What do you think?
Rate this book
Cupid is a Cat
American born project manager Nora Bloom enjoys her life in London, but love hasn’t been easy. To stop herself from thinking about her ex for a night, she signs up for a speed-dating event. Not looking for anything other than distraction, she’s surprised when she meets an Israeli woman who leaves a lasting impression on her.
London-based diamond dealer Yael Kehim joins her single friend on a speed-dating night. Already casually dating someone, she’s only there for moral support, but after meeting Nora, her mind keeps going back to that night, and she can’t help but wonder what would have happened if she’d made different choices.
Cupid reports to The Almighty. Roaming the earth, spreading love, and bringing destined souls together, they take their assignments very seriously. To blend in, they manifest in many different forms, but when morphing into Toby, a cuddly ginger cat, they find a whole new level of joy in their job, and distractions are lurking around every corner.
When Nora and Yael finally meet again, strange things start to happen—things that are too bizarre to be coincidental. Is there free will in love? Or is our destiny written in the stars?
London-based diamond dealer Yael Kehim joins her single friend on a speed-dating night. Already casually dating someone, she’s only there for moral support, but after meeting Nora, her mind keeps going back to that night, and she can’t help but wonder what would have happened if she’d made different choices.
Cupid reports to The Almighty. Roaming the earth, spreading love, and bringing destined souls together, they take their assignments very seriously. To blend in, they manifest in many different forms, but when morphing into Toby, a cuddly ginger cat, they find a whole new level of joy in their job, and distractions are lurking around every corner.
When Nora and Yael finally meet again, strange things start to happen—things that are too bizarre to be coincidental. Is there free will in love? Or is our destiny written in the stars?
324 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 25, 2022
51 people are currently reading
166 people want to read
About the author
Lise Gold
50 books688 followersLise Gold is an author of lesbian romance. Her romantic attitude, enthusiasm for travel and love for feel good stories form the heartland of her writing. Born in London to a Norwegian mother and English father, and growing up between the UK, Norway, Zambia and the Netherlands, she feels at home pretty much everywhere and has an unending curiosity for new destinations. She goes by 'write what you know' and is often found in exotic locations doing research or getting inspired for her next novel.
Working as a designer for fifteen years and singing semi- professionally, Lise has always been a creative at heart. Her novels are the result of a quest for a new passion after resigning from her design job in 2018.
When not writing from her kitchen table, Lise can be found cooking, at the gym or singing her heart out somewhere, preferably country or blues. She lives in London with her dogs El Comandante and Bubba.
Working as a designer for fifteen years and singing semi- professionally, Lise has always been a creative at heart. Her novels are the result of a quest for a new passion after resigning from her design job in 2018.
When not writing from her kitchen table, Lise can be found cooking, at the gym or singing her heart out somewhere, preferably country or blues. She lives in London with her dogs El Comandante and Bubba.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
October 6, 2022
Oh!
This made me and my heart so very happy!!
I loved it so much!!😁😁😁
This made me and my heart so very happy!!
I loved it so much!!😁😁😁
October 7, 2022
I’m usually not into stories that are full of fluffy, but this one is too cute! A heartwarming, low angst roman. A perfect read for weekend!
November 12, 2022
5 grinning-ear-to-ear stars
If you are in the mood for a delightful, romantic, soulmates romance, this is your book. It’s so freaking wholesome. It started a bit slow for me, but once it got going, I had a smile plastered on my face through the whole thing. The writing is top notch as well.
I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a pick me up for your heart. Just a super sweet, low angst love story.
If you are in the mood for a delightful, romantic, soulmates romance, this is your book. It’s so freaking wholesome. It started a bit slow for me, but once it got going, I had a smile plastered on my face through the whole thing. The writing is top notch as well.
I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a pick me up for your heart. Just a super sweet, low angst love story.
September 25, 2022
Cute
A cute romance from Lise Gold, so heartwarming and endearing. And Cupid is actually present in the form of a cat. A big, fat, ginger cat. I mean, how perfect is that! And then there’s Yael and Nora, an American and an Israeli meeting in London- can it get more ‘London’ than this? Anyway, read the book, it’s a great read
A cute romance from Lise Gold, so heartwarming and endearing. And Cupid is actually present in the form of a cat. A big, fat, ginger cat. I mean, how perfect is that! And then there’s Yael and Nora, an American and an Israeli meeting in London- can it get more ‘London’ than this? Anyway, read the book, it’s a great read
October 19, 2022
"Cupid is a Cat" is one of the sweetest romances I've read in a while. I thoroughly enjoyed the chemistry between the two main characters, Nora and Yael, and the funny antics of Cupid, turned into a cat in this story. But of course I love Lise Gold's books, so I knew this was a sure thing.
November 1, 2022
Low on the angst, feel good romance with lovely MCs who are meant to be together with the help of Cupit. And Cupit is a cat with hilarious antics to bring the two humans together. This book is so much fun and positive feelings. Highly recommend.
