Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Contemporary Romance

Five years ago, Mark broke Lindsay’s heart. Fast forward to the future when he takes a job as a pastry chef at her best friend’s cat café, Mark reenters Lindsay’s orbit and the two are forced to face their unresolved conflict and feelings.

The following review contains spoilers but I can’t really avoid that in order to convey my thoughts.

Second chance romance isn’t exactly my favourite trope but it can work for me. In order to do so, there needs to be genuine moments where one (and the other depending if we get multiple POVs which is the case here) have a reason to change their feelings towards the other. From the first time Mark sees Lindsay again he wants to clear the air about what really happened the night they broke up. Yet, the two are meeting in a professional setting so when he keeps making remarks about how he wants it to get personal I started suffering from second hand embarrassment. I nearly died when he tried to end the conversation thinking that asking her back to his place was a great idea.

Then the two encounter each other again and agree that clearing the air would probably be good. What would have been good was clearing the air at a coffee shop A restaurant? A mall? Somewhere with witnesses. Not going back to his apartment where you inevitably had sex immediately following 5 years of pent up anger towards him. It is obvious in a romance that the characters will end up together so reading a romance isn’t really about the end result but the journey we take in getting there. The rekindling of their romance just didn’t feel like a natural progression of conflict and associated feelings and I as a reader wanted to hide from the plot itself.

Lindsay had experienced a lot of emotional trauma as a result of her father’s adultery and was projecting onto Mark which was incredibly frustrating. To the point that I wanted to sit Lindsay down on my couch and start asking “well how did that make you feel?” Aside from both of them sharing a passion for cooking I’m also not really sure what the attraction between the two was.

I DNF’d halfway because the pacing didn’t work for me and I cared more about the stray cats in the café then I did the characters.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

good book and really enjoyed the characters and their journey. I liked the romance.. I enjoyed how the characters grew in the book and what happened.

3.5 stars
This was an ok read. I found Brad and Lindsey interesting characters and enjoyed reading their story. For the most part I liked both characters and understood where they were coming from. I loved the friends’ relationships that they both have. The premise was very interesting. I loved the cat café and the cats, they added to the fabric of the story. The epilogue was the best – getting to see the couple in their HEA and where their careers ended up, was greatly appreciated.

I wanted more from the romance than what we got. The story felt more about the friends and Lindsey’s career than it did about the actual romance between Brad and Lindsey. Yes, they were on page together, but for most of the story she kept pushing him away. I was tripped up a few times by the names – Lindsey (heroine) and Lauren (best friend).

I read this book as a stand-alone and didn’t feel like I was missing anything.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Chasing Your Tail is a nice second chance romance. Food writer Lindsay Somers has been avoiding her ex for years. When he takes a job at her friends cat cafe she has to decide if she can forgive and forget. The story starts off well as we get to know Lindsay and Brad and this issues that caused their break up years ago. The foodie world is interesting to read about and I liked the setting of the book because of it. I had a hard time connecting with Lindsay through out the story. I found her stubborn and unreasonable at times. However, the book is well written and the author creates a situation where both Lindsay and Brad have to grow and mature to make this relationship work.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the arc. This is my honest review

I unfortunately am coming away from this with a not so great opinion. First off, the writing was tough, between the pacing and the repetitiveness, which to me are two of the most important aspects, I had to push myself through. On top of that and more than anything I found the characters incredibly unlikeable. They felt immature and just not right for each other, the chemistry was off I guess you could say. I really wanted to like this but it just had too many faults against it.

I had such high hopes for this one given it's a second chance romance and I love those! Unfortunately, I was let down by the overall story and found the character motivation to be unbelievable and lacking. The characters lacked chemistry and depth. Sadly, this was a complete miss and overall disappointing.

This book was entirely forgettable. I remember some minor irritant scenes in which I felt things were contrived or even mean-spirited. Not a recommendation from me.

After reading the blurb over on NetGalley, I immediately, at first, put in a request to read this novel. At first glance at the blurb alone, it had the draw and appeal in what I like to read in a book. Mainly, romance and humour. Of course, there was the added bonus of second chance love with the main characters, Brad and Lindsay. All three elements promised a truly enjoyable read, but did those promises deliver?

The answer is yes and no.

From a personal perspective, I struggled to get in-tune with this novel. I wasn't gripped from the get-go like I usually am, and I had to plow on through to see if there would be a moment within that would redeem the slower than usual start. There was, but it was towards the latter end of the novel by which point I assume other readers would have DNF'd. Of course, each other writes the story they want to write, how they want to write it, and that is simply what has been done here. I greatly respect Kate's choice in doing her own thing the way she wanted to do it to tell the story, but it hasn't resonated with readers this time around, it seems.

