Author: Heather Fawcett
Genre: Cosy Fantasy
Series: N/A
368 pages, Hardcover
Publication: February 17, 2026
Source: Personal Library
Buy|AMAZON|
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. . . .
MY THOUGHTS
It took me an extremely long time to get into the story. All I had been hearing about this book was how cute and cozy it was. I found it to be neither.
I didn’t find the plot as charming as I had hoped; instead, it felt more tiresome. The FMC, Agnes, is desperately trying to relocate her cat shelter and ends up renting from a notorious magician. For the majority of the book, Agnes is setting up her shelter(s) while helping Havelock, the magician, search for an unknown magical artifact, all while getting attacked by his sister and her cronies. The plot itself wasn’t exciting at all, and the pacing was equivalent to watching paint dry.
I felt zero connection with the characters. I found Agnes and her sister terribly irritating. At the start of the book, Agnes is portrayed as someone who is mostly quiet, follows the rules, and maybe is even a bit meek. But once she comes face to face with the apparently big, bad, scary magician Havelock, she suddenly develops a new personality; someone who not only talks back but also snoops around and inserts herself into people’s business like she has every right to.
Then there’s Havelock, who turns out not to be a big, bad, scary magician at all but just a curious, nerdy guy with magic. He gives off the awkward recluse type. I hated the way he spoke; it felt like he was trying too hard to sound indifferent. As one can guess, Agnes and Havelock are paired together, but there was absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. It also came out of nowhere and felt unrealistic.
The book was initially teetering around almost three stars because it had its moments, but once the author inserted the time travel around the 80% mark, it dropped for me. I didn’t like that twist; it felt like a cheap and easy solution to solving all their problems. How convenient that Agnes suddenly finds what she needs at the very last moment and how convenient that it happens to do exactly what she needs: travel back in time to retrieve the one object required to save everyone.
I understand cozy books are meant to be low stakes and low reward, but even this felt subpar. The plot was so thin, and the characters were barely tolerable. I’m honestly wondering why this book was even written. There weren’t any key takeaways or morals to the story that I noticed (and sure, maybe there weren’t supposed to be). Cozy books are supposed to be sweet, fun, or comforting and I didn’t get any of that.
I don’t understand all the hype around this book, but that’s okay. The book wasn't necessarily bad, but it wasn't good either.
I didn’t find the plot as charming as I had hoped; instead, it felt more tiresome. The FMC, Agnes, is desperately trying to relocate her cat shelter and ends up renting from a notorious magician. For the majority of the book, Agnes is setting up her shelter(s) while helping Havelock, the magician, search for an unknown magical artifact, all while getting attacked by his sister and her cronies. The plot itself wasn’t exciting at all, and the pacing was equivalent to watching paint dry.
I felt zero connection with the characters. I found Agnes and her sister terribly irritating. At the start of the book, Agnes is portrayed as someone who is mostly quiet, follows the rules, and maybe is even a bit meek. But once she comes face to face with the apparently big, bad, scary magician Havelock, she suddenly develops a new personality; someone who not only talks back but also snoops around and inserts herself into people’s business like she has every right to.
Then there’s Havelock, who turns out not to be a big, bad, scary magician at all but just a curious, nerdy guy with magic. He gives off the awkward recluse type. I hated the way he spoke; it felt like he was trying too hard to sound indifferent. As one can guess, Agnes and Havelock are paired together, but there was absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. It also came out of nowhere and felt unrealistic.
The book was initially teetering around almost three stars because it had its moments, but once the author inserted the time travel around the 80% mark, it dropped for me. I didn’t like that twist; it felt like a cheap and easy solution to solving all their problems. How convenient that Agnes suddenly finds what she needs at the very last moment and how convenient that it happens to do exactly what she needs: travel back in time to retrieve the one object required to save everyone.
I understand cozy books are meant to be low stakes and low reward, but even this felt subpar. The plot was so thin, and the characters were barely tolerable. I’m honestly wondering why this book was even written. There weren’t any key takeaways or morals to the story that I noticed (and sure, maybe there weren’t supposed to be). Cozy books are supposed to be sweet, fun, or comforting and I didn’t get any of that.
I don’t understand all the hype around this book, but that’s okay. The book wasn't necessarily bad, but it wasn't good either.
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