September 27, 2022
Very sweet and low angst, with a focus on the soulmate trope. 4.5 stars.
September 13, 2022
Oh my word, what an absolute gem! Although I haven't read every single one of Lise Gold's books, this is hands down my favourite by her. Needless to say, the title and cover had me more than a little intrigued... and they couldn't be more fitting.
If you're looking for a book that is totally unique and completely endearing, look no further. The story is rich in scenery, painting vivid pictures of places I've never been to or will ever see beyond the pictures painted within this story.
The lack of a contrived breakup, which is so prevalent in lesfic, is something else I appreciated. That's not to say the story is devoid of conflict, but it comes from both within and outside sources.
I'm not even going to touch on the role Cupid the Cat plays. That is something you need to experience yourself.
If you're looking for a book that is totally unique and completely endearing, look no further. The story is rich in scenery, painting vivid pictures of places I've never been to or will ever see beyond the pictures painted within this story.
The lack of a contrived breakup, which is so prevalent in lesfic, is something else I appreciated. That's not to say the story is devoid of conflict, but it comes from both within and outside sources.
I'm not even going to touch on the role Cupid the Cat plays. That is something you need to experience yourself.
October 13, 2022
Cupid is a Cat is possibly the sweetest, cutest novel I have ever read. You can’t beat this. Everything just goes perfectly. No angst whatsoever. Just pure enjoyment.
If you believe in love at first sight, in finding your soulmate, in falling in love by just looking at someone and talking to them for a couple of minutes, then this is the book for you.
Nora and Yael’s story is just meant to be.
The attraction/pull/curiosity between them is off the charts. It’s like they can’t stay away from each other after they just met during a speed dating event.
This is the first time I read a book by Lise Gold, and I have to say that I appreciated a lot the travelling aspect of it. The way Thailand and Israel are portrayed made me immerge myself completely in the atmosphere, in the places the characters were visiting with smells, food, local people and breathless landscapes. I basically travelled for free! How cool is that? Plus, all the travelling part is not only so pleasant to read, but also funny. I had to laugh out loud a couple of times. Lise Gold’s narrative is very detailed and the photography of the novel is amazing. It’s such a colorful book, it’s a feel happy book, and the part about the birth gemstones was really interesting to read.
Yael and Nora are simply adorable… they are just perfect for each other, and the whole destiny/fate vs human will theme got me thinking too. I don’t believe in a higher power per se, but I always wonder if there’s something more to this life… Some things just cannot be explained, so you either “believe” or “not”. I do believe in Love. I do believe that some people are meant to meet, to cross each other paths… and if it’s a cat that helps them finding each other… well, then I’m sold.
I already knew cats were divine creatures. Toby as a cat is so funny. Cupid as they, non-binary, very refreshing! Love is love, right? No matter what form we come in.
If you believe in love at first sight, in finding your soulmate, in falling in love by just looking at someone and talking to them for a couple of minutes, then this is the book for you.
Nora and Yael’s story is just meant to be.
The attraction/pull/curiosity between them is off the charts. It’s like they can’t stay away from each other after they just met during a speed dating event.
This is the first time I read a book by Lise Gold, and I have to say that I appreciated a lot the travelling aspect of it. The way Thailand and Israel are portrayed made me immerge myself completely in the atmosphere, in the places the characters were visiting with smells, food, local people and breathless landscapes. I basically travelled for free! How cool is that? Plus, all the travelling part is not only so pleasant to read, but also funny. I had to laugh out loud a couple of times. Lise Gold’s narrative is very detailed and the photography of the novel is amazing. It’s such a colorful book, it’s a feel happy book, and the part about the birth gemstones was really interesting to read.
Yael and Nora are simply adorable… they are just perfect for each other, and the whole destiny/fate vs human will theme got me thinking too. I don’t believe in a higher power per se, but I always wonder if there’s something more to this life… Some things just cannot be explained, so you either “believe” or “not”. I do believe in Love. I do believe that some people are meant to meet, to cross each other paths… and if it’s a cat that helps them finding each other… well, then I’m sold.
I already knew cats were divine creatures. Toby as a cat is so funny. Cupid as they, non-binary, very refreshing! Love is love, right? No matter what form we come in.
October 3, 2022
I love me some Lise Gold romances. The title threw me off on this one, but I never considered not reading it because of who wrote it. I really enjoyed her take on this romance. Both mains were very likable, and the chemistry was well written. For sure a fiver in my book.
September 27, 2022
After their three-minute meet-cute it takes Nora and Yael quite a while to reconnect. Once they finally do things progress very quickly. Their developing relationship is helped along by a spider bite and a secreted tracker conveniently stashed in Nora's backpack. This is a fun, heartwarming tale with appropriate levels of angst and no contrived breakups to ramp up the melodrama and annoy the reader. Cupid the cat is an amusing diversion at several points along the way.
