Kris Bryant

Breaking up is hard to do, but three weeks before Christmas it’s even more painful. Jessica Raymond isn't in love with her ex-girlfriend anymore; she just hates to emotionally limp through the holidays. When a cute gray kitten shows up on her doorstep, Jessica panics. She doesn’t have time for a pet. Finding sexy Veterinarian Dr. Taylor Mitchell intriguing isn’t part of the plan either, but both manage to turn her world upside down. Taylor Mitchell isn’t going to let a beautiful woman with a bad attitude bring her down. It’s the holidays and she’s determined to show some much-needed Christmas spirit and help a lonely cat find a good home. A few kitten-induced mishaps bring them closer and sharing the same space suddenly isn’t so bad. Chatting is actually pretty nice. Did this sweet kitten show up to help them find each other? Or is the holiday spirit to blame for their special connection?

Tinsel

Lucia Correa

4 Stars for this 2019 Christmas novella by Kris Bryant

Jessica Raymond is not having a great day. She is breaking up with her girlfriend in her neighborhood coffee shop. I loved Jess’s to the point reasoning – 

“What exactly do you want me to say? It’s my fault? I forgive you? Let’s be friends? Because none of those are true. It’s not my fault, I don’t forgive you, and I never want to see you again.”

While in the coffee shop, she spots a gray kitty in the window. Not really a cat person, but she worries about the cat, because it is below freezing outside and especially when a man inadvertently but unapologetically hits the cat with his bag. She can’t find the cat but magically it is waiting for her at her doorstep after walking home from the coffee shop. The kitty makes herself at home in front of her fireplace. Jess never had a cat, never wanted a cat but as her friend Mo tells her, she may now have a cat. Mo tells her what to do for now until she can go to the vet in the morning to see if the cat was microchipped. It is here that she has the first of a couple of literal run-ins with the Vet, Dr. Taylor Mitchell. “Catmas Evergreen” wasn't microchipped. Everyone makes fun of the name Jess quickly came up with when filling out the Vet forms. Personally, I thought it was cute and so does my own gray cat, Katniss. 

And so begins this Christmas story. You’ve got 2 likable MC’s, a loveable cat, a fun BFF (Mo), deserved payback, well written novella, Love and Christmas! What more can you want? 

(Note: Bryant states in the Acknowledgments that the story is based on a true story)

I love holiday romances, but the Hallmark nonsense this year made me painfully aware of how little diversity is in my holiday reads. Someone tweeted a list full of recs of LGBTQ reads and I snagged this one right away. A stray cat helps two women find love at Christmas? It’s as adorable as it sounds. Loved it.

Tinsel

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