3.5 stars

This is a fanciful story about a black street cat, called 'Cat', who brings together five people who - though they don't know it - can benefit each other. The book is narrated by Cat and the quintet of people who touch his life.

*****

Cat has been living in his Brooklyn neighborhood for many years, and knows to be wary of his surroundings. In Cat's experience, people might kick him, kids might throw rocks at him, dogs might chase him, strollers might run over his tail, and so on. So Cat often hangs out in a hedge near a three-story brownstone, where he feels safe.

As it happens, there are some people Cat trusts enough not to hide from, people with kind eyes and soft voices. These Brooklynites include:

🐈‍⬛ Núria - a thirtysomething master barista who lives with three felines named Gazpacho, Churro, and Miel. Núria also volunteers for Meow-Yorkers, a rescue organization that looks out for stray cats. Before her barista shift at the café, Núria does her 'cat patrol', going around the neighborhood, greeting homeless cats and putting down food and water. Cat, who calls Núria "Rainbow Lady" for her colorful wardrobe, looks forward to the woman's regular visits.

🐈‍⬛ Bong - Bong is a bodega owner who's mourning the death of his beloved wife Conchita, who died a year ago. Conchita would occasionally feed Cat, and Bong - remembering Conchita's kindness - sometimes gives Cat feline treats. Sensing Bong's melancholy, Cat calls him "Sad Bodega Man."

🐈‍⬛ Omar - Omar is the local mailman who does his job diligently and with a smile. Everyone likes Omar, and it's common for the mailman to be invited in for a cup of coffee or an ice-cold lemonade. When Omar's route takes him close to Cat's hedge, the mailman clomps his feet to alert the feline. Cat then accompanies Omar - who Cat calls "Cheery Mailman" - on his route. The duo always make a stop at Bong's bodega, where Omar purchases creamy treats for Cat. Omar is thinking of a career change, but can't decide what to do.

🐈‍⬛ Collin - Collin is an author whose first novel was an award-winning New York Times bestseller. Collin's agent is now expecting a new book, but Collin has writer's block, and can't seem to type a word. Collin lives in the three-story-brownstone near Cat's hedge, and - when Collin notices Cat - he builds a sturdy cardboard house with a cat bed, and puts it beside his brownstone. Cat - who calls Collin "Awkward Neighbor Guy" because of the writer's shy demeanor - appreciates the comfortable home.

🐈‍⬛ Lily - Lily is a high school graduate from Georgia who moved to Brooklyn when she discovered her half-sister, Núria, lives there. Núria is unaware of Lily's existence because their mutual father deserted Núria and her mom long ago, and embarked on a new life. Lily wants to meet her sibling, but is shy about approaching Núria, given the circumstances. Meanwhile, Lily works in a grocery store. Cat calls Lily "Bright Pink Person" for her polished fingernails.

Various interactions occur among Cat's 'friends', who serendipitously get to know one another. For instance:

Collin sees Núria feeding Cat near his brownstone every day, and decides to leave her a Post-it note that reads: "Do you think the cat understands you?" This begins a correspondence between Collin and Núria, and leads to a coffee called a Guillermo.

Núria is with Cat one morning when Omar the mailman passes by. Núria and Omar are exchanging hellos when Núria's mom phones, complaining (as usual) about Núria's single status. Omar, who's gay, is happy to pose as Núria's romantic interest...and their friendship takes off from there.

As time passes, Cat's 'friends' form connections, and - when a crisis arises - they ALL come together to help. In the end, everyone benefits in unforeseen ways.

Note: Cat is fine at the end of the book.

This is a charming, fun, feel-good story that would appeal to many readers - especially cat lovers. My only quibble is the 'fairy tale' vibe that stretches credulity a bit too much.

Thanks to Netgalley, Tanya Guerrero, and Random House for a copy of the book.

A Heartwarming Tale of Healing and Connection:

This is a simply sweet, hopeful, and joy-filled story about the quiet power of compassion—and how a stray cat becomes the thread that ties multiple lives together.

Told through intertwining narratives, each character’s story unfolds gently, revealing their struggles, healing, and eventual growth, all connected by the presence of one small but impactful feline. As the cat moves from person to person, we see the kindness and warmth it inspires, bringing people together and helping mend broken hearts.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this touching ARC. It’s a lovely reminder of how sometimes, the smallest creatures can make the biggest difference.

