The Christmas Cat by Melody Carlson

Let me begin by saying this is not the kind of book I normally read. There's just something about most Christmas novels that feel like Lifetime movies. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just that I'm more of a HBO kind of girl.
Despite that I did enjoy The Christmas Cat. Here is the book description:
After years abroad, Garrison Brown returns home to Vancouver to build a new life. When his beloved grandmother passes away a few weeks before Christmas, Garrison goes to her house to sort out her belongings, including six cats who need new homes. While Garrison hopes to dispense with the task quickly, his grandmother's instructions don't allow for speed. She has left Garrison with some challenging requirements for the future homes of her furry friends--plus a sizeable monetary gift for the new owners. Garrison's job is to match the cats with the right owners without disclosing the surprise gift. Along the way, he may just meet someone who can make him stay. 

Humorous and heartwarming, this latest Christmas story from bestselling author Melody Carlson is the perfect gift for pet lovers and anyone in whose heart Christmas holds a special place.

I suppose I probably enjoyed this book so much because I am a cat lover. I have four of them. I also really liked that the story was told from a guy's point of view. That rarely happens in romance novels.

I also liked that Garrison was not a super rich, perfect kind of guy. He was an "average joe." It was refreshing to read about the kind of guy I might meet at the grocery store instead of one that I would only bump into if I was in the Hamptons. Even though he was returning to his hometown he wasn't walking around thinking he was better than all the small town folk and about how backwards they were. Garrison truly knew and respected his roots.

The one thing I didn't like about this novella is that I wish Garrison had told more stories about his experiences in Africa. It was such an interesting backstory but Carlson didn't do much with it. I also wish she would have gone more into Garrison's adjustment to being back in the United States. He was gone for nine years. Can you imagine being in Africa for nearly a decade and then coming back home? Things would be so different.

It was a little disappointing that I could predict how the story was going to end by page 100 but it is a romance story. Besides the biggest love story in this book is not between Garrison and Cara but involves a small four legged hairy beast. And that was my favorite part of the book. My rating