November 21, 2022
The first book I've read by this author (I've previously read a short story by them). This is a book about two women who live in London who find happiness and romance with each other through the help of a cat. One is American born (though I kept forgetting she was American and kept thinking she was British, and the other is Israeli born). The cat is a chubby orange kitty named Toby.
Right, so. Toby is also Cupid. You know, that entity that looks like a baby with a bow & arrow that shoots people? Well, this cupid can manifest as various things, and in this particular book, manifests as a cat. Not 100% certain why a cat, or Cupid were involved, but was cute & stuff. Toby-Cupid is one of the POV's.
Nora Bloom is the "American Born Project Manager", though the American & Project Manager parts don't really matter in this book. I forget which field she is a project manager in, though it's building design/construction/real estate related. It only really comes up when she's in Thailand and she's laughing about how a particular buidling had been set up/designed. ETA: Mom's dead. Dad's a rich ceo. I edited that in because I mentioned Yael's parents - Nora's parents play no role in this book.
Yael Kehim is the "Israeli woman". Oh, that's set up different in the book description. heh. Nora's birth and job are linked; Yael's birth place and job are not. Right, so, Yael is a diamond merchant based out of Earth. Heh, she lives in London, but travels around a lot, including Tel Aviv where her parents live and are part of her business. Dad's a diamond cutter and mom's . . . a semi-retired precious stones person who can make necklaces in, like, a day (okay, it was more like a week, but still). Yael's parents are meet and have roles in the book, though more the mother.
The three POV characters, Nora/Yael/Toby, meet at a pub for a speed dating event. Nora comes with a friend, as does Yael. The friends play roles in the book, Nora's friend more so. I think they are Melanie (Nora's friend), and Jess (Yael's friend). Both human main characters were dragged to the event by their friends, though I don't mean the four went together. It's kind of odd, in a way - Nora's parents are mentioned but never meet and don't play a role in the book; Yael's parents are mentioned and play a role in the book; Nora's friend is meet and plays a semi-important role in the book (and is seen/mentioned at the speed dating event); Yael's friend is almost never actually in the book beyond occasional cameos, most times including her dog. The "kind of odd" was how it seemed like there was limited room for characters to exist, so, while both women had friends and parents, both only were allowed to have one specific other character to play a larger role in the book (Nora's friend, whose name I probably mispelled earlier; Yael's mother).
Well, that got away from me.
So, two women go to a speed-dating event though more because they were dragged there. Neither have any real desire to meet other women, and neither has any plans to actually have any further involvement with the women there. Yael's there because her friend has issues meeting women and Yael's there for support (though is shown spending 90% of her time on her phone). Also Yael has a girlfriend/not really a girlfriend. Nora's there because her friend wants her to be distracted from her recent breakup (also, the friend wants to meet women).
Both women make impressions on each other (as does Toby, who interacted with them during the dating event by being a fat orange cat purring next to them) but don't exchange numbers, and only meet up again mostly by accident, months later.
I suppose we can use Toby as the excuse as to why the book feels more like instalove than it probably should. Yes it takes months and months for them to get to love; but that's because they don't actually know each other for 99% of those months. I think near the end of the book there's even a joke about how a specific moment counts as their third date. Yet they skipped some steps, and stuff. Which is, I suppose, fair if you have a god of love purring love at you, overwhelming your senses.
Basically what I'm getting at is that this is less a romance book than a slice of life book that uses divine love magic so that a love story can also be in there.
ETA: my keyboard kind of got spilled on so there are likely instances above where letters are missing (like I just found and inserted an l in play when rereading my review). I mention this as it reminded me: for those that care about such things: there were certain errors that popped up in the book as well. Mostly words. Hard to find now, but mostly words that got repeated by accident, or were missing, or had extra or missing letters. And one occasion (when the two women meet a third near the end of the book) wherein Nora's & Mia's (the third woman in the scene) name got switched briefly (It was something like: Miss Mia is describing something to Yael, hearing what she was saying, Yael looked over at the woman she came with to see her reaction, and instead of "Yael looked at Miss Mia then over to Nora, then back again" the book had "Yael looked at Miss Mia then over to Mia, then back again").
Rating: 4
November 21 2022
Right, so. Toby is also Cupid. You know, that entity that looks like a baby with a bow & arrow that shoots people? Well, this cupid can manifest as various things, and in this particular book, manifests as a cat. Not 100% certain why a cat, or Cupid were involved, but was cute & stuff. Toby-Cupid is one of the POV's.
Nora Bloom is the "American Born Project Manager", though the American & Project Manager parts don't really matter in this book. I forget which field she is a project manager in, though it's building design/construction/real estate related. It only really comes up when she's in Thailand and she's laughing about how a particular buidling had been set up/designed. ETA: Mom's dead. Dad's a rich ceo. I edited that in because I mentioned Yael's parents - Nora's parents play no role in this book.