This book was a comforting escape, drawing me in so completely that I never wanted it to end.

Its simplicity is what makes it so special. The story follows five humans and one stray cat, and “Cat” is connected to the humans in various ways. Through Cat, the humans form deep and meaningful bonds, ultimately coming together in a beautiful and profound way.

One of my favorite aspects is that part of the story is told from Cat’s perspective. It might sound unusual, but it never felt corny. Instead, it was refreshing and insightful, offering a unique view of the humans through Cat’s eyes. It even made me wonder how the stray cats I feed in my backyard perceive me!

The book explores themes of family dynamics, grief, loneliness, pride, personal growth, and even romance. It thoughtfully delves into each character’s life, intertwining their individual journeys with Cat, and culminating in a touching found family story led by an unforgettable feline.

This one is a must read!

Thank you @netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, @DelacortePress for the eARC, which I’ve read and reviewed voluntarily.

Cat's People is the story of an 11 year old stray cat who brings five NYC neighbors together in unexpected ways.

I wanted to read this book because I love cats! The way that Cat changed several people's lives was compelling to me.

This is such a lovely, leisurely read with slice of life storytelling. The heartwarming story is an enjoyable read. I recommend Cat's People for other animal lovers - and especially for anyone who also loves cats.

Cat's People is a heartfelt coming of age story with a charming blend of humor and emotion. The characters are relatable, and the themes of friendship and self discovery feel authentic. Some moments are a bit predictable, but overall, it's a warm and engaging read. Perfect for readers who enjoy relatable YA drama with a touch of warmth.

4 star read

Heart warming tale of a cat that brings people together and helps heal their hearts.
Through multiple narratives, you get to watch each characters story entwine with the next and the through line for each is the compassion they share for a simple stray cat.

This story is simply sweet, hopefully and full of joy.
Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I knew that this would be a light hearted read and that was exactly what I was looking for - I wasn’t disappointed.

Granted I am a cat person - though I also love dogs - however this isn’t just about Cat - it’s about neighborhood, found family and helping those that you become close to!

Cat is a little black cat who has made friends with most everyone in the neighborhood. He likes his life outdoors but sometimes needs help finding enough food and shelter.

Nuria is somewhat of a loner - she enjoys cats more than people. She volunteers with a local group - The Meow-Yorkers - whose members check up on outdoor cats, check on their health and give them food and water.

Collin is a bestseller author with writer’s block. He spends most of his time at his computer trying to come up with new book ideas - he also has a window facing the street below. He has been watching Nuria feed Cat and feels drawn to her kindness and finds her uniquely attractive. He is too shy to act on his attraction.

Omar is the neighborhood mailman, a friend to everyone. Lately he’s not sure where his life will take him next.

Lily is a young woman from Georgia looking for her long lost sister.

Bong is the owner of the neighborhood bodega who is grieving the loss of his wife.

When Cat becomes ill it takes this group of 5 friends and their readiness to work together to help him get well.

Yes this is a sweet story - but it has a lot to say about human nature, especially in today’s world. We often rush by people we see every day without taking the time to say hi and stop to chat.

Even if you live in a busy city there are ways to connect with the community - volunteering is always my answer. Whether it be for a human or animal cause - volunteers are needed in so many areas.

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to read and review this novel.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel. Unfortunately, I was not drawn to this story like I thought I would be, and did not finish as a result.

This is a super sweet romantic comedy told from the perspective of the stray cat who is part of the fabric of the neighborhood. The characters are well developed and appealing, there are a few twists in the stories. I am definitely sharing this with my mom!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of “Cat’s People” for my honest review.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect with this book but man did it home for me. I seriously enjoyed this book. All the characters who connect through a stray cats life and the battles they are going through were very touching and relatable. As well as the found family which I always love!

This is a sweet, charming book about a diverse set of characters. They center around Cat, a black stray cat in Brooklyn. There are a handful of neighbors who are all connected in different ways, feeding Cat or otherwise. The chapters are told from the perspective of the characters. I really enjoyed getting to know Cat and the humans, and seeing how their love for Cat brought them all together.

Cute read but a bit wordy. Honestly some of the details could have been left out, I don’t particularly care about what Nuria is eating and when (i eat a vegan diet as well). Cat’s story itself was kind of sad as were some of the friend stories. Easy read though.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

My kids accuse me of being a "crazy cat lady" so this book had definite appeal. Told in multiple voices, including Cat, we get the daily life and connection between the characters and their feline friend from the streets. Simple and yet so endearing as each person is led to another through Cat.

