Cupid Cats

"Unleashed" by Katie MacAlister. Fish and Wildlife Officer Jacintha "kitty whisperer" Ferreira arrives at the Cupid Cats shelter to investigate a Moravian jaguar inside with a hangover. Instead of just a large feline she finds voices in her head courtesy of vampire Avery Scott. "Cat Scratch Fever" by Connie Brockway. In Chicago, Widower Jim Curran takes his five years old Chloe to the nearby animal shelter so she can pick a kitten as her pet. However, the little girl insiststhat an elderly cat is her late mother's long-missing Pixie. While her father and shelter director Dr. Edith Handelman know that is impossible, no one bothered to tell the cat. "A Cat's Game" by Vicki Lewis Thompson. While her sister is on vacation, Kate Archer manages her sibling's bed and breakfast in Bisbee, Arizona. Her first arrival is her high school sweetheart Jon Ramsey. It is the newly adopted cat who plays matchmaker. These are three fun lightheaded feline romances as a cat stars in Kate MacAlister's urban fantasy and plays matchmaker in the other two tales. Harriet Klausner

Cupid Cats: Unleashed by Katie MacAlister A Cat's Game by Vicki Lewis Thompson Cat Scratch Fever by Connie Brockway Paranormal Romance - July 6, 2010 4 Stars Cupid Cats is a collection of three stories from three different writers, but as the title suggests, they all have magical cats in common. Or specifically, cats from Cupid Cats Shelter, whose tagline is "bring a little magic and love into your life - adopt a cat." These cats are supposedly magical and will indeed bring romance into the life of the ladies who adopted them. In Unleashed by MacAlister, the plot revolves around a Morovian, were-jaguar (who was found in Cupid Cats shelter) and a wildlife officer. So even though, it's not strictly about a normal kitty from the shelter, there's still a cat involved, albeit a big one. MacAlister is a zany writer. She's not exactly my cup of tea, but I can't help but be amused by the characters that keep popping up. First, a vampire were-jaguar, next an elf. Before you know it, the whole story becomes a circus with wild and crazy things happening. If you like goofiness and vampires, you will like Unleashed. A Cat's Game by Thompson has a whole different vibe to it. Superstar actor Jon goes off to Bisbee, a remote town, for a much needed getaway only to meet up with his ex-high school girlfriend. Needless to say, she comes with a cat that she got from Cupid Cats Shelter. Through funny and cute circumstances, the magical kitty works his charm to bring the lovers together. A sweet and really cute story, this will make readers go `aww. I do like the kitty, but I think the secret star of this story is Esmeralda, the unabashedly hippy and weird shelter lady. Her character is so cheesy and clichéd that I bet the author must be having a blast each time she has to write scenes with Esmeralda in it. But my favorite story out of these three has to be Cat Scratch Fever by Brockway. The father of a little girl, who is dead set in adopting this mysterious elderly cat, falls in love with the eccentric lady who manages the shelter. Edith is a shy woman who does not know how to socialize with others. But somehow, Jim Curran fell in love with her. Of course, there's a kitty involved. Her name is Ishy-Pixie, the cat that the little girl firmly believes belongs to her dead mother but disappeared on the night her mother died. Using these three main characters, Brockway concocts a marvelous, heart wrenching love story that had me tearing up! Brockway has a gift for creating life-like characters with quirks and flaws. For example, when Edith gets nervous, she starts using words with at least five syllables. Its little things like these that make her story stand out. I really enjoyed Cat Scratch Fever and will definitely re-read it again...with my own kitty next to me. Reviewed by Pauline from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club