Cover Image: Alfie the Holiday Cat

Alfie the Holiday Cat

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A really delightful and upbeat read for all ages. You are taken on Alfie's adventure and I personally couldn't put it down. His journey faces several problems where you can really relate to him and I would recommend this book to many!

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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!

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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.

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DNF at 22%. I loved the first book in this series, but I feel the books have got very repetitive with the adults bumbling about and Alfie stepping in and making a grand plan to save the day. I’m sad to say this but I think this series has run its course. I might go back and finish this book at some point, but I feel a bit like I am forcing myself to do this out of loyalty because I used to love the series, rather than because I am desperate to find out what happens.

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Alfie the Holiday Cat
Alfie the Cat Series - Book 4

By Rachel Wells
Avon - November 2017
Fiction


Alfie's living about the best life a cat can live. He has three great families, and they are all friends. He now has a son, George, that he and his one family adopted. And he has several friends, plus a girlfriend.
Life hasn't always been perfect, there have been challenges, but things are going well now. Then, his three families decide to renovate a holiday home. A nice home in a lovely village that is just perfect for everyone, including Alfie and George.
So off they all go for the summer at a cottage with the beach just in sight. The perfect getaway and safe place for the kids, and cats, to enjoy their summer while the adults take care of things, including overseeing the renovations. What could possibly go wrong?
Alfie is suspicious of the problems hampering the renovations. Their closest neighbor is trouble, and her cat is downright rude, making George's infatuation with her all the more bothersome. Plus, there is a suspicious odor in the home Alfie is determined to identify.
This all might be overwhelming for your average cat, but not for Alfie, the Holiday Cat.
Alfie the Holiday Cat was an absolute delight. I hadn't read the previous stories, and although Alfie refers to events in his past which certainly happened in those stories, those anecdotes just enhanced this story. Yes, Alfie is the main character, and he understands English, although his families sometimes use words and phrases that he doesn't quite understand, but he can figure their gist. It is just more difficult at times for him to convey his messages. I absolutely adored the story and plan to read the previous ones. My only comment is for US readers to not confuse the title and think this is a Christmas "holiday" story. Here, the title would probably be Alfie the Vacation Cat but this is set in England where taking a vacation is referred to as taking a holiday.

Kathy Andrico - KathysReviewCorner.com

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I always loved Alfie's book since the first one. This one was a really good one, full of tenderness and love. These book are a real heartwarming and a page turner. I was really happy to read it and a bit sad when it was over.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books

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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.

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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.

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Alfie the holiday cat was quite a delightful read, I struggled a bit partway through the story but did seem to pick up half way through.

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It is Christmas Day and Claire can’t wait for her family to wake up and enjoy their day. Her two young children Toby and Summer have been so excited and so have their cat Alfie, (previously known as The Door Step Cat in book 1 of the ‘Alfie’ series) and his little kitten George. They are full of expectancy and the wonder of the festive season. Claire is super excited too as she has been keeping a secret to herself, but she will not be divulging it until much later in the day.
Meanwhile Alfie’s other two families, who also live in Edgar Road and share Alfie’s love, are also enjoying a magical Christmas. Polly and Matt and their two children Henry and Martha live nearby and so does a Polish family Alfie also befriended when he was homeless, Tomasz and Franceska and their two boys Aleksy and little Tomasz. Claire’s secret will amaze them and soon the three friends will have such a lot to talk about and plan. It will be a real adventure and the buzz will be fantastic.
Christmas Day is soon almost over and it’s at last time for Claire to divulge her secret to Jon. Her Great Aunt Claire, after whom she was named, has left her a large cottage by the seaside in Devon. Claire is beyond ecstatic. It is where she went on holiday in her childhood and she can’t wait to show it to her own family. She has such happy memories and can’t wait to share this little piece of paradise with her family. It has been empty for a while and is pretty shabby, but once it is renovated it will be such a rare prize. Jon is understandably concerned about taking up such a massive scheme, but when their friends hear about it, a solution presents itself: the other two families will contribute equally to the expenses of the alterations in return for a share in the holiday cottage, which actually has a bit of land and is big enough to accommodate all of the adults, all of their children and the two cats as well.
It’s soon settled, plans are made, the builders are hired and everyone, including the two cats, are looking forward to the summer holiday, long lazy days of sunshine, making sandcastles and playing and working together. But there is a fly in the ointment and George will need all of his skills, ingenuity and lots of help to keep his three families safe; his life time work and commitment, as there are many, many setbacks and a scheming plot to drive them all back to London.
‘Alfie the Holiday Cat’ is the fourth heart warming novel in the ‘Alfie’ series. Everyone in the centre of Alfie’s heart is with him in his holiday home and it is lovely that their characters are so familiar. The new characters are people in the community, neighbours, workmen and locals who also play a major part in this story. The story is easy reading and told entirely from Alfie’s point of view. There are no shocking twists, just a story about how Alfie comes to the rescue when things go wrong and his love of his human family. I enjoyed reading it and would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Avon for my copy of this novel, sent in return for an honest review. It’s a 7/10 from me.

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