By Tanya Guerrero
** Publication Date 1 April 2025 **
​5 stars


Call me a cat lady, or an animal lover, but I adored this novel. Told from multiple points of view, the best were the cat’s point of view. There were times Cat literally had me crying. So moving were this little stray’s words. Honestly I loved this one.


Cat is a stray on the streets of Brooklyn. He lives near a hedge where a really nice lady, he calls Rainbow Lady, comes to feed him and talk to him daily. Rainbow Lady is Núria, who volunteers to take care of strays. She has three cats of her own, and her paying job is as a barista. She adores the cats though. 


Next door to Cat’s hedge is Collin. Collin is a bestselling author with no ideas for his next book. He sees Núria visit Cat everyday and takes notice of her. She is the bright spot in his life these days even though they’ve never met. There’s also Omar, the mailman who has a smile for everyone, including Cat, who makes the delivery rounds with Omar. 


Add in Lily, the checkout girl from the grocery store, and Bong, the owner of the nearby bodega, and you’ve got a group of people who all care about Cat. And vice versa. Cat is very intuitive and brings such a spark of life to these people’s daily lives. He is a very special cat. Somehow his relationships with all of these humans brings the entire story, and this group of random people, together. He gives a story to remember.


Yes, I cried. I cannot remember the last time a book made me actually cry, but this one sure did. Cat’s commentary was the key. His sadness, joy, exuberance, pain, and love were so real. Honestly, if you’re a cat person, or maybe if you even like stories that make you feel good, you will like this one.

By Robert Jackson Bennett
** Publication Date 1 April 2025 **
5 stars

Robert Jackson Bennett has created a fantastical world that is both advanced and ancient in its ways. His writing brings this whole world to life. You can imagine the fretvine buildings, the seas, the leviathan. There is so much to absorb and capture in this unusual place with very unusual people. It’s wonderful. I was so excited to return and see what was in store for us this time around. 


Din and Ana return with another mystery to be solved. This time in the canton Yarrowdale, a Treasury officer has gone missing. From a fully locked and guarded room. This is the type of mystery only the brilliant and eccentric Ana Dolabra can explain. Though there will be a lot of challenges along the way. Cryptic messages, humans turned into plants, plants growing human parts. It’s a grisly one, but most in the Empire are. So many people with secrets and secret agendas. For Din, it’s hard to know who or what to believe. 


This time Din is paired with an Apoth named Malo. She’s a tough girl with a mouth full of hina root, the Yarrow version of chewing tobacco.. But she’s also smart and enhanced in such a way that she will be very useful to Din and Ana in their quest to find this mysterious Pale King that is wreaking havoc throughout Yarrowdale.


While you don’t necessarily need to read The Tainted Cup prior to this one, it will help explain Ana’s bizarre behaviors and Din’s backstory. Book one gives you a lot of background on the Empire, while this book brings more information about the Khanum to light. 


I just hope that this series goes on for a while. It’s an extraordinary place. Bennett’s words are magical. Please also take the time to read the Author’s Note at the end of the story. It was profound in its own way.