Maybe more like 2.5 stars?

What I liked:
•kitties. This concept of a cafe that adopts out cats is cute.
•a little romance ~ I just didn’t feel their vibe
•cute, sweet story to pass time.

What I didn’t like:
•the vet/cafe owner being mad that the person who rescued a kitten from a property was not a cat person. I mean…lots of people aren’t meant to be pet parents. Of course, that became the love interest.
•not much of a plot
•I just didn’t care much, but was invested in finding out the ending
•Christmas was like 1 chapter of the book. If it’s in the title, set it in Christmasville, USA!

I recommended this book to a friend yesterday who was having a rough day and she loves cats. I think this book has an audience that will enjoy it. It was just not my favorite. Thank you @netgalley for the advanced ebook. The book was published in October ~ but with Christmas in the title, I delayed till after Halloween. Turns out it doesn’t matter when you read it.

Book 85 of 2022

I enjoyed this title more than I thought I will.

I’m not a big fan of Christmas books but this one sounded interesting and that cover is really cute, plus some of my Booksta friends are raving about it so I had to read it myself as well.

The meet cute and all the good guy part had me rooting for them from the beginning and I loved how while it’s a very slow burn romance , it touches many topics that I’m always curious to read about because authors have a great imagination.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

•“Even when you talk in zigzag sequences, I understand you.”•

This book was adorable! I loved the sweet nature of it and the ease of the characters as they build chemistry.

Kara and Ben are such kind souls both dealing with their own heartaches when they meet. I really enjoyed that this book takes you through their budding relationship and you get to see how they each deal with their own insecurities and issues.

Just such a well written, well paced, great overall book for the holidays or anytime of the year.

DNF - Wasn't an overall fan of the FMC or MC which takes away from the enjoyment of the book overall. Also, judging someone for not liking animals, should not be an indicator of a personality trait. It means they're responsible enough to know that they should own animals.

I will never say no to cats!

As someone who worked at a low-cost animal clinic and also a cafe (at different times) and have enjoyed trips to cat cafés in different states and countries, this sounded like the purrfect choice for me!

I do absolutely love Halloween, but this book was a nice palate cleanser for all of the horror and thriller I’d been loading onto my plate over the last month or two.

This was a really easy and quick read; I could picture it in my mind as I was reading it. You get a bit of backstory, people who are multi-faceted and have complex feelings, and cats. The chapter intros as cat bios was really quite fun!

This really reflects all of the hard work that goes into animal clinic care, fostering/adopting as well as the effect after the fact. It brought some cool ideas that I could see picking up in today’s world of catfés. Hoping this brings a new appreciation for vets, vet techs and admin workers who help with any kind of animal care.

In addition to spreading the cat love, it gets you ready for the holiday season. Not much says cozy quite like curling up with a book, a hot tea or coffee and a cat to cuddle with you while you read.

Thank you to the author, Codi Gary, Forever Publishing and NetGalley for the arc ebook copy of this book!

I flew through this book! I would read any time I got the chance, even if that meant reading only a page or two!

I relate so much to the main character, Kara. The things she loves: The Holiday, cats, and helping others.


She has ADHD and talks a mile a minute, usually to the chagrin of others. With Ben though, that’s not the case. He enjoys talking to her and can always keep up with her change in topic in the middle of a sentence. They are a great pairing, both having been out of a relationship for only a year or two and both not truly ready to dive back into dating. They decide to casually date each other as healbounds (not rebounds). They both don’t like social media because of what it entails: seeing your friends and families happy posts even when you aren’t feeling particularly happy (Ben) and other people finding you and harassing you (Kara). Kara’s ex-fiancé, Ferris “Worthy” Worthington, was bad news. He did awful things and it is why Kara hates all types of media. Ben’s ex-girlfriend ended up with his brother and so he deleted his social media.

We have a dual-POV as we learn about how the cat cafe is struggling and Ben, with his partner Schwartz, come up with a marketing strategy to help out. Kara and Charity, her business partner, had opened up the cafe in April and were afraid they were not going to be able survive to the new year. With the marketing strategy and Ben’s “25 Days of Camas” idea with giveaways, they worked their butts off, as well as upped their social media game and it paid off!

Each chapter is titled with a different cat available for adoption along with a description. It’s so cute!

Side note: I think it would be so much fun to own and run a cat cafe that helps the community and local shelters!

I love books with cute animals. I love the chemistry between Kara and Ben - maybe it's pheromones? This was such a fun, quick read.

This is a Hallmark moving waiting to happen! If you're ready to deck the halls, don't forget to include this book!

This book is very readable, I kept wanting to turn the pages. I also loved the cat bios at the start of each chapter (with the art too) very cute!!

That being said this book was just okay. It felt like a Hallmark movie (like a fun time, but not like actually that good). My main issue was the dialogue, it didn't feel real at all and it just felt stitched together. Kara was a decent character, but Ben was just ehhh. The man is upset his fiancée left him for his brother (sorta valid) but they were barely together and the man moved across the country and won't speak to his parents bc of it? grow up.

I also hate when books try to make raunchy jokes "PG" or kid appropriate. Just leave them out or write the dirty joke!! These weird walk around have me confused!!

IDK I'm probably not the target audience here except for the fact that I love cats so much.

This was such a cute book! To me it really read like a hallmark Christmas story, and I’ll definitely recommend it for those wanting to read that this holiday season! It moved a bit too fast for my liking, but I loved the main characters and I loved the cats.

This was a wonderful cat-tastic Christmas romance. You instantly are cheering for Ben and Kara, all the while appreciating the apprehensiveness they both have towards not only romantic relationships, but interactions with others. It is a relatable tale of your past forming how you move forward. Codi is able to write these relationships in such a way that you devour the pages. To say I fan girled when my signed copy arrived would be an understatement! Thanks @authorcodihallgary 😻
Also - this book made me want all the cats!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🐈 A Cat Cafe Christmas by Codi Gary

I love cats SO much, so I immediately knew I had to read this adorable holiday romance 🤣 I thought Kara and Ben were an adorable couple. Also, I loved reading as they both grew as individuals and overcame the challenges they’d dealt with for years. It added some substances to this otherwise light rom com 🎄 [thank you @netgalley and @readforeverpub for the #gifted e-book]!

I thought a Christmas novel set at a cat café would be right up my alley, but this book wasn't for me. From the first few pages, I already knew the writing style wasn't for me, but I wanted to give it a proper shot, so I stuck with it. However, it didn't get better. The female lead got on my nerves from the beginning, jumping to the conclusion that the male lead was the devil incarnate without any real reason. It felt forced. The male lead also was a little misogynistic, calling her a "crazy cat lady" in the first chapter. I'm all for "crazy cat lady" as an affectionate term (I call myself that often), but when it comes from a place of malice, I'm totally over it. It started to get a little better when the male lead found a kitten, but the female lead's reaction to him not wanting to take care of it when he is in the middle of construction on his house just tipped me over the edge.

Thank you, NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book reads like if Fox's Call Me Kat and a Hallmark Christmas Movie had a baby, and that's a good thing. The cat profiles at the beginning of each chapter were a nice touch.. As for the romance aspect between Ben and Kara, it felt like it unfolded organically. It wasn't rushed, and had very real bumps in the road due to past relationships. The friendships between Kara and Charity, and Ben and Schwartz were also a nice bonus as well.

Overall, a quick light-hearted holiday rom-com type read. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Oh, the CATS! This was just a sweet and cute little holiday romance. Let's start off with the utterly cute and creative way the author started off each chapter with a funny little blurb on each adoptable cat. I loved it and it made the book.

I loved the main characters (Ben and Kara) and their stories, I loved watching them grow and trying to heal from past relationships and hurt. I loved seeing them grow together. The conflict was annoying, but they always are.

I'm hoping for a second book? With the two best friends?

Loved the whole concept of this book. The cats in a coffee shop, Wish we had that locally!

No smut, which I appreciated. Just a wholesome cute book to read - especially if you love Christmas, cats and coffee shops.

This was SO cute and I flew through it on a short flight. It was certainly a little sickly sweet but I had such a good time and really enjoyed following all the characters' journeys.

Truly if you are a cat person, this book will give you GREAT joy

A Cat Cafe Christmas was such a cute holiday romance! I loved all the cat descriptions and cute names in each chapter. Ben and Kara were great together, too, and I enjoyed their friendship, then romance.. This is definitely the perfect read for someone who loves romance, second chances in life, and cats.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy through NetGalley and am voluntarily writing an honest review.

3.5 stars

A super cute story about a cat café that needed some extra love put into it, a woman who hates the media due to her horrible ex, a man who hates cats… for now, and charming side characters who work to bring the café up!

I have my complaints about this book, but overall… it is just so cute.

The FMC was a bit annoying, but watching her grow, although she started off childish, was nice to see.

The MMC, I appreciated a lot. He truly grew in a positive way, and it felt realistic.

There is no explicit spice in this book, so this is truly only for those who want a fluffy romance! Definitely good for a cozy night curled up on the couch during the holiday season.

The book was a bit back and forth with the conflict going on, which was a tad bit annoying, but the romance was just so sweet and cute… I was able to look past it, 100%.

Guide to my ratings:
5 stars: flawless, hard to put down
4 stars: it was really good and memorable
3 stars: it was good/okay
2 stars: no redeeming qualities and forgettable
1 star: horrible, had no idea what was going on, boring!!!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review, which has not altered my opinion of this book. I would like to thank NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC copy of this book.

I want to start this review off by saying that this book was absolutely adorable and I loved so much about it. The characters were golden, especially Ben and Charity. Those two were stellar! Both were honestly the best partners you could ask for, smart, sassy, and loyal. When it comes to Kara, I did have a few problems with her, and I won't lie that I ended up yelling at her a few times for being too stubborn and caught up in the past. I understand that I can't completely sympathize with her situation but I can see that she was holding onto things that should have been let go. Her relationships were what saved both her and the story itself. With Charity, she was obviously happier but she kept dwelling and it ended up really bothering me and I appreciated that Charity called her out on it from the beginning. And the one line near the end I was waiting for (I won't post it here because SPOILERS, but oooo it was coming and I appreciated the heck out of it!). I also appreciated her relationship with Ben because it was healthy and neither would put up with anything else. I could go on about these relationships, but that would take forever. Generally, I really liked these characters, though Charity and Ben were my favorite, along with the cats.

The story progressed in a way that made sense and still added tension along the way. I think part of the reason I have issues with romance novels and I'm picky about which ones I end up liking, is how the characters handle things. When I end up wanting to shake the main character and get annoyed at her afterwards, it tends to leave me frustrated rather than smiling at the cuteness of the endings. Unfortunately, that's a bit of how I felt about Kara and that did bother me. however, the rest of the book made up for it and it still gets a 4 out of 5 from me.

Cute Christmas story with the added bonus of cat adoptions. I loved the premise of the cat café but found Kara abrasive and not the best advocate for adoption; in fact, the way she treated Ben when he tried to turn in a cat he found on the street was appalling. Fortunately, I didn’t give up after that and got to watch her transformation to an almost likeable person. Ben was the better of the two. I loved the cats and the sweet ending to this one.

Kara and Ben had their hearts broken in disastrously bad ways. I won’t say what happened because it’s not mentioned in the book description, I’m just going to say that they have every reason to be leery of new relationships when they meet. But they’re draw to each other is impossible to deny. They are both truly good people and it’s nice to see them being treated the way they deserve.

Kara owns a cat cafe with her best friend. Kara is a veterinarian and she cares for all the kitties. They have more kitties looking for homes than they have interest led adopters. They also aren’t bringing in a lot of money.
They’re in need of a Christmas miracle.

I loved Ben. But neither Kara nor I liked him at first when he said he didn’t like animals. Then a feisty orange kitten showed up in his life and changed everything.

Ben goes back to the cafe to get Kara’s help with the kitten. Kara helps of course, but isn’t impressed with Ben’s plan to leave the kitten at the cafe.
Somehow, Ben winds up helping Kara with plumbing issues *and* she talks him into fostering the kitten for awhile.

When Ben learns the whole story about how Kara’s cat cafe is struggling, he wants nothing more than to help her.

These two were so cute but so cautious. Their pasta relations dramas had the potential to ruin their chance with each other.

On a Christmas scale, this book is not super Christmassy. There’s more focus on a big Christmas miracle than a bunch of smaller Christmas details. There was a bit of Christmas tree decorating but mostly this book focuses on whether these two can save the day for the cat cafe and find lasting long along the way.

One of the cutest things about this book was that every chapter describes a cat and has an absolutely adorable drawing of the cat. I love that!

Come for the cats, stay for the love story :)

I received an early ebook edition from NetGalley. Thanks!