Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett is a 353 standalone novel published in February of 2026 by Del Rey.

Genre:

Cozy Fantasy

Blurb:

A woman who runs a cat rescue in 1920s Montreal turns to a grouchy but charming wizard to help save the shelter in this heartwarming cozy fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of the Emily Wilde series.

Agnes Aubert leads a meticulously organized life—and she likes it that way. As the proudly type-A manager of a much-needed cat rescue charity, she has devoted her life to finding forever homes for lost cats.

But after she is forced to move the cat shelter, Agnes learns that her new landlord is using her charity as a front—for an internationally renowned and thoroughly disreputable magic shop. Owned by the disorganized—not to mention self-absorbed, irritating, but also decidedly handsome—Havelock Renard, magician and failed Dark Lord, the shop draws magical clientele from around the world, partly due to the quality of Havelock’s illicit goods as well as their curiosity about his shadowy past and rumors of his incredible powers. Agnes’s charity offers the perfect cover for illegal magics.

Agnes couldn’t care less about the shop—magical intrigue or not, there are cats to be rescued. But when an enemy from Havelock’s past surfaces, the magic shop—and more importantly, the cat shelter—are suddenly in jeopardy. To save the shelter, will Agnes have to set aside her social conscience and protect the man who once tried to bring about the apocalypse—and is now trying to steal her heart?

Opening Line

I paused on the threshold of the shop to stamp the frost from my boots.

My Thoughts

As a cat lover myself, this cozy fantasy about a cat rescue shelter hit all the right notes on that front. The author clearly knows the species and the varied personalities one is likely to find among its members, which is delightful.

That being said, the story built around this core is…fine. But honestly nothing all that mindblowing.

Agnes is Type A and dedicated to rescuing strays when she finds herself in a pinch and has to move her shop to the only location within her means, a suspiciously affordable front on the Rue des Hirondelles. She is initially alarmed to learn that her new landlord is none other than the infamous Dark Wizard Havelock Renard, who is using her business as a front for his illegal trade in magical Artefacts in the building’s basement. But not only is Agnes in no position to find another shop, she soon learns that the renowned master magician may just be more awkward and curmudgeonly than evil, and people may have gotten the completely wrong idea about what really happened when the world almost ended three years before. Now it turns out there is a truly wicked magician after Havelock, and Agnes and her cats may be in harm’s way.

It was nice, it was fine. But where this book really works well is in the cozy vibes brought by the cats and the pastries and the crackling fires in the hearth while frost coats the streets of 1920s Montreal. For these reasons alone I enjoyed my reading experience. If you’re looking for a story like that as a nice balm to the soul, give this one a try. But if you want epic storytelling, perhaps look elsewhere. I personally feel like the author’s Emily Wilde series did a better job at balancing the two.