The Three Lives of Cate Kay is an impressive debut from Kate Fagan. This is a character driven book that tells the story of one woman's life through the lenses of the three identities she used . Written partly in the form of a fictional memoir and with chapters from the perspectives of several other characters, the story moves quickly and the author does a very good job of drawing the reader in. This is helped by the almost conversational writing style which makes it feel like Cate is telling the reader her secrets. Cate Kay is a pseudonym for a best selling author whose identity remains a mystery to all but a very select few, but she now feels like the time has come for her to reveal the truth about her past and her identity, Born as Annie she grew up in a single parent household with an alcoholic mother and the best thing in her life was her friendship with Amanda, a kindred spirit who is always there for Annie and knows her better than anyone. The friendship seems to be blooming into something more until the day that everything changes and Annie flees to the city and her new identity of Cass, a struggling barista whose dreams of becoming a famous actress seem further away than ever, but who begins to write a story that will later be published under the name Cate Kay, the first in a best selling trilogy that will make her one of the most famous authors in the world. This period of her life is complicated, she befriends law student Sidney in an introductory writing class and they quickly become lovers and enter into a relationship that is both personal and professional. There is nobody that Cass trusts more but it seems like that trust may be misplaced. When her best selling debut is optioned by a studio to be developed into a movie Cass meets Ry. a young closeted actress who is desperate to land her dream role and quickly becomes infatuated , though it seems that the feelings are mutual until things go wrong yet again.
This is a book filled with complex relationships from childhood best friends and first crushes to unhealthy or even toxic romances and I was there for all of it, I found that I was immediately hooked by the opening of the book and I finished it in just a couple of sittings. If I had to pick a fault I think there could have been more of an effort to make the various character voices more distinctive, there were times when I found myself having to check back to see which character perspective I was in but that is a minor quibble. I found the pacing to be quite propulsive, especially in the second half of the book as the secrets from Annie/Cass/Cate's past came bubbling back up to the surface and I was excited to see how it would all pan out., thankfully the ending of the book was every bit as satisfactory as I was hoping for.
I read an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an eARC copy.

This story is at the same time entertaining and heartfelt. The book has been advertised highlighting the similarities with another well known fiction - The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo - and while I see where that came from, I think this is so much different, and since I was not the biggest fan of the other, I liked The three lives of Cate Kay more than I planned.
For sure there are irritating characters, but the plot and the yearning for more, kind of makes up for the annoyance.
What I liked the most in this novel is the depiction of deep friendship and platonic love.
And last but not least, I found the writing style marvelous, easy to read but so good.

If you like TJR you’ll love this, and if you don’t, you’ll probably like this anyway because it is different.

DNF Review • This feels like a book that will work much better for other readers than it did for me. At just 300 pages and with a mystery at its heart, I hoped it would be a quick and compelling read. Unfortunately, I just did not feel invested in the story at all. This book is the fictional memoir of a bestselling author who has had three different identities throughout her lifetime and is finally revealing her story. It is told through multiple points of view in relatively short chapters. Although that helped the pace, it made me significantly less invested in the characters. The voices felt the same -- I had to flip back a few times to remind myself who was supposed to be narrating (and what their connection was with the main characters). For those reasons, I decided to put this one down.

This was an emotional rollercoaster but the best kind. A must read for 2025. Beautifully written and engaging. Never a dull moment. Annie, Cass, Cate Kay, Annie, Amanda, Ryan. I only wish I could have seen more chapters from Amanda and Ryan at the end.

I don’t know how to review this book without spoilers, but I will do my best. For starters, I was instantly hooked by Cate Kay’s voice. I loved the conversational writing style and the way she spoke to the reader. It made the book easy to read and made me instantly like Cate Kay as the main character and narrator. And I continued to like her, despite her mistakes and bad decisions. I also liked that there were other perspectives mixed in, though I didn’t find the voices particularly unique. But my favorite thing about this book was the way it examined love and relationships. There were so many emotionally rich connections between characters, and that love often drove them to do the wrong things for the right reasons. It was amazing nuance. However, I did struggle a bit with the level of miscommunication, lying, manipulating, gaslighting, and generally unhealthy behaviors in many of these relationships. As for the plot, I found it a bit weak and anticlimactic. I did love the ending though. So overall this was an enjoyable read.

3.5 ⭐️ thank you atria and netgalley for the arc!! the three lives of cate kay was an enjoyable and fast paced read. i really loved cass/cate’s relationships with ry and amanda, and even sidney- but in a “she’s psychotic” way. however, i think that cass herself lacked depth as a character. she’s completely stuck in her past until her mid-thirties; please go to therapy!!
i see why this is being marketed to fans of evelyn hugo and i would recommend it to anyone who likes tjr- i could definitely feel the tjr influence in this book.

