See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

Ready to Buy?
woodys-uk
Price: £53.13
In stock

107 used & new from £0.01

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Cat
 
See larger image
 

Cat (Paperback)

by Freya North (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


4 new from £3.99 102 used from £0.01 1 collectible from £2.50
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 11 used & new from £0.01
Paperback (New edition) £7.99 £4.79 35 used & new from £0.24

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Fen

Fen

by Freya North
4.1 out of 5 stars (21)  £4.81
Pip

Pip

by Freya North
4.5 out of 5 stars (17)  £4.86
Polly

Polly

by Freya North
3.2 out of 5 stars (31)  £4.58
Home Truths

Home Truths

by Freya North
4.3 out of 5 stars (13)  £4.72
Pillow Talk

Pillow Talk

by Freya North
4.0 out of 5 stars (13)  £4.31
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 426 pages
  • Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd; First Edition edition (4 Nov 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 043400538X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0434005383
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,211,064 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #28 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > N > North, Freya

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Cat McCabe is 29 and the youngest of three sisters brought up by their Uncle Django--a man with unusual culinary tastes ("I made pizza tonight," Django says proudly. "I had some bread that was going a bit off so I tore it up, added a little oil and beaten egg and a drop of ketchup, formed it into a base and baked the bugger. I added a topping of sardines, chicken liver, a little more ketchup and some Stilton.")--after their mother ran off with a cowboy from Denver.

A budding sports journalist obsessed with cycling, she's just been offered the chance of a lifetime--covering the Tour de France for the Guardian. But she's a little on the fragile side, having been dumped by her boyfriend of five years, and thus lost loads of weight and self-confidence. How will this English version of Ally McBeal survive the testosterone-fuelled cycling race? Will she succumb to the muscular thighs and obvious bulges of the sexy cyclists--and they to her slim English gorgeousness? How will she cope as one of only 12 women in the thousand-strong press corps? Will her Ex show up? Will he want her back? Does she want him back? And what about Ben York--team doctor for Megapac, the American outsiders? He seems to be flirting with her, and there's definitely Chemistry. But if he's after Cat, why was he looking deep into the eyes of Monique, the stunning Coca Cola podium girl? And, when the three gruelling weeks are over, will Cat get the features editorship she craves at Maillot magazine?

Lots of sex, angst, female bonding, cycling and lycra, plus a realistic smattering of wee and dysentery from the acclaimed author of Sally,Chloe and Polly. --Lisa Gee --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
Meet Cat (Catriona) McCabe, aspiring young sports journalist with a passion for, of all things, cycling. And now Cat, while not exactly over-endowed in the self-confidence department, has nonetheless managed to get a national newspaper to send her to cover the Tour de France. North's devoted legions of female fans, hooked by the madcap romantic adventures of her previous heroines (each gave her name as a book title: Sally, Chloe and Polly) might be forgiven for a collective sigh and a yawn at the thought of lots of men with shaved legs pedalling up hill and down dale for three weeks, but North is very clear on the attractions - and erotic potential - of such a spectacle. She does not keep the book's point of view exclusively with her young heroine. We also get to know the feelings and motivations of the other major players in Cat's Tour de France drama - the handsome, arrogant Fabian Ducasse, as much a heart-throb in the cycling world as any footballer or rock star to his fans; American Luca Jones with the team which has flown the Atlantic to challenge the French on their own soil; Ben York, the Americans' quiet and clever sports doctor. So can Cat prove herself as a journalist and keep her heart intact as she follows the 'peloton' through France and gets involved in its gripping dramas and colourful cast of characters? While readers may be forgiven for occasional exasperation at Cat's rather wet brand of self-absorbed diffidence, they will not find these inner misgiving slow down the plot: her erotic and romantic escapades hurtle along at the pace of one of the downhill stretches of the Tour. Along the way North's readers can learn more about the workings of a world-class cycle race than they perhaps ever thought they would need to know: the significance of the yellow, green and spotted jerseys, the commercial shenanigans of the corporate sponsors, the drugs, the groupies and the real reason why the cyclists shave their legs. And does the charmingly naive, impressionable but determined Cat (in literary genealogy, a sort of Bridget Jones's younger sister) find true happiness at the end of the 4000 kilometre slog? Let's just say that by this, her fourth book, North knows how to keep her readers happy. (Kirkus UK)

See all Product Description


Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Cat
57% buy the item featured on this page:
Cat 3.8 out of 5 stars (38)
Home Truths
13% buy
Home Truths 4.3 out of 5 stars (13)
£4.72
Pillow Talk
12% buy
Pillow Talk 4.0 out of 5 stars (13)
£4.31
Love Rules
12% buy
Love Rules 4.2 out of 5 stars (16)
£4.31

 

Customer Reviews

38 Reviews
5 star:
 (18)
4 star:
 (10)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (7)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (38 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Great holiday reading, 30 Aug 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Cat (Paperback)
I admit to getting this book free with a magazine (I'd just finished 'Olivia Joules Overactive Imagination' by Helen Fielding, far too quickly).
This book started quite slowly, and read a little like transcribed research at first, but it built itself into a thoroughly compelling read.
A great insight into the Tour de France, and a rather novel writing style as it's quite 'shrink and patient' style!
Buy it, read it in two days flat, and enjoy every page as it whizzes by
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Chick Book A Guy Would Like, 5 Mar 2002
By elvistcob@lvcm.com (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews
Well, a guy that reads books. Make that, a guy that reads books that likes sports. Well, maybe not. I live in Las Vegas, and the mentality here is that if it's not on a casino betting board, it's not a sport. But I liked it anyway.

