City Kitty and Country Mouse by Alyssa Linn Palmer is a totally adorable, opposites-attract romance.
Kitty Kerr works long hours, telling herself it will all be worth it when she becomes a partner at the corporate law firm that owns her schedule. Her “all work and no play” mode gets shaken up when she accompanies her assistant to a farmers market and a super cute farmer named Lucy gives her some exquisite blackberries.
Lucy Shen’s life is comfortable. She lives and works on the Country Mouse farm with her mom, getting her creative energies out by sculpting old farm parts together. When Kitty visits her stall at the market and then calls to get more berries Lucy’s quiet life is turned upside down as she and Kitty fall into a whirlwind romance.
Kitty and Lucy are so different and have completely different goals in life. Can they really make a long-term relationship work?
The Characters
I wasn’t sure about Kitty at first because she’s such a workaholic. Turns out, that just makes it all the sweeter when she falls head over heels for Lucy and the life Lucy has with her mom, Michelle. Lucy and Kitty have excellent chemistry, leaving me grinning for most of the book.
I also quite liked some of the side characters. Michelle is one of my favourites, as well as Kitty’s assistant, Cindy. They’re both very cute as they nudge Lucy and Kitty together.
The Writing Style
City Kitty and Country Mouse is written in the first person, shifting between Lucy and Kitty’s perspectives. The two perspectives are differentiated well, helping us remember whose view we’re in, while maintaining the same light tone throughout the book.
The Pros
Hands down, my favourite thing is seeing how Lucy and Kitty are drawn to each other, and how they fall so quickly and deeply. I don’t generally like instalove in romance, because it can feel so contrived, but Palmer did a damn fine job with it, so I was rooting for these women every step of the way.
Also, it takes place in and around Calgary! I don’t see many f/f romances set where I live, so it was fun to see my city on the page and recognizing the places where Lucy and Kitty live and work.
The Cons
It’s over and I could have read way more about these two 😭
The Conclusion
If you’re looking for a light, sweet romance, get this book right now! The opposites attract element is excellent and I was just as swept away as Lucy and Kitty. I had such a happy sigh at the end, and I will definitely read this one again.
Excerpt from City Kitty and Country Mouse by Alyssa Linn Palmer
“How can you possibly eat all that?” I ask as Lucy methodically begins placing punnets of fruit into a larger cardboard tray.
“Breakfast on my cereal, lunch in my smoothies, and on my postdinner ice cream,” Cindy says, her tone quite serious, though she’s smiling. “There’s never a bad time.”
“What’s your favorite?” Lucy asks, and I realize the question is being directed at me. Her gaze is friendly, and something a bit more, something… My stomach flutters again, but there’s heat there too. Lucy seems familiar somehow, like I knew her somewhere before. A silly thought, because obviously I didn’t, but still, the idea lingers.
I look over her stall, and my gaze continues to be drawn to the small selection of blackberries. Lucy smiles, a gentle, almost delicate smile as her work-roughened hands lift a small blue punnet.
“Try one,” she encourages. “Trust me, it’s worth it.”
I won’t ever say no to a blackberry, though it’s been quite a while since I’ve had one. Too long. I pick a large one from the top—it looks almost ready to burst. I pop it into my mouth and bite down, and that’s it.
I’m lost. The flavor is luscious, intense, yet it almost melts in my mouth. I close my eyes, savoring that taste. It’s summers out at the lake, at camp, the one place my parents let me be in the outdoors, picking the wild berries from along the paths, my fingers and tongue turning dark purple. I can almost hear the buzz of the mosquitos and the bees.
I almost hate to open my eyes, but I do.
Cindy is looking at me almost as if I’ve grown a second head. We’ve known each other for years, since school, but I’m pretty sure that even though she’s my friend as well as my assistant, she’s never seen me outside of my usual work mode. That is me. This, this is something different, something older.
And Lucy, she’s as fixed on me as Cindy is, maybe more. I have no idea why. My mind is still on that blackberry.
“I think you need all of these,” Lucy says, pressing the small punnet into my hands. Her fingers brush mine, and she has an energy that entices me, a zing I can’t deny.
“How much?” I manage to ask.
“Free, this time, since Cindy here bought so many. But if you like one blackberry that much, I know you’ll be back.” She laughs, and it’s as if her face lights up, her eyes glimmering with good cheer. Her smile is wide, open and friendly. Her warmth seems to spread, to envelop me. It makes me want to be around her, to see that smile, feel that warmth.
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Bits and Bobs
- ISBN number: 9781635555530
- Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
- Alyssa Linn Palmer Online
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