The Three Lives of Cate Kay

★★★★★★★½☆☆ 7.5/10

400 pages

What’s it about?

Cate Kay has written a massive bestseller.  But Cate Kay does not exist.  It is a pen name to hide her real identity.  But when a famous Hollywood actress (who is going to star in the film version of her blockbuster) asks to meet Cate, it sets off a series of events.

What did it make me think about?

Secrets.

Should I read it?

Well....  I see why so many people have enjoyed this novel.  Although I found the first fifty pages erratic, it does find its groove, and you are interested in the story.  However, in my mind, it has a few flaws that kept me from rating it higher.  The storyline is highly implausible.  Now, I can often forgive that- but then the author seems to be hitting the reader over the head with the sexuality of the characters as well.  Which also feels implausible- does everyone Cate Kay meet out in the regular world just happen to be gay?  I don't usually comment on a character's sexuality, and I honestly don't care about whether a character is straight or gay- but Kate Fagin made it seem forced.  " 'Dude,' Janie had said, which made me laugh.  I liked being called 'dude'.  It helped balance out the hyperfemininity I had to exhibit almost everywhere else.'"If you are looking for a light-hearted story that keeps the pages turning, then this is a good book.  It's too bad; with a few more edits and less preaching to the choir, it could have been a great book...

A passage I marked

"Listening to my brain was exhausting.  Only now do I question my brain's wisdom,  wonder if it's actually working in my best interest.  But back then?  A thought was reality. And how do you tell your best friend that your brain imagines outgrowing them- that it's not even a choice; it's a necessity."