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!! An ode to finding your people and a celebration of the small things that bring us together’ Emma Gannon It made me upset to read how a lot of the people in the pet bereavement group had came across people who just did not understand what it means to lose a pet. It was really interesting to see how everyone in the group responded differently to losing a pet, from the emotions they experience to the impact that it has had on their life.

Really gets the reader to think about what matters in life Unputdownable and completely wonderful!' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I adored Mia’s love for Pigeon 🐈 and how Pigeon literally got her through each day. There was some really great characters in this book and some I really wanted to scream at. It was great how Mia learnt so much about herself through this story and learns to live. Mia has it all. A fancy house, a husband, a stepson, a fancy job with a jewellery company and best of all, a cat that she loves with all her heart. Sometimes she has a bit more than 'it all' - there's her husband's ex-wife who spends way too much time at their house and has way more opinions about everything Mia's doing wrong than could really be considered appropriate. She also works for a spoiled over-privileged it-girl with no common sense or perspective.This is a mature top range rom-com, where the "rom" is on the the periphery and the "com" is what this is all about. A delightful dark-ish comedy set around a "my pet has died" grief counselling group and essentially about forming and living one's best-self and not taking on a label that society expects from you. One of the best 'rom-coms' I have ever read, well written and pushing boundaries throughout, yet still remarkable insightful, heartfelt and most of all funny! A ground breaking book that re-imagines the "cat-lady" taking her and pet ownership to new heights! A recommended Autumn read! A 9.5 out of 12, super fun Four Star read. I do not recommend this book to anyone who identifies as a Cat Lady, crazy or otherwise. Ironically I brought it forward on my reading schedule, because I was in the mood for something funny or heartwarming. It’s not in any way funny (unless you find people dealing with grief, trauma and other mental health issues amusing.) I found most of it both boring and distasteful, and then something horrible happens. It was heading for 1-star, which is rare for me, but I’ll admit I did like the ending, which redeemed it a little - but not enough to recommend it. AD: Thanks to Tandem Collective UK and Harper Collins for my free copy of this book in return for an honest review] Would I recommend it? If you're a cat lover then yes, you'll probably relate to it and like it but I wouldn't call it funny. I found a lot of it quite depressing really. It's not a book I would recommend to friends. I did find Mia quite relatable in some aspects (however, some things she did truly had me cringing and feeling disgusted). I think a lot of people worry about something happening to their fur babies, which obviously Mia really struggles with that. However, I thought it was quite problematic that she attends groups that are about particular things that she does not suffer from.

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) The heroine Mia is in her 40's with a successful career. She married her husband in her 30's and he's divorced and has a son who she is Stepmother to. However, her husband's ex still spends a lot of time at their house and Mia doesn't like her. Mia has a cat called Pigeon and neither her husband or his ex particularly like the cat. Her husband doesn't like the cat in their bedroom so they have separate rooms. Mia is quite a cold fish as a wife! Women who love their cats are said to be projecting on to them an intimacy they are unable to experience elsewhere I saw this book on my daughter’s bookshelf and something appealed to me, so I read it. It is a collection of 3 stories written for I think 9-12-year olds. I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting so it was a surprise to find that they were, or should I say are a little scary. 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.

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. At times the story was quite extreme, but you know…..I got it. I got the fear of losing a cat even if potentially in years to come. I really didn’t want to cry at this book and I tried so hard not to but it just couldn’t be helped, I finally caved and found myself full of tears. If you’re a big emotional softie like me then you may find the last quarter of the book either upsetting and/or heart-wrenching but also heartwarming at the same time as the conclusion to the story neared.

Sometimes she's way too open - the visit to the GP to get support with her crabs is a stand-out moment.Dawn O'Porter challenges the stereotypes of the typical 'cat lady' with this beautiful and emotional read' Reader review⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I loved laughing with/at some of the characters and I was emotionally destroyed* as I watched some of the characters' lives unravel.

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.I've found with other Dawn O'Porter novels that her characters aren't fleshed out very well and it's still the case in this novel. I also think you need to be a cat lover to really appreciate some aspects of the story, so it didn't help that I am not a cat lover! I found some parts a bit off putting where she talks about her and Pigeon's special relationship! There are other parts that I won't spoil that I found even more off putting.