3 Books For Your Cat-Loving Valentine

Our Tortie Shorties book reviews are a bit different this week. We're featuring three titles purrfect for giving to your cat-loving Valentine...or to keep for yourself to read by the fire while curled up with a mug of cocoa and your furry Valentine! (The very best kind, in our opinion...)

Catnip: A Love Story by Michael Korda

From the publisher: With the imagination of a writer and the eye of an artist, Michael Korda doodled on the backs of old manuscripts in his tack room while his wife, Margaret, was out riding. They loved and acquired cats—a habit written about previously in their book, Cat People—and the few in residence at this time would serve as inspiration for the drawings. These are no ordinary cat illustrations, though. Korda’s cats read newspapers and books; go ice skating in the small country town where they live; comfort Margaret’s horse, Monty, after a stressful vet visit; sell fried mice at the Farmer’s Market, and undertake (on paper, at least) whatever fanciful endeavors their keeper conjures up.

The result is a collection of magical pieces, filled with joy, that represent a year in the life of a couple in love with one another, and certainly with their cats.

Tortie Shorties Review: This darling little book is a love letter from a man both to his wife and to the cats they shared their lives with during an unthinkable period of time. The cartoon sketches were drawn by the author as an ongoing valentine to his wife throughout the final year of her life as she battled a malignant brain tumor. He would photograph the sketch and email it to her hoping to put a smile on her face each day, not knowing she was forwarding them to her friends to enjoy as well. The cartoons are whimsical yet extremely touching, especially once you know the story of why they were created. Some of my favorites include the ones involving the Presidential election, the cats engaging in human activities such as visiting Dunkin' Donuts and going Christmas shopping, and especially those that depict the cats' sorrow when their beloved mom would be away at the hospital for long stretches of time. In short, one of the sweetest cat books you'll ever have the pleasure of reading.

All Things Cat: Short Stories to Warm the Cat Lover's Heart by Elaine Faber

From the publisher: All Things Cat is a selection of Elaine Faber’s short stories about cats. Their stories take place both past and present in diverse surroundings: Salem, Massachusetts; a pirate ship off the coast of Maine; a haunted hotel in the Sierra Mountains; Roswell, New Mexico; the oval office in Washington, D.C., to name but a few locations.

The felines interact with extraordinary and remarkable characters including witches, leprechauns, a sewer truck driver, a hen-pecked husband driven to plot murder, and animal characters present at the birth of the Christ Child.

Some stories are self-narrated by a cat sharing most unusual circumstances—abandoned by his master, as the prize in an Old West poker game, routing a burglar in a WWII meat market, overcoming self-doubts about his hunting/stalking abilities, and adopting the First Family in the White House.

All Things Cat will delight the reader and provide a sneak peek into the heart and mind of cats from all walks of life. Elaine has brought both wit and tenderness to this charming collection of short cat stories.

Tortie Shorties Review: Short story lovers will be left purring over this collection of "tails" told by cats. From settings such as the Old West to the White House, to intriguing mysteries and psychological thrillers, and even a real life story by the author's tortie on the cover, Truffles (Truffie for short), this collection has something for readers of all genres to enjoy. The only prerequisite is that you must love cats...but you wouldn't be here if you didn't, right?

Talk to the Paw by Melinda Metz

From the publisher: Inspired by the true story of a Portland, Oregon, cat who stole from his neighbors—and stole America’s heart . . . 

Jamie Snyder is thirty-four and single but NOT ready to mingle. After suffering through The Year of the Non-Commital Man, The Year of the Self-Absorbed Man, and The Year of the Forgot-to-Mention-I’m-Married Man, Jamie’s ready to celebrate The Year of Me—and MacGyver, of course. MacGyver is an adorable tabby with a not-so-adorable habit of sneaking out at night and stealing things from the neighbors. That’s right, MacGyver is a cat burglar. He’s still the only male Jamie trusts—and the only companion she needs . . .

MacGyver knows his human is lonely. He can smell it. It’s the same smell he’s noticed on their neighbor David, a handsome young baker who’s tired of his friends trying to fix him up. But now MacGyver’s on the case. First, he steals something from David and stashes it at Jamie’s. Then, he steals something from Jamie and leaves it with David. Before long, the two are swapping stolen goods, trading dating horror stories, and trying not to fall in love. But they’re not fooling MacGyver. When humans generate this much heat, the cat is out of the bag . . .

Tortie Shorties Review: Just about the only time you'll catch me reading a romance novel is when there's a cat involved, and since MacGyver the tabby is the star of the show in Talk to the Paw, it fits my requirements purrfectly! Klepto-kitties make the news every so often, but MacGyver takes things a step further by using his sticky paws to play matchmaker not only for his human but for the entire cozy village of Storybook Court where he resides. My favorite human characters in the book are Jamie's neighbors: a group of busy body elderly ladies who are constantly trying to set her up with their relatives and another who is Christmas crazy and becomes Jamie's confidant and dear friend. All the characters are quite eccentric but also very relatable. Talk to the Paw is escapist fiction at it's finest and catnip for the soul of hopeless romantics.

Disclaimer: I received free copies of these books from the publishers or authors in exchange for a fair and honest review. As members of the Amazon Associates affiliate program, if you click on our links and buy something Mudpie gets a little money for her piggy bank!