A new favorite of the year in LATE DECEMBER?! Yeah you read that right 👀

I loved everything about this book from the writing to the characters to the plot. This is truly exactly what I look for when I’m reading a book — it’s the perfect balance of character and plot driven, it has memorable characters, and the plot is engaging.

We’re reading the memoir/tell all of author Cate Kay after her debut novel blows up because the name is a pseudonym and no one knows who Cate Kay really is. Lots of people from her past are telling us parts of her life from their perspectives (and there’s footnotes from Cate herself in these chapters!!). That’s all I’m going to say because then we’d get into spoiler territory 🤐🤫

There’s a plot we’re following and we’re trying to understand what happened and why, and we understand it by reading from all of these different character perspectives and experiences throughout the roles they played in Cate’s life.

Such a unique way to tell a story!! I never once wanted to put it down because I just HAD to find out what happened next. I was filled with so many emotions while reading — sadness, anger, joy, frustration — and I love when a book takes me through all of the emotions.

Okay I’ll shut up about this book (for) now. Just read it!!

Annie is just a girl from a small town with big dreams. Her best friend, Amanda, also has a need for “cosmic bigness” and the two plan to take Hollywood by storm after graduation. Things don’t go as planned after an accident that injures Amanda and Annie just flees. She runs away and changes her name to Cass, where she meets Sidney. Sidney changes her life for better or for worse and encourages her as she tries to become a writer. The two of them come up with a plan to write under a pardon pseudonym, Cate Kay, so that no one can ever connect Annie to the accident she fled from. The book becomes an overnight hit but it isn’t enough for Annie. She will always have this need for something that she can’t pin down. As we read her backstory, we learn that love is the only thing missing in her life and she needs to let things go in order to receive it.

In the beginning of this book I never imagined it would end up being a 3.75 read rounded up to 4. I found it really hard to get into. There was jumping back and forth between time lines and points of view.

Cate Kay is a pseudonym for Cass Ford who started out life as Anne Marie Callahan. She and her best friend, Amanda, are inseparable and right after graduation plan to leave Bolton for LA to become famous actresses in rom-coms. Then there is a horrible accident and Annie sets off on her own and changes her name to Cass Ford. She writes a hugely popular book under the name of Cate Kay.

I thought the characters were fairly well developed but two characters I thought were awful and selfish all in the name of love or really probably money. I don't know if I really understood some of the things Annie/Cass did but I loved her friendship with Amanda and found I was reading because I was really invested. So if you can get past the beginning it is well worth the journey.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria for providing me with a digital copy.

Welp I was not a fav of Evelyn Hugo and this was compared to that but despite that the premise sounded kinda cool so I gave it a shot. Should not have bothered. I did not get this book at all. It was like a book within a book or maybe it was meta idk. All I know is that I had to keep going back to make sure the story was what I thought and it just didn’t make sense to me. I seem to be the outlier in this feeling, but it is what it is.
It goes back and forth between several characters and not in any particular order, so if you’re not paying super close attention, you feel lost. Or at least I did. It does have short chapters going for it. I just had a hard time connecting in any way to the story. It was a lot of telling and not showing. Rounding up to 3 stars bc I’m feeling generous this holiday season;)
Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars!

I could not put this book down! Seriously, it’s been awhile since a book made me want to stay up late and keep reading. The Three Lives of Cate Kay follows the writer Cate Kay (a pseudonym) and what’s happened over the course of her life until she writes a dystopian sci-fi fantasy that becomes a worldwide best-selling phenomenon.

The moment I first saw the cover of this book, I knew I needed to read it. That’s because I recognized the author’s name, Kate Fagan, from her sports journalism work. Here, in her fiction debut, she crafts a novel that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

This book is likened to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets First Lie Wins, which I don’t necessarily find accurate. I can understand the Evelyn Hugo comp a bit more, but the only similarity I felt to FLW is the hidden identity. The book itself is a lit fic, a bit of a mystery, a story about friendship, a (fictional) memoir and a romance all in one.

