The Three Lives of Cate Kay was a 5-star read for me. I love any book that can't fit into one specific genre. The writing, the fleshed-out characters, the overall story was one that will stick with me for a long time. The weaving of the story was fascinating, between past and present as well as very much in the vein of Daisy Jones in the Six with a documentary style format.

You will want to pick this one up ASAP and once you do, you will not be able to put it down. Great first read of the new year!

The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan is a compelling novel about identity, memory, and reinvention. Cate Kay, a secretive author of a blockbuster trilogy, is forced to confront her hidden past after a shocking revelation.

As a young adult, Cate and her best friend Amanda dreamed of stardom, but a tragedy shattered their plans, leaving Cate on the run. Decades later, Cate must return home to face her past and find closure.

Fagan delivers an emotional story of reinvention and redemption and it felt utterly unique and fresh. While some twists are predictable, the heartfelt journey and satisfying resolution make this a solid 4-star read for fans of character-driven stories with a touch of mystery.

Thank you to Atria Books for my free review copy.

This book! What a powerhouse of a ride!

It's so well written, I got caught up from page 1. I needed to know everything about Cate (aka Cass aka Annie aka Anne). And the author gives us everything.

"...it is a monument. Carved from a mass of bad decisions and selfishness and, it pains me to admit, cruelty. And yet, I want you to love me anyway."

It's that last sentiment that truly drives this story - and what drove me to read it in a rush.

Darkly beautiful, a downward spiral, in layers of fiction. A fictional character, becoming a fictional author, writing a fictional book, in a fictional book. And even the characters involved have trouble escaping the spiral. But that's the journey.

"A minor miracle, such moments - seeing your person before they see you."

Cate Kay isn't who she seems to be--not even to herself. Several names and identities later in her life, she is far from the smart, impressionable girl she had been. In THE THREE LIVES OF CATE KAY, Kate Fagan tells the story of a woman who slips out of names, into different lives, and escapes when they do not serve her. Well-written and wonderfully plotted, this story was fascinating twists and turns and insights into little-known worlds and places. I was caught up in her story, even when I questioned the protagonist's motives, but believed every single word as true, well-wrought tale. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Loved! The comparison to "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" is spot on - the story is written with her relationships as the anchors to the story and I loved Cate's notes at the end of each chapter.

When I saw that the blurb teased “Evelyn Hugo” like vibes, I was super excited to start this book. But beyond a lesbian FMC, I didn’t see the connection.

I enjoyed the relationship between Amanda and Annie at the beginning of the story. But once she fled her hometown after the accident (which was in no way Annie’s fault), I lost interest. It was hard for me to believe that a friend like that would just split for years with no contact.

As the story progressed, there were a lot of short chapters tucked into the main plot about other very minor characters to help the story along. But I felt these to be unnecessary to the story and just forced me to remember another character’s name while slowing things down.

Once I got to the end of the story and the truth of Amanda’s accident, though, I couldn’t put it down! I wanted to know about ALL the reunions. But unfortunately, they were all very brief and left me wanting for so much more.

The short chapters and writing style made it easy to read, so overall, I enjoyed this story. I’m sure a lot of book clubs will be picking this to discuss because there sure is a lot to unpack!

As a side note - when reading this book on my Kindle, I found the little footnotes at the end of the chapters hard to navigate. I didn’t realize until a few chapters in that there were actual asterisks within the chapter that the footnotes were specifically talking about. They were hard to see on the e-reader, and it was kind of annoying trying to flip back and forth to refresh my memory.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC!

This was a standout fiction debut about an anonymous best-selling author and the three very different lives (and loves) she's had over the years. Well written, moving and at times heartbreaking, this Sapphic second chance love story tackles the cost of being out as a famous actress while also dealing with the bonds of female friendship and guilt/grief over past mistakes.

Great on audio with a full cast of narrators and perfect for fans of authors like Taylor Jenkins Reid. I really enjoyed this and can see it becoming a favorite for readers in 2025! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @simon.audio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Ugh I love female friendships so I really enjoyed this book. A really good debut novel and I can see it being a big hit in 2025

What a treat to enjoy this as my first read of the year! Kate Fagan’s writing in this emotional tale sings - it is funny and sharp and insightful.

Our protagonist, “Cate Kay,” is a successful author using a pen name and throughout the book we learn about her other names, and how closely her past mirrors the bestselling books she wrote. Told as a memoir with short chapters from many different POVs and timelines, this story is a rollercoaster! Friendship, love, longing, regret, betrayal, reconciliation…it’s all here.

If you loved the complicated relationships of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, the wit of Margot’s Got Money Troubles, and the storytelling format of Daisy Jones & the Six…definitely check this book out! Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the eARC!

Ummmm.. I’m obsessed???!?! This book was everything I needed and more to start the year. The storytelling had me from the start, and I loved the strong personalities that came through with each character that entered the story.

Although the vibes are comparable to Evelyn Hugo, I do think this story carries its own weight. To fans of the story - READ IT NOW. If you weren’t an EH fan - don’t let the comparison deter you from picking up this heart wrenching book.

An overall amazing read. I was crying and giggling and just cannot recommend it enough. Many thanks to the publisher and author for this ARC!

