Author: Heather Fawcett

A charity owner who has trouble lying and cares too much, a dark magician who just wants to be left alone, a shop that smells like fresh pastries in the morning, and an endless variety of adorable cats. Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett feels like it was specially crafted to hit every cozy fantasy reader’s must-have’s checklist and to appease cat lovers. Yet outside of its obvious cat motif and well-pitched warm vibes, this book has a surprisingly solid urban fantasy story based around magical artifacts that’s good enough to appeal to SFF readers who are less enthusiastic about cats or the cozy fantasy genre (on Goodreads, 4.5 stars rounded down) On paper, this book has all the cards stacked against it for my personal reading tastes. Cozy fantasy tends to be very hit or miss for me if they’re too low stakes or directionless, I am not a cat person (I’m a dog guy in addition to both my Mom and my late dog being allergic to them), and I’m not a vibe reader, instead gravitating towards books with strong narratives or character work. Perhaps the nicest thing I can say about Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat…

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries is a curious case of a lot of great ideas implemented in a slow and laborious manner. Incorporating aspects of historical fiction, fantasy, light romance and folklore, the elements were there for what many positive reviewers have describe as a cozy and enchanting read. Unfortunately the narrative and tone was not for me and I alternated between struggling to stay interested in the story and being baffled at seemingly random lurches in unexpected directions. The main highlight for me and the area Heather Fawcett was consistently strong in was the folklore aspect layered into the story. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries is full of lengthy and detailed stories told by the villagers of Hrafnsvik, encounters with the Fair folk, and even recapped from Emily’s own research. These stories placed in self-contained chapters are often longer than non-folklore chapters given that the story is presented via Emily’s written journal, some entries being extremely short and uneventful. These stories all have some sort of theme that connects to whatever Emily is experiencing at the time, and the imaginative quality of these tales often surpasses the novel’s actual story itself (like modern Grimm fairy tales). The interest within…