One element that I would like to praise Kate on, which others seem to have done the opposite, is the character of Lindsay. Lindsay is a character full of insecurities, anxieties and most of all, trust issues. This was a hard no for a lot of readers, as after she on several occasions was posed with the truth and opportunities to clear the air, still had doubts and did not open herself to trust Brad. Usually within romance novels, at the first time of begging to be trusted or opportunity to clear the air, the woman has immediately forgiven the man, they'd kiss and usually end up in bed together. Lindsay and her issues represent some of us in society who have been through the wringer, several times, and openly show that they're nervous to trust again for various reasons. I loved this realistic representation of some of us women, rather than the romanticised version often portrayed in romance novels. The trick is with people and characters like Lindsay, is to not give up when things seem tough or 'too much'. We're worth pursuing and not giving up on, and I applaud Kate for not creating a character that would simply fall at a man's feet.

Speaking of our main man, Brad has the patience of a saint. Sure, he thinks about giving up on Lindsay when after several attempts, she's still hesitant to trust, but he deep down knew that she was worth it and all that the two of them went through over the course of this novel. Brad is an ideal book boyfriend, and deserves a medal for putting the past behind him, staying the course and staying true to himself.

Chasing Your Tail has promise to be a truly enjoyable read. If there was another version of this book down the line, I would recommend wrapping up Lindsay's decision maybe a bit earlier than what is currently available, and to perhaps include a bit more of a wrapped up--less rushed--ending before the epilogue. Other than that, this wasn't a bad read but could be improved.

3.5 stars.

*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

*This review will contain minor spoilers*

"Chasing Your Tail" is a story about two people who absolutely should not be in a relationship trying to be in a relationship with each other. As much as I wanted to love this book, it frequently made me incredibly angry.

The behaviour of both main characters was at times immature and at others deeply unforgiveable. Lindsay was unwilling to work on her relationship with Brad to the point of immaturity. Girl, if you can never trust him (or any other man by the sounds of it) you need a) therapy and b) some time alone to work on yourself. Lindsay is best summed up by this sentence from Brad's perspective, "He'd stepped in it and pissed her off. She was going to make him pay for it the entire meal." Lindsay is MEAN to Brad. Broken trust is one thing, but at heart her character is a mean girl. At one point Brad thinks, "He [is] tired of her scraps," and yet he keeps begging her to give him a chance while she punishes him for his mistakes! The scene where they go out for dinner to review a new restaurant and he makes the mistake of being friendly with the chef was a real turning point for how I viewed this book.

But that doesn't mean Brad is better. He's trying to win back this girl, who he claims is "The One", but openly tells her he is still going to flirt with other people but since he is coming home to her and choosing her she has to be okay with it. He isn't attempting to correct the behaviour that made her not trust him in the first place.

I also found the casual homophobia/transphobia from Brad's dad to be really jarring. The way it was written in made me uncomfortable and was not dealt with in a sensitive way. It actually almost felt like the author condoned that sort of thinking because it was so casually inserted and not in a way that ever really condemned it past saying "pastry chefs can be straight, cis men too!"

The overall book also needed some work. The pacing was off, it got super repetitive, and there were some continuity errors that left me confused. Namely, Lindsay sitting out a taping for a cooking show because she is 'violently allergic' to lobster, then reminiscing on her and Brad getting lobster rolls when they were students. In general, many of the plot choices left me confused (i.e. them 'banging it out' at 35%) and I didn't find it an enjoyable read.

A dnf. It just wasn't for me and I made a decision last year that there are too many books out there to read to make myself read a book I don't enjoy. There is nothing wrong with the book and I recommend you give it a try but it just wasn't a moment for me.

I had high hopes for a romance novel featuring cats. Alas...

This was a boring second-chance romance. The reasons the couple broke up in the first place were thin, and other than them saying that they hadn't gotten over the other fully in the intervening five years, it's unclear based on their interactions why they would want to be together again. No real chemistry between any of the characters, except maybe the hero and an orange tabby.

Brad Marks is the talk of the town as the pastry chef at the Whitman Street Cat Cafe in Brooklyn. He not only makes sinful treats humans but also for the feline patrons. Everyone seems to love him and he’s easy on the eyes too.
Lindsay Somers understands the appeal. After all, five years ago he was the love of her life - until he broke her heart. She was in the same class as him in culinary school and she blames him for her quitting cooking and heading towards just writing about it. She’s happy at her job as a food critic, but now she has to interview him. That’s an interview she can’t say no to, as it not will really boost the cafe. To make things worse, the cafe is run by her best friend - the “traitor” who hired Brad in the first place.
I really thought I was going to love this one. It’s about chefs, it’s set in NYC, it’s a about a cat cafe and it’s a second chance romance. Alas, that didn’t happen. The whole book feels like a third act conflict for a book I didn’t read and was supposed to. I totally didn’t buy the “strong” reason for the break-up and after a while Lindsay was just repetitive and annoying.
As the reason for the break-up was not that horrible, there was also no reason for any groveling, which is the staple of a good second chance romance. You kinda root for Brad to be honest.
The way everything is magically resolved in the end felt a little forced too, especially after so many chapters of this “I can neither forgive nor forget” song and dance.
It had amazing potential as a romance, but as it is, it’s just a good book for foodies.
Rep and possible triggers: several secondary characters are queer. Homophobic comments towards main character due to his choice of profession, toxic family relationships, mentions of cheating

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you @NetGalley for the advance copy.

