The Kitten Club by Dara Edmondson

When forty-year-old salon owner Kitty Murphy meets dashing entrepreneur Harrison Wentworth, III she’s instantly drawn to his powerful presence. Kitty fights the intense attraction, fearing Harrison’s motive is to woo her precious salon away from her. But losing her salon isn’t the only problem on Kitty’s horizon. She worries constantly about Josh, her drug-addicted son.
College student Brooke Barnes discovers she’s carrying Josh’s baby. Can she save him in time to be a father to their child?

Before I get into my review, can I just say: Dara Edmondson really knows how to grip a reader. This is my second novel by her, and both of them totally grabbed me right in the beginning. Fabulous.

I've been having a hard time writing this review. Not because I didn't enjoy the book, but because I did.

I think, once again, I judged a book by it's cover. The Kitten Club seems like a sort of light, fluffy book, just based on the blurb and the cover. But it's actually a very deep, emotional read.

The struggles Kitty faces are very real and very deep.

Ms. Edmondson takes us on a journey of self-discovery. Kitty is a single mom. She finds out her son has a drug problem and questions herself: Did she make the right choices while raising him? Could she have done better? If he'd had a father in his life would he have turned out different? That's something all mothers wonder as their children grow and especially single mothers. I felt totally connected to Kitty in that respect.

Watching Kitty struggle to do the right thing by her son and for herself was interesting to read about. At times it was hard, because she had to face some hard truths about the kind of person her son had become. Once Brooke, Josh's girlfriend, becomes pregnant, Kitty's struggles become even more pronounced. But having Harrison there really helped her along, I think. And watching a strong man do what needed to be done to help both Kitty and Brooke melted my heart.

There were things I disliked about the book, like Brooke deluding herself into thinking Josh didn't have a problem, even after he stole her money, jewelry and car. Not to mention her rushing off to find him one of the many times he disappeared on a binge.

I'm on the fence about the way Kitty handled Josh's issues and her attraction to Harrison. For most of the book she's convinced that Harrison is in the mob and the only reason he's with her is to get her salon away from her. I understand part of that, because Harrison's father and grandfather were kind of unsavory characters and because Josh's father was a rich guy who was just playing around with Kitty and left her as soon as she turned up pregnant.

But Harrison did everything he could to show Kitty he cared about her. I think she almost went too far in pushing him away. Not quite, but close.

The thing is, despite my issues, I really liked the characters. They were real. Kitty's actions and reactions were just what I imagine a mom's would be in that situation.

Something that really bothered me, though, was why Brooke was ever with Josh to begin with. She seemed like a nice, sweet girl who was really down-to-Earth and had her stuff together. So why, then, would she end up with someone like Josh. This is actually something Ms. Edmondson addressed but something I still don't feel was cleared up. Harrison says something to Kitty to that effect and she gets very upset with him, but eventually sees things from Harrison's point of view. The question was never really answered, though.

Oh, and I had some issues with all the typos in Compromising Positions. I'm happy to report that there weren't any in this book (well, ok, maybe one or two, but it wasn't over the top). Very nice.

Overall I enjoyed the story. It was so much more emotionally involved that I expected it to be. I think Ms. Edmondson did a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life and showing us the darker side of motherhood, both from Kitty and Brooke.

4.25 out of 5

One last thing: I don't think the title, The Kitten Club, or the cover properly do this book justice. I expected a lighter read based on those two things. Just my opinion.