"The Christmas Cat" Blog Tour

He felt his face flushing as Cara opened the door. Wearing a garnet-colored knit dress and with her dark hair pinned up, she looked even prettier than he remembered. Suddenly he wished he'd thought to bring a hostess gift. Like a cat.
After years abroad, Garrison Brown finds himself at the home of his beloved grandmother who has just passed away. He must sort out her belongings, including six cats who need new homes. While he hopes to dispense with the task quickly--especially since he is severely allergic to cats--his grandmother's instructions don't allow for speed. She has left some challenging requirements for the future homes of her furry friends.

Can he match the cats with the perfect new owners? And is it possible that he might meet his own match along the way?

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books with sales of more than six million. She is the author of several Christmas books, including the bestselling The Christmas Bus, The Christmas Dog, and Christmas at Harrington's, as well as The Christmas Pony and A Simple Christmas Wish. She received a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her many books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series and Finding Alice. She and her husband live in central Oregon. Learn more at www.melodycarlson.com.


My Take:

I’m not normally one who likes to read the sappy Christmas novel that reminds you more of a Hallmark movie than a book. But I really liked one of Ms. Carlson’s previous Christmas novellas – The Christmas Pony – so I decided to give this one a try.

Overall this was a nice, sweet story, but it also had some interesting aspects to it as well. There were a couple of times when I laughed out loud over something a character said or did. That always makes for a great story in my book. I thought it was funny that Garrison’s grandmother was so particular about what should happen with her cats, but it was sweet as well.

Having the story be told from Garrison’s perspective was an interesting aspect and one that really fit with the overall tone of the book. Stories of this type are not usually told from the point of view of just the main male character, and it was a nice change of pace.

Since this is a novella, there wasn’t a lot of time to develop the main characters, but I actually felt as if I got to know Garrison very well. I thought his relationships developed a bit quickly and that the ending felt very rushed, but that is to be expected in this short of a story.

One thing that I thought was odd in this novella was that it was a bit unrealistic for Garrison’s allergies to seemingly disappear once he got “used” to the cats. It was almost as if his allergies ended up being all in his head, and that is just not the case with true allergic reactions.

While The Christmas Cat would definitely make a good Hallmark movie, it was still an interesting story and a nice tale for the holiday season.

I will give The Christmas Cat … 3.5 BookWorms.

The Christmas Cat
by Melody Carlson
Revell Publishing
Publication date: September 9, 2014
176 pages




Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Publishing through Revell Reads. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."