Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Witch, Cat, and Cobb is a short, quick and lovely read, managing to really engross the reader completely in this world, even though we don’t actually spend that much time there!

Princess Breanwynne is not interested at all in her intended husband, and to escape her arranged marriage, she flees to the nearby swamps, at the suggestion of her cat, Fen, who has been keeping his ability to talk very quiet indeed. They search for the Swamp Witch, who will change both Brean’s and Fen’s lives forever.

For such a short book, Pendragon manages to squeeze a lot in without it feeling crammed in. She does a great job of slowly revealing the different aspects of the world without spoon-feeding, and really gets the reader to connect with the characters. It was great fun to watch this all unfold, and see how it’s resolved at the end.

It’s hard to say too much about this without giving big plot elements away, but this is definitely worth reading if you’re looking for a cute, short, queer fantasy tale you can zip through with a smile on your face, you’ll for sure want to check this one out.

Thank you to NineStar Press for providing me a copy of this book via NetGalley. Views remain my own.

For a few years now I've saved most of my paranormal NetGalley reads for my October challenge and through that challenge I've found many of my favorite books/series this way. I wasn't able to get to this title last October.

This was such a cute quick read! If you're looking for a paranormal fun read without all the heavy stuff, I highly recommend this read!

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. The description of the witches house was good. It has LGBTQIA representation. It is a good quick paced book. This is my first book by J. K. Pendragon. I would definitely recommend reading this book to anyone and everyone. This ebook is in stores now for $2.99 ( USD).

A fun novella about a witch, a talking cat, and a runaway Princess. Princess Breanwynne (Brean) does not want to marry Prince Periyat from a neighboring kingdom and besides she would rather marry a princess. She runs off with her talking cat, Fen to find the Swamp Witch. Fen convinced Brean that the Witch can help them. Well, really mostly him. And so the adventure begins. I enjoyed this story filled with elves, little garden and forest creatures, spells and love potions. And true love with no potions needed.

3*
This was a cute and short story. I would have loved more though. More of the background before Brean ran away. More about her relationship with Fen. More about falling for Mel. Really just more of everything.


I received this as a free digital copy through NetGalley in exchange for my review. All opinions are still my own.

A fun, short, queer fairy-tale. If you're looking for representation in fantasy, but don't want to read some five-volume series to find out that some lesser background character in chapter five of the book four is the reason for the LGBT tag, this little novelette is definitely what you may turn to.

Well what can I say. The story line in this was good and the characters were fun. I just found the romance lacking. I like the way they meet, the circumstances but I feel like there needed to be more development for the romance. One moment they had just met the nest they were in love then the next married.....it was just too fast. I loved the cat and what part he played and all the body swapping. I think with just about 30 pages more this book would have been fantastic.

This book was an easy-read for me.
I loved the characters and the world it was played in.
The talking cat was a phenomenon.
However, it was quite hard to follow the story in the beginning, but as I was getting through the pages I was drawn into the story and the end was mind-blowing.

I fell in love with the cover and I liked the story.
It's engrossing and entertaining, it kept me hooked till the end.
Good world building and character development, an interesting plot.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I loved the cover, so I chosen this book, although I don't like fantasy novels. But give me romance vibes, and I'm in!
I had some trouble focusing on the story at the beggining, but then the story got me and I was drawn to pages.
I was confused with lots of magical beings, since it's short read there are some things that could be more expanded in the story. It has lots od reveals at the end.
And I love the talking cat!!
It's a super quick read, and I recommend it!

PERFECTION PURE! Magic, lesbian characters, two trans characters, one of them who's the MC, a sassy trans "cat" and a lesbian trans witch, not to forget the amazing lesbian princess on the run?!
I was SOLD the minute I read the first word, Fen being the most awesome character of this entire book beyond a doubt.
I wished I could voice in more deteils how perfect this book was, but I don't think that'd be representing the book properly. It was simply wonderful, quick to read and with an amazing sense of humour, not to mention the awesome queer representation in this book!


I received a free copy by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Such a fun and exciting quit read with a massive twist!
I really didn’t expect that one at all. Unsure of the target audience for this one thought.
The writing seemed to be aimed at younger teens but there was definitely some hints at more adult themes.

Thank you Netgalley and Nine Star for access to this arc.

I have to admit to mixed feelings about this one. The blurb made me think it would be a little bit more suspenseful than it was (“if she and Fen survive.”) and there was a bit more information and life altering situations then the novella really had room for.

Princess Brean basically bolts for the swamp when faced with an arranged marriage to a prince. It’s not because he’s awful (which is nice) but because Brean is only attracted to women and no matter how much she’s told people this, they haven’t truly believed her. She gets the shock of her life when she tells her cat her plans and he asks to go with her. So – a talking cat but also a talking cat who could talk for twenty years and knew where to go in order to fix what was wrong in his life but didn’t do it. He gives Brean an excuse but given how desperately he wants to fix his problem and how much he whines about it, it was a lame excuse to me.

The witch – Mel – turns from slightly arrogant, to aloof, to remorseful at the drop of a pointy hat. Then Mel tells Brean that Brean isn’t staying in Mel’s cobb house in the swamp but then quickly changes her mind. And for being a witch as long as she’s been, she’s not very good at it. This is definitely a fantasy-lite.

The short length of the novella didn’t allow for a great deal of character depth either. Brean seems little more than a petulant teenager who acts younger than she is, Fen the cat tosses in some snark and cattitude – but little else – while Mel can’t seem to decide for long what she wants to feel. I also wanted to see more development of the romance between the characters who fall in love. The declarations seemed to come out of nowhere no matter how long a time had been spent in the swamp. Then in the end, Brean basically runs away from her responsibilities again and lets others fix the diplomatic mess she left behind – twice. During a section near the end, I was also confused and spent a lot of time trying to figure out who was who when people “changed” back and forth.

What I did like is the representation – the story is packed with that and I did get a sense of how desperate two characters were to have their bodies match their identities. I have to say that I’m glad that the trans-species aspect never became sexual as I think I would have been scarred for life. I will give Brean credit for sticking to her truth about who she would and wouldn’t marry. The descriptions of the witch’s cottage and surrounding area were also charming. I wish I could say the whole story worked better for me but it just didn’t. C-

Sweet novella that takes the traditional princess and fairytale trope and turns it on its head. The best part of this book is the use of trans and/or gender nonconforming characters. Forrest spirits, talking cats, magic, and alchemy are all involved so if that sounds up your alley--this is the book for you. This is also a sweet, fluffy story with queer content and a happy ending tied up neatly in a bow. Can't go wrong with this one.

Reading this book felt like a soft blanket during a chilly weather: it was cute and dreamy with its fantasy setting, a hopeful story with a Ghibli feeling. And it involves LGBTQ+ themes! There are lesbian and transgender characters and while those identities are significant to the storyline and plot, they aren’t used as character traits, but aspects of multifaceted people.

As a transgender lesbian, I felt like I could finally exist in fantastic stories with magic and that people like me could, too, be princesses like the Disney ones. I also practice witchcraft and am a big cottagecore enthusiast, so seeing a trans lesbian witch living her dream life in a cottage was very much... well. Meaningful, to me.

Now, about the most technical aspects: the main romance felt a bit rushed. I feel kind of a hypocrite saying that, as many of my relationships started less than a week after I knew my partners, but although it was rushed, it wouldn’t feel like it. A few more chapters with interactions between Brean and Mel would’ve helped the reader to see that, while it hadn’t been long since they met, they felt like they’d known each other forever. That was nailed near the end, by the second half of the book, but I would’ve liked to see the transition, the process of them falling in love. One thing that also bugged me was the ambiguous age difference: Brean’s age isn’t introduced to us, and Mel says, at some point, that she’s probably old enough to be her grandma, and it’s implied that Brean was just at the age to get married, which in monarchy settings is around 16-18.

It would’ve been more enjoyable of a book if this detail had been explicitly talked about, introducing Brean as someone who tried to push the wedding away for years and introducing her as someone in her mid-20s, with Mel at her mid-30s. This aspect of the book made me a bit uncomfortable, but I decided to go on because a) this plot is something I’ve unconsciously wanted for a while and b) I’d already read a lot of the book and wanted to write this review for NetGalley, which was where I got this ARC.

To finish this review, I’d say that if you’re comfortable with the criticism above and you’re LGBTQ+, then you really should read it. There’s witchcraft, a lesbian princess, a witch and a prince swapping bodies and a cute, magical cottage.

I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review
This was such a silly book. I didn't enjoy it at all. I guess I enjoy some intensity in my books and because it all felt comedic I didn't buy it.

Like cottage core? Witches? Cats? Sapphic romances?
Then this is an adorable sapphic short love story in a cottage core setting waiting for you! I loved this story and characters. I wish this was a longer novel. The friendship between the three main characters made me sooo happy. The only reason this is 4 stars and not five was due to the ending of the last 2/3 pages. It felt very Shakespearian comedy- where there was one BIG problem that is magically fixed by some off stage event between two characters we NEVER see interact with one another. But other than that- this is the perfect story for readers who love cottage core witches, an irresponsible princess, and a snarky and lazy cat companion!

A sweet, fast paced little story that edges on fairytale vibes. Witch in the woods, magical mishaps, princesses and marriages... But it does.have a few fun twists that keep it fresh. I would have liked to see Mel and Brean's relationship fleshed out a bit more - I actually had to check and see if there were pages missing because of the sudden development. Overall a sweet queer story and good for when you're in the mood for something happy and light.

I picked up this book on spec, based on the story description, and read it through in one sitting as I hadn't realised it was a novella. Unfortunately, the reason I'm dropping a star is partly that: as with many novellas I come across, there's plenty of material there that could have been fleshed out into something novel-length (and would have benefitted from doing so) and the novella just stops as it's getting more interesting.

The basic premise of Witch, Cat and Cobb is that it's told from the point of view of Brean, a princess running away from an arranged marriage. She's accompanied by her cat, who she has only just discovered can talk and is actually a man under an enchantment - since she doesn't really have anywhere else to go, Brean decides to run away in search of the witch who cursed her cat and see if she can persuade her to undo what she did.

Since Brean likes girls, it's hardly surprising that she falls for said witch pretty much instantly - yes, the pacing is a little uneven, roll with it - and discovers there's more to her cat's story than meets the eye. A lot more, as the witch and the man who's now a cat had arranged to magically swap bodies but he'd left out a vital piece of information.

It's a sweet enough story, with a couple of twists that are not 100% predictable, but the instalove is strong with this one for no apparent reason. It also stops just as the story is potentially getting interesting, with the witch now having to learn how to navigate royal society (diplomatic demands and all) and Brean's ex-fiance's choice of a new marriage partner throwing all sorts of spanners in the works. I don't think the author actually thought the implications through of the last one, or if they did, it doesn't really show clearly on the page.

I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.