4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



What the Cat Dragged In by Kate McMurray is a delightful romantic comedy that perfectly balances humor, heart, and a touch of mystery. With a quirky premise, endearing characters, and a fast-paced plot, McMurray delivers a charming and fun read that’s hard to put down.

What I Loved:
The chemistry between the leads is absolutely fantastic. The romance is sweet and slow-burning, with a lot of playful banter and moments that feel both funny and genuine. I loved the way the relationship evolves, with both characters learning to open up and trust each other. Their connection feels real, which makes their journey together all the more satisfying.

The plot is refreshingly unique. It’s not just a straightforward romance—it also weaves in elements of mystery, particularly surrounding the cat that “drags in” more than just the usual unexpected items. McMurray does a great job mixing humor with a light mystery that adds depth to the story without overpowering the romance.

I also appreciated the witty writing. McMurray’s sense of humor shines through in the dialogue and descriptions, making for a fun, engaging read that kept me entertained from beginning to end.

What I Didn’t Love:
While the romance and plot are fun, there are times when the pacing can feel a bit uneven. Some sections could’ve used more depth, particularly when it comes to secondary characters or plot developments that seem to resolve too easily. At times, I wished for a bit more emotional complexity in certain moments.

Additionally, while the cat’s antics provide some humor, there were moments where I felt they overshadowed the deeper character development I was hoping for.

Final Thoughts:
What the Cat Dragged In is an absolute joy to read. It’s quirky, lighthearted, and full of heart, with memorable characters and a storyline that mixes romance with a dash of intrigue. McMurray has created a fun, feel-good story perfect for fans of rom-coms with a little extra something to keep it interesting.

Highly recommended for readers who love charming romances with a touch of humor and mystery!


❤️shaye.reads

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you want a lighthearted, funny romance featuring cats, this is a must read. There's some spice and off the charts chemistry making it hard to put down!

Recommended

This was about a cat cafe, and the cats were definitely the best part of this book. The romance was just okay, I liked the best friend’s brother trope but thought the characters weren’t very well developed.

This was a fun and fast-paced romance set in the charming world of the Whitman Street Cat Café. CAT CAFE??? I was so excited for that!!! The story revolves around Paige, who loves her job but struggles in her dating life, and Josh, a busy lawyer dealing with personal challenges. Their chemistry is effortless and endearing, despite complications arising from their relationship's connection to Paige's boss and friend, Lauren. While Lauren's character is less sympathetic, the obstacles Paige and Josh face feel realistic and relatable. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this light-hearted romance with its sweet happily ever after and lovable feline co-stars—a perfect read for fans of Hallmark movie romances and series enthusiasts alike.

This is a cute romcom with likable characters and a fun premise. I found it entertaining and a quick fun book that I would recommend.

Kates writing is hard to get through. It's choppy and stilted and I have a hard time staying in the story. Cute premise but a lot of hard work to get through the writing. :(

Book wasn't meant for me. Hopefully someone will enjoy it more than me. I will look into renting it in the future

this was a really cute romcom, it gave me a lot of my favorite tropes but the characters also somehow just fell a little short for me. I enjoyed it more than i thought i would but i wished it gave me a bit more. I am a huge fan of the best friends brother trope and i kind of held onto that while reading this

I loved this so much! This was a fun romance between a woman with bad dating experience and her best friend's brother.
Paige works at a cat cafe and runs into Josh and their connection is instantaneous — until the morning after when Paige sees pictures of Josh with Lauren, her best friend. Scared that a relationship with Josh would damage her friendship with Lauren, Paige tries ignoring her attraction to Josh but the more time they spend together the deeper their feelings will grow.
I loved the characters and I really understood the feelings and worries of both Josh and Paige. I also love the setting of a cat cafe! This was a beautiful rom-com that I highly recommend.

they had me at cat. i am a total cat fan and this book was good. I liked all of it. Enjoyed this read and will find more from this author. yeah.

I wanted to enjoy this book, I really did. But to me it just like it lacked the plot to keep me intrigued. It took me a while to even get through 40% of the book. It was hard to connect with the characters and feel any sort of dimension from them. Had higher expectations based on the cover :/

Thank you for sending this to me! Will submit my review on Goodreads once the paperback has come in. Originally wasn't able to submit here so am going to reread resubmit my review :) I really loved the book concept and cover is very appealing, will go nicely on my shelf display! Tossing up between 4 or 5 stars

This one was super cute! I picked it up solely because it had a cat on the cover, and I wasn't disappointed. (Although I was slightly disappointed by the amount of cat content...) But other than that, this was great! The main romance was adorable, the cat Cafe was even cuter, and the plot never got old. I'd definitely recommend it to both cat people and romance lovers!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

It was quite boring, not gonna lie. But i love cats and cafes and especially cats in cafes so i guess that's a plus. I'm not a big fan of the brother's best friend trope and i don't take it seriously as a "forbidden" romance, but this one was really cute. Overall, an okay book, not bad but definitely not my favorite either.

A fun and quick read for lovers of quirky romances and cats as characters. I especially loved the cat café and all of its four-legged residents.

This book started off great for me. I loved how Paige and Josh met. The spark between them was apparent right away. However, by the second half of the book Paige started to get on my nerves and I couldn't relate to her motives at all. The ending nicely wrapped up the book.

Honestly, I really wanted to like this book. Unfortunately it didn’t really capture my attention. I couldn’t connect with the characters. The writing style didn’t work for me. The cats were really cute, but other than that, I didn’t fall in love with this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

What The Cat Dragged In is the second book in the Whitman Street Cat Cafe' series. I had read the first one Like Cats And Dogs last summer and while I had mixed feelings about the main characters of that story, I had enjoyed the community that was formed. So when I saw the second book on Netgalley and saw that it was a best friend/brother/forbidden romance troupe I knew I had to give it a chance. Plus I really wanted to revisit the cat café again.

Paige Danvers is the event coordinator at the café. She is also a single woman trying to find love in Brooklyn. After multiple failed dates selected via dating apps, she is encouraged to find a distraction and decides to volunteer with a local cat rescue that traps feral cats. At the same time, Josh Harlow is a new lawyer in Manhattan and has been required to do volunteer work. He winds up at the same rescue program as Paige and there is immediate chemistry between them. They continue to spend time together after the program and everything is going really well...until the following morning when Paige discovers Josh is actually her boss Lauren's younger brother.

I was hooked on Paige and Josh from their first meeting. These two are cute together and they have chemistry. Of course, I knew the connection before they did and laughed on how everything was revealed. Paige is so dedicated to her job and her friendship with Lauren that she is willing to give up her happiness for it. Josh is also dedicated to his job and as a first year lawyer there is alot thrown at him. These factors play a role in rather or not Paige and Josh want to pursue a relationship. It also adds to the tension component when they start dating in secret even in front of Lauren. Paige and Josh are so sweet together and I enjoyed watching their relationship blossom.

What I did not enjoy was the drama. My main issue with the first book was the immaturity and the drama. And just like in the first book the majority of the drama comes from Lauren. How Lauren will react? How Lauren will feel? How will this effect their relationship with her? Forget the emotions of Paige and Josh - you know the actual people in this relationship. Paige would rather be miserable than step up to her friend and be her own person. I mean thankfully she does figure all this out and so does Josh which helps move the story along. It's just the drama was overdone and not needed.

What The Cat Dragged In returned me to a cute little cat café within a strongly formed community. It also allowed me to see Brooklyn through the eyes of the characters which was fun. I do wish there had been more focus on the relationship and less on the drama though. Regardless I will be back to visit the café again when the next story comes out.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange of an honest review.

What a fun read. Definitely recommend it.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. Hmm I just couldn't get into this book. I found the main female character just very very immature. She is suppose to be almost 30 and her thinking process and decisions make her act like she is 19. To me this book just threw "Woke" in your face and it just got to the point to where it was just obnoxious.