It would have been a 5 star for me, although I don’t think the book quite stuck the landing. To say any more would be to give away spoilers, but I very much enjoyed it and think others will enjoy it, too.

wow. just... wow. the three lives of cate kay might be one of the best books i've read this year, and i don't say that lightly. you know when a story grabs you by the heart, shakes up your brain, and then quietly sits in your soul for days? yeah, that's this book. it's emotional, thought-provoking, and so beautifully written that i found myself pausing every few chapters just to process what i was feeling.

so, here's the setup: cate kay is mega-successful author of a bestselling trilogy that's basically her generation's version of whatever's the highest-selling book franchise right now (box office gold, household name—big deal vibes). the catch? cate kay doesn't actually exist. she's a persona created by a woman who's spent her whole adult life running from a tragedy that shattered her world. now, after years of hiding, she's ready to step out of the shadows and finally confront her past. what follows is part confessional, part mystery, and all heart.

the story hooked me right away with its mix of glamour and grit. it's giving the seven husbands of evelyn hugo vibes (as the blurb suggests), but for me, it felt more like the emotional resonance of a haruki murakami novel—except without the surrealism. it's all real life here, messy and raw, and that's what makes it hit so hard.

this books is all about identity. cate's "three lives" represent the different versions of herself: the girl she was before everything fell apart, the woman she became while trying to escape it, and the person she's fighting to be now. it's such a relatable journey, especially for anyone who's ever felt like they've had to reinvent themselves to survive. the way fagan unpacks that tension—between who we are, who we were, and who we want to be—is just genius.

and then there's the whole idea of ambition and its cost. cate's career is the dream, right? massive success, total creative control, a legacy most writers would kill for. but the book really makes you think about what she gave up to get there. it's not just about fame or fortune, it's about chasing something so hard that you lose sight of the people and places that ground you. that push-pull between personal ambition and meaningful connection is one of the most compelling parts of the story.

speaking of connection, the relationships in this book are so layered and real. cate's friendship with amanda, the toxic partnership with sidney, her memories of family, the fleeting but deeply felt romantic moments—it all feels so grounded. fagan doesn't sugarcoat anything; these relationships are messy, imperfect, and sometimes painful, but that's what makes them so believable.

the book also dives deep into the weight of choices and consequences. cate's life is a domino chain of "what ifs," and it really made me reflect on my own choices. like, what paths have i abandoned (i'm not ready for this oh my god)? what lives could i be living right now if i'd taken a different turn? it's existential without being heavy-handed, which is a tough balance to nail, but fagan does it so well.

now, about the ending. i'll admit, it felt a little rushed, and it leaves a few questions hanging in the air. but honestly? i think that's part of its charm. cate's story is all about embracing uncertainty and making peace with the unknown, so the sort of open-ended finish feels fitting.

if you're into stories that combine emotional depth, messy humanity, and a dash of existential reflection, the three lives of cate kay is an absolute must-read. it's smart, it's heart-wrenching, and it's the kind of book that reminds you why you fell in love with reading in the first place (at least in my case).

thank you, @netgalley and @atriabooks, for the e-arc!

rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

THE THREE LIVES OF CATE KAY by Kate Fagan started off so interesting - there's a book inside a book inside a book! Popular author Cate Kay is finally ready to reveal her identity and tell her story via memoir. What's to discover is why she's hid her identity as a bestselling author for so long.

This story drew me in - I read the first 37% in one sitting. I liked how much was going on (we get perspectives other than Annie/Cass'), but I did feel that the characters verged on stereotypes at times. It also seemed like the reader got a great deal more detail at the beginning of the book than at the end, which I didn't love.

There's also the kind of continuity error that I can't not see (I may have been around 3.5 stars, rounded up for 4, but that knocked my rating down to 3). To be sure, that may be fixed prior to publication, and I'd try another novel from Fagan.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and the publishers for this ARC copy. I was skeptic going into this book as it’s been compared to the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo and I absolutely love the writing in that book. That being said, I can’t believe this is a debut novel?! I was hooked from the start, I loved getting to see chapters from various characters in the story and how their perception of what happened changes. I’m so glad I got to read this book because it truly was phenomenal and it kept me entertained during a very long travel day!

The Three Lives of Cate Kay was by far the best book I read this year. Love the characters depth and how well developed the story is. Great turning, great context, great novel. I would absolutely recommend this book to a friend!

