It’s well known that a genre – any genre – often relies on its tropes – some might say cliches. You know, fantasy involves elves, dragons and swords, SF involves spaceships, and so on.
It’s part of the fun, and also the elements that fans love.
To that group I must add the preponderance of a certain animal. Cats are seemingly everywhere in Fantasy fiction. Whether they are witches’ familiars (see Sabrina the Teenage Witch), or even characters of a novel themselves (see Tad Williams’ Tailchaser’s Song) they seem ingrained into the fantasy fabric.*
I’m also told that professional writers have to treat the animals in their stories VERY carefully – there’s more than one book I can think of with multiple human deaths, horror and mutilation throughout, and yet the readers are most worried or upset about is the demise of a single animal. (“Yes, never mind all of THAT, but what about the cat/dog/mouse?” etc is a commonly-asked question in book groups I’ve been involved in.)
Why am I mentioning this here? Well, Heather’s new Fantasy novel ticks all the boxes if you are appreciative of our feline friends. (And as a plus I would say that no cats are killed in the progress of the novel, even when they are put in peril. It’s just not that kind of book.)
From the publisher: “All strays are welcome here.
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. . .”
My immediate thought on beginning to read this novel was to think of the book as a literary equivalent of a Studio Ghibli animated movie – I’m thinking Kiki’s Delivery Service, for example.
The focus of the book is clearly on the characters, whether human, magician or feline. Agnes, is as you might expect, dealing with challenge and adversity with a generally cheerful and positive viewpoint, seeing the best in everybody. Elise, her younger yet bossier sister, tends to keep Agnes’s flights of fancy in check, bringing her down to earth when necessary. Their relationship is typical of many siblings – often competitive, usually squabbling and yet fiercely supportive of each other. This is in contrast to Havelock, whose relationship with his sister Valerie is the cause of much of the book’s mischief.
The relationship between Agnes and Havelock is very similar in tone to those of the Emily Wilde series (for Agnes, see Emily, and for Havelock see a young Wendell.) Their banter and burgeoning relationship is the centre of the novel. The romance part of the plot is not too mawkish, being more of a faintly fuzzy kind of amorousness rather than all-out raunch.
But really the book is about the cats that Agnes and Elise look after. There are a range of generally lovable creatures such as Banshee, whose response to anything is usually a silent meow, and Ambulance, whose arrival is usually greeted by a constant howl (hence the name.) As a cat fosterer myself I must admit that I empathised with Agnes’s work; Heather’s often amusing descriptions of their routines and habits are pretty accurate.
The book is instead gently amusing, something which I always say is difficult to get right. One example I liked was that Havelock, from whom Elise is unknowingly renting her premises from, is allergic to cats. Obviously, the cats know this and are determined to keep him company. Sneezing often follows. Kudos also for letting the story have a definite ending, although there is scope for the plot to be continued, should the publishers and readers want it to be.
Really, the plot itself is rather secondary to the characterisation. There is a search for a lost magical object which may put the world’s ills to rest, sibling rivalry that threatens to destroy the world and a romantic interest with Agnes dealing with a new beau and a love rival, although it is pretty clear that the relationship with ‘the other chap’ is never going to be serious.
We could quibble that this book is not one to think about too deeply, that it may not entirely work if you are ambivalent to moggies, and that its characters are something we’ve read before. But really Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter is exactly what you hope it would be like from the start – a story filled with charm and humour, memorable characters, pastries and cats, a huge great hug in a book that at the end leaves you with a great big smile.
And for that reason, recommended.
© 2026 Mark Yon
Hardback | Orbit Books
AGNES AUBERT’S MYSTICAL CAT SHELTER by Heather Fawcett
February 2026 | 358 pages
ISBN: 978 0356 529 318
*Other animals may be equally lovable. I am aware that dogs have a strong following too.
