I didn't know I could love this book more than the first one, but I do! The book was full (OVERFLOWING to the point a cascade might happen!) of yearning. YEARNING! And even better- it was a two-sided yearnship for their own spouse! Oh, it was wonderful. And the spice was more electrifying than the explosive magic!

I do hope the third book is about his sister. She seems like she'd be a delightful FMC. And I know this is random but if there was ever a quote that I could get behind, it would be this one: "They say home is where the heart is, but in truth it's where the food is. But, by God, you can have a lot of heart for a good potato!"

I absolutely love this series. I love the progress the girls make, and how their creativity seems to know no bounds! With that said, I did find this volume to be a little "less" than many of the others. There are more failures than successes, more plans than action, and more questions than answers. I hope volume 15 concludes this specific arc as I'm a bit over it at this point. It doesn't diminish my love of the series at all, hence why I still rate highly.

"Paying heed to vague warnings is the prerogative of those comfortably situated in life."

Agnes is a wonderful human. She has a big heart, but isn't delusional. I love her shelter, and I love how she cares for all of the cats. Anybody who has "owned" a cat will know exactly what Agnes is talking about in terms of their personalities. If it weren't for the magical elements, this would exactly like a cat shelter in Canada.

And Havelock? He's precious. He quietly does the right thing and quietly tries to make amends. Agnes can vocalize a very real concern, and next thing we know he's done something impactful to remedy it. Yes, he's a bit of a stereotypical recluse, but it's understandable why that is.

I love the cats, who are important characters to this story. I am disappointed in one of them. I, too, would have been crying had something similar happened with one of my cats. Nothing can prepare you for that particular twist!

The "mystical cat shelter" part of this was actually rather interesting for me. I mean, Havelock explains how certain things came to be and it sounds perfectly scientific. It's not like "magic for the sake of magic." It's more like "magic exists because of this place, and there are rules...we're all just trying to understand what those rules are." And, honestly, I prefer magical elements that have rules.

Overall, this was a wonderful story of Agnes and her sister Elise trying to save cats from the streets of Montreal, while Havelock has a fraught relationship with his sister Valerie. It features lots of cats of all dispositions, and artefacts of various uses.