Yael Kehim is the "Israeli woman". Oh, that's set up different in the book description. heh. Nora's birth and job are linked; Yael's birth place and job are not. Right, so, Yael is a diamond merchant based out of Earth. Heh, she lives in London, but travels around a lot, including Tel Aviv where her parents live and are part of her business. Dad's a diamond cutter and mom's . . . a semi-retired precious stones person who can make necklaces in, like, a day (okay, it was more like a week, but still). Yael's parents are meet and have roles in the book, though more the mother.
The three POV characters, Nora/Yael/Toby, meet at a pub for a speed dating event. Nora comes with a friend, as does Yael. The friends play roles in the book, Nora's friend more so. I think they are Melanie (Nora's friend), and Jess (Yael's friend). Both human main characters were dragged to the event by their friends, though I don't mean the four went together. It's kind of odd, in a way - Nora's parents are mentioned but never meet and don't play a role in the book; Yael's parents are mentioned and play a role in the book; Nora's friend is meet and plays a semi-important role in the book (and is seen/mentioned at the speed dating event); Yael's friend is almost never actually in the book beyond occasional cameos, most times including her dog. The "kind of odd" was how it seemed like there was limited room for characters to exist, so, while both women had friends and parents, both only were allowed to have one specific other character to play a larger role in the book (Nora's friend, whose name I probably mispelled earlier; Yael's mother).
Well, that got away from me.
So, two women go to a speed-dating event though more because they were dragged there. Neither have any real desire to meet other women, and neither has any plans to actually have any further involvement with the women there. Yael's there because her friend has issues meeting women and Yael's there for support (though is shown spending 90% of her time on her phone). Also Yael has a girlfriend/not really a girlfriend. Nora's there because her friend wants her to be distracted from her recent breakup (also, the friend wants to meet women).
Both women make impressions on each other (as does Toby, who interacted with them during the dating event by being a fat orange cat purring next to them) but don't exchange numbers, and only meet up again mostly by accident, months later.
I suppose we can use Toby as the excuse as to why the book feels more like instalove than it probably should. Yes it takes months and months for them to get to love; but that's because they don't actually know each other for 99% of those months. I think near the end of the book there's even a joke about how a specific moment counts as their third date. Yet they skipped some steps, and stuff. Which is, I suppose, fair if you have a god of love purring love at you, overwhelming your senses.
Basically what I'm getting at is that this is less a romance book than a slice of life book that uses divine love magic so that a love story can also be in there.
ETA: my keyboard kind of got spilled on so there are likely instances above where letters are missing (like I just found and inserted an l in play when rereading my review). I mention this as it reminded me: for those that care about such things: there were certain errors that popped up in the book as well. Mostly words. Hard to find now, but mostly words that got repeated by accident, or were missing, or had extra or missing letters. And one occasion (when the two women meet a third near the end of the book) wherein Nora's & Mia's (the third woman in the scene) name got switched briefly (It was something like: Miss Mia is describing something to Yael, hearing what she was saying, Yael looked over at the woman she came with to see her reaction, and instead of "Yael looked at Miss Mia then over to Nora, then back again" the book had "Yael looked at Miss Mia then over to Mia, then back again").
Rating: 4
November 21 2022
September 16, 2023
Well, that was pretty disappointing. Dang.
It starts off well; Nora and Yael are both reasonably rounded characters despite their rich-bitch jobs, Yael is all tall and elegant and has a sort of brooding 'bad-girl' vibe, Nora's getting over a dumb breakup alongside her goofy roommate, and they have a big connection at an otherwise-boring speed dating night, humourously set in the private lounge of a gay guys' bar.
The wrinkle that makes it worth reading is sort of the reason they connect to begin with. Cupid is, in this book, a genderless light being whose power of love is second only to literally capital-g god, and their job is to ensure that there's enough love in the world, both for practical purposes and because love is neato. Gods cannot or should not take the form of a human, though, so Cupid usually takes animal forms to sort of gently nudge people in certain ways. Cupid is a Cat, of course, so a lot of this involves enjoying catnip, rolling over for belly rubs, chasing laser pens, stuff like that. It's the contrast between their dumb cat exterior and the sly inner machinations of a god that makes the giggles for a lot of scenes.
Cupid also represents the element that worried me most about this book, though, which is the subject of free will. Fuck the church, right? That predestination, 'all of us are fated' shit would be a grim reality if it ended up being true. The book is kind of wavery on this subject; while gods can't do anything so absurd as controlling humans directly, Cupid does note that god "has a plan for all mortals", and they serve that somehow. Plus, Cupid can totally slide extra love into people's minds, making them more lovey, I guess? Cupid themself describes free will as a hotly debated topic among gods, but the odds aren't looking good. Things begin to look especially bad when real-world religions get tangentially involved.