I noticed all the reviews before me are from people living in England, so allow me to present a review from America. This book is not available in the American version of amazon.com, and I had to go to a Freya North web page to get to the UK version of amazon.com.

Marketing is an amazing thing. I notice that the cover of the original book shows a cute blond in a bike shirt, with the collar pulled over her face. I encountered this book as an audio CD at my local library. The cover is quite different. The Cat portrayed here looks a bit more empty-headed than the actual character. With her wide, blank stare, pink blushing cheeks, and overdone red lips, the cover could easily be at home on a porno tape, as she does look very "doable". Oh yes, the cover also depicts her daydreaming lustily of a pair of bicycler's thighs.

Another of the reviewers on this page points out that the bicyle lore is simplistic, and sometimes innaccurate. That may be so, but I like a novel that takes me into a new world, and gives me a lot of information on it. It may be simplistic, but it does cover all the races of the Tour de France, and how the winner is chosen. For the needs of the book, it gives you all you need if you just want to know a bit about the subject of cycling. I suspect this would be more than enough for most Americans, as we generally give it only minor attention only when one of our citizens is the leader. This probably makes us uncultured brutes, but with the cost of gasoline less than a third of what it costs in Europe, bicycles are not as revered here.

I also admire the author's lack of restraint in her language. Many (but not all) female authors who want to be sexy will not get as raunchy as the average guy writer. They will generally describe the embrace, maybe the copping of a feel, but then the chapter ends with the bedroom door closing. No problems like that with "Cat". The author not only gets extremely explicit in several sex scenes, but laces the entire book with the quaint :) notion that women actually think about sex frequently. Fact or fiction?

But it is the story itself that makes it a pleasant read. I already mentioned a lot of cycle lore. But I also liked the story of how Cat needs to prove herself as a writer to land the job of her dreams. I liked how it describes how a rookie female reporter has distinct disadvantages in getting stories, but how her looks also sometimes gets her foot in the door. And the Cat character truly loves the sport, and her passion for it really comes through.

Ok, "Bridget Jones's Diary" is probably a better book in that it portrays a very sympathetic portrait of a character with many flaws. But given the chance to nail Bridget or Cat, I'll take Cat hands down. Especially the one portrayed on the American cover.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Got me into the Tour De France, North is by far the best!, 18 Feb 2002
By mjplay@essex.ac.uk (Colchester, Essex, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Cat (Paperback)
I read this having read Chloe, Sally and Polly. This book has helped to strengthern my love of Freya Norths writing. As with all her other books I found that I could identify with Cat easily and found that I couldn't put the book down. I now want to go and see the Tour De France and try to get as close I can to Cat's experience of it. Another emotional and witty master peace by the extremly talented Freya North.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring
I agree with other one star ratings. I gave in at about page 150. I found that i wasn't interested in any of the characters and the discription of the bicycle race seemed to be... Read more
Published 11 months ago by busy lizzy

4.0 out of 5 stars Loved it
A great, sexy read for the weekend. Got a little frustrated by all the sports talk and reports, so I skimmed over those to the more juicy, fun parts.
Published 12 months ago by Miss C

3.0 out of 5 stars Undecided
I gave this book a 3, because I cant decide quite how I feel about it.

I found the style of the book hard to read at times, and there was an awful lot of Tour de... Read more
Published 13 months ago by dizzyshelly

5.0 out of 5 stars great summer read!
...i love the way North writes, you feel that you are in the story with the characters - ok, so its a bit trashy in parts, but who doesnt love a bit of trash when lying on the... Read more
Published on 27 May 2007 by Shelley Morris

1.0 out of 5 stars Absolutly terrible!!!!!
I wish I had properly listened/read the previous reviews - this book is awful!!!
I have read the other books in the series - and enjoyed them - and so I thought that I... Read more
Published on 8 April 2007 by V. Shelley

5.0 out of 5 stars Three sister stories
I love the way Freya North writes, her books are so fun to read i can't put one down when i start.I read Cat,Pip and Fen within the first week of my holiday in Florida of all... Read more
Published on 15 May 2005

4.0 out of 5 stars Me Too!
I got this book free with a magazine too. I'd already read Fen and Pip so did want to read the last sisters book. Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2005 by bex

1.0 out of 5 stars oh dear
after reading some good reviews of this book i was expecting something pretty good however, after reading half of the book i just couldnt be bothered with it anymore. Read more
Published on 6 Sep 2004 by Mrs. K. M. Hall-gearing

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!
I loved this book! Not only was Cat a character I could relate to, but the storyline kept me enthralled. I knew nothing about the Tour de France and loved learning. A great read.
Published on 26 Aug 2003 by Katherine A. Keiley

4.0 out of 5 stars cat on a hot tin roof!
Cat follows the tale of a young lady looking for a career in cycling related journalism. this leads her to cover the tour de france where she finds love and lust and lots of mud... Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2002

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

Shop the Powerball store

 

More From Freya North

Fen

Fen by Freya North

"An original, direct, funny new voice." -"Independent on Sunday" "From... Read more
£7.99 £4.81

 

Train Hard...Play Hard

Nike, Gola, Converse, and more
Gear up with up to 60% off athletic and outdoor shoes.

Shop now

 

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

Learn more about Gift Certificates

 
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates