Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter

by Heather Fawcett

Synopsis:

Agnes Aubert is very fond of making lists. These lists kept her afloat when she lost her husband two years ago. And now, as the founder of a cat rescue charity, her meticulous organization skills feel like the only thing standing between her beloved cats - His Majesty, Banshee and sweet elderly Thoreau, to name a few - and utter disaster.

But when Agnes is forced to move the charity, she soon discovers that her new shop is being used as a front; right under her feet is the lair of the decidedly disorganised - not to mention self-absorbed and infuriatingly handsome - Havelock Renard.

Havelock is everything Agnes doesn't want in her life: chaos, mischief, and a little too much adventure. But as she gets to know him, she discovers he's more than the dark magician of legend, and that she may be ready for a little intrigue, perhaps even romance. After all, second chances aren't just for rescue cats. . .

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I was keen to get hold of Heather Fawcett’s Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter more or less from the word go, based on the title and the fact that I really enjoyed the Emily Wilde books. And indeed, I had a lot of fun: Agnes is an older female character who lost her husband and now focuses just about constantly on the fortunes of her cat shelter, an endeavour which isn’t meeting with a lot of success in her city. She’s struggling to find a new landlord after the destruction of the last shelter, but gets drawn to a particular shop that other businesses seem to avoid.

Naturally that’s the start of the real trouble, since it turns out to be a front for an illicit magic business. Magic is particularly looked down on since a dreadful wizard recently tried to end the world — or at least, that’s what everyone assumed happened. You won’t be surprised to hear that we learn otherwise in the course of the story, though I won’t spoil the details.

There’s also a little touch of romance, and it’s partly that which made me feel like this was veeery reminiscent of Diana Wynne Jones’ Howl’s Moving Castle (a mixture of the book and the Studio Ghibli film, actually). I don’t mean plagiarism, just that it has certain vibes in common, to be clear. It’s not as humorous, and it’s a bit more clearly aimed at an adult audience (the romance is very light, but the characters aren’t teenagers and don’t have teenage concerns)… but something about the way the characters interact, and the story behind the magic, gives off those vibes.

I didn’t like it as much as the Emily Wilde books, I think, but I feel fondly about it and had a good time reading. And for those who read one of my other reviews lately where I pointed out that the cats got treated as objects for human convenience, I can reassure you that these cats were definitely their own creatures entirely. I felt a little sad about His Majesty here, but at the same time, he’s very much a cat… And that’s all I’ll say about that.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)