A unique and well written novel following the life of an author. Annie and Amanda are best friends until a tragic event leads Annie to flee her hometown and start over. Changing her name to Cass, Annie writes a novel under a pseudonym, and as the book gains popularity, Cass embarks on a journey through loves and betrayals. The novel is unique by alternating chapters between Cass née Annie, and the points of view of the other characters in the story. From Bolton Landing, NY, to LA to Charleston, Annie keeps her identity a secret. Recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

The Three Lives of Cate Kay is an impressive debut from Kate Fagan. This is a character driven book that tells the story of one woman's life through the lenses of the three identities she used . Written partly in the form of a fictional memoir and with chapters from the perspectives of several other characters, the story moves quickly and the author does a very good job of drawing the reader in. This is helped by the almost conversational writing style which makes it feel like Cate is telling the reader her secrets. Cate Kay is a pseudonym for a best selling author whose identity remains a mystery to all but a very select few, but she now feels like the time has come for her to reveal the truth about her past and her identity, Born as Annie she grew up in a single parent household with an alcoholic mother and the best thing in her life was her friendship with Amanda, a kindred spirit who is always there for Annie and knows her better than anyone. The friendship seems to be blooming into something more until the day that everything changes and Annie flees to the city and her new identity of Cass, a struggling barista whose dreams of becoming a famous actress seem further away than ever, but who begins to write a story that will later be published under the name Cate Kay, the first in a best selling trilogy that will make her one of the most famous authors in the world. This period of her life is complicated, she befriends law student Sidney in an introductory writing class and they quickly become lovers and enter into a relationship that is both personal and professional. There is nobody that Cass trusts more but it seems like that trust may be misplaced. When her best selling debut is optioned by a studio to be developed into a movie Cass meets Ry. a young closeted actress who is desperate to land her dream role and quickly becomes infatuated , though it seems that the feelings are mutual until things go wrong yet again.
This is a book filled with complex relationships from childhood best friends and first crushes to unhealthy or even toxic romances and I was there for all of it, I found that I was immediately hooked by the opening of the book and I finished it in just a couple of sittings. If I had to pick a fault I think there could have been more of an effort to make the various character voices more distinctive, there were times when I found myself having to check back to see which character perspective I was in but that is a minor quibble. I found the pacing to be quite propulsive, especially in the second half of the book as the secrets from Annie/Cass/Cate's past came bubbling back up to the surface and I was excited to see how it would all pan out., thankfully the ending of the book was every bit as satisfactory as I was hoping for.
I read an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an eARC copy.

This story is at the same time entertaining and heartfelt. The book has been advertised highlighting the similarities with another well known fiction - The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo - and while I see where that came from, I think this is so much different, and since I was not the biggest fan of the other, I liked The three lives of Cate Kay more than I planned.
For sure there are irritating characters, but the plot and the yearning for more, kind of makes up for the annoyance.
What I liked the most in this novel is the depiction of deep friendship and platonic love.
And last but not least, I found the writing style marvelous, easy to read but so good.

If you like TJR you’ll love this, and if you don’t, you’ll probably like this anyway because it is different.

DNF Review • This feels like a book that will work much better for other readers than it did for me. At just 300 pages and with a mystery at its heart, I hoped it would be a quick and compelling read. Unfortunately, I just did not feel invested in the story at all. This book is the fictional memoir of a bestselling author who has had three different identities throughout her lifetime and is finally revealing her story. It is told through multiple points of view in relatively short chapters. Although that helped the pace, it made me significantly less invested in the characters. The voices felt the same -- I had to flip back a few times to remind myself who was supposed to be narrating (and what their connection was with the main characters). For those reasons, I decided to put this one down.

This was an emotional rollercoaster but the best kind. A must read for 2025. Beautifully written and engaging. Never a dull moment. Annie, Cass, Cate Kay, Annie, Amanda, Ryan. I only wish I could have seen more chapters from Amanda and Ryan at the end.

I don’t know how to review this book without spoilers, but I will do my best. For starters, I was instantly hooked by Cate Kay’s voice. I loved the conversational writing style and the way she spoke to the reader. It made the book easy to read and made me instantly like Cate Kay as the main character and narrator. And I continued to like her, despite her mistakes and bad decisions. I also liked that there were other perspectives mixed in, though I didn’t find the voices particularly unique. But my favorite thing about this book was the way it examined love and relationships. There were so many emotionally rich connections between characters, and that love often drove them to do the wrong things for the right reasons. It was amazing nuance. However, I did struggle a bit with the level of miscommunication, lying, manipulating, gaslighting, and generally unhealthy behaviors in many of these relationships. As for the plot, I found it a bit weak and anticlimactic. I did love the ending though. So overall this was an enjoyable read.

