I don’t generally find myself reading RomComs, but I am always down to change things up. I knew going into this that there was bound to be a level of cringe, so I tried to get myself in the right state of mind. Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t an unbearable amount, but just enough to make me feel like I was reading a Hallmark movie. There’s nothing wrong with Hallmark movies, but at the end of the day, you pretty much know how they are going to go, and it’s never anything deep or of great substance.

I think the backbone of any good RomCom has to be overused tropes, and this book definitely uses those. It is the second in a series (whose first book was honestly hard for me to get through it was so cheesy) but other than some overlapping characters, they could also be stand-alones. This second book had secret dating, and basically the whole plot was driven by miscommunication. I was pleasantly surprised by it though. After not loving the first one, I thought this book was going to be slightly more painful. It sadly lacked in spice, but it made up for it in cuteness.


One of the most interesting aspects of this book was the perspective shift. It wasn’t shifting from person to person, but the 3rd party narrator was almost shifting from telling the story from Paige’s POV to Josh’s. I think this was a really great way to get both sides of the story, but Josh’s side of the narration deeply feel like it was written by a man, despite the fact that this book was written by a woman. I felt like the author tried really hard to make it sound like it was really from a guy’s mind, and so the way he talked about Paige’s body made him sound like a horny 14 year old boy.


Me, looking for the spice
Though, in the end, I did not come out of this book feeling like I had just read the next great love story of our time, I did enjoy myself. It was a cute, easy read, and exactly what I expected to get out of a RomCom. Though I wish there had been more than one highly disappointing spicey scene, it was still rather enjoyable (maybe it’s just me, but I always expect some spice with my cringe). This would be a great book to read if you want to take a break from more complex books, or you just need something to read to pass the time.

Narration
The narrator for this book was Suehyla El-Attar Young, and she did a fairly good job of it. I could tell she tried to give the characters their own voices, but after a while they all sort of sounded the same. There was one character who was given a very strong New York accent, seemingly out of nowhere, but I wish there had been more accents or voice distinction throughout.

For my second audio book ever, I chose a romantic comedy. I figured it would be something easy to follow, and that it would help me hone my audio book listening capacity. I wasn’t expecting to like the book, honestly; I find myself often frustrated at what romance books teach us, indirectly or directly, about the nature of romantic relationships. And I have to be honest, I might not have captured everything like I do when I read a book.

But from what I registered, I feel it was rather healthy of a read, in that there was no big drama, rather just the discomfort of a new relationship settling in. The main complication was that the sister had to get used to the idea of her best friend dating her brother. She didn’t deal with it in the most mature way, but at the same time, I didn’t feel it was over the top dramatic. It felt like what I would potentially go through if a friend of mine starting dating one of my siblings. And the issue was dealt with time and conversations, which is such a healthy way of dealing with potential tension. The characters were engaging and I really felt invested in everything finishing well, which really caught me by surprise.

I don't typically enjoy audiobooks but this book definitely made me want to give audiobooks a try. I loved the story between Josh and Paige. I must say, listening to spicy scenes...is different [in a good way]. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. It's a lighthearted, funny, and delightful romance.

Based on the cute cover, I knew I was in for a cute romance....but there are definitely some more spicy elements to this one that I didn't expect. It was a super fun read, and a cute overall story. I also love all the cat love.

This was spicier than I anticipated and I loved every part of it! I was expecting cute and surface level but I really enjoyed it. I liked the cat aspect as I’ve found most people incorporate dogs so I highly recommend

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy. I liked the book, but I didn’t fall in love with the characters. Paige and Josh just didn’t seem that realistic, as adults, if you’re really interested romantically, you wouldn’t let a sibling get that involved in your live life and decisions. The book kinda fell flat because of this for me.

It was a cute story about a events planner who works at the Cat Café. Love the idea of the cat Café. Her boss and best friend has a brother in his 1st year as a lawyer who is extremely busy.

He doesn't have time for a life or relationship. She picks bad online date after another. When one evening they meet and realized they have a lot in common and get along so well.

