Talk to the Paw

By: Melinda Metz

Narrated by: Elise Arsenault

Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

She's putting her love life on paws

Jamie Snyder is 34 and single but not ready to mingle. After suffering through the Year of the Non-Committal Man, the Year of the Self-Absorbed Man, and the Year of the Forgot-to-Mention-I'm-Married Man, Jamie's ready to celebrate the Year of Me - and MacGyver, of course. MacGyver is an adorable tabby with a not-so-adorable habit of sneaking out at night and stealing things from the neighbors. That's right, MacGyver is a cat burglar. He's still the only male Jamie trusts - and the only companion she needs....

But her cat has other ideas

MacGyver knows his human is lonely. He can smell it. It's the same smell he's noticed on their neighbor David, a handsome young baker who's tired of his friends trying to fix him up. But now MacGyver's on the case. First, he steals something from David and stashes it at Jamie's. Then, he steals something from Jamie and leaves it with David. Before long, the two are swapping stolen goods, trading dating horror stories, and trying not to fall in love. But they're not fooling MacGyver. When humans generate this much heat, the cat is out of the bag....

©2018 Melinda Metz (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Great book

It’s a light, funny, quirky, romantic comedy. 1/3 of the book is from the cat’s perspective and I think that Melinda Metz nailed it! I highly recommend it.

Fun Change From the Norm

Fun love story. This sneaky cat plays matchmaker to not only the main characters but connects several people throughout the neighborhood. Enjoyable light read.

Cute

Setting: Los Angeles, CA Contemporary
Genre: light rom-com with elements of a cozy mystery
MacGyver is a wily cat who has moved with his human to LA where they live in a small enclave called Sorybook Court (where all the dwellings resemble places out of fairytales, and even the street names match the theme). Jamie, a high school teacher, is using the inheritance she received from her mother to spend a year looking for something that will make her happy. Throughout the book she takes pictures and interviews people who are happy in their jobs, from a guy at the pier who gives bad advice for a dollar, to a character impersonator working the street near Graumann’s Chinese Theater.
MacGyver perceives that his human is not happy. The man next door also “smells sad” so he decides to help these two lonely people form a pack (something he knows people need). David is a baker who has been widowed for 3 years and his friends are pressuring him to get back out there and start dating. He is reluctant. He knows he’s lonely, but he’s doing fine with his mutt Deogee.
Mac decides that the best way to get these two together is to bring items of clothing from one to the other. Surely they will be able to smell the lonliness too. Surely they will be able to find one another. Unfortunately he finds they are a little slow on the uptake. But while he’s out and about, he decides to help others.
Eventually Jamie and David meet. They become friends and decide to “fake” date. This will keep David’s friends off his back about dating, and Jamie can deflect her nosy landlady and her friend from trying to set her up. As the friendship develops, both have personal issues to deal with to clear the way to deeper feelings.
This is a cute story. It alternates points of view among characters, mostly MacGyver, Jamie, and David. The plots on which the romance hangs - Jamie’s search for a meaningful occupation and David’s working through his grief and guilt - are well developed and interesting. The characters are nicely fleshed out, and even the secondaries are realistic and essential to the plot. The romantic scenes culminate behind closed doors, making this a “sweet” romance. I did find one character - a washed up actor still wearing the persona of his one big role - irritating enough that the book came close to being a DNF. He was just too over the top, and not once did anyone tell him to get a grip when he decided he would determine who was guilty of stealing stuff in Storybook Court.
The narration was okay. Ms Arsenault does a good job differentiating characters. However, she goes use an inflection as if she’s telling the story to a child or someone who needs to have things simplified. This is a sweet romance, but she really does not need to speak as if fade-to-black sex means the audience can’t handle a more mature tone. Sure, some of that is the author, but the narrator did not have to exacerbate it.
But overall, provided you can get with the narrator’s style, this is a fun listen.

Light and Amusing

Sometimes it's great to hear a light, amusing story with entertaining characters and excellent narration. Very relaxing!

cute and funny

a very light hearted story. if you are a pet owner you will be able to relate

Love that cat!

This is probably one of the funniest books that I have listen to in a long time. The story is mainly told from the point of view of a cat who is also a cat burglar. His name is MacGyver like the tv series and he also has a lot of tricks up his paws. He wants his owner to meet people because she is sad and lonely. He uses his senses to determine which people belong together and starts stealing their stuff. He places their things on the door step of the people that he thinks should be together. He finds a mate for his owner and happiness for several other neighbors. I'm not a pet person but I really enjoyed this book, it was well worth a credit.

Awesome performance.

It was a fun story; but made so much better by the great performance of Ms. Arsenault. I really enjoyed her cadence and inflections. Really well read.

Adorable 😍

Okay, this story was very cute! The author paints an adorable little picture of MacGiver(?), the matchmaker little kitty who wreaks all kinds of playful havoc around his human’s new neighborhood in an (ultimately very successful) attempt at multiple matchmaking with his own human as well as other humans nearby.

Lighthearted and fun, a nice little listen as a break from more intense and complicated listening. The book was sweet, well thought out, well written with many “awww” moments. The narrator did a fine job!

Cute pets but story just OK!

I picked this book because I am a huge cat lover and have several rescue cats in my home. I also love dogs. The parts of the book with the pets was very cute but the overall story was kinda boring to me. If I was a teenager, I think that I would have found it more enjoyable.