I’ve really enjoyed my previous reads by Karis Walsh, this one wasn’t as big a success.
The premise of the book sounds wonderful, two small business owners work together on a wedding and fall in love, and lots of cats.Who doesn’t love some feline additions to a romance?

While I liked both MCs their romance just doesn’t work for me, I was hoping I’d warm up to it, but I never did. Most of the book the characters are apart and thinking about the other while doing their job. The share a kiss, talk a little and the next time they see each other they “break up”? The timeline in this book is all off for me. They didn’t even really date but their heartbreak is like they’d been dating for years. How they got back together was too easy as well, immediately talking about love, no thank you.

I liked both main characters, liked the felines, I enjoy Walsh’s writing style but this story just didn’t work for me.

Just a few pages and I’ve already been surprised and delighted as sentences have surprised me and amused me, sometimes both! 15% in and I’m still chuckling, liking both the mains and the cast of support characters. A plot hint that was mildly alluded to earlier, and a bit more strongly alluded to just now has me even more interested, and I was already “making lunch can wait till I’ve finished this bit” interested.
I loved this book. It was light and frothy and full of heart. It will be my last completed book of 2022 and what a great book to end on. 5 stars because sometimes, low angst, high humour and a feeling of happiness as you read it, and without exaggeration, a bit of unhappiness when I had to do things that prevented me continuing to read makes it a great read.

A romance book with lots of cats? I just had to read this!

Taryn is a wedding planner who specializes in out of the box weddings when one of her clients wants their marriage to happen in the local cat cafe. Great idea I thought although Taryn wasn't entirely convinced at first and neither was Bonnie.

It was nice seeing them come to an agreement about the wedding and see them get to know each other. There's more to Taryn than planning weddings and keeping her heart safe as there is more to Bonnie rescueing cats and basically living and breathing felines.

This one is for all the coffee loving romantic cat lovers out there.

An ARC was provided to me via Netgalley in return of an honest review.

Perfect light read for a rainy day about Bonnie, a woman who runs a cat cafe and Taryn, a woman who plans bespoke weddings and whose client wants to get married in the cafe. I like the gentle banter between the two main characters and the way they take time to get to know each other. I also enjoyed that they saw each other fully and were able to be with the parts that they each struggled with. Mostly though this is all about the cats, who are adorable.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC of this!

Cute, cozy, cat cafe queer romance between two women who are both scared of being seen. This was a pretty light, easy read, that stayed enjoyable throughout. I loved Bonnie and told my husband he has competition with this cat cafe owner who thinks spreadsheets are sexy 😂

Bonnie is the owner of a cat cafe and is approached by Taryn to have a wedding in her cafe. After some back and forth they reach an agreement and also make plans to host a cat adoption event.
This was more of a traditional romance compared to the other Walsh book I read that included a bit of a murder mystery and I definitely preferred the previous one. This sounded cute and I like the premise but I felt the relationship fell flat. The two MCs spend more time alone thinking about their individual hang ups than with each other. There is one scene where they actually talk about taking steps towards a slow relationship before a breakup scene and the heartbreak just didn't feel believable. I liked both MCs but didn't really feel their chemistry together. There are a few side characters that are fun but just don't interact enough to make them memorable. Angie and Jonah I think could have helped but there just isn't enough there to really have them add anything to the story. Unfortunately I think this just didn't hit the right notes for me, hopefully Walsh's next one will.

Karis Walsh delivers a wholesome, sweet romance full of felines with personalities. Bonnie James runs a cat cafe. A coffee shop where she sales locally sourced and made in house sandwiches and sweet treats. There are also currently 24 cats living at the cafe waiting to find their fur-ever home. Her life is full and she has purpose but no one special to share it with.

Wedding planner Taryn Ritter makes dream weddings come true. Things that are truly unique like on mountain tops or aquariums. The local mayor met his partner at the Bonnie’s Cat Cafe and that is where they want their wedding ceremony. Of course Taryn is going to make it happen. As part of convincing Bonnie she offers to help run a larger scale cat adoption event. Bonnie gets to show her marketing skills for the event too.

This is a slow burn romance with two wonderful main characters. They flirt a little and spend time together. I love that they take time to talk and really think about the other’s mindset. I was surprised at which of the characters took more of a lead in wanting more between them.

I’m not a cat person only because I’m allergic. But the cats are cute characters themselves. And if you’re a cat person this book will probably get an extra star from you. The book is clean, featuring only a few kisses. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t chemistry between Taryn and Bonnie. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A big thank you to Karis Walsh, Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Love and Lattes comes out January 10, 2023.