The only problem is Josh is Paige's bosses brother. They don't know how she would take them seeing each other and he has no time to date but what do you do when there's a spark?

Its a cute fast pace romance. It feel a little short for me and I would of loved for more from the cat café.

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
What the Cat Dragged In by Kate McMurray
Rating: ⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 320 / Genre: RomCom / Narrator: Suehyla El-Attar Young

Event planner of a cat cafe looking for love in Brooklyn. Hooks up with a lawyer who happens to be the brother of her best friend and boss. Sounds like it would be a cute distraction from my usual diet of murder and sci-fi, but meh. The only roadblock to their big hot romance was the sister/boss who couldn’t accept that her best friend was dating her brother. Why the hell not? That whole thing was just dumb and unbelievable and pretty much ruined the book since that was the whole plot of the book. Narrator Suehyla El-Attar Young did a nice job with the material she had.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Dreamscape media and to Netgalley for an advanced audiobook of What the Cat dragged in by Kate McMurray.

This book was so cute. The narration and quality of the audio was great and I really enjoyed listening to it. Now, I’m definitely a dog person, but the cat cafe was so cute. And I LOVED the fact that the cats were named after characters from Jane Austen novels!

I really liked Paige and Josh! Both characters were great and I loved the development of their characters. I also really enjoyed the group of friends and could read more about them. I liked that the characters wanted to follow their passions when it came to their careers and it was nice that the had the privilege of doing so. The pacing of the relationship, or maybe more so the depth/extent of their feelings, seemed a little fast, but over all I enjoyed it and was rooting for the couple!

Rating: 3.5- rounded up to 4

What the Cat Dragged In is the 2nd book in the Whitman Street Cat Cafe series. It was a very cute forbidden romance. I had not read the 1st book in the series but was able to understand the friendships and the group without it. I enjoyed this book and the characters so I did go back and listen to the 1st book in the series as well. Overall, a fun romance book with the Cat Cafe in Brooklyn as a backdrop. Lots of NYC references, specifically Brooklyn, but other boroughs as well.

My Review: First off, how has no one been bringing this book up to me? It has cats and romance! Secondly, it is the second book in the series! How have none of you told me about a romance series set in a cat cafe? I am so disappointed in all my book friends right now! Anyway, on with the review, besides the adorable cover and title, the story inside was just as adorable. I really enjoyed the characters and how even though they are in two totally different industries of work, they both struggle to find a work/life balance, something many people can relate to in their own lives. The attraction and steam in this one is nearly instant, but the romance and relationship itself simmers nicely, building off conversations, rescue cats and city adventures. You don't need to have read the first book in the series to enjoy this one but the relationships introduced in the first book are continued in this one so it would be nice to be familiar with all of them. I, for one, will be going back and picking up the first book and will be following this series avidly as it continues!

My Rating: I really enjoyed this one, I like the neighborhood like setting, the close knit friend and family dynamics and, of course, the cats! I give this one a rating of Four Paws!

This was a fun cute read. I love a good book featuring a fury cat. They are the best animal! And should be featured in every book!

I enjoyed What The Cat Dragged In: it wasn't a perfect read but the plot flowed smoothly and easily and the main characters were likable. I did not know this was the second book in a series until going to write this review so this is definitely something you do not need to have read the first book in order to enjoy. I listened to the audio version and the narrator was excellent.

Story: Paige Danvers works at a cat cafe organizing marketing events to keep the business successful. But outside of her work, her love life is a mess. Nearing 30, she has gone on a long string of fruitless dates and just can't seem to find the right guy. Until she volunteers at a cat TNR night (trap, neuter, return) to help curb the unwanted kitten population. There she meets the incredibly sexy but nice lawyer Josh Harlow and they spend the night together with hot sex. But then Paige finds a picture of Josh with her best friend and boss Lauren - who turns out to be Josh's sister. Paige knows Lauren will not take it well that she is sleeping with her brother; but at the same time, she is very intrigued by Josh.

