Friday, November 26, 2021

Review: What the Cat Dragged In by Kate McMurray

What the Cat Dragged In by Kate McMurray
Series: Whitman Street Cat Café, Book 2
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Contemporary Romance 
What the Cat Dragged In cover
ISBN: 9781728214573
Release Date: December 7, 2021
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Audible

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.

Recent law school grad Josh Harlow is putting in long hours at a Manhattan law firm as he gets over a messy breakup. When his boss requires him to do some volunteer work, Josh's sister sets him up to help capture feral cats. Partnered with Paige, Josh is insistently drawn to the dynamic event planner and sparks between them fly.

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.

What the Cat Dragged In is a fast-paced, enjoyable romance with four-legged supporting cast members who threaten to steal the show. I adored the world of Kate McMurray’s Whitman Street Cat Café and though I threatened to be sidetracked by the too-cute-for-words felines in the book, the humans at the center of this story were just as endearing.

Paige loves her job as an events manager for the Whitman Street Cat Café. On the surface, she has it all together between her job, friends, and life. The only problem is her dating life is a disaster. Then when volunteering with a cat rescue organization she meets a guy who could be her perfect match. There’s just one problem: he’s her boss’s brother. Having gone through a bad breakup and now drowning in work as a first year associate in a big Manhattan law firm, Josh isn’t in the best place for a relationship. But Paige knocks him off his feet from the first. The two of them just fit and I absolutely adored their easy chemistry together.

Josh and Paige work as friends and lovers which makes it easy to be charmed by their romance. The conflict stems from the fact that Josh is Lauren’s brother and Lauren is Paige’s boss, friend, and the one who brought her into the friend group who is now her family. Lauren (heroine of the first Whitman Street Cat Café book, Like Cats and Dogs) didn’t come off as likeable or understanding for a lot of this story, which was a pity. But the blame for Paige and Josh’s drama can’t all be placed on her: both of them (Paige most of all) get in their own way sometimes. While I was a bit frustrated by the obstacles in the way of Paige and Josh’s happily ever after, they did make sense. The problems seem small from a reader’s perspective but they’re ones I can easily see people causing themselves in real life. Overall, I really enjoyed What the Cat Dragged In. I liked Paige and Josh, they had a fun, easy chemistry, and the cats in the book stole my heart. How is that not a recipe for a good time?



FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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