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Rachel Rowlands, Book Editor & Author
cat café series

First Dates at the Cat Café

First Dates at the Cat Café

Publishing with by Hodder & Stoughton 28 May 2026

Available in ebook, paperback, and audio

View translations available here

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Love is in the air at the cat café… Will everyone find their purrfect match?

Grace adores her job as a barista at the café, but dreams of one day setting up her own matchmaking agency to help pet lovers find true love.

When Catpurrcino partners with a dating festival for the whole of August it seems like it is meant to be.

The last thing on Grace’s mind is her own love life.

Until she is matched with musician Nathan, who is only at the festival so he can perform.

Grace knows from the very first moment that Nathan is not the man of her dreams.

But no one is going to take romantic advice from someone who can’t even get through one successful date. So Grace and Nathan make a pact: they will pretend to be smitten with each other until the end of festival.

The more time Grace and Nathan spend playing the perfect couple, the more Grace wonders if her fake feelings are becoming real… Could Nathan ever feel the same?

Get ready for a summer of first dates, fake dates and stolen kisses under a blanket of stars – with your favourite feline friend on hand for emotional support at all times! This romantic read is perfect for fans of Laurie Gilmore, Lucy Jane Wood and Sarah Morgan.

Praise for the series

“Fantastic read. Enjoyed this book so much it was read in one sitting, couldn’t put it down… Great feel-good book” Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“It will warm you from the inside, like a soothing mug of hot chocolate” Reader review⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“I honestly cannot recommend this beautiful book enough. It’s the perfect cosy read for any time of the year!”
Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“This book is like the perfect pastry; warm, sweet, and filled with layers of charm and slow-burning romance… A warm hug of a book, best enjoyed with tea, cake, and a cat curled up by your side” Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Want to see the rest of my books?

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Member of the Editorial Freelancers Association

I went to IKEA recently, and someone had placed th I went to IKEA recently, and someone had placed this little stuffed cat inside a basket-house. Not sure if the basket is actually meant to be a house or just an oddly shaped decoration, but it's the perfect shape to house a stuffed animal, and it made me smile. 🐱 

The wider world feels very heavy right now (an understatement if ever there was one), but small moments of human fun, creativity, and whimsy like this one make me smile. Hope you've all been managing to find small moments of joy if you can. 🤍

Now I'm off back to my editing cave where I'll be working on some excellent client books. 📝
If you dig around on the internet long enough, you If you dig around on the internet long enough, you’ll probably encounter some of these myths about publishing…

The bookshop one definitely caught me out when I was a new traditionally published author! 👀 I was lucky enough to find my book in some Waterstones branches, but it wasn't in all of them – not even my local one, which I had been writing in for years! 

Are any of these surprising to you? 

#writingcommunity #writersofinstagram #writerscommunity
I was inspired by a recent Substack from @jackstra I was inspired by a recent Substack from @jackstrangeauthor talking about his journey writing romance and how it was almost fated. My own road to this genre was pretty unusual and something I truly didn't expect, even though it now feels very right for me, so I wrote about it in my own newsletter.

You can read it at the link in my bio. 🤍

#romanceauthor #romancebooks
A day in the life of a professional fiction editor A day in the life of a professional fiction editor and author! I've seen other people do these and thought they looked fun, so here is mine! 📚

#authorsofinstagram #freelanceeditor #bookeditor

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