Most of the story can be frustrating: it's a one note of a rather non important conflict of Lauren not wanting Paige to date her brother. It felt a bit odd since most best friends I've known would go nuts to have a best friend turn into a sister in law. As well, it is hard to make Lauren look sympathetic when she knows Paige is a great person for Josh and Josh would be good to Paige. It felt like artificial melodrama to have Paige constantly try to dump Josh because of Lauren (who was the heroine of the previous book in the series).

That said, it is a smooth and easy book to follow and neither character is dumb. Paige and Josh are hard working good people just trying to find their way in the world. The setting is NYC and there was definitely a NYC vibe that could be felt throughout.

If I really had a complaint, it is that the cat cafe and the animal side of the story really didn't play all that much into the story. Paige and Josh are oddly afraid of stray cats and make a lot of remarks about being mauled that felt odd rather than funny. There was no real love of cats at all. I would have liked more on that side of the story.

I listened to the Audio narration and the narrator did an excellent job with the voices and acting. I highly recommend the audio version for that reason. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Cute story. Plot line is kind of slow in spots but I didn’t mind it at all. I fell in love with the characters and cheered for them to be together as both of their situations were relatable. Overall good read.

I enjoyed this audiobook- the narrator did a great job!
This one at the end I just wanted them to talk way more! But its a cute one with closed door steam.
A lot of cats :) and loved all the Jane Austen names.

I listened to the audio version and liked this book. I did not realize it is part of a series. This book stood perfectly well on its own.
Enjoyed the cat cafe and the couple meeting as feral cat trapping volunteers.
I enjoyed the romance and the interplay between the two main characters.
There seems to be something wrong with the timeline of the story. The woman apparently had a corporate job for 10 years and she graduated from college. I assume she got the corporate job after graduation, yet she is 28 years old. She gave it all up to work in a cat cafe as an events planner. How long has she been working there maybe a year at the least? Unless this woman graduated from college at 16 or 17 years old, the timeline fails. Things like this annoy me because the author did not bother to work through her own story to determine if it makes sense. Maybe the editor (if there was one) missed it too? Maybe I missed something?
Another plot hole is the enormous amount of angst the female lead invested in dating her boss's brother. BTW, her boss is also "one of her best friends", a fact that was reiterated a few too many times. If this woman is so worried about dating her boss's brother, why is she working for her best friend? That is the more potentially disastrous situation. No mention of this at all in the story.
I am able to suspend disbelief to a point; however, these two issues create a conflict that undermined the story for me.
If you like romance and can overlook stupid problems, this is a fun book.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

🎧 Audiobook Review 📖
What The Cat Dragged In
By: Kate McMurray
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Another one that isn’t part of my holiday reading list, but a great listen all the same!

Paige is an event planner working for her best friend Lauren at her cat cafe. She’s had some shit luck in the dating game, she her boss encourages her to volunteer her time at a cat rescue so she can meet some actual people.

Josh is an overworked lawyer who is trying to have a life. His prestigious law firm requires him to do volunteer work in addition to 80 hour weeks, so his sister hooks him up with a cat rescue.

In a shockingly predictable twist, Josh is Lauren’s brother! And guess what?! He and Paige, meet, hit it off, and end up falling for each other. Too bad they’re both too chicken shit to tell Lauren.

This is your typical cutsie romance book, but it’s a quick, funny read that I enjoyed. Bonus, it’s actually a sequel book, which means I’ll have to read the first one!!

Enjoyed but did not love this book. It is a feel good, easy read romance however I just could not believe the main conflict and felt it had dragged on throughout the book. I did not know this was the second in a series until I was finished and will definitely be going back to read the first to connect with background characters from this story. You could easily read this as a standalone.

If you love love, cats, and are looking for an easy listen (excellent audio performance) or read, this is the one for you.

This was such a sweet book! I loved that the main character worked in a cat cafe. I thought the romance was sweet and I always love a good best friend’s brother trope. I felt like the struggles that each character was going through were very relatable, particularly Josh’s struggle with money and wanting to do good in the world with his job. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to a friend!

I loved the book it was so cute almost a love first sight thing but not quit I loved the audiobook too it was very well read by the narrator and it was a good listen