Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin Trade publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is conceptually unique. It is comparable to Before The Coffee Gets Cold. If you liked that book you'll probably enjoy this one. But don't be mistaken they are different and this book is bolder in my opinion.
I thought Grimalkin as a protagonist was awesome. That cat has got spunk and a great personality. One chapter is full of expletives.

It's just there was something missing for me that I cannot quite put my finger on. It is a really good book and I totally recommend. But I just was not wowed.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Ghost Cat by Alex Howard is a third person-POV contemporary and historical novel showing Edinburgh through the eyes of a cat from 1890 to 2022. Grimalkin is taken care of by the maid Eilidh until he dies from overheating. Death tells Grimalkin that cats are supposed to have nine lives and since he died on his very first life, he is sent back to the flat he lived and died in as a ghost.

One of the most interesting things about Ghost Cat is how it shows changes in attitudes, language, and values over the course of about 130 years in the same house. Grimalkin lived in the Victorian era and initially holds onto ideas of what is lower class and shows a lack of education but slowly lets them go the further he goes across time and even acknowledges it. He mostly does this through commenting on slang and pop culture, like The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine.

Each time period gets its own chapter and it feels like a snippet of the key details of that era. World War II, the coronation of Elizabeth II, the industrialization of Scotland of the 1980s, and more get a chance to share the spotlight. The 1960s was mostly through teenagers and the 1980s showed the economic crisis and the growing use of heroin. It’s a great look into the recent history of Scotland, the greater U.K. and the lives of normal people and their feelings regarding politics.

I would recommend this to fans of historical fiction, readers who prefer non-traditional POVs, and those looking for an insight into Edinburgh

After completing the book, I mulled it over for a bit, and thought that it was a decent book, but it definitely did not go the way I expected. It was not poorly written, it just wasn't for me,

Grimalkin, a cat whose story begins in a cozy setting, captures a moment between Grimalkin and Eilidh, his beloved human. This touching scene marks the end of Grimalkin's earthly existence and the beginning of his journey as the Ghost Cat. Grimalkin's ghost transition causes him to become a silent observer of the world around him. His perspective provides a unique view of the passage of time and the evolution of Edinburgh. The narrative cleverly uses Grimalkin's immortality to explore the lives of various individuals, revealing the interconnectedness of their stories and the city's history over 120 years.

This delightful story's premise was intriguing, adding some magic to a historical fiction-focused book. Grimalkin's personality shines and portrays classic cat thinking and behavior, which adds to the story's humor. His observations about humans, their relationships, and the passage of time make readers reflect on their lives and connections. You will immediately fall in love with Grimalkin. The author creates an imaginative, descriptive world that will move you through time. I enjoyed this cozy tale, but it also highlighted emotional and tragic times in human history. Every reader will love Grimaklin and his story.

I received an ARC ebook for my honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press.

Grimalkin is a majestic cat living in a historical flat in 1890’s Edinburgh. Once his natural life comes to an end, he is given a rare opportunity to experience the ages of the world in 9 separate lives in a distinctly feline way: 3 to stay, 3 to stray, and 3 to play.

Unfortunately this was a huge miss for me. It could have been cute and very sweet, but the writing was so poor that the attempts at charm very rarely landed. There were some strangely fatphobic, bigoted, and misogynistic vibes in certain chapters and the things that Grimalkin knew and could figure out seemed random with no clear pattern. There was no singular thread to connect the different storylines together and most of them seemed to end unceremoniously and awkwardly transition into the next without rhyme or reason. Grimalkin himself wasn’t a compelling enough character to carry the storyline through each vignette so it really dragged through most of the story.

Instead of charming snapshots of each era with a common thread of something meaningful to the story, like human-cat interaction or the way a single family inhabits the house, we get partial vignettes of random historical events with a diatribe of strange judgements on each from a poorly fleshed out character.

Also, points deducted for the plotline of a literal 1890’s era cat selling a man’s stocks online as some far-fetched form of vigilante justice. That was a little too much for me.

Huge thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for this Advanced Reader Copy! This review is my honest opinion and offered voluntarily!

Thank you so much to my friends at The Hive for a #gifted copy!

As a crazy cat lady, I was beyond excited to be part of the #ghostcatreadalong with our friends at The Hive! However you really don’t have to be crazy about cats to read this thought-provoking book that really makes you ponder over how transient what we call “life” is, made even more impactful by human alterations in wars, style, decor etc.