After a less than graceful exit from her previous marketing job, Bonnie choose a life full of cats and coffee. While this decision means she gets to spend her time baking and playing with adorable kittens, it also means that she might work a little to much and not have time to find her true love. Wedding planner, Taryn has built her career around creating unique, out of the box weddings for couples who want something a little different on their big day. When approached about planning a wedding that takes place at Bonnie's cat café, Taryn thinks that securing the venue will be the least of her problems. That is until Bonnie makes it clear that the last thing she wants is increased publicity. Taryn doesn't quite though so she offers to throw a cat adoption event in exchange. Over the course of planning the adoption event, planning a wedding menu and cuddling with cats the two must decide if they do have time for true love.

This book was such a sweet and delightful read. As a cat lover I loved reading about all of the cats and them getting adopted. Bonnie and Taryn went through such beautiful character development. They were both sweet character, who worked through their pasts, including the pressure put on by family. The side characters were warm, loving and added a found family feeling to the book. Honestly this wasn't a holiday book but it felt like I one, it gave me the feeling of being wrapped in a big fluffy blanket. If you are looking for a romantic, warm and funny book, Love and Lattes is the book for you.

Purrfect!

Bonnie’s cat café has become the only location desired for a local wedding, and when the wedding planner Taryn turns up, Bonnie is reluctant to let it happen. Taryn has other ideas, and when she works out she can offer to help Bonnie in a way she really can’t refuse they join forces to help shelter cats find the loving forever homes they deserve.

I was a total emotional wreck reading this. It’s animals, they always get me, but homeless animals that loving and caring people want to make sure those animals find the forever home and love they deserve just emotionally tugs at my heart, my head, everything. Bonnie was such a caring person and although Taryn tried not to admit it, I knew under the surface she was kind and caring and just wanted love to be for everyone, including the gorgeous cats at the café.

There was a little tension to begin with between Taryn and Bonnie but it was playful, a little flirty, and Taryn’s scheme really worked. I was in awe of her but knew it came from a special place in her heart, not a completely selfish move to get what she wanted, which is how she wanted it to seem. I loved Taryn’s character development the most though. Those cats each had their own little personality and I knew it was going to be more than Bonnie that won her heart and had her considering what room she had in her heart for love and the future.

A great story that I truly adored. There were great moments of comedy, real heart felt and emotional ones, and others that were just so sweet and lovely. If you’re not sold by the adorable kitten picture on the front of the book, which you should be, you’ll be hooked as soon as you finish that first chapter.

Love and Lattes by Karis Walsh is such a sweet, heartwarming romance. It's not set during the Christmas season, but it's the perfect book to curl up with under the covers with a hot cup of coffee - bonus points if there's a purring cat in your lap!

Bonnie runs Bonnie's Cat Cafe in Sumner, and has done since an embarrassing moment in her previous career went viral and cost her a job. Taryn is a wedding planner who works on non-traditional weddings - and her newest client (the Mayor of Sumner) wants to get married where he and his partner met - at Bonnie's cafe.

Although Bonnie is initially reluctant to agree, eventually Taryn wears her down, by offering to host a "speed dating" event meant to pair up rescue cats with new owners. During the course of their time together planning both the adoption event and the wedding, Bonnie and Taryn's friendship turns into something more.

This was a lovely read, and although it didn't necessarily break the mold, for fans of closed door sapphic romance, adorable cats, and pet-related puns, this book has all of that and more. I thought Bonnie and Taryn were both interesting and well-conceived characters, and I was rooting for them from page one. The supporting characters are also wonderful - just a great cast of folks all around.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC.

This has been a story that, despite not being set at Christmas time, can be perfectly read on those dates, perhaps because of the cuteness of its non-human protagonists, there are enough for us to focus on just one or two, it is the whole of the atmosphere that is created in Bonnie's Cat Café that forms that setting.

Also the two protagonists have their cute part. Cute in the way they act, trying to pretend what they are not, to deceive themselves. Bonnie, the owner of the cafe, is hiding from something that is not explained to us until almost the end of the story, but that torments her and paralyzes her from any possible romantic relationship. Even the fact that her cafe could become a place where people can find their better half haunts and exasperates her. That's all she can do to distance herself from any romantic subject.

And on the other hand, Taryn is an unconventional wedding planner, as she flees from the typical and looks for something unique and different in every wedding she plans. In this case, the couple who come to request her services want to get married in Bonnie's cafe, where they met.

When Taryn first asks Bonnie for her willingness to do this, she is met with a resounding refusal. There is no romance at the Cat Cafe by any means. But that refusal may not be so blunt after all, just a few small stratagems on Taryn's part may soften Bonnie's predisposition to accept a boa at her place and learn more about the woman who has aroused her curiosity. .

I admit that at some point it seemed to me that the author has rambled too much on the doubts of the two protagonists and that this has slowed down the pace, already calm, of the story.

But ultimately the result seemed good to me, resulting in a soft and cute romance.