New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Cafe

 New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Cafe

By Julie Haworth

Published 18 July 2024 Simon & Schuster

I dare you to walk past a book with a title like that! There I was, wandering through the Sainsburys ready meal aisle, into the books and this one mewed to me from the shelf.

Tori's dream trip around Asia with boyfriend Ryan ends with a single ticket back home to Blossom Heath, and lost luggage. Everyone loves Ryan, and Tori can't bring herself to tell people he broke up with her in Thailand and decided to stay out there. In fact, there is a good chance he'll come to his senses and come back to her so there's no point really in announcing a split if it's more of a... blip. So instead, Tori puts a brave face on things and keeps herself busy helping her mum behind the counter at their cafe. 

It's not just tea and scones that help keep Tori's mind from wandering to white sandy beaches. Her mum Joyce was struggling to manage the cafe while her daughter was away and her health was deteriorating. Tori is only too happy to take on more responsibility and introduces a few things to the menu she experienced on her travels. When her cat Ernie gets himself stuck up a tree, an encounter with animal-loving firefighter Leo sparks an idea - why not turn their business into a Cat Cafe like the ones Tori visited on her travels?

Things of course do not go according to plan and there is some local opposition to the idea of cats in a cafe but eventually, with the help of her mum, old friends and new, the Cosy Cat Cafe opens with a lovely litter of purrrrfect feline friends all available for adoption. However, those initial 'teething troubles' don't seem to be going away. It soon becomes clear someone is trying to sabotage Tori's venture. Does she have the resilience to keep fighting, especially when a certain someone shows his face at the door?

I really enjoyed how the book showed visiting the cafe met so much to so many different people. The cats I'm afraid stole every scene with their antics and personalities (huge love for Mr Wiggles) but the human characters were also well rounded and relatable. The romance between Leo and Tori is a winner, just the right amount of sweetness. The scenes with Izzy at the cat rescue were interesting and important showing the cats were well cared for, and that animal welfare was top priority.

I'm a cat lover but cannot have one of my own. Reading this has moved a trip to a Cat Cafe at the top of my bucket list!