I really thought a book that involved a cat cafe and a second chance at love (one of my favorite tropes) would be right up my alley. Unfortunately I just wasn't a fan of Chasing Your Tail. I struggled to like Lindsay, and not even how much I liked Brad's character could make me enjoy the book because I was constantly rolling my eyes at HER!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc, but this just wasn't for me.

This was enjoyable enough but the fmc was really annoying. She was clearly in love with Brad the whole time but would never open up about it. He was putting in all the effort and she was not reciprocating at all.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. OMG a Cat Café book. This is a cute second chance romance. It was a very easy read, I enjoyed it but I feel some might not, since it is a super slow burn.

Does it really boil down to timing? Do they deserve to give themselves a second chance in love?
The story started really well. I was invested in Brad and Lindsay’s love story. I also wanted to find out how second chances would be successful for them both. There were a few times I got carried away by these MC’s. Until I found myself to be “Brad team”. He was charming and surprisingly a persistent for a guy to win Lindsay back.
However, Lindsay didn’t trust herself to be vulnerable with anyone especially to Brad. She had made him hopelessly waiting for how many times. Yeah, I got it. Women could be indecisive sometimes. I can relate to that. But most of the time, I found myself annoyed to Lindsay. Rolling my eyes to her excuses. Lucky enough for her, she had likeable and very supportive circle of friends.
Overall, this book was a hit or miss for me. There were parts that were repetitive and really slow. But it could also be funny and entertaining as well. By the way, I just realized after I read the book; this was the 3rd standalone book. The other two books were stories about Lindsay’s other friends.

This is recommendable for readers who are food and cat lovers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca pub for this earc

Okay. I don’t know about you but I for the life of me didn’t just read a romance book. I read a book about two people who opened a business together. I’m not kidding.

This book started off so cute. And for the first 50% we had second chance romance, cats and all the cute things. But the second part of the book? The same conversation better Brad and Lindsey just kept repeating. And that’s before they didn’t actually spoke to each other for weeks while trying to get back together??? That part made zero sense to me. But when the part about how they should go into business together completely took over the story, this book completely lost me.

Brad and Lindsey kept talking how they’re still not together, how hard restaurant business is and how they should just go for it????? Again, doesn’t go together at all. The whole time, all I could thing about is Lindsey wants this new restaurant because in her head that’s the only setting where they can make this relationship work. And that’s just not a healthy way to look at any relationship

And how everything magically fell into place??? Another thought I had was “No Lindsey, you didn’t make this decision about the restaurant. You were about to lose your actual job and this was just a way out for you”. Not good, my friends. Not good

Overall, this story completely fell apart by the end.

A second chance romance, a cat cafe, baking- a perfect combination of tropes that makes for a fun read. Lindsay's trust issues made her break up with Brad five years ago and she's spent the intervening time avoiding him as best she can while still thinking about him. And he's thought about her too. Now, she's assigned to do a story on his baking for cats and they're talking. It takes a bit of time for their defenses to come down but with the help of their friends, well.....Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I wish Lindsay had given him a chance earlier but then we wouldn't have this story.

Head to Brooklyn's Whitman Street Cat Café: the coffee is strong, the desserts are delicious, kitten cuddles are never out of stock—and finding love is guaranteed.

Pastry chef Brad Marks is the new hot thing at the Whitman Street Cat Café; he makes tasty treats for both the human and feline guests at the café. All the patrons love him, and freelance writer Lindsay Somers understands why; five years ago, she was smitten by his charms too—until Brad broke her heart. Lindsay is happy with her new gig at a trendy weekly magazine, but when her boss assigns her to do a story on the cat café, she's thrown back into Brad's orbit yet again...

I've been loving the cat cafe! This was such a cute book and i devoured it. Makes you want to hug a cat (or 5 in my case). Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own

Assigned to do a story on a certain café, Lindsay has to deal with her ex, Brad.

I love cat cafés, so this was a very cute idea. I also love anything to do with pastry and baking. This book had a very nice premise. Characterwise, Lindsay was a little too stubborn for my liking. Brad seemed like a sweetie. The characters seemed real though. Unfortunately, not being on board with the main character hurt my opinion of this novel. However, once past her stubborness, I found myself enjoying bits. Especially the friends.

The friends in this were the real MVPs. The side characters were all great and intriguing. They had charisma and I loved them.