3.5 ⭐️ thank you atria and netgalley for the arc!! the three lives of cate kay was an enjoyable and fast paced read. i really loved cass/cate’s relationships with ry and amanda, and even sidney- but in a “she’s psychotic” way. however, i think that cass herself lacked depth as a character. she’s completely stuck in her past until her mid-thirties; please go to therapy!!
i see why this is being marketed to fans of evelyn hugo and i would recommend it to anyone who likes tjr- i could definitely feel the tjr influence in this book.

Told from multiple viewpoints, The Three Lives of Cate Kay is a fictional memoir unlike anything else I've read. Cate Kay aka Cass Ford aka Annie Callahan is a mysterious writer who has kept her identity secret despite her trilogy of books, The Very Last, rocketing her to stardom. Each chapter is told by varying characters taking us through Annie's life as she transforms to Cass and hides behind Cate.

I really enjoyed this book - I loved the multiple POV and found it particularly fun that Cate/Cass/Annie would put in her thoughts as if she were reading these recollections from each different character. Seeing the progression of. the chapter titles through Annie & Cass was also this great insight into where we were with her development. It also felt extra special as even minor characters got their moment in the sun, I found that particularly touching for Carl, the man in charge of the P.O. Boxes. The quote: "The trick of life, as I see it now, is to make what's around you beautiful. It'll grow from there. Took me a long time to see that." really embodies so much of the book and I highlighted and double underlined it while I read it.

Kate Fagan also expertly depicts what it's like to have a Best friend with a capital B between Amanda and Annie. There are so many moments throughout the book, but my favorite is how she captures the lexicon of friendship where you have these inside jokes and vernacular particular to you and your bestie. These get woven into the snippets of The Very Last that we get throughout the book as well.

Finally, of course, the different kinds of love as Annie/Cass stumbles her way through relationships - her unrequited love with Amanda, her situationship with Sidney, and her longing for Ryan.

All in all, I highly recommend this book - it's wonderfully queer, the character development is just lovely, and will be a great way for anyone to start of their 2025 reading.

Thank you so much to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I went into this expecting great things based on some other reviews I’d read but it ended up being three stars for me. Three stars, for me, means while I didn’t enjoy all of it, I know there is a huge market for this and others will love it.
I found myself having to go back and reread sections to make sense of who was who and what stage of life I was reading about.
I’ve read some excellent books wherein the plot is about writing a book but this one left me scratching my head at times.
However, if you enjoy sapphic romance, books about someone writing a book, and characters who are actors, I would recommend this.
The one aspect I loved was the relation to Lawrence, KS and the University of Kansas - my Alma mater! Rock Chalk Jayhawk - Go KU!

Unique and fun! This is being advertised as a Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo/First Lie Wins mash up and it certainly has vibes from both.

Nobody knows who Cate Kay really is even though she is one of the best selling authors of her generation. She is a mystery. But she’s ready to tell her story and this book is her memoir. It all begins in her childhood as she and her best friend dream about moving to Hollywood and becoming famous. But something goes terribly wrong…and you’ll just have to read it for yourself to find out the rest!

Thank you Netgalley, Atria Books and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on January 7, 2025

‘The Three Lives of Cate Kay’ is a memoir detailing the main character’s life and three identities: Anne (Annie) Marie Callahan, Cass Ford and Cate Kay. There was a lot to like about this book. I enjoyed the authors’ writing style and I thought she did an excellent job of conveying the relationship between characters without being tedious. The relationship between Annie and Amanda (her childhood best friend) was engaging and I enjoyed their character growth throughout the book. That being said, I felt it was difficult to keep the timeline straight in the first half because the book jumped around between years and POV. I also felt some characters were underutilized and did not contribute much, making me question why they were “interviewed” for the memoir. Additionally, I felt underwhelmed by her second identity, Cass Ford. So few people knew “Cass Ford” that creating a third identity felt a bit unnecessary. Overall, this was a solid fiction debut and I will definitely check out future books by this author.

4.25/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.