Reviewed by Tara
TITLE: Learning to Love Cats
AUTHOR: K.M. Mahoney
PUBLISHER: Amber Quill Press, LLC
LENGTH: 54 pages
BLURB:
Mike isn’t much of an animal lover. His sister, however, insists that every little boy needs a pet, which is how he finds himself sitting in a veterinary office, trying to explain the facts of life to his six-year-old nephew while holding a dead hamster in a shoebox. It’s not one of his finer moments. So of course, it’s just his luck that in walks the cute, shy, and utterly lust-worthy Riley Laytham. But Mike has never been one to let an opportunity pass him by, no matter how awkward the situation might be.
Riley isn’t used to guys flirting with him, and he definitely didn’t expect it to happen at the local vet office. In the kennels, no less, surrounded by dogs and cats, and under the close scrutiny of one overly inquisitive little boy. Riley’s first instinct is to make his excuses and run, but Mike is persistent.
Their first date is a disaster. They have nothing in common, and Riley’s cats seem determined to end the budding relationship before it can get started. For some reason, though, Mike isn’t running. Now Riley just has to decide if he can make it work with a guy who staunchly declares that he doesn’t like cats
REVIEW:
Okay I will start by stating I adore cats. That’s pretty much the only thing I took from this book that I thought was adorable. I am a sucker for a fluffy ball of fur. In Learning to Love Cats we have Mike, a construction worker that is visiting the vet for his accident prone nephew. Mike is not a fan of any animal, whether it is a dog, cat, or hamster. While there he learns that his nephew’s hamster is dead, and he meets a cute guy named Riley. Riley has a hobby; he breeds huge fluffy Norwegian Forest cats. He doesn’t think that he’s worthy of a relationship and can’t believe that Mike finds him attractive. After discussing it with his sister, Mike uses the excuse that she gives, and rides out to the cat ranch to get his nephew a pet. Thus we have Mike the cat hater, and Riley the man who makes cats his whole life. Their first date ends in some frottage and a discovery from one of Riley’s nine siblings. But Mike doesn’t want to give up and pursues Riley despite their differences.
I couldn’t quite get into the book. The blurb summarizes it pretty well. We get the instant love with Mike falling for Riley immediately even after he checked out a married guy in the lobby first. Then we have Riley with the typical attitude of “I don’t think I’m good enough for anyone” yet he has this hunk of guy chasing him down. It moved too quickly for me and I definitely believe the relationship could have been developed more. It was very cute how the cats were described and how Riley seemed to care for each one. Mike was sort of annoying. He almost seemed like he was bullying Riley into loving him. Riley seemed kind of wishy-washy. One minute he likes Mike the next he is pushing him away. I just couldn’t get into the feel of the book. Too short, not enough “real” world feel to it, and the characters felt a bit off.
RATING: 
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