#catscafe

Book: Cat's Cafe Author: Matt Tapley Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing Genre: Comics and Graphic Novels Publication Date: May 26, 2020 Rating:

The Low Down: Serving up more than just coffee and tea, Cat’s Café provides its cast of adorable characters a gentle, supportive space and a hefty serving of the warm and floofies. Welcome to Cat’s Café, a neighborhood coffee shop where all are welcome! Based on the popular webcomic, Cat’s Café introduces readers to the adorable denizens of this world. There's Penguin, who has a bit of a coffee problem; Rabbit, whose anxiety sometimes overwhelms him; Axolotl, whose confidence inspires his friends; the always-supportive Cat, who provides hot drinks made with love and a supportive ear for anyone's troubles; and many, many more. With a sensitive take on real issues and a gentle, positive outlook, Cat’s Café is about the power of acceptance, friendship, and love ... and delicious cups of coffee. My thoughts: *Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for a review!* At first I thought this was just going to be a wholesome, lighthearted and cute comic collection with adorable animal characters. And I mean... it was.

But then sometimes it would dig deeper, and cover more sensitive topics. But even if it did cover more hard stuff and hit me in the feels, it was still one of those books that truely did feel like a safe space to me and would wrap me in a hug. What really hit me about this book was the way in which it handled anxiety and other mental illness, with rabbit as one of the characters, and other topics. I personally saw myself in rabbit and hyena A LOT, and it made me cry seeing the other animals being so sweet, wholesome and supportive. This comic collection will definitely stay with me for a long time.