4 stars

In a Nutshell: A heartwarming contemporary uplit novel about a group of strangers united by a black cat. Found-family trope used well. Touching without turning cheesy (for the most part.) Multiple characters with diverse backgrounds and layered arcs. Perfect for the times you want something relaxing. Read this with your heart and not your head to enjoy it better.

Plot Preview:
Cat lives an independent life on the streets of New York. As he strolls the streets, he crosses paths with five strangers: Omar, a happy-go-lucky mailman; Núria, a barista whose two passions are cats and coffee, in that order; Collin, an erstwhile bestselling novelist looking for inspiration for his next writing attempt; Bong, a bodega owner mourning the loss of his beloved wife; and Lily, a young Georgia native who has moved to New York directly after high school on a secret personal mission. As Cat purrs his way in and out of these characters' lives, their paths too intertwine.
The story comes to us in the third-person perspectives of all the above characters, including Cat.

PSA: The blurb contains a major spoiler.

This book entered my life when I wasn't able to concentrate on anything too literary or complicated. As such, it was perfect for my mood and held my attention without my needing to tax my brains too much, even though it had so many characters and character perspectives.

Bookish Yays:
😻 Cat’s perspective. I love black cats, and I love that this book chose to have a black cat as one of the narrators. I found it amusing that some of the human characters had different names for the same cat. (Equally funny that Cat had his own names for the humans.)
😻 The division of the story across the human characters. Núria’s role is slightly more important in the overall proceedings, but all characters get almost an equal share of the narrative. Quite fair!
😻 The character arcs. Every person (and Cat) has a personal struggle, an agenda, some grief or past hurt, and each is still determined to push through life. I liked the distinctness of their individual perspectives as well as their personalities. Cat is the common factor but there are also other connections across the humans.
😻 The diversity of the characters in terms of age, nationality, financial status, as well as sexual preference. The author is Filipino and Spanish by birth, so I appreciate how she created two characters (Bong and Núria respectively) honouring each of these nationalities. The varying ages of the characters creates a nice range of life experience.
😻 OwnVoices not just in terms of the author’s background but also because she's a cat lady in real life as well. No wonder all the cat content felt utterly real!
😻 The found family trope – used excellently without feeling too forced.
😻 The plot – easy on the mind without being too simplistic. It covers a variety of emotions even though the book is primarily uplit.
😻 The romance – present but never at the cost of the main plot. Clean and cute.
😻 The title. “Cat's People”, which I first misread as “Cat People” and thought that this was a book about cat lovers. Well, not everyone is a cat person at the start, but they soon come to their senses. 😉 The perfect title for this book! (Dog lovers: There's also an adorable chihuahua named Sinatra in a minor role.)
😻 The cover. Someone give that cover designer a raise! What a purrfect depiction of the plot, with Cat as well as his five humans (or rather, their hands) sketched so well! (To be honest, I didn’t even read the blurb in detail. The moment I saw the title and cover, I grabbed the book with much eagerness.)

Bookish Mixed Bags:
🐱 Cat's knowledge is a little beyond what we might expect of animals. The concept is imaginative anyway, so don't overthink if you want to enjoy his POV.
🐱 The characters are overly sweet, with not a single negative shade in the main characters. Perfect for the genre, but a bit unrealistic.
🐱 The writing is quite simple. This wasn’t a major problem for me as the characters kept me mostly happy. But I wish there had been some descriptive prose, especially connected to the city setting. Those looking for some lyrical turns of phrase might be disappointed.
🐱 Two of the characters are near forty, but their behaviour reads much younger. They are still likeable; just that they aren’t convincing representatives of their actual age. One guy blushes almost in every scene where human interaction is involved – it gets a bit repetitive after a while.
😿 Too many coincidental bumps and connections. Okay for a small-town setting but tougher to believe for a story set in New York. Some of these interactions can be attributed to their staying or working near each other, but a few scenes are too serendipitous to be convincing.

Bookish Nays:
😿 The ending dragged a little. It was suitable to the feelgood genre, but felt too stretched. A little trimming would have helped.

Overall, despite some minor issues, I had a good time reading this novel. While I am more of a dog person, cats are a close second favourite, so such a book anyway had a good chance of clicking well with me. But it helped that this book came into my life at the right time. My mind needed a relaxing story with relatable emotions, and this book satisfied that need perfectly.
This is the author’s debut adult fiction work. She has written only middle-grade fiction so far, so perhaps this leap in target age, though commendable, kept the characters from sounding older (except for a couple of cuss words). Regardless, based on this reading experience, I would like to keep an eye on her future offerings, whether adult or MG.
Definitely recommended to those looking for a soul-soothing contemporary work with likeable characters, simple but effective storytelling, and an adorable black cat. This is a heart-read and not a head-read.
4 stars.
My thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for providing the DRC of “Cat's People” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Cat’s People is a heartfelt and tender novel that celebrates the beauty of unexpected friendships and the quiet magic of everyday encounters. Tanya Guerrero weaves an uplifting tale centered on Núria, a reluctant “crazy cat lady” and barista in Brooklyn, whose world gently shifts when she begins finding mysterious Post-it notes while feeding her favorite stray, a black cat simply named Cat.

What starts as a charming mystery quickly blossoms into something more profound—a story of five very different people drawn together by one remarkable feline. From a reclusive author to a grieving widower, Guerrero introduces us to a cast of characters who feel authentic and richly layered. Their individual struggles and longings are delicately explored, making their eventual bond all the more rewarding.

Guerrero’s writing is warm, insightful, and filled with emotional nuance. The novel gently reminds us that love, community, and understanding can be found in the most unlikely places—even at the corner of a Brooklyn street, beside a dish of kibble.

A must-read for cat lovers and fans of feel-good fiction, Cat’s People is a quiet triumph that lingers long after the final page.

This one took me a little while to get into, admittedly. I am a mood reader and it just didn't grab me at first. But when I picked this back up a second time I could hardly bear to put it down. I absolutely loved this wholesome, found family of diverse characters in different stages and phases of their lives. I loved the flipped narrative that the "super successful" character was the grumpy, socially stunted one. I love that the cat is a narrator. I just really loved this, overall. Honestly, it's a 4.5 with the only thing holding back the full and enthusiastic 5 stars being that I could have read more, it ends a little fast once the strings begin to all weave together and I would have loved just a little more story for each character. I will absolutely be recommending this one!

Thank you Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Delacorte Press, and Tanya Guerrero for the advance reader's copy.

If you like Fredrik Backman, but wish it wasn't so depressing, welcome to Cat's People.

It's told through five different POV of humans who interact with Cat, a black homeless cat who roams the street near where they all live or work. The perspective of Cat is also given. There is some heavier subject matter, like an attempted sexual assault, but it is very surface level since that is seen from Cat's perspective. This book is perfect for cat lovers and readers who enjoy more character driven novels. The chapters are very short too, which allows for more perspectives from everyone to fit into this just over 300 page novel. Cat's People is Guerrero's debut adult novel and I hope she writes more in the future.

Quirky and gentle, this story wanders like a stray but finds its way with heart. A cozy, if slightly meandering, tale of unlikely friendships.

Have you ever wondered what goes on in the mind of a stray animal? Do they lament their fate or are they living a life of adventure. Tanya Guerrero shares the tale of a black cat in Brooklyn and the people she regularly interacts with. Between the ladyship feeds her, the local post man, the reclusive author, the bodega owner and the new to town shop worker, their relationship with the cat brings them together in wonderful ways.
I will not say more because I simply want you to read this cozy book that satisfies so well.

Thank you Tanya Guerrero and Random House Publishing for a NetGalley ARC copy of the Cat’s People!

Rating 4/5 ⭐

This is a lovely and cozy slice-of-life narrative set in NYC that follows 5 strangers as their lives all begin to intersect around an adorable stray cat.

Núria: Master barista and cat rescue volunteer
Collin: Best selling author who has lost all inspiration
Omar: Friendly neighborhood mailman looking for a life change
Bong: Bodega shop owner dealing with the grief of his wife’s passing
Lily: Grocery store clerk in search of her long lost half sister

The NYC setting was artfully done, making it easy to picture the neighborhood and all the movement of the big city. I loved how each of the characters were unique, but seamlessly fit into the narratives of the others with ease. Cat’s perspective was especially humorous and endearing throughout the book. This is the perfect book for a relaxing afternoon and I thoroughly enjoyed it! 💕