends. Alfie has his hands full keeping track of George, his kitten, who of course wants to try everything. When a nasty neighbor tries to buy the house from them and is refused, she starts a discouragement campaign with the help of one of the builder's men. Unfortunately, George gets his first crush on her snooty cat Chanel, and refuses to believe that Chanel doesn't love him back. Even the nasty neighbor's children pick on the holidaying children, until things finally come to a head.

[Licia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nulla di nuovo sotto il sole, ma un seguito del seguito che mi ha entusiasmato fino ad un certo punto, pur tenendomi attaccata alle pagine negli ultimi capitoli. Forse più che libro da adulti, è un libro per ragazzini, però una buona dose di semplicità, umanità felina e dolcezza non fa male anche a noi. L'autrice ha voluto omaggiare anche le vittime dell'incendio alla Greenfeld Tower, dove morirono anche due ragazzi italiani: non mi aspettavo tale cosa... ok, ha solo inserito un gatto nella trama legato a questo triste avvenimento, ma è pur sempre qualcosa.
Non aspettatevi quale grande capolavoro della letteratura, ma è piacevole, dolce, forse a tratti stucchevole, ma pur sempre una storia che scalda un po' tutti i cuori.

[Barbara Tomasini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una nuova avventura del gatto Alfie e del suo amatissimo cucciolo George. L'estate è arrivata e tutta la famiglia decide di passare le vacanze estive nel nuovo cottage Brezza di Mare. Decisamente un posto incantevole, vista mare, dove potersi rilassare e fare grandi scorpacciate di pesce. Ma questo idillio, durerà ben poco.
Alfie, questa volta, dovrà superare se stesso, cercando di mandare in fumo i mille stratagemmi della perfida vicina Andrea, disposta a tutto, pur di mettere le mani su Brezza di Mare. Un romanzo divertente ed emozionante, dove i veri protagonisti sono i gatti, creature meravigliose e grandi maestri di vita. Un libro da leggere assolutamente, magari accompagnato da una buona tazza di thè e qualche pasticcino.

[Eileen Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually go for anthropomorphic style stories (excepting Terry Pratchett masterpieces!), but I will make an exception for Alfie!
He and his side kick George get into all kinds of scrapes and always come out of them smelling of roses!
This one is no exception. Set in one of my favourite counties, it is a light comfy read.
This is my first foray into Alfie country so will read more of the series just as soon as I can.
Highly recommended.
I was given a digital copy of this lovely book by the publisher Avon Books via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review, which I am very happy to do.

[Sanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alfie is en blijft gewoon geweldig. Wat zijn dit toch heerlijke verhalen om te lezen.

Dit keer gaan Alfie en George mee op vakantie naar het nieuwe nog te verbouwen vakantiehuis van 1 van zijn gezinnen. Natuurlijk zijn er weer een heleboel problemen maar dankzij Alfie en George lijkt toch alles weer goed te komen.

Het was leuk om Alfie in een nieuwe setting te zien, al miste ik toch soms Tijger en de anderen van de kattenbende wel een beetje. Met zijn geweldige karakter krijgt Alfie het voor elkaar om overal iets goed van te maken en in nieuwe vrienden maken is hij een ster. George is een heerlijke kitten waar je enorm om kunt lachen.

[Cheryl Hanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Another cute adventure for Alfie and George. This time they are at the beach with their families during renovations of Claire's inherited cottage, SeaBreeze. There they met Gilbert, a stray cat that has been living in the cottage and George falls in love with Chanel, the neighbor's cat who doesn't give him the time of day. Various antics ensue, both feline and human. including a plot to get the families to sell the cottage. This had the heart and soul of the previous books but seemed to repeat itself in the middle. I think I will take a long break before reading the next book.

[Shari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love Alfie! I started with Alfie the Doorstep Cat and breezed all the way through all four books. Alfie the Holiday Cat finds Alfie and his adopted kitten George off on holiday to the beach with all of his families staying together in one large beach house. Not everything goes as it should and Alfie, as always, takes it upon himself to fix it. But he has plenty of help. His family, whether humans or cats, keeps continuing to grow. I hope for more adventures of Alfie and George and the whole gang!