Note: This copy of Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter was provided by NetGalley.

When you stumble across a book with a cover and title such as this, one can’t help but be intrigued. Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter seemed to tick off all the checkboxes for a potential cosy read. The setting for this book is based in what feels like an industrial age town in America where magic isn’t always very well received; but not also completely abolished. The presence of magicians or the practitioners of magic are mostly seen as a nuisance, even more so since one of them almost caused the apocalyse three years prior. It is in such a world where we find Agnes trying her best to run her rescue home for cats but an unlikely duel between two magicians finds her in need of new accommodations for her and her feline charges.

Lo and behold after several unsuccessful attempts to convince people that cats aren’t the scourge of society as they are deemed to be, the one place Agnes finds happens to be the front of the illegal business run by the very infamous magician that almost caused the apocalyse. This is where we start to see some romantasy bleed in. The cold, calculating, supposedly dangerous recluse of a man, who shuns the company of others, opens up to the new tenant who is loud and has a tendency of taking care of others she deems are in need. How convenient. In the midst of all this we also have the cat shelter and we’re introduced to a few of the more popular cats, but despite the title of the book, the cat shelter itself didn’t feel as significant to the plot. I would have honestly loved to have had a day by day of running the cat rescue with all the difficulties that may arise when there’s a magician living downstairs and random leaked magic makes life interesting for the cats in the shelter.

Instead, we’re given a very random plot where the characters have a hell of a lot of plot armour, several open ended questions about the nature of magic in this world, a rivalry that just doesn’t have the impact it may have been going for, and the world’s most infamous magician who almost caused the apocalyse, being not very good at what he does despite being considered the king of them all. Oh, and then there’s the romance aspect but that was alright when compared to the other confounding plot points.

What I will say is that it definitely is a cosy read, and easy enough to get through, but I can’t help but feel a little confused and underwhelmed at the end of the book. There were just too many open questions that weren’t addressed but left at the wayside to the romance that obviously nobody saw coming. I’d say read it for the few cats but you’d wish this book was just more about the cats than anything else.

Links:

• Goodreads: Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter – Heather Fawcett