I quite enjoyed the Cows, but then wasn't a big fan of So Lucky, so I wasn't really sure what to expect from this one. I was drawn in from the first section about Mia's childhood, and keen to find out more as the story progressed.
I really enjoyed Mia's character, and her unapologetic self, and found her inner monologue hilarious. Whilst she has some somewhat unconventional ways about her life, they work for her.
Perfect for cat lovers, so accurately describes what it's like to love and have a bond with a cat.
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed Cat Lady, my favourite book that I've read of Dawn's.

Full of Dawn's warmth and relatable prose, Cat Lady doesn't disappoint.

Mia seems to have it all. She's a snappy dresser, high flying job at a prestigious jewellery firm, a gorgeous cat and a marriage that up until now how been working.

We follow Mia as Her life starts to be turned upside down.

The novel explores themes such as greif, relationship and freindship and really gets the reader to think about what matters in life. The smallest of things can truly be the one thing that saves us or make us see life anew.

Unputdownable and completely wonderful!

I'm a DOP far anyway and have read her previous novels so was looking forward to reading this.
I really enjoyed it, it was a nice easy read but also with a serious message underlying it all. I read it in two days and would definitely recommend it.

Mia's world revolves around her cat. Pigeon came in to her life at a pivotal time and she invests love and time in the relationship. Marriage with a step son and an ex wife who muscles in is hard. Fulfilling and frustrating career with colleagues who are challenging. An in depth look at relationships and how they shape us. Never underestimate the bond between human and animal.

It was my first dip into the world of Dawn O'Porter and I'm here to stay.

I see a lot of myself in Mia, she's the unflappable and dependable one, but what if hiding undernethe someone is just wants to break free? I thought she was well written, relatable and realistic in a world that felt too good to be true (but then I do not have access to that kind of world).

The conclusion was favourable, it lead to the right ending for all characters and felt when finished like the end of a good meal, statisfied but wanting more.

Guyssss, I loved this. I loved dawns writing style. I loved how quirky and different it is. I love the characters. I'm a huge Dawn I Porter fan and this did not disappoint! I whizzed through it in record time. Its light hearted but with a serious message at its core. Be uniquely you, don't conform to societal norms. One size life does not fit all.

Loved it!

I so enjoyed this book. It was easy to read but some of that was because I liked the character of Mia so much.
Mia's life falls apart in quick succession On the same day she is fired, her marriage is over and worse, she loses her best friend, her cat.
A good story, with a hopeful ending that is never too obvious, but satisfying.

3.5* rounded up.

I only discovered the author recently so dont know her writing style well, but have found a previous book absolutely hilariously fantastic. That said I was quite excited for this read.

The middle of this book was very strange - a bit shock factor rather than funny, it actually stressed me out a little, but the character was also stressed so maybe I really resonated with her and that's why I was stressed!

But I still didn't want to put the book down, I read it in two days and thoroughly enjoyed the end - the crabs situation is too funny!

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Let No-One Judge…
Bright, brassy and bold as well as rather joyous and often excruciatingly despairing. Cat Lady - does Mia fit into the supposedly standard definition? Well, she tries but really, should she? For let no one judge her - she has a hard enough time judging herself. She will strive to be independent but let’s hope that she always lands the right way up. This woman does not have nine lives.

I took a while to get into this book, the character of Mia was initially quite one dimensional but once the pace picked up around halfway through it became much more readable. Thanks NetGalley

"It's never 'just a cat' - it's a symbol of how hard you are capable of loving."

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, 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.

Mia, the animal: Women in their forties are allowed to be sexual too, right?

Mia, the cat lady: A cat is never "just a cat". Ever.

I'm conflicted here. I've read reviews that said people laughed out loud at this - I was the opposite, I cried several times and found the whole story really sad. Leaving aside some really explicit stuff just thrown in there for shock value (at one point early on I was very worried that this woman was going to sexually abuse her cat), it's a story about a woman who has quite a tough, lonely upbringing who feels like she needs to conform to certain standards.

"The problem with coming from bedlam is no matter how much you take on to keep yourself distracted, it's persistent little voice will always be calling you back."

I liked the main story, I just didn't think there was any need for some of the stuff mentioned.
Also, on what planet is Mother's Day on a weekday?!

This book is laugh out loud, the incident in the doctors will stay with me forever! A story of betrayal, cats and a group of people dealing with the death of their beloved pets. Absolutely worth the read

The latest from Dawn O’Porter is funny, brutal and emotional in places and above all honest and raw.

At times I couldn’t warm to the central character and certainly at the start couldn’t understand why she did some of the things she did, but as the book progresses I understood a little more. As ever, this isn’t your typical ‘chick lit’ / rom com- the characters are supposed to be flawed, even ugly at times and I liked it more because of this- no one is perfect so it makes it more real.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This has to be Dawn O’Porter’s best novel to date.

I loved Mia. She gave me Eleanor Oliphant vibes, in the best way. You have to admire a woman who knows what she likes and lives her life her own way.

There was so much this book explored. From familiar, friendly and romantic relationships all the way to how a pet is so much more than ‘just a pet’.

Serious topics were covered so beautifully and I loved the humour sprinkled throughout. It shows that everyone is going through something and that just because someone’s life is different to yours, it doesn’t make them any less of a person than you are.

I felt every range of emotion whilst reading this book and I’m very thankful to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the ARC.

Mia lives a very ordered life, both professionally and personally. She has been married to Tristan for years and is an amazing step mum to his son. Mia is also a member of a pet bereavement group even though , her cat Pigeon has not died. However, she is a fearful of the day he does as he has been the one constant in her life, and when things start spiralling out of control Mia’s dependency on Pigeon strengthens.

Dawn O’porter challenges the stereotypes of the typical ‘cat lady’ with this beautiful and emotional read.

Mia seemingly has it all, job she loves, husband she likes, cat she adores, then everything starts to unravel.

I found this book quite difficult to read. It was humourous in places but also quite slow, with not a lot going on at times. I did feel quite sorry for Mia, which I’m not sure she would have wanted! I may try another Dawn O’Porter book to see if I ‘get it’ a little more.

Thanks to the author, Harper Collins and NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy. All views are my own.

Mia and her husband Tristan have been married for seven years. Despite this, Belinda, Tristan’s ex wife treats their home as if she still lives there. She does this under the guise of what’s best for her and Tristan’s son, Oliver, as they have shared access.

This is a quick, easy book to read, although unless you are a cat person, some of Mia’s actions will be hard to understand.

If you overlook various oddities- Mothers Day during the week being one - then it’s a story that flows well, and although there is a fair amount of filler, there is also a good dose of humour.

3.5* upped to 4*

Thank you NetGalley.

I didn’t like the authors previous book, so lucky, so I was a little bit apprehensive about reading this book. But I’m glad I went for this because I really enjoyed it! The first half of this book is quirky and funny. You meet very interesting characters who feel out of place in the mainstream society. This book has dark black humour that make you laugh if that’s your thing. But the story takes a turn about halfway through and the main character Mia goes into identit crisis, and it gets more serious from there. We get to know Mia’s traumatic backstory that makes you sad and cry. But don’t worry, the ending is I hopeful one as Mia accepts who she is and is happy being a cat lady that she is. All in all, this was a nice surprise because I loved it so much.

I'm a cat person and the title of the book promptly led me to pick this book up and I must say I was not dissapointed. A light hearted read, it simple is a joy to read about the characters ups and downs and ultimately transformation.