Like Cats and Dogs Kate McMurray a below average three star read. This is number one in the Whitman Street Cat café series and maybe I had too high expectations of it, but it fell flat in so many places. The best thing about this story is the pets, the fact it raised the awareness of animal shelters and re-homing, as well as feral cats and how much of an issue they can be and everything we can do to help them. That was the only part of the story I enjoyed, the rest just seemed to jump from I hate you to I literally jump you, it can be fun and romantic, but this just felt cold. I am sure some people will enjoy it, and I want to read the next in the series as I have enjoyed this authors work previously and I am just hoping that it was just Caleb and Lauren that left me cold.

I personally did not get into this book. The premise sounded adorable and I thought that I would love it, but the characters were not very likable to me and I did not enjoy them as a couple.

As always, I recommend that you read it and judge for yourself! :)

Lauren annoyed me way too much way too quickly for me to properly enjoy this. The way she acted towards Caleb, a vet, just for wanting to run tests on one of the cat cafe's cats...she had such an attitude because he *checks notes* was trying to make sure there wasn't anything seriously wrong with the cat? It was so off-putting! I love cats, I love cat cafes, so I'm usually very drawn to cat-loving characters, but she rubbed me the wrong way almost immediately.

I really wanted to love this one. There were things about the plot that made me think this would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, this one was a little bit of a miss for me.

I will start with the things I enjoyed. I am a huge lover of cats so I obviously loved reading about the cat cafe. I loved that this book highlighted the feral cat problem and talked about TNR. I thought the enemies to lovers trope was done well in the beginning of the book. There was a decent amount of steam to this one too if you like that.

Now on to the not so great things. I felt the entire beginning of their relationship was so rushed and out of nowhere. There wasn’t enough build up to me. I found their romance quite hard to believe. I never built a connection to the main characters and therefore was never really rooting for them. I think a lot more time could have been spent on the development of their relationship and feelings. It all just seemed so unbelievable to me.

2.5 Stars rounded up to 3.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

He's a veterinarian coming off a bitter divorce.
She's a manager of a cat cafe coming off a breakup.
The vet clinic and the cafe are neighboring businesses in Brooklyn, New York so the proximity is ripe for romance.

Like Cats and Dogs is told through the alternating perspectives of Caleb and Lauren. At times they could be unlikable, but when you had the opportunity to get into their heads and read their rationale, you could understand whey they said or did something that seemed harsh. I wish when Caleb was being rude we were in his mind and when Lauren was being off we were in her mind, but it was usually the opposite.

Caleb and Lauren argue, then hatef***, then try to decide if they want to make it more. Caleb states at one point that they spend more time arguing about their relationship than actually being in a relationship. I agree.

I liked reading about what was going on with cat rescue in Brooklyn.
The surrounding cast of characters allows for this to be a start of a series.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this one. As an animal lover (dog person specifically), I loved the possibility of two emotionally unavailable people, one who runs a cat cafe and the veterinarian next door, finding solace in each other. But the meandering plot and weak characters made me lose faith in the story.

Kate and Caleb start out with a wonderful amount of fiery chemistry, but that quickly dissipates as the “will they won’t they” conversation comes front and center, and lasts for way too long. There is an attempt at a subplot involving rich Brooklyn real estate developers trying to take over their quaint block, but I was never worried that that would jeopardize the status quo.

I enjoyed this book, but I would not recommend it.

I'm really sad to be DNFing this book at 25%. I was really hyped for this as an animal lover but the writing is incredibly wooden and awkward. I struggled to get into Lauren and Caleb's heads and, unfortunately, found myself cringing at the dialogue.

The concept and setting are both super cool, but I couldn't get past the writing to enjoy them, unfortunately.

I received this ARC from net galley in exchange for an honest review. This is a cute, but predictable story of love between Lauren and Caleb. If you are an animal lover and enjoy the rivalry to lovers plot, you will enjoy this quick read!

A huge thanks to Sourcebooks Casablance and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. Oh man, this book cracked me up and made me believe that the cute barista I always butt heads with is into me *sigh* Like Cats and Dogs tells the story of cate cafe owner Lauren Harlow and the cute Vet Caleb Fitch. From the onset, they are just rubbing each other the wrong way but they definitely into each other right!? The book has the perfect angst, banter, cheesy scenes,, and totally adorbs dog. I absolutely loved this book because it's just what a romantic at heart like me needs in her life . I recommend this book to anyone that loves s romantic story

What a fun enemies to lovers romance! Set in a quaint little neighborhood in Brooklyn that is largely untouched by excessive gentrification. The neighborhood is as important a character as the actual characters. This felt so much like a love letter to New York City or more specifically to Brooklyn.

Lauren is an independent and ambitious manager of a thriving Cat Cafe in Brooklyn & Caleb is the new doctor at the Vet Clinic next door. Both are coming off their own relationship disasters and weary of getting too involved with anyone new. After initial sparks fly, they quickly begin grating on each other and end up squarely in enemy territory. It doesn't take long for their heated exchanges to become a mutually satisfying secret enemies with benefits agreement.

The friend group and the other neighborhood residents and staff were interesting and fun additions to the story.

One of my favorite things about this story was all the cat and dog affection. Any story with this level of affection for pets and that has a not so subliminal adoption message earns high points!

Looking forward to more books from Kate McMurray!

Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC copy.

I enjoyed Lauren and Caleb's story very much. This was a beautiful enemies to lovers story, this couple was fun, sweet and extremely hot together!

First, I loved how much they both share a huge passion for animals, both helping the cause in different areas but still they cared a lot and they were supportive of each other's passions. Caleb was a sweetheart even when he didn't want to be, his doubts and hesitations about commitment and relationships were completely understandable. I loved how he was unconsciously giving himself a chance to get to know Lauren open a little crack for her in the big walls he put up around his heart.

I loved Lauren a lot, she was so passionate about what she did and she believed in what she did to help cats. She was also hesitant about giving love a chance, but she knew what she wanted and what she deserved and went for it. She also had an awful experience with past relationships but she definitely didn't let that define her or what she thought about love.

I love how it was Lauren who ended up teaching Caleb to have faith and trust that great things are possible when we dare to get out of our bubbles of fear, that joy is also part of love as much as pain and that Cats and Dogs can have a wonderful relationship when they are open to know each other. In the end, all of the things they disagree about were the things that made them complement each other. They were never really enemies , they just needed to know how to communicate better and give each other a chance.

This story was fun, sexy and super romantic.

I was kinda nervous when I started this book after reading some negative reviews, but truthfully I really enjoyed this book. I started this in a reading slump and it was one I actually wanted to pick back up.

Lauren runs a cat cafe in New York. Caleb is the new vet at the vet clinic next store. These two definitely get off to a rocky start, and don’t agree on much. But all that arguing? Definitely gets them going. When what starts off as a casual just sex thing starts to turn into more, can they make the commitment? Or will they walk away?

Based on the description on good reads, I definitely thought they were going to be working together more to fight off the investor who wants to buy the building, which I was looking forward to. But overall I enjoyed the book. It was light easy romance novel and included pets👏🏻

Rating: 🧪🧪🧪🧪/ 5

Thank you @netgalley and @sourcebookscasa for an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is out May 4, 2021!

When a grumpy new vet moves to Brooklyn and starts working at a clinic beside a cat café, things will never be the same for Lauren in this novel, Like Cats and Dogs. Caleb and Lauren almost immediately start fighting "like cats and dogs" and well, one thing leads to another and you all know where this one is going to lead, folks.

The adorable cover caught my eye on this one and the synopsis wasn't so bad either. I was thinking this was going to be an enemies-to-lovers themed book with some adorable animals, but alas it was more.. acquaintances who don't really get along as opposed to enemies.

Caleb's character was very set in his ways and always assuming he was right, which came off as kind of jerk-y, but honestly Lauren was more annoying to me. Every little thing Caleb did, he was immediately a jerk, he was immediately the one in the wrong, never her. Caleb was just, you know.. being a guy and Lauren would jump down his throat.

Anyway, it was an easy read (despite several spelling mistakes or grammatical errors), however it just didn't hit the mark. The characters weren't overly enjoyable and the premise just didn't do it for me. It also at times felt rushed for no reason.

Unfortunately, another rating of 2/5 stars from me for this book from NetGalley.

This is the Enemies With Benefits style, lol.

Once upon a time... there was Lauren, unapologetic cat lady, manager at a place called Cat Cafe, who had sworn off men after finding out that her ex, with whom she stayed together for 6 years, was moving on and getting rapidly married to a woman he barely knew. And then there was Caleb, a guy who had moved in into the block, was hired as the new vet for the clinic in front of the Cat Cafe, and who carried a lot of baggage from his tumultuous divorce. They had two things in common, they loved animals and couldn't stand each other.

Classical enemies to lovers story that super gave me the warm and fuzzy vibes kind of romance.

However, at 19% this book delivered such a steamy scene that made me go through a moment of disbelief. Don't get me wrong, I am always up for a very steamy story but after having both main characters strongly claiming that they had no intentions of getting involved with someone else at that particular moment and, five minutes later seeing them jumping each other's bones was a bit forced to me. The author did try to justify that, by making them say to each other that they were only blowing off steam nothing else, but it still felt forced and too soon.

After that happened though, this "enemies with benefits" (as they called) relationship did become more natural and Kate McMurray's writing became more fluid and neat. Lauren and Caleb's banter was funny to watch and heir hot moments were really good. I also appreciated so much how their love for animals was portrayed in here, it made me emotional from time to time.

All in all I had fun, it was a super fast read and even though it had its flaws and it's not my new favorite romance book, I'm totally willing to give this author another chance in the future.

I really liked this one. Thanks netgalley for an early copy! I love a good enemies to lovers & this one was no different! Loved it!

This book is for fans of Sally Thorne. It’s a sweet haters to lovers novel that shows that love isn’t like the movies. Everyone has baggage and everyone’s love story is different. It shows there isn’t a right and wrong way to fall in love. I knew from the first chapter that I was going to love this book. I got sucked right in and fell for the characters. I hope there are other books that involve the side characters love stories.

I’m a person who really enjoys the dramatic break ups and the heartfelt reunions. There wasn’t as much of a drama filled breakup as I would have liked but it was still very good. I do wish that the proposal was shown as well, but it was described in enough detail for me to picture it. I will definitely keep an eye out for more from this author and watch out for any that involve this world. I highly recommend this book.

This review will appear on my blog on May 4, 2021. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read it! I really loved it.

This book had so much potential. The beginning started out well, there was a right blend of angst, sexual tension but once the couple engaged in their first sexual encounter it all just fizzled away. The chemistry disappeared and everything just became awkward. I just don't see Lauren and Caleb working out long term. Any date just seemed awkward and they seemed to have very little in common besides a love of animals. This book had so much going for it but the execution was poor.

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

t is hard for me to rate a book I had no real connection with. You read the sentences, but that's all. It was neither here nor there. I did want to bash the heads of the MC's together a couple of times... as they kept wondering and arguing about the nature of their relationship.

I know the author put a lot of work in this story and I regret this is not for me.

I enjoyed this book a lot, even though I'm usually not into the enemies-to-lovers trope. Yes, Caleb is a bit of a jerk but that actually made for some funny interactions and steamy lovemaking. Overall it is a very entertaining romance with funny elements and of course the best of all: lots of charming animals.

Already recommended it to some of my romance-loving friends and fellow cat enthusiasts :)

4.5 rounded up to 5 stars from me!

A great easy read! The highlights were undoubtedly all the dogs and cats that featured in the cat cafe and the vet clinic, especially Hank and Sunday. With a backdrop of cute animals, and an inability to stop arguing, it's understandable that Lauren and Caleb gravitated together.
Lauren in particular was a strong, engaging main character, though I do feel like Caleb needed to do some serious soul searching before throwing himself back into dating again. It did endear him to me in a way though, he knew he wasn't ready for a real relationship with Lauren, and he was upfront about it and his reason why, even if he didn't go about it the right way.
Huge thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!