Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. I did not get into this novel and did not finish it. For that reason I'm giving it a midling star rating.

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.

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.

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.

When I spotted the cover of this book on NetGalley, I knew I had to have it: it is a beauty and I'm madly in love with the color choice. And that adorable ginger cat! Thankfully, I've been blessed enough with an AR copy of this book in exchange of an honest review, and I'm more than happy to comply.

Witch, Cat, and Cobb by J. K. Pendragon is the story of princess Breanwynne, destined to marry someone she doesn't and would never be able to love. Faced with the prospect of spending her whole life stuck in an unhappy marriage, she decides to run away along with Fen, a talking cat with a big secret. Together, they run to the swamp where their real adventure begins.

Let's start by saying that I loved this novella. It is the kind of book I would gift my teenage daughter with if I sensed she was struggling with her orientation or her identity. Actually, if only I'd been able to find a paperback edition, I'd have wrapped it and placed it under the Christmas tree for her anyway, because this story is too cute to pass by.

The way LGBT themes are talked about in this book not once feels forced or over the top. On the contrary, Brean orientation is normal in this verse (finally!), and in the end her mother is fine with letting her be free and happy with her new life as soon as she realizes Brean could never love her betrothed. Or men in general. Brean's mother is accepting to the point that she adjusts her plans to accommodate her daughter's best interest. Which is what a good parent would do, and it makes everything so right and sweet. And Mel's pain for having a body that doesn't represent her is so heartbreaking. Nobody should be forced to endure that kind of suffering, and I'm glad more and more books exist to show how it feels.

I loved Mel and Fen's backstory, and I wish I could have read more about how magic works in this verse. And about the way elves live. I have so many questions about interspecies relationships between humans and elves, and I'd also have loved more court drama, something I tend to adore. Anyway, while I wish I had the chance to understand more of the rules of the world J. K. Pendragon crafted and I would have liked (a lot) more angst, I also get why there is no space for too much drama in this story: it is a fairytale, and fairytales are meant to be a slightly bumpy road to the main character's happily ever after.

Witch, Cat, and Cobb ticks every possible box of the genre: from the right versus wrong theme to the way conflicts are resolved, from the setting to the presence of a talking animal, every element works perfectly to create a unique work that gives both timeless and very modern vibes.

Had this story been a novel, I'd have agreed that more conflict was needed. Since this is a novella and the space is limited, I'm more than happy with the way things are. Based on genre, themes and pacing, I'm going to rate it 9/10.

This was a cute, sweet and funny fantasy romp that manages to pack in just the right amount of story into its 65 pages. I love that it stayed in its lane, gave us a couple of twists and had a sweet romance to top it off. I do have a little issue with the declarations of love at the end of it, it was just a bit sudden for me, but the relationship built was pretty solid. There's trans rep in here, too, but I don't want to