I really enjoyed this one! The writing was unique and I appreciated having multiple points of view to help connect the story. It ended up being a bit more emotional than I expected, but in a good way.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the e-galley. The opinions here are all my own.

This book has a lot of buzz comparing it with the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. To be honest, Evelyn Hugo is in a category all its own.

I was intrigued at the start having a vested interested in the Capital/Upstate New York region in where the book begins. I enjoyed Annie and Amanda's friendship and understood their wanting to escape their tiny hamlet.

To be honest, Cate's post- tragedy escape bothered me. The "accident" was not her fault. She ended up not living and floundering for most of the book.

Some of the POVs were unnecessary, such as Carl (lovely story) and Jake( added some suspense, but not enough, I had already figured out who was behind one of the turning points).

This is a generous 3 for me. It has quick chapters, is somewhat riveting, but there are too many plot holes and weird decisions for me.

The Three Lives of Cate Kay shows the true love of friendship, growing up and finding yourself, and the layered history of relationships. I loved watching Annie, Cass, and Cate intertwine into the person they fully weaved into by the last chapter. Any fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid, or even just fans of frienship will love this.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback. Recommend for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

The foreward tells of a box that is delivered to a home in South Carolina addressed to Cate Kay. But who, exactly, IS Cate Kay? She says she was born Anne Marie Callahan, but her best friend called her Annie. She legally changed her name to Cass Ford, but published several books under the pseudonym Cate Kay. And thus the story begins.

Two teenage girls in Bolton Landing, a town in "very upstate" New York are simply too EVERYTHING for this little town and they plan to leave it and never return after their high school graduation. But the exit is delayed and just before they are finally leaving a tragic accident puts one of them in a wheelchair for life and no one knows what happened to the other one. She just vanished on the same day her friend was injured and no one has heard anything from her for 23 years.

But one day the injured friend picks up a book, THE book, the most popular book in the world, and when she reads it, she immediately knows what her best friend has been doing, at least for the last few years. But it is IMPOSSIBLE to reach this author. She is surrounded by people whose sole job is to keep her identity a secret, and they do it very well.

When THE book is about to be made into a movie, the star of the film insists she MUST meet the author in order to better understand the part and the story and make her performance believable. So she finally does meet Cate Kay and their relationship is not really good for either of them, at least in the eyes of those who feel protective of their charges.

If you can get past the lesbian sexuality, which sometimes seems gratuitous, this is a good and strong story.

I went into this book thinking I wasn’t going to like it as much as I did. When I started it, I felt like it wasn’t the right ‘time’ for me to read the book, but by the end, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it.
I loved how Fagan dug into the characters and really focused on Annie and Amanda’s growth throughout the novel. It was also interesting to read this novel as Cate’s ‘memoir’ and as a fan of footnotes, I enjoyed the additional commentary. There were some POVs that I felt did not add to the plot and I also found myself really disliking Sidney (though I felt like that wasn’t what was supposed to happen due to Cate’s okay-ness with Sidney’s crazy actions). I liked the theme of self-love and how strong of a force love can be in motivating actions and intentions. I’m excited for Fagan’s future works!

Enjoyed reading something completely different. Annie changes her identity twice due to bad decisions and the need to stay under the radar. It took a while to get into the story but once the defining bad decision was made things picked up. Multiple points of view helped clarify each event and not being able to predict what happens next was refreshing. Loved the short chapters which allowed me to pick up reading when I could carve out a few minutes to spare.

I love a book that has a story that’s told over a specific timeline, especially when it goes in and out of the present, and the author did a great job keeping it easy to follow, even when one chapter was in the past and the next wasn’t. I also loved the format being that the character is writing the book herself, or at least it reads like a personal journal. I would definitely read more from this author.

The Three Lives of Cate Kay is a compelling and an emotional roller coaster read. The story beautifully explores how a questionable decision can create ripple effects that transforms into life (in this case a well-curated lie). It’s emotional, poignant, and exquisitely written as the narrative delves into the complexities of identity, love, relationships, and the process of personal reinvention.

One of the highlights of this book is the relationship between Cass/Annie and Amanda. It’s so deep, so intimate, that they know each other perfectly well , in ways no one else could. Another intriguing aspect of this book for me is the use of multiple perspectives, giving each character a voice and empathy to the readers as they add layers to Cass/Annie’s story. At times, it almost felt like reading a memoir disguised as a fiction.

The ending of the story was well-crafted, creating a full circle moment and open-ended, which I really liked.

I devoured this book in two days, completely captivated by every second of it. Ultimately, The Three Lives of Cate Kay is a story about love–the love that Cass/Annie feels towards Amanda and Ryan–that serves as the heart and soul of this narrative, making it unforgettable.

Thank you so much to Atria Books and Netgalley for the eARC of this book.

The Three Lives of Cate Kay is a compelling and emotionally charged novel that delves into the complexities of identity, memory, and personal reinvention. The protagonist, Cate Kay, lives multiple lives in parallel, each offering a unique lens on her growth and struggles. The narrative weaves together themes of self-discovery, regret, and the impact of past choices in a way that keeps readers engaged from start to finish. While the book shines in its exploration of character depth and psychological nuance, it occasionally veers into predictability. Still, the rich storytelling and relatable emotional beats make it a rewarding read. I give it 4/5 stars for its gripping premise and strong character development, though there's a bit of room for more unpredictability in the plot.