Cat Lady: The hot, must-read Richard & Judy Book Club novel for summer 2023 from the Sunday Times bestselling author

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Do not recommend this book to anyone, as much as I wish I could. I was gifted this by Harper Fiction and Tandem Collective UK, but will not be tagging due to the negative nature of this review. Cat or no cat' Fearne Cotton'Really gets the reader to think about what matters in life Unputdownable and completely wonderful!' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Witty, thought-provoking and hilarious, Cat Lady is a triumph' The Unmumsy Mum'Dawn O'Porter challenges the stereotypes of the typical 'cat lady' with this beautiful and emotional read' Reader review⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'An ode to finding your people and a celebration of the small things that bring us together' Emma Gannon'I absolutely adored this book!' Reader review⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Funny, heart-wrenching and full of warmth' Sarah Morgan'A beautifully written book that I'd recommend to anyone' Reader review⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'A lovely onion of a book, layered with humour and emotion' Daisy Haggard'A joyous, touching, funny, sharp story - I cannot praise it enough. Crazy Cat Lady is, zoals op de achterflap vermeld, een geïllustreerde samenvatting van het leven als kattenvrouwtje. Een heel mooie, vrolijke, opbeurende samenvatting!

Een klein boekje, zakformaat als je grote zakken hebt. Super vrolijke en aantrekkelijke cover en die stijl wordt doorgezet doorheen het hele boek. Veel te lezen valt er niet maar dat geeft niet want er valt zo veel mooist te zien. En te lachen. Mia has been living in terms of what society expects from her, rather than what she wants in fear of judgement. However, when a particular event happens, she begins to live life for herself (and obviously her cat, Pigeon)

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I was simultaneously entertained and devastated. I highly commend O'Porter for their ability to put my feelings on a rollercoaster. Some of the characters in this book were truly unlikeable and I absolutely despised them, such as Tristan (Mia's husband), Belinda (Tristan's ex wife) and Tristan and Belinda's circle of friends. Some of the things that Tristan, Belinda and their friends came out with were absolutely disgusting and I felt so sorry for Mia for having to deal with awful people like that in her life.

I am ok with young one’s reading this type of book, as it should get some of their emotions going, and not just the warm fuzzy ones. The first story in this book got me, I was a little stunned, as I was not expecting the ending. Mia, the mother: She dotes on her stepson Oliver. She and her husband Tristan have an unconventional relationship with Oliver's mother, Belinda, but Mia puts up with it for the sake of keeping the family together. Plus, she is utterly devoted to her cat, Pigeon. She is his mother. Mia hasn't had a great life and she often attends support groups even though she hasn't got the problem that they relate to. In the book she attends a support group for people whose pets have died as she is so scared of Pigeon dying but obviously doesn't tell them her pet is still alive. Women who love their cats are said to be projecting on to them an intimacy they are unable to experience elsewhere What the hell even was this book? I was expecting a wholesome story about a woman and her cat and I did not get that! I did enjoy some of the themes that the book explored but at times it was just outright disturbing. I tried to persevere with it and see if it could get any better (or worse) but it just started to make me feel so uncomfortable that I just couldn’t carry on.

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It's not perfect. Somehow DO'P has missed that mothers day is always a Sunday and has her characters going to work that day which doesn't make any sense. This is another of those books about quirky oddballs finding their place in the world that have been super popular in womens’ fiction in recent years. Lots of them are very good, unfortunately this was not. Writing in first person present, Mia describes every tiny action of her life in minuscule detail - from what she puts into Oliver’s lunchbox, to having a shower, to her and Tristan’s grotesque middle-age sex. Maybe other readers would find constant references to Belinda’s juices hilarious, I didn’t. Nothing much happens in the first half, there’s a bit of awkward social commentary, and Mia reinforces every stereotype about people who love cats.

As a self confessed wannabe ‘cat lady’, I really enjoyed reading Mia’s journey from her ‘safe’ existence to her self-realisation of the person she truly is - an independent cat lady living for herself. It’s safer for Mia to play the part that people expect. She’s a good wife to her husband Tristan, a doting stepmother, she slips on her suit for work each morning like a new skin. Really gets the reader to think about what matters in life Unputdownable and completely wonderful!’ Reader review Cat Lady tells the story of Mia, whose life starts to spiral out of control, and her only moments of happiness are found with her beloved cat, Pidgeon.

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I like to think I’ve got quite a varied sense of humour, and apparently this was “laugh out loud”, and maybe it is to some but hell no, not to me. This is the story of a woman who is unapologetically herself, a cat lady. Over the course of the book her life spirals in all different ways possible, and you do feel sorry for her as a character. But this book is just plain weird, it’s fifty shades of messed up.

I love Dawn O'Porter's books - I think I've read all of them to date. I loved this one too. I could relate to Mia's love for Pigeon and her wish to protect herself from just about every other living being. We learn about her challenging childhood and how Pigeon saved her from herself in her teens but much as I love my cats, I know that humans need other humans. Mia, the career woman: Determined to bring Isabella May jewellery to the big leagues, Mia doesn't put up with any nonsense at work - even if it's coming from her boss, a rich millennial.A lot of the story was predictable. I felt Dawn got a few digs in...a joke about Boris Johnson, a dig at nasty Journalists who write upsetting stories about people. She also covered most current topics like racism (her boss she works for says some racist things), sustainability etc. There's a brief mention of covid but then next minute she's in a hospital environment with filthy hands and no mention of any mask wearing or the fact you still can't really visit people in hospital! Also, I'm surprised that as a mother herself, Dawn writes about Mother's Day being on a weekday as Mia is going to work and the stepson is going to School! It's called Mothering Sunday for a reason Dawn!! Don’t get me wrong, if you got rid of all the uncomfortable encounters, or at least toned it down a little, it would’ve had the potential to become quite an impactful story about mental health and self discovery, and at times it was. But sweet hell, some of the encounters and thoughts that the main character had were just unnecessary and outright disturbing. I did enjoy the development of some of the characters, especially (colleague designer) and how she fought for what she believed to be right within the company, even if it did feel a little half- hearted at times. In contrast to this though, others just outright disturbed me, the main being (creepy babe guy) who had a questionable understanding of what consent was at the best of times and was just straight weird. I loved laughing with/at some of the characters and I was emotionally destroyed* as I watched some of the characters' lives unravel. Dawn O'Porter challenges the stereotypes of the typical 'cat lady' with this beautiful and emotional read' Reader review⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