This looked cute, so I picked it up from the library, not knowing it's actually a third book in a series. Luckily, it gives plenty of context for newcomers, so it can be read as a standalone. Spoilers ahead!
Alfie is a British shorthair living in London who has several families that are "his", all living on the same street with him altering between their homes. When the owners of his mate Snowball move away and take her with them, Alfie is left lethargic and depressed. To combat this, his owners give him his own kitten, a tabby named George. Alfie soon cheers up while looking after his new son, but he also realizes that being a parent can be difficult. Especially when cats from around the neighborhood seem to be going missing and his families each have their own struggles making them unhappy. Alfie decides to figure out the mystery of the missing cats and cheer up his owners, all the while having to keep George safe.
Cute and wholesome, is the best way to describe this book. Don't get me wrong, there's definitely elements and part of the book that are not as wholesome, but overall the book just has a sweet feel to it. Alfie is very dedicated to making sure everyone he loves is happy, leading to him often biting off more than he can chew because he has multiple families looking after him, each with their own struggles.
And of course there's also the really wholesome aspect of him pretty much instantly adopting George as his son once he's introduced. I was kind of afraid at first that there was going to be some sort of forced jealousy and rivalry between Alfie and George, with George (being an adorable kitten) getting all the attention now. But instead Alfie is happy for his new family member and instantly accepts him as his son. At first he's a bit of an awkward father (never having had his own kittens up until now), but he takes to the role very well after a while, especially with the help of his many human families and his best friend, a tabby named Tiger, who becomes George's sort-of mother throughout the story despite her and Alfie not being in a relationship.
I was also glad to see Alfie getting the time to process his feelings regarding Snowball. She's the love of his life and just utterly vanishes, never to be seen again (presumably), having moved far away. Alfie grieves, but you really see him go through the grieving process well. He's sometimes unreasonable, he's sometimes lethargic and depressed, but eventually he accepts the situation for what it is and decides to make the best of what he's been given by being there for George and his families. Near the end of the story he also finally embraces Tiger, who has always been his best friend, as his new mate. He'll never forget Snowball, but with the chances of him ever seeing her being tiny it's reasonable for him to eventually move on. I'm just glad that he got the time and space he needed to grieve properly and move on, and that he doesn't endlessly cling to the memory of Snowball.
The only element I wasn't as into in this book was the mystery of the missing cats. It's definitely interesting and present throughout the entire story, but the resolution was honestly pretty lame (it was just a crazy cat lady who thought she could own any cat she found outside, rather than anything legitimately original or threatening). Also, it has a lot of buildup and is only resolved very late in the story, which would be fine but with the lackluster resolution of it all it just felt disappointing. The woman is never even really seen or talked about much after she's caught, she's just a one-note antagonist who appears in one scene and then just vanishes. She feels more like a tool the plot needed than an actual thought-out character.
Overall still a wholesome book, though. It also got me interested in reading the rest of the Alfie series. I wonder if he'll ever see Snowball again in future installments?
Rating: 3.5/5
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