Cat Lady: The hot, must-read Richard & Judy Book Club novel for summer 2023 from the Sunday Times bestselling author

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I have loved Dawn’s previous writing – fiction and non fiction – and would consider myself a fan, following her on Instagram and subscribing to her Patreon page. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.

I liked that Mia does learn that her initial judgements on the people around her are shown to be shallow, and that everyone has their own problems happened in the behind the scenes, just as she does. She has met a new group of friends at a pet bereavement group, and is slowly finding peace in the world.

Used to read multiple books each month, but since the pandemic I got in to watching Netflix and show upon show on tv. It’s definitely one to read if you’re a pet owner as it represents the grief over losing a pet quite accurately, as well as examining the “crazy cat lady” stereotype.

I did give Dawn the benefit of the doubt as I know she lives in the US and I wasn’t sure if Mother’s Day could be on a weekday over there – but having checked, seemingly not. She's so lonely that she joins a therapy group for people who are grief stricken after losing their pets - even though her cat, Pigeon, is very much still alive. It’s not 100% fundamental to the story, it could easily have been tweaked to still fit in the plot lines without it having to be changed. Sometimes she's way too open - the visit to the GP to get support with her crabs is a stand-out moment.I initially thought I was being petty – but it would appear many other ARC readers on Net Galley felt the same! Mia is a good wife to husband Tristan, a genuinely loving and caring step-mum to his kids by his last marriage, and very good at her job. Mia, the career woman: Determined to bring Isabella May jewellery to the big leagues, Mia doesn't put up with any nonsense at work - even if it's coming from her boss, a rich millennial. I have to say I didn’t particularly like any of the characters – so I wasn’t Team Mia – but equally wasn’t Team Anyone Else. She sleeps in a separate room from her husband and pencils in sex several times a week - she won't sleep with him because he doesn't want animals in their bed after a strange occurrence.

Mia has made the best of her life after a difficult childhood: good job, nice house and a stable marriage. She lives with her husband but his ex is there constantly so she’s seemingly constantly belittled by her.She and her husband Tristan have an unconventional relationship with Oliver's mother, Belinda, but Mia puts up with it for the sake of keeping the family together. I've read reviews that said people laughed out loud at this - I was the opposite, I cried several times and found the whole story really sad.