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4.0
Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter
ByPublisher Description
A woman who runs a cat rescue in 1920s Montréal turns to a grouchy but charming magician to help save her shelter in this heartwarming cozy fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of the Emily Wilde series.
“Absolutely magnificent! Full of cats and magic, this is the kind of book you want to instantly reread. I loved every character, every cat, and every moment with all my heart!”—Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop
Agnes Aubert leads a meticulously organized life, and she likes it that way. As the proudly type-A manager of a cat rescue charity, she has devoted her life to finding forever homes for stray cats.
Now it’s the shelter that needs a new home. And the only landlord who will rent a space to a cat rescue is a mysterious man called Havelock—who also happens to be the world’s most infamous magician, running an illegal magic shop out of his basement. Havelock is cantankerous and eccentric, but not not handsome, and no, Agnes absolutely does not feel anything but disdain for him. After all, rumors swirl about his shadowy past—including whispers that his dark magic once almost brought about the apocalypse.
Then one day a glamorous magician comes looking for Havelock, putting the magic shop—and the cat shelter—in jeopardy. To save the shelter, Agnes will have to team up with the magician who nearly ended the world . . . and may now be trying to steal her heart.
Havelock is everything Agnes thinks she doesn’t need in her life: chaos, mischief, and a little too much adventure. But as she gets to know him, she discovers that he’s more than the dark magician of legend, and that she may be ready for a little intrigue—and romance—in her life. After all, second chances aren’t just for rescue cats. . . .
“Absolutely magnificent! Full of cats and magic, this is the kind of book you want to instantly reread. I loved every character, every cat, and every moment with all my heart!”—Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop
Agnes Aubert leads a meticulously organized life, and she likes it that way. As the proudly type-A manager of a cat rescue charity, she has devoted her life to finding forever homes for stray cats.
Now it’s the shelter that needs a new home. And the only landlord who will rent a space to a cat rescue is a mysterious man called Havelock—who also happens to be the world’s most infamous magician, running an illegal magic shop out of his basement. Havelock is cantankerous and eccentric, but not not handsome, and no, Agnes absolutely does not feel anything but disdain for him. After all, rumors swirl about his shadowy past—including whispers that his dark magic once almost brought about the apocalypse.
Then one day a glamorous magician comes looking for Havelock, putting the magic shop—and the cat shelter—in jeopardy. To save the shelter, Agnes will have to team up with the magician who nearly ended the world . . . and may now be trying to steal her heart.
Havelock is everything Agnes thinks she doesn’t need in her life: chaos, mischief, and a little too much adventure. But as she gets to know him, she discovers that he’s more than the dark magician of legend, and that she may be ready for a little intrigue—and romance—in her life. After all, second chances aren’t just for rescue cats. . . .
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesAgnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter Reviews
4.0
“I have two major qualms with Heather Fawcett and Agnes Aubert, and they are thus: that Fawcett insisted this book would be a standalone, and that I couldn’t dwell in the story longer. Truly, a frustrating experience, to realize that you are two-thirds through a book with no chance to inhabit the world beyond the last page. It’s a travesty, one that Ms. Fawcett should rectify soon.
Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter is a book for lovers of cats. It’s a book for lovers of cozy fantasy, a book for people who enjoy a little adventure but not too much. It’s a story for people who like well thought out stories and characters who organize to soothe their anxiety and for people whose grief lingers years down the road. It’s a story about hope and practicality and love.
Agnes begins with a conundrum; her animal shelter has been destroyed as collateral damage of a fight between two wizards, and she needs a new place to go. Every rental gets squeamish at the thought of taking in cats (they’re not a popular animal on the streets of Montreal), and Agnes is growing desperate. Finally, she gets a lease in a popular part of town with an unusual vibe, her suspicions risen at the low cost. As the story progresses, Agnes is caught in the crosshairs of a wizardry rivalry, and she has to make sure her cats don’t pay the price.
This story was well written and well thought out, with a romantic subplot and a fun dynamic. The setting of Montreal was a nice change from many of the fantasy books, using little details that made the setting feel more real and lived in. Agnes is a complex, well written main character, and the side characters (including the cats themselves) are well developed and interesting. Agnes also feels distinct in many ways from Emily, which is nice. The stakes in the climax were higher than I generally see for cozy fantasy, where the stakes shouldn’t be life or death or the end of the world, but the story felt grounded and cozy enough that I didn’t mind the escalation of the third act. I loved the finale and the little details at the end, which leads us to imagine what Agnes will be up to next. Again, I would like Fawcett to give us more of the story, but if she is insistent on this being a standalone, I suppose it will suffice.
Thank you to the team at DelRey for this advanced reader copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”
“Thank you NetGalley, Del Rey, and Random House Worlds for this ARC in exchange fit an honest review. This book was magical. For lovers of Howl’s Moving Castle. It is very similar but more grown up. The characters, especially the supporting cast, are lovable and sarcastic. The book takes its time with the story and building the world. Even the relationships build slowly and subtly. It did sometimes feel a bit too similar to the aforementioned story though, which made it a tad predictable but still satisfying.”
“Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett 🐾✨
⭐ 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)
If you’re coming to this hoping for Emily Wilde energy, a quick reset: this is not that book. Instead, this is full-tilt cosy fantasy—the literary equivalent of a warm blanket, a sleepy cat, and a hot mug of tea ☕🐈⬛
Set in a gently imagined Montreal (post-electricity, pre-planes), this world places magicians alongside humans—useful, dangerous, and generally terrible for buildings. Enter Agnes Aubert, a young widow in her early thirties who runs a cat rescue. When her shelter is destroyed in a magical incident, she relocates… directly above the workshop of Havelock Renard, an infamous dark magician best known for once trying to end the world. Casual neighbour stuff.
Yes, there’s a save-the-world plot (spoiler, but this is cosy fantasy—of course there’s a happy ending), but the stakes stay deliberately low. The real heart of the book lies with Agnes’s community and, especially, the cats. Each one is lovingly characterised, with lots of detail about care, personalities, and adoption.
For me, that was both a strength and a limitation. The writing is warm and funny, but I did find myself occasionally thinking: do I need quite this much cat business right now? Mostly because I wanted more Agnes and Havelock. Their banter is sharp, their personalities clash beautifully, and their second-chance romance is quietly charming—I would happily have lingered there longer.
The pacing is slow, but intentionally so. This is a book that invites you to slow down with it, not race ahead.
If you’re in the mood for something cosy, gently humorous, and comforting—perfect for a snowy afternoon—this will absolutely hit the spot 🫖✨
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.”
About Heather Fawcett
Heather Fawcett is the author of the Emily Wilde series, as well as a number of books for children and young adults, including Ember and the Ice Dragons, The Grace of Wild Things, and A Galaxy of Whales. She has a master’s degree in English literature and a bachelor’s in archaeology. She lives on Vancouver Island.
Other books by Heather Fawcett
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