I received an Advance Listening Copy of this book thanks to the publisher and Libro.fm. All opinions are my own. This book is available now.
One of the lovely things about using audiobooks and being able to have great access to them through Libro.fm is that I have found myself trying books I might not normally pick up. Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter definitely falls into that category. I’m not that into whimsical stories of magic and I’m more of a dog person than a cat person. But I was happy to give it a shot and while, in the end, it wasn’t really a book for me, I do think it will find its audience.
Agnes Aubert is our main character and narrator. She’s a young widow, living in Montreal, and operating a shelter for stray cats. She takes in cats, cares for them, and tries to find them new homes, operating her shelter as a charity. When the story opens, Agnes is searching for a new location for the shelter because her current spot has a hole blasted in the wall by duelling magicians. She’s having trouble finding a place because most people think her cat shelter is a crazy idea but, following a tip, she finds a terrific spot for cheap. Of course, there is a catch, and it isn’t long before she realizes that her landlord is Havelock Renard, the witch king himself.
Fawcett does a great job of establishing both Agnes and the rules of the world (well, most of them, but more on that in a moment) in this initial set-up. Agnes is spunky and independent and her cats are the most important thing to her. We learn that she hates magicians, that her husband died a few years before, and that the shelter is struggling.
What we don’t learn (and that I found frustrating) was what era this story is set in. Fawcett has chosen to set her story in the very real city of Montreal and, overall, I really appreciated this choice. She adds little touches of that French Canadian quality. But the timeframe was super confusing to me. The blurb told me that the story was set in the 1920s. But Agnes, as a widow, has so much freedom that I found myself wondering if I got that wrong and we were in the 2020s. Then, no, she moves to her new location via horse and cart. But she has electricity. Then she sends a telegram. I had finally settled on it being the 1920s but Agnes being an anomaly when she casually drops that a business down the street is run by a gay couple. Ok, so we’re in a fictional version of 1920s Montreal. Which might seem obvious because magic exists and wizards are running around but I felt like Fawcett needed to do more to set the tone for this at the beginning of the book.
Probably the fact that I’m focusing this much on such an aspect demonstrates my level of engagement with the story overall. I found it both charming and predictable. It’s not a spoiler that Agnes’ opinion on magicians begins to change over the course of her interactions with Havelock. There is, of course, an opposing magician and wicked forces and all kinds of things that conspire to push Agnes and Havelock together. More time than you might expect is spent on Agnes organizing things.
I realize I’m not really selling this book well but it is very charming. There’s lots of warm pastries and cozy cats. Agnes has a sweet relationship with her sister and the wintery setting of Montreal is lovely. The cats work as their own little characters and each have personality and a role to play. I definitely think this book has its readers out there and I hope it finds them.
Karissa Reads Books 