When life gives you cats, open a café.
When a spell gone wrong brings more than just magic to Theo Brylar’s life, things in Adenashire get a little… purrplexing. Suddenly, cats of all shapes and sizes are drawn to him, much to the amusement of Faylin the forest lynx (and Theo’s “house cat”). But when Faylin suggests opening a cat café next to Arleta’s bakery, Theo finds himself juggling more than feline antics.
Between his long-lost father reappearing, his mother’s distaste for that fact, and the lingering grief of his brother’s death, Theo’s family drama surfaces at the most inconvenient time. With Arleta pregnant and facing her own fears, Theo must untangle his emotions and reconcile with his past...all while keeping his cat café (and family) from spiraling out of control.
Escape to Adenashire for a heartfelt, cozy fantasy filled with warm drinks, the healing power of love, friendship, and furry companions.
Sometimes the best kind of magic is finding somewhere you belong.
✶ PRE-READING ✶
It's been about a year since I read the first three books in the Adenashire series, so I was very happy to have an excuse to immerse myself in this world again. Inevitably, some of the details had faded over that time, but thankfully A Fellowship of Curses and Cats handles that very neatly.
Rather than stopping the story for a lengthy recap, Theo walks through Adenashire reflecting on everything that has happened over the past year, giving us the information we need while allowing the story itself to carry on.
I was particularly intrigued to see Theo take centre stage this time, especially because I remembered him rather differently than the anxious young man we meet here.
✶ POST-READING ✶
As I thought... this is exactly the sort of warm, comforting fantasy I've come to expect from Adenashire. There is magic and there are problems to solve, but the real pleasure comes from watching people build lives together.
It surprised me by... how anxious Theo is. Perhaps I'd simply forgotten that aspect of him over the year, but seeing the world from his perspective makes it impossible to miss. His worries about his family, his brother's death, his father's return and the changes happening around him all feel very immediate.
That makes the found-family element particularly lovely. Adenashire is full of people with different backgrounds, skills and experiences who nonetheless keep showing up for each other. The cat café becomes another little place where those connections can grow, and the result is a story that feels less like a group of people who happen to live in the same town and more like a genuine community.
And, obviously, there are cats.
Lots of cats.
I am not sure that the Adenashire economy can survive the number of cats involved, but I am entirely willing to find out.
✦ RECOMMENDATIONS ✦
Book Recommendation: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst. Both have that lovely combination of cosy fantasy, community-building and the idea that making a home can be an act of healing.
TV or Movie Recommendation: Kiki's Delivery Service. It has that same gentle feeling of watching someone find their place through work, friendship and the small connections that make a community feel like home.
✧ VIBE CHECK ✧
A colour palette: warm cream, raspberry red and leafy green.
A soundtrack: soft acoustic guitar, gentle piano and the occasional cheerful folk tune.
A season: late summer, when the fruit is ripe and the kitchen is always busy.
A mood: cosy, affectionate, slightly anxious and deeply reassuring.
A scent: fresh bread, ripe fruit and warm spices, with the occasional hint of cat fur.
★ TAROT CARD PULLED ★
Three of Cups.
There are considerably more than three people in Adenashire, but the number isn't really the point. The Three of Cups is about friendship, community and the joy of people coming together to support one another.
That's what makes this installment so warm. Theo isn't navigating his problems alone. The people around him bring different skills, experiences and perspectives, and together they create something none of them could have built by themselves.
The cat café becomes almost a physical manifestation of that idea: a place where people can gather, work, worry, celebrate and simply be together.
✦ THE TRUE QUESTION ✦
Can the people we choose become our family?
A Fellowship of Curses and Cats is interested in the ways family can be complicated, painful and sometimes impossible to return to - but also in the families we create through friendship, trust and everyday acts of care.
Theo doesn't have to solve everything on his own. Sometimes healing means allowing other people to stand beside you.
Final Thoughts
A Fellowship of Curses and Cats publishes on the 18th of August. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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