This book looked very interesting, and the cover is gorgeous, so I jumped at the chance to read it on Netgalley. Nancy Jones is a kind, caring woman, living in an old house with its overgrown garden and family of cats. To an outsider she may come across as the epitome of lonely, the stereotypical 'cat lady', but nobody knows her story, the reason why she is alone. Through memories and unexpected meetings with people from her past, Nancy finds herself slowly coming to terms with the grief that destroyed her life, that led such a compassionate, nurturing person to end up alone.

Admittedly I found this book quite slow at first, but it becomes more intriguing half way through. Even so, this is a wonderfully written, thought-provoking and often heartbreaking story that explores loneliness in society, grief, and new beginnings.

#TheyCallMeTheCatLady #NetGalley

So, I thought this was a fun book. It is not. The term "heart wrenching" comes to mind. I got over that this is not funny, and I did enjoy this book.

This poor cat lady has had a sad life of painful tragedies. The storyline is told in flashbacks as Nancy (mc) tries to live a quiet life, while wondering if she can step out of her comfortable life of cats and small niceities to bullied children. She seems to have spent about 20 yrs trying to go unnoticed and suddenly realized it has not helped with her grief or guilt.

She reconnects with someone from her past who has done the opposite- spent 20 yrs trying to live as much as possible and stand out- and they are in the same place- lonely and unhappy.

As Nancy begins to allow more people in her life and try new (and old) things she begins to live again. She reconnects with the tragedies in her past and begins to have hope that her life may go on.

As with other books, this one is lacking in diversity, although there is one gay character. There is some good opportunities to talk about how different (and difficult) it could be to come out 20 yrs ago, but that was kinda muted.

In the end, the book is hopeful with Nancy learning to forgive herself and live with her grief.

I figured this was going to be a light read but it totally was not. This was a very emotional story but all of the characters worked well and I enjoyed reading about Nancy and her life.

Definitely not a feel good read throughout but the ending was simply lovely. There are some small flaws and some strange references for the time frames but I can discount those because the overall tale worked so well.

I'm going to try some more books by this author in the future.

Description
You’ve seen me on the street. You’ve walked past my house, and pointed, and wondered. The cat lady. All on my own, with only my five cats to keep me company. Did no-one ever tell you that you can’t judge a book by its cover?

Everyone in town knows Nancy Jones. She loves her cats. She loves her tumbledown house by the sea. She loves her job in the local school where she tries to help the children who need help the most. Nancy tries hard not to think about her past loves and where those led her…

Nancy never shares her secrets – because some doors are better kept locked. But one day she accepts a cat-sitting request from a local woman, and at the woman’s house, Nancy sees a photograph, in a bright-red frame. A photograph that opens the door to her painful past…

Soon Nancy doesn’t know what frightens her the most: letting her story out or letting the rest of the world in. It’s impossible to find companionship without the risk of losing it. But can Nancy take that risk again?

This was a very touching, beautiful book. Nancy is someone you do connect with. She is such a caring, kind woman. A lovely, kind story about the people we often overlook, the people more worthy than most of the rest of us. It touched my soul and heart. Beautiful. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy for review.

Being a cat lady myself I will joyed this book. There were a lot of themes in the book that were well wriiten. I enjoyed it and needed a delightful book I could not put down. The characters were described well. I almost feel like there were "nine lives" in the book. A fun read.

A lovely read,read it over the weekend fell right into the story the characters didn’t want it to end. #netgalley #bookoture

This is a gentle story about the local "cat lady", who is reality has a tragic past and has turned to her beloved cats and her work at a local elementary school to soothe her troubled heart. A lovely, kind story about the people we often overlook, the people more worthy then most of the rest of us