After all that, though, Cupid's role in the story is actually kind of small. Sure, they keep on making certain that Yael and Nora meet, and their scenes and narration early on are pretty funny, but aside from that it's hard to grasp what their plan is, in the moment-to-moment sense. The stuff they're doing, like the catnip scene wherein they're on their way to observe Nora and Yael's second meeting, it's kind of hard to tell how exactly this will bring our leads together. Plus by 75% Cupid has outright admitted that the two don't need their help anymore, so Cupid gets kind of superfluous later on, with few chapters, which blows.
The plot actually starts falling apart really badly in the middle third, which sucks. I assumed it was just a low-and-slow, no-conflict book, but naw. It's weird, because our protagonists meet in London, and then Yael is off to visit her parents (mostly plot irrelevant at that point) in Tel Aviv for a while, and then within two days of her getting back, Nora flies off to Thailand for *five months!* During this, she gets roped in with a kind of creepy guy on an extreme survivalist expedition in the jungle, (yes seriously) breaks her phone, gets stung or bit by some kind of fly or mosquito out of hell, gets venom'd, and has to rush to a hospital. Meanwhile Yael hasn't had a message from her in four days, so she FLIES DOWN THERE to see if Nora is okay, and then they just hang out at a fancy hotel.
It's a really bizarre (bizarre is in my vocabulary this week) book, in which the middle third reads like stakes had to be inserted *somewhere,* and to be fair Nora and Yael don't really have an external force to defeat, or an interpersonal conflict to overcome, or personal growth to achieve in order to be together; Cupid ordains it, I guess, so they're a match made in heaven, no problems. Very token feeling.
As a knock-on effect of this, of course, the OTP here don't really develop much. Both they and the plot just take IT WAS MEANT TO BE!!! as a given, and they're basically the same people in the same places by the end as they were at the start. I hate feeling like characters aren't progressing when reading a romance, because that's the entire point right? Maybe...
The other weird thing that happens in the back half is SUDDENLY RANDOM TRANS WOMAN! I'm sorry for being weird about this, but it's always Noteworthy to me whenever I'm reading something that's not at all trans related, but The Trans® pops up anyway, y'know? Makes my eyebrows go up. There is a single sentence stapled right onto the front of the chapter in which we meet her, "Miss Mai was a trans woman", that is so out of place that I snorted. Could Yael just "tell" in some nonspecific way? Did Miss Mai use a trans flag as a tent cover or something? Did she mention it??? It was weird; the rest of the chapter is mostly this psychic, mystic lady giving Nora and Yael breadcrumbs about what fated mates they are and how people can make choices but always have their destinies, and shit. Easily the single oddest thing in this book.
In terms of the plot, the other job that Miss Mai has (goodbye!) is to foreshadow the thing where Yael comes out to her parents. They're pretty "traditionally" Jewish (kind of like a bizarro world version of Milk Fed, this bit) or whatever, and basically affect a don't-ask-don't-tell with Yael, which is lame, so that's the final plot thread in the book to take care of. It doesn't actually feel all that bad, as far as coming out to parents goes; it actually made me feel really moody and morose and sad, so surprisingly it's hitting the mark very well, 'grats to the author. Still though, it feels weird that this whole coming-out is what the book seemed to be leading up to, the core plot for the last 15%. Was this the entire point? Nora and Yael's first kiss and making things official both feel way less momentous, which makes the plot feel lopsided, like them getting together was just a formality to take care of. Not a very fulfilling romance, I'm afraid...
This really sucks, because the gimmick is so good that I grabbed the book based on that alone, and first half is so promising! It's funny and relaxing and charming! Goofy and entertaining! I actually really like pretty much all of the dialogue in this thing, and I can't say for sure why. Nora and Yael just have a chill, low-speed and friendly vibe that I enjoy a lot. But my investment wavered late in the story's runtime, which is never a good sign, and the plot didn't really recover from that. It's not bad, just... damn, y'know? My feelings about it are as messy and wobbly as the story itself is.
It starts off well; Nora and Yael are both reasonably rounded characters despite their rich-bitch jobs, Yael is all tall and elegant and has a sort of brooding 'bad-girl' vibe, Nora's getting over a dumb breakup alongside her goofy roommate, and they have a big connection at an otherwise-boring speed dating night, humourously set in the private lounge of a gay guys' bar.
The wrinkle that makes it worth reading is sort of the reason they connect to begin with. Cupid is, in this book, a genderless light being whose power of love is second only to literally capital-g god, and their job is to ensure that there's enough love in the world, both for practical purposes and because love is neato. Gods cannot or should not take the form of a human, though, so Cupid usually takes animal forms to sort of gently nudge people in certain ways. Cupid is a Cat, of course, so a lot of this involves enjoying catnip, rolling over for belly rubs, chasing laser pens, stuff like that. It's the contrast between their dumb cat exterior and the sly inner machinations of a god that makes the giggles for a lot of scenes.
Cupid also represents the element that worried me most about this book, though, which is the subject of free will. Fuck the church, right? That predestination, 'all of us are fated' shit would be a grim reality if it ended up being true. The book is kind of wavery on this subject; while gods can't do anything so absurd as controlling humans directly, Cupid does note that god "has a plan for all mortals", and they serve that somehow. Plus, Cupid can totally slide extra love into people's minds, making them more lovey, I guess? Cupid themself describes free will as a hotly debated topic among gods, but the odds aren't looking good. Things begin to look especially bad when real-world religions get tangentially involved.
After all that, though, Cupid's role in the story is actually kind of small. Sure, they keep on making certain that Yael and Nora meet, and their scenes and narration early on are pretty funny, but aside from that it's hard to grasp what their plan is, in the moment-to-moment sense. The stuff they're doing, like the catnip scene wherein they're on their way to observe Nora and Yael's second meeting, it's kind of hard to tell how exactly this will bring our leads together. Plus by 75% Cupid has outright admitted that the two don't need their help anymore, so Cupid gets kind of superfluous later on, with few chapters, which blows.
The plot actually starts falling apart really badly in the middle third, which sucks. I assumed it was just a low-and-slow, no-conflict book, but naw. It's weird, because our protagonists meet in London, and then Yael is off to visit her parents (mostly plot irrelevant at that point) in Tel Aviv for a while, and then within two days of her getting back, Nora flies off to Thailand for *five months!* During this, she gets roped in with a kind of creepy guy on an extreme survivalist expedition in the jungle, (yes seriously) breaks her phone, gets stung or bit by some kind of fly or mosquito out of hell, gets venom'd, and has to rush to a hospital. Meanwhile Yael hasn't had a message from her in four days, so she FLIES DOWN THERE to see if Nora is okay, and then they just hang out at a fancy hotel.
It's a really bizarre (bizarre is in my vocabulary this week) book, in which the middle third reads like stakes had to be inserted *somewhere,* and to be fair Nora and Yael don't really have an external force to defeat, or an interpersonal conflict to overcome, or personal growth to achieve in order to be together; Cupid ordains it, I guess, so they're a match made in heaven, no problems. Very token feeling.
As a knock-on effect of this, of course, the OTP here don't really develop much. Both they and the plot just take IT WAS MEANT TO BE!!! as a given, and they're basically the same people in the same places by the end as they were at the start. I hate feeling like characters aren't progressing when reading a romance, because that's the entire point right? Maybe...
The other weird thing that happens in the back half is SUDDENLY RANDOM TRANS WOMAN! I'm sorry for being weird about this, but it's always Noteworthy to me whenever I'm reading something that's not at all trans related, but The Trans® pops up anyway, y'know? Makes my eyebrows go up. There is a single sentence stapled right onto the front of the chapter in which we meet her, "Miss Mai was a trans woman", that is so out of place that I snorted. Could Yael just "tell" in some nonspecific way? Did Miss Mai use a trans flag as a tent cover or something? Did she mention it??? It was weird; the rest of the chapter is mostly this psychic, mystic lady giving Nora and Yael breadcrumbs about what fated mates they are and how people can make choices but always have their destinies, and shit. Easily the single oddest thing in this book.
In terms of the plot, the other job that Miss Mai has (goodbye!) is to foreshadow the thing where Yael comes out to her parents. They're pretty "traditionally" Jewish (kind of like a bizarro world version of Milk Fed, this bit) or whatever, and basically affect a don't-ask-don't-tell with Yael, which is lame, so that's the final plot thread in the book to take care of. It doesn't actually feel all that bad, as far as coming out to parents goes; it actually made me feel really moody and morose and sad, so surprisingly it's hitting the mark very well, 'grats to the author. Still though, it feels weird that this whole coming-out is what the book seemed to be leading up to, the core plot for the last 15%. Was this the entire point? Nora and Yael's first kiss and making things official both feel way less momentous, which makes the plot feel lopsided, like them getting together was just a formality to take care of. Not a very fulfilling romance, I'm afraid...
This really sucks, because the gimmick is so good that I grabbed the book based on that alone, and first half is so promising! It's funny and relaxing and charming! Goofy and entertaining! I actually really like pretty much all of the dialogue in this thing, and I can't say for sure why. Nora and Yael just have a chill, low-speed and friendly vibe that I enjoy a lot. But my investment wavered late in the story's runtime, which is never a good sign, and the plot didn't really recover from that. It's not bad, just... damn, y'know? My feelings about it are as messy and wobbly as the story itself is.
November 13, 2022
A stress free reading is priceless and who doesn't like cats? I'll tell ya: monsters /jk
I loved to see these two coming together to find a way to be a couple. For having friends who won't, as a rule, fill their head with insecurities. Level-headed people. I appreciate Lise for making characters like that and for describing the places and situations with such detail and care. Make things even more enjoyable.