Told from multiple viewpoints, The Three Lives of Cate Kay is a fictional memoir unlike anything else I've read. Cate Kay aka Cass Ford aka Annie Callahan is a mysterious writer who has kept her identity secret despite her trilogy of books, The Very Last, rocketing her to stardom. Each chapter is told by varying characters taking us through Annie's life as she transforms to Cass and hides behind Cate.

I really enjoyed this book - I loved the multiple POV and found it particularly fun that Cate/Cass/Annie would put in her thoughts as if she were reading these recollections from each different character. Seeing the progression of. the chapter titles through Annie & Cass was also this great insight into where we were with her development. It also felt extra special as even minor characters got their moment in the sun, I found that particularly touching for Carl, the man in charge of the P.O. Boxes. The quote: "The trick of life, as I see it now, is to make what's around you beautiful. It'll grow from there. Took me a long time to see that." really embodies so much of the book and I highlighted and double underlined it while I read it.

Kate Fagan also expertly depicts what it's like to have a Best friend with a capital B between Amanda and Annie. There are so many moments throughout the book, but my favorite is how she captures the lexicon of friendship where you have these inside jokes and vernacular particular to you and your bestie. These get woven into the snippets of The Very Last that we get throughout the book as well.

Finally, of course, the different kinds of love as Annie/Cass stumbles her way through relationships - her unrequited love with Amanda, her situationship with Sidney, and her longing for Ryan.

All in all, I highly recommend this book - it's wonderfully queer, the character development is just lovely, and will be a great way for anyone to start of their 2025 reading.

Thank you so much to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I went into this expecting great things based on some other reviews I’d read but it ended up being three stars for me. Three stars, for me, means while I didn’t enjoy all of it, I know there is a huge market for this and others will love it.
I found myself having to go back and reread sections to make sense of who was who and what stage of life I was reading about.
I’ve read some excellent books wherein the plot is about writing a book but this one left me scratching my head at times.
However, if you enjoy sapphic romance, books about someone writing a book, and characters who are actors, I would recommend this.
The one aspect I loved was the relation to Lawrence, KS and the University of Kansas - my Alma mater! Rock Chalk Jayhawk - Go KU!

Unique and fun! This is being advertised as a Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo/First Lie Wins mash up and it certainly has vibes from both.

Nobody knows who Cate Kay really is even though she is one of the best selling authors of her generation. She is a mystery. But she’s ready to tell her story and this book is her memoir. It all begins in her childhood as she and her best friend dream about moving to Hollywood and becoming famous. But something goes terribly wrong…and you’ll just have to read it for yourself to find out the rest!

Thank you Netgalley, Atria Books and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on January 7, 2025

‘The Three Lives of Cate Kay’ is a memoir detailing the main character’s life and three identities: Anne (Annie) Marie Callahan, Cass Ford and Cate Kay. There was a lot to like about this book. I enjoyed the authors’ writing style and I thought she did an excellent job of conveying the relationship between characters without being tedious. The relationship between Annie and Amanda (her childhood best friend) was engaging and I enjoyed their character growth throughout the book. That being said, I felt it was difficult to keep the timeline straight in the first half because the book jumped around between years and POV. I also felt some characters were underutilized and did not contribute much, making me question why they were “interviewed” for the memoir. Additionally, I felt underwhelmed by her second identity, Cass Ford. So few people knew “Cass Ford” that creating a third identity felt a bit unnecessary. Overall, this was a solid fiction debut and I will definitely check out future books by this author.

4.25/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

SYNOPSIS
- Cate Kay is a bestselling author whose trilogy became a film series—but she isn’t real. She’s never appeared in public or given interviews, and her true identity has remained hidden.
- Years ago, she and her friend Amanda planned to move to Hollywood after highschool. Then, on the eve of their departure, tragedy struck. Ever since, Cate has lived under assumed names, fleeing her past. Now a shocking discovery forces her to return home and reclaim who she really is.

MY THOUGHTS
- I am clearly in the minority here, as you can tell from the rave reviews on Goodreads.
- I struggled my way all the way through this one 👀 Each chapter felt like it was coming from the same voice, with no clear distinctions or defining traits.
- There isn’t much character development, and I am not a fan of the execution or writing style.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐ This one wasn’t for me, but judging by the rave reviews on Goodreads, I am in the minority here

Thanks to Atria Books & Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchanges for an honest review. This book will be published on January 7, 2025.

This is a perfect book for book clubs. There is so much to unpack. First loves. Strong friendships. Can we ever really escape our pasts? I couldn't stop turning the pages. I was absolutely enthralled. I know this is going to be a much talked about book.