In 1902, Grimalkin dies from lead poisoning and immediately enters an alternate universe to face “Cat-Sith” ( a sort of Cat God of Death?) who gives him a choice of peaceful forever sleep or return to Earth as a ghost to use up his remaining 8 lives. Grimalkin chooses the latter so he can spend more time with the charlady who gave him a better life, and thus, we get this book where our Victorian feline experiences major historical events from 1909 to 2022. As the reader, you will experience a multitude of emotions reading the book from anger to sadness, tears to hope, as all the decades were made better but also worse by our own species, the homo sapiens.

The Ghost Cat is a short book but one that you want to read slowly and savor all the moments. I actually do wish the book was longer and we could experience more of Grimalkin’s thoughts and actions but I also see why the author kept it as it is.

It was interesting to follow a ghost cat through each of its 9 lives. I liked the way they describe the lives- 3 for staying, 3 for straying and 3 for playing.

This cat lives through 120 years (from late 1800s to late 2020s) in the same house in Edinburg. He gets insights to the changing times and people. I love how he helped one certain person, Hannah, who was dealing with some awful flatmates while trying to go to uni.

This is a slow paced book but it was unique enough to keep me entertained throughout.

The Ghost Cat
Alex Howard
Pub: 8/27
3.5☆

Synopsis:
Early morning, 1902. At 7/7 Marchmont Crescent, Eilidh the charlady tips coal into a fire grate and sets it alight. Overhearing, Grimalkin the cat ambles over to curl up against the welcome heat and lick his favorite human's hand. But this is to be his last day on earth…before he becomes the Ghost Cat.

Follow Grimalkin as he witnesses the changes of the next 120 years, prowling unseen among the inhabitants of an Edinburgh tenement while unearthing some startling revelations about the mystery of existence, the unstoppable march of time and the true meaning of feline companionship.

My Thoughts:
As a cat lover/owner the unique premise called out to me. The Ghost Cat was a cozy historical fantasy read. I enjoyed that we get to experience 9 lives spanning 120 years all from the POV of Grimalkin the cat. It’s a slower paced story so I did find my mind wandering a few times, but overall it was a fun read and I enjoyed taking part in the read-a-long.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to the Hive for hosting a fun read-a-long.

Like the ghosts of christmas past but...apartment future? A cat is granted 8 additional days as a ghost, haunting an apartment, jumping around the next 100 years, after the cat-god made a mistake. Fun, brainless; I agree with another reader that this might have been better as a middle grade chapter book. I wish he had more than a day in each new timeline, to have a deeper take away during these ghost visits.

The cat does die -- in the beginning and at the end.

This is a slow and meditative novel focusing on the last century plus of UK history centered in Edinburgh through the eyes of a cat. A cat lives an uneventful and long life, and as such is given the option to haunt his home for the 8 lives he didn’t use. Each life happens in a different decade, bouncing between events, large and small. Connecting the cat to both the famous, the infamous, and the everyday. (Think a feline with the luck of Forrest Gump and the time traveling abilities closer to Dr. Who).

For a book that is pretty slow paced, it is a fast read, for those that know much about British culture and history in the 20th century, it is interesting to see these events through the cat's eyes. Overall, a fun little bit of a book, and even though the cat dies, there is very little trauma, just a peaceful read.

Ghost Cat by Alex Howard
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Grimalkin the cat live in Edinburgh in 1902. He is given the opportunity to live the rest of his nine lives over the course of the next 100 years.
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I’m not sure if I have ever read an entire book from the POV of a cat and it was a lot of fun. Grimalkin had this wonderful affection for the woman who saved him as a kitten and it was sweet to see him check in on her throughout the years.
I think my favorite parts of the book were Grinalkin’s commentary on the year 1969 (alright mate?). I also loved his mischief years. 😈 Hannah’s part in the story was sad and I loved how quickly Grimalkin wanted to help her. And the second story with Keith was perfect. Grimalkin is the best!
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“The Ghost Cat” by Alex Howard tells the story of a cat named Grimalkin who has erroneously died before his time and is unable to naturally go through his nine lives. He is given the opportunity to experience his nine lives: three where he stays, three where he strays, and three where he plays.