I loved to see these two coming together to find a way to be a couple. For having friends who won't, as a rule, fill their head with insecurities. Level-headed people. I appreciate Lise for making characters like that and for describing the places and situations with such detail and care. Make things even more enjoyable.
January 15, 2023
This book have it all. It is funny, hilarious sometimes and serious as well. The cat is adorable and funny with hilarious situations. Laughing out right. Jael and Nora are great personality's. Nora's adventures in Thailand are almost real, so you can smell the food. It's a great read.
February 22, 2023
Cupid makes an entertaining cat
I loved the descriptions of scenery and all of the bits of culture the author managed to incorporate in a way that didn’t feel forced. I also had fun reading Cupid’s chapters and, individually, I enjoyed Nora and Yael’s storylines. But I was underwhelmed by their relationship. Even acknowledging the role the universe may have played in their getting together the pacing of it all felt… off. From slowly getting to know one another and feeling more deeply than either would expect so soon to everything moving pretty quickly. I think it was the events that brought them together that pulled me out of the story. Maybe some would feel that Yael’s actions were sweet, but it felt like too much too soon.
Otherwise, I really enjoyed Yael’s storyline with her family and Nora’s vacation and relationship with her best friend.
I loved the descriptions of scenery and all of the bits of culture the author managed to incorporate in a way that didn’t feel forced. I also had fun reading Cupid’s chapters and, individually, I enjoyed Nora and Yael’s storylines. But I was underwhelmed by their relationship. Even acknowledging the role the universe may have played in their getting together the pacing of it all felt… off. From slowly getting to know one another and feeling more deeply than either would expect so soon to everything moving pretty quickly. I think it was the events that brought them together that pulled me out of the story. Maybe some would feel that Yael’s actions were sweet, but it felt like too much too soon.
Otherwise, I really enjoyed Yael’s storyline with her family and Nora’s vacation and relationship with her best friend.
October 10, 2022
I loved this book. But then, I love Lise Gold's stories. This is a romantic, adorable, fascinating story of two women who meet in a speed dating event. Yael, the dark tall Israeli, is dating someone so connections were not made at the time of the speed dating event. Nora, is intrigued by her but continues with her life. But they cannot stop thinking about each other. Cupid, in the earthly form of a cat, has definite plans for them. After looking online for each other for weeks, Yael finds Nora and gives her a like in a dating app. There is travel to Thailand, with vivid descriptions of locations, travel to Tel Aviv and they connect in a wonderful way to the story. Did I mention it is so romantic? Lise always knocks it out of the park with her stories. This one is no exception.
January 8, 2024
Cupid is a Cat
Lise Gold is very creative with this book. I loved Toby as Cupid and his involvement with the MCs. I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I read this book, but it was an incredible journey that I enjoyed. Watching the MCs grow and just accept the unusual was intriguing. I appreciated the thought of continuing to find more spiritual happenings around them together. I wish we could have had more of the relationship at home, but I understood and appreciated the ending as well. I will continue to follow Gold and look forward to what's next.
Lise Gold is very creative with this book. I loved Toby as Cupid and his involvement with the MCs. I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I read this book, but it was an incredible journey that I enjoyed. Watching the MCs grow and just accept the unusual was intriguing. I appreciated the thought of continuing to find more spiritual happenings around them together. I wish we could have had more of the relationship at home, but I understood and appreciated the ending as well. I will continue to follow Gold and look forward to what's next.
October 13, 2022
What a cute, lovable story! You love Yael and Nora, and of course Cupid! I read this book straight through, as time seemed to stand still it's so good! 5 stars!
October 8, 2022
Beautiful and Romantic story
A beautiful story about what it meant to be it will no matter what. A very romantic and intimate love story about soulmates over passing any difficulties. I fully enjoyed it and the ending is absolutely wonderful. Amazing book Lise Gold!!!
A beautiful story about what it meant to be it will no matter what. A very romantic and intimate love story about soulmates over passing any difficulties. I fully enjoyed it and the ending is absolutely wonderful. Amazing book Lise Gold!!!
March 16, 2025
I couldn’t put this book down! The story was so well written, with a charming plot that kept me hooked from start to finish. The characters were lovable and felt so real, making it easy to connect with them. The romance and interactions were simply adorable, adding to the book’s overall charm.
October 7, 2022
SOOO CUTE!!
Good story line and too cute for words!! Having Toby the cat really added to the story line. Gives hope.
Good story line and too cute for words!! Having Toby the cat really added to the story line. Gives hope.
April 21, 2025
5 stars. Another winner from Lise Gold! Ah, this was the cutest fucking story. I love Yael and Nora (and Toby the cat aka Cupid) so much. Just the sweetest love story. There’s no angst, no third act drama, just Yael and Nora falling in love and being lovely characters. This was so incredibly comforting and I already want to read it again.
