Love at First Scratch: A Nine Lives Club Romance

By: Mayes, Hazel

Book #1 in the Nine Lives Club Romance Series-a cozy, small-town romantic comedy with heat, heart, and claws.

Cali Jacobs didn't move to Autumn Ridge for love. She came for a fresh start-stacks of books, apple cider donuts, fall festivals, and maybe a stray cat curled at her feet.

Then a shaggy Maine Coon with a talent for matchmaking strolls into her life ... and right into the arms of Ethan Cross, the infuriatingly handsome construction worker who always seems to be in her way.

Ethan is temporary, just like the City Hall renovation that brought him here. He drinks his coffee black, returns library books late, and somehow always ends up exactly where Cali doesn't want him to be.

Worst of all? The Maine Coon seems to like him as much as it likes her.

Between chaotic rescues, small-town gossip, and the meddling women of the Nine Lives Club book group, Cali's quiet life begins to unravel in the best possible way. Ethan is steady. Kind. The ultimate cinnamon roll hidden under a construction hat and sawdust.

And he might just be worth risking her carefully guarded heart.

Because sometimes the cat doesn't just choose its human...

Sometimes it chooses two.

Tropes:

Autumn small-town romanceSlow-burn chemistrySteamy, open-door spiceCinnamon roll heroCat-assisted matchmakingFound family

This feel-good contemporary romance is a complete standalone with a happily-ever-after-and the first visit to Autumn Ridge.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GC51RD8W
• ISBN13: 9798987867242
• Release Date: March 2026
• Publisher: Nine Lives Press
• Length: 212 Pages
• Weight: 0.47 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 8.0"