The part of this book that I most enjoyed was the different historical contexts. Grimalkin travels through different eras of time and he makes a lot of observations, like differing house decor. It feels like the book was very well researched.

I also loved being in Grimalkin’s head. It is not often that I read a book that is in an animal’s point of view. There are a lot of things that must be considered in this regard and I think it was well done.

3.75 ⭐️

This is a little cozy historical fantasy in which we get to follow Grimalkin as he lives out his nine lives over the course of 120 years at 7/7 Marchmont Crescent in Edinburgh.

I really enjoyed getting to see snippets of history focused on one small setting of a Scottish flat. It was as if we were catching glimpses of mundane side stories relating to larger historical events, and to see them slightly intertwined with each other was wonderful. Grimalkin is a grumpy cat narrator whose commentary can be quite hilarious.

Grimalkins lives are broken into “Hauntings” and some Hauntings were a little drier and slower paced than others. I found myself more interested in the Hauntings that tied a little more directly to historical figures than those that focused on the average person. Some observations Grimalkin made were a little too neatly placed (finding out about recent events through reading a journal entry or just so happening upon a conversation that mapped out the time period). I do feel like this would be a fun book for upper middle grader who is even slightly interested in history. And loves cats.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Trade Publishing for the advance copy!

A cozy historical fiction that follows a cat as he get to experience his nine lives over the course of 100 years.

Net Galley gave me access to an ebook version of this text, which provided an interesting look at twelve decades of life in Edinburgh, Scotland, through the eyes of a cat. After the cat Grimalkin dies without going through his fabled nine lives, he returns as a ghost eight different times to visit the house where it died. These returns, or “hauntings,” provovide him an opportunity to follow for most of those visits the life of the charwoman who had saved him in that first life; in fact, he is at her side when she finally dies. The hauntings allow Grimalkin to comment on the changes taking place in Scotland over the course of a century.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Ghost Cat by Alex Howard. Grimalkin's journey through 120 years of Edinburgh was both enchanting and moving. Howard's portrayal of the cat's experiences and the subtle historical details made me feel like I was walking the streets alongside Grimalkin. While a few sections felt a bit slow, the overall story was heartwarming and reflective, leaving me pondering the passage of time and the meaning of companionship. A delightful read for anyone who loves a mix of history and the supernatural.

Grimalkin curled up by the fire in 1902 feeling a little off. When he woke up, he found himself in the afterlife. Grimalkin is granted an unusual gift, the ability to live out the rest of his eight lives as the Ghost Cat. Grimalkin returns to his home a 7/7 Marchmont Crescent in Edinburgh each time and learns a little bit more about life, death, and humans. He finds the woman who rescued him as a kitten in his first few lives and even gets to be by her side when she passes. He finds himself learning more about humans and he even manages to help a few of his new friends. A wonderfully charming novel!

It's been a long time since I opened a book and finished reading it in two sittings. I fell in love with Grimalkin the cat in 1902 and grew to adore him even more by 2022. And if that wasn't enough, the author cleverly dropped little historical facts like a trail of breadcrumbs. So much so, that every time I saw a little number tucked at the end of the sentence, I couldn't wait to find out what little nugget of information was waiting for me.

This is a five star for me: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you NetGalley and Hanover Square Press for this ARC.

3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for an arc of this book! This was a cute and cozy read that follows a cat and his nine “lives”, 8 of which he lives as a ghost. Although I enjoyed this book, I was expecting to actually see each life, but it turns out that each one is simply until he falls asleep on that day (so each life is only a handful of hours). I really liked the aspect of hearing the thoughts of Grimalkin (the cat) as he experienced each new development through time (each life is in a new time/around a decade or so after the previous), but it moved a bit slow for me.

When Grimalkin dies earlier than his destined time without using any of his 9 lives — so he is given the chance to live nine lives as a ghost cat —we experience history through his eyes over 12 decades — ending in 2022. He returns to his cat life eight times, seemingly at random intervals of time, for just a day each time.

This is an enchanting, cozy book set up so that each chapter is its own story but we follow the same main character Grimalkin -- makes it easy to pick up or take a break— Grimalkin is loveable, curious and endearing. We immediately get attached to the cat and his adventures through time — this story is a fun, quick, cozy, heartwarming, imaginative read.


Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC. This is my honest review.