October 2, 2022
A cute easy read romance written very well. I enjoyed the characters and there was an amazing sense of actually being in the places that they went. I was a bit dubious of the supernatural/spiritual element to the story but it actually worked really well and who couldn’t fall in love with a ginger cat!
I have not read anything by Lise Gold before but will be looking up more by her.
I have not read anything by Lise Gold before but will be looking up more by her.
October 2, 2022
Absolutely brilliant again from Lise Gold who is fast becoming my favourite author. I loved it and was really drawn into the beautifully described Tel Aviv and Thailand travel. Nora and Yael are meant for each other and it was wonderfully done! I would love more from Cupid and these two! Bravo 👏
October 2, 2022
Funny cute with a bit of magic cat.
September 30, 2022
Wonderful!
I loved this story because it was unusual and quite believable. Yael and Nora’s love for each other was so believable and I loved going to Thailand and Tel Aviv with them as they fell deeply in love. Lise Gold is excellent at creating wonderful lesbian heroines. I couldn’t wait to see where the Toby the kitty would appear next.
I loved this story because it was unusual and quite believable. Yael and Nora’s love for each other was so believable and I loved going to Thailand and Tel Aviv with them as they fell deeply in love. Lise Gold is excellent at creating wonderful lesbian heroines. I couldn’t wait to see where the Toby the kitty would appear next.
September 8, 2023
Cupid is a Cat by Lise Gold and narrated by TJ Richards is a low angst, humorous romance set in multiple locations. The exquisite writing, scene setting and narration kept me thoroughly entertained and engaged throughout. The magnetic personalities of the main characters, Yael and Nora, drew me into their world. Toby the cat is very entertaining and amusing.
I would highly recommend this light hearted book.
I would highly recommend this light hearted book.
November 5, 2022
Cupid is a cat is an adorable contemporary romance with little angst and no drama.
The story is told from three different third-person points of view. Nora, Yael, and Cupid all have distinct voices. The chapters were very quick and switched points of view which work well to progress the story.
I loved Cupid taking the form of Toby the fat, ginger cat. His antics as a cat were funny and made me smile.
Nora and Yael's instant connection when they met at the speed dating event was surprising for both of them. Neither woman are able to stop thinking about the other and with some divine intervention by Cupid, are able to finally reconnect.
Their relationship development happens quickly but based on the plot of this novel, it works.
Lise Gold's descriptions of the scenery, food, and people in Thailand were fantastic and really helped to enhance this story.
Cupid is a Cat is a sweet, heartwarming romance that provides all of the feels a reader craves in a romance. There's no unnecessary drama and angst which is perfect for this book. When Yael and Nora have their second date, they both know deep down that they've found a love to last a lifetime. They're honest and forthcoming about their wants, desires, and fears. They work together to establish a foundation for their fledgling relationship that is believable and real. Lise Gold has written another stellar romance!
The story is told from three different third-person points of view. Nora, Yael, and Cupid all have distinct voices. The chapters were very quick and switched points of view which work well to progress the story.
I loved Cupid taking the form of Toby the fat, ginger cat. His antics as a cat were funny and made me smile.
Nora and Yael's instant connection when they met at the speed dating event was surprising for both of them. Neither woman are able to stop thinking about the other and with some divine intervention by Cupid, are able to finally reconnect.
Their relationship development happens quickly but based on the plot of this novel, it works.
Lise Gold's descriptions of the scenery, food, and people in Thailand were fantastic and really helped to enhance this story.
Cupid is a Cat is a sweet, heartwarming romance that provides all of the feels a reader craves in a romance. There's no unnecessary drama and angst which is perfect for this book. When Yael and Nora have their second date, they both know deep down that they've found a love to last a lifetime. They're honest and forthcoming about their wants, desires, and fears. They work together to establish a foundation for their fledgling relationship that is believable and real. Lise Gold has written another stellar romance!
September 21, 2023
**Audiobook Review**
This light & lovely story can only make your day!
I love TJ Richards' narration.
She has such a playful lightness in her voice and always a smile that never seems out of place. On the contrary!
The characters are even more likeable and lovable.
She is extremely good at giving different voices and accents.
The story is a funny, romantic adventure „light“ ;)
Two hearts destined for each other are brought together in a funny way by the most untypical Cupid. They are adorable!
They captured my heart!
When the time finally comes, sparks fly and the roof catches fire!
Lise Gold painted beautiful images in my head from Yael’ss and Nora's travels!
This light & lovely story can only make your day!
I love TJ Richards' narration.
She has such a playful lightness in her voice and always a smile that never seems out of place. On the contrary!
The characters are even more likeable and lovable.
She is extremely good at giving different voices and accents.
The story is a funny, romantic adventure „light“ ;)
Two hearts destined for each other are brought together in a funny way by the most untypical Cupid. They are adorable!
They captured my heart!
When the time finally comes, sparks fly and the roof catches fire!
Lise Gold painted beautiful images in my head from Yael’ss and Nora's travels!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews