I think the author was onto something with this book, but the execution ultimately fell flat for me. I loved that the cat café was central to the story, but the chemistry between the two main characters just wasn’t there. This was a cute book though, and I think this author has some real potential.

When I read the summary of this book I was expecting lots of drama but nothing special happened. I shipped the both MC but felt like they should have more chemistry/more scenes of them together.
The book wasn‘t bad but it‘s also not my favorite.

This book was interesting in that the story was told in third person omniscient but not broken up by point of view. I think it would have been easier to follow and also more engaging to have Paige and Josh’s perspectives separately more clearly. The characters themselves were compelling but I didn’t feel as if their relationship was sufficiently developed. The feelings discussed (especially Paige’s) seemed to kind of come out of nowhere without building them up throughout their relationship. Overall, it was a book I finished but not one I felt strongly about.

This book was very cute. I didn't love the way the sex scenes were written but it was fine because everything else was adorable. Also, I feel as though Paige's struggle at the end lasted a bit too long but that's just me.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I came for the cats, but didn't really stay for them, unfortunately. The (rather simplistic?) writing style just didn't suit my tastes and it was flat from the start, which didn't really improve from there.

I really enjoyed this book and thought it was SUPER cute! If you love cats, chick lit, and food descriptions, then you should pick up this book! It has multiple points of view, so we watch the romance blossom from both perspectives! It was cute and just really enjoyable! I will absolutely buy the next book by this author!

This book did not work for me at all, and if it weren't an ARC, I would not have finished it. I read the entire thing waiting for something to happen, and despite this being a romance, the two main characters had literally zero chemistry.

I will start with the good. What kept me reading was Josh. I loved his character; he was sweet, cared about his family, is thoughtful, and super funny. Aka, he is my dream guy. I honestly wanted better for him than Paige.

Now that I did not like about this book:

Right off the bat, I noticed that the POV switches a bit too often for my taste. I think I would prefer longer chunks with each character. I love duel POV books, but this one gave me whiplash. I feel like we did not have time to get to know either character and get inside their heads. Now, this next point might be more of a me problem but I hated the whole premise of "I can't date my friend's brother" This trope normally doesn't work for me so I am not super shocked that I wasn't crazy about the set up of this book.

The Setting: I am sorry, but if I read one more rom-com set in NYC, I will scream. The authors do know that other cities exist, correct? I feel like the author spent too much time describing different parts of Brooklyn. This ties into another issue I have with the book... the very dated Friends references. As one character says "Not everything in life relates back to Friends.”

The biggest problem I had with this book was Paige, she was totally spineless and wishy-washy throughout the book. Like I can understand why her love life is so bad. Like a good thing happens to her and she keeps self-sabotaging. And I know that people do that all the time but she annoyed me so much because Josh deserves better.

“Josh.” Paige pinched the bridge of her nose and furrowed her brow. She looked like she was in physical pain. “I don’t know what to tell you. I hate how I feel right now. I don’t want to say goodbye to you, but I don’t see a way for this relationship to work.”

Like why? there were literally no barriers in their relationship I hate when made-up drama splits characters in a romance novel. And there was not enough groveling!! Like if there was ever a moment for a grand gesture this was one!

I'm actually really disappointed because based on this description the book really should have worked for me but it did not.

Sourcebooks Casablanca....
Thank you for this enjoyable, fun story!

-Sadly enough I have not read book one!
I don't think I really had to in order to jump straight into this one!

This was a fun, quick, cute, entertaining read!
I had so much fun reading.
The characters in this book are lively, spontaneous, enjoyable amusing and I couldn't get enough!
Paige and Josh I loved them together!
And was rooting for them throughout this book.
What I enjoyed the most was the little surprises that popped up throughout this book!
Which added more fun to the reading experience... IMO.
My only thing would be that I felt this was sorta a little on the slow burn side.
Which some if not most love! Just my personal opinion!
But still nonetheless a very good story!
Loved how Kate wrapped the ending up!

Overall I loved it! Fun, original, cute story!

🌟🌟🌟🌟.5

The second book in the Whitman Street Cat Cafe series is a great follow up! This book follows Paige the cafe's amazing events planner and Josh a new attorney with zero time for unpacking much less dating. This story was so full of heart and heat that it was staggering. Josh is coming off a major break up and has zero time and Paige is known among her friend group as a failed serial dater who is looking for something more. On top of everything Josh's sister, Lauren is Paige's best friend and boss!!

Lauren is a big personality and is totally against a relationship between her best friend and her brother so the set off on secretly dating until things come out in the open. I loved the build up after their first meeting and how they keep finding time for each other in small and big ways. The story was unpredictable and gave me some big surprises as well as made me smile so much!! These two were such a good pair. I loved catching up with some of the carry over characters from book 1 as well.

There were some incredibly adorable moments, some painful and frustrating moments, and some really spicy moments that rounded out this awesome book! I'm looking forward to more from Kate McMurray!!

When Paige Danvers isn't managing events for the Whitman Street Cat Café, she is busy navigating dating disasters as a single woman in Brooklyn. Urged by her boss and best friend Lauren to find a distraction from ineffectual dating apps, Paige volunteers with a cat rescue organization, where she actually meets a guy with some real relationship potential.

One problem: after a steamy night together, Paige discovers Josh is Lauren's brother and dating him would be a spectacularly awful idea. Particularly considering Paige's track record. They're both in too deep to walk away—but if they let the cat out of the bag, it's going to wreak havoc with friends, family, and jobs alike.

I love books about lawyers and animals so this is a big plus for me. Both characters are actually nice and likable. I wish there were a bit more drama because I love drama in books. But it was a nice and fun rom-com for me.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

This book had so much potential. I really enjoyed the beginning of the book, especially how Paige and Josh met! I love cats and have two cats of my own, so I'm a sucker for anything with cats. I love the idea of a romance centered around cats, especially with a cat cafe, however, I had trouble staying engaged with the story. The setup for the relationship was great, especially how they had a one night stand and then discovered Paige worked for his sister, Lauren. Unfortunately, the book lost me after that because most of the book consisted of Josh and Paige going on normal dates, cooking at home, talking in bed, and I just found myself not caring. I understand Josh is really busy as a lawyer, but I would have preferred more interesting dates, and some excitement.

I also had a little trouble with the writing style. The book is written in 3rd person and tended to jump from different perspectives rather often, which made it difficult to connect with the characters and really understand how they're feeling. For example, in one paragraph the author would write that Paige thought blah, blah, blah, and Josh thought blah, blah, blah. I would have preferred to stay in one character's POV longer to really understand them.

As I said, this book has a lot of potential and I do think some people would really enjoy it, especially if you're a lawyer and love cats. If you're going in wanting a simple, cute romance then I think you will enjoy this.

Thank you NetGalley for providing a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

To sum this book up in one word: boring. This is a pretty straight forward, paint by numbers, formulaic, romance novel. However there was just no real drama or even connection with the characters. I found myself not caring about anyone in this book. What makes it worse is the author had plenty of opportunity to really make this a juicy novel. The ex-GF could have come into play more heavily. The evil developer could have had a more prominent role. Even the hiding the relationship from the sister could have played a bigger part. However none of this really happened. This essentially was like a boring mundane, realistic dating story.. Two people meet, kind of date for a while, have some fights and issues, and make up and get into a relationship. Which is great for real life, but in a novel where we are trying to escape from reality, I just wanted a bit more drama or angst. Which is why I sum this book up as boring. I felt like I read this book in a hour, cause nothing of note really happened. I will say though the book is well written and well edited. The plot just isn't that good. For that I give it 2 stars, I will not be re-reading this book. Ill definitely give the author another chance though, because she did display a real talent.