The Three Lives of Cate Kay tells the story of Ann that after going by many names and running from something incredibly traumatic ends up as Cate Kay, a wildly famous writer that nobody knows the real identity of. It's set as a memoir written from many different points of view to tell her story from childhood up to the moment she comes clean to the world about who she is and tries to mend relationships. Despite the different POVs technically being written by different characters I couldn't say their voices were wildly different but the writing still had me engaged and hooked. I kept wanting to return to the book so I could see the mystery of who Cate Kay really was unfold. It made me go through almost every emotion I can think of!

It's also a sapphic story that captures really well being in love with your childhood friend and then needing to outgrow that to find yourself. That was perhaps my favourite part as, sadly, the main romance followed a trope I'm not always into. (Being deeply in love after only knowing someone for a couple weeks but I do understand the feeling of wondering what it could have been long after it was over.)

Lastly, the only thing keeping me from a higher rating is there was a number of plot holes and moments I really needed to try hard to suspend my disbelief but I still really enjoyed this book and do recommend it!

Sadly ,I've had to do a soft dnf for now and come back to the book in the future. I think the writing was very good. Based on what I've read so far I would still recommend this to people I know would love this type of story.

I grabbed this book, without having read anything about it, as soon as I saw it available on NetGalley. I’ve read What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan and used to listen to her podcast with her wife, Kathryn Budig, so I was excited to see she was now writing fiction.

I would recommend going into The Three Lives of Cate Kay the same way I did - without reading too much about it. It will not disappoint. I really like the way Fagan writes, and at right around 300 pages, it’s a pretty quick read that I had trouble putting down. I will absolutely be recommending this to friends and as a pick for book club in 2025!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Cate Kay is an infamous author of a wildly popular trilogy. She writes under her name of Cate Kay, which is the third name she has legitimately used in her life. Born Ann, she grew up answering to either Annie or Ann Marie. After a traumatic event, she changed her name to Cass. Lastly, she is Cate Kay. This is her memoir of the 3 different versions of herself.

While I enjoyed The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, this character driven, fictional memoir did not connect with me as well. There was a lot going on and a lot of characters, in fact maybe too many. I never really connected with Ann/Cass/Cate and for the story to be successful, I needed to. Cate has been through so much and I wanted to learn more about her as opposed to the multiverse of characters that dropped in and out of the story, some only once.

If you are a fan of character driven novels, give this one a whirl. Its not that I disliked it, I just did not like it enough.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author.

This is being frequently compared to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and those parallels are indeed accurate.

The Three Lives of Cate Kay is essentially the memoir of a mysterious, but hugely popular author. It details her life from adolescence and is told through primarily through the POVs of her childhood best friend, love interests, and other people whose paths she crosses.

The storytelling was both quite entertaining and also thought provoking. I thought the portrayal of adolescence and the yearning for something better was so realistic. Though I wouldn’t have necessarily made the same decisions as Cate, I can empathize and it was difficult to dislike her as a character. I really appreciated the discussions of queerness, friendship, forgiveness and what really matters in life. In particular, I thought it was a very intentional and clever choice to very slowly reveal that the main characters are sapphic. I also really enjoyed reading the little footnotes.

The biggest critique I had was that the myriad of POVs occasionally felt distracting, but ultimately that did not mar my reading experience much. I will definitely be anticipating any book Kate Fagan writes in the future.

A huge thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I LOVED this book. Whoever compared this to Evelyn Hugo was right but I think Cate Kay was better! I loved the alternating povs, Cate was a super strong character going through a lot and making the best of a terrible situation. I think she did what most people would do in her situation and I think it made her a stronger character. I read this as slow as humanly possible even though I still flew through it. Super engaging with interesting, compelling characters. An easy 5 stars!

The Three Lives of Cate Kay was almost a great read for me. I will definitely pick up future fiction by Kate Fagan - I am interested to see what comes next for her!

Cate Kay is a super famous author - but no one knows who she is, only that it’s a pseudonym. Cass is the real author - only she isn’t Cass either. She grew up as Annie but ran away from her life and changed her name before writing her huge hit The Very Last.

There is a lot going on in this book - a book within a book within a book, a million character perspectives (but they all have a very similar voice) and lots of characters making poor choices. It’s so hard for me to put my finger on what didn’t work but it all just feels like a little too much instead of just settling into the characters and their true story. But at the same time I was still very compelled to keep reading and to see what would happen - but the ending also fell a little flat for me. In the end this wasn’t a favorite for me but I think this would make an amazing book club pick - lots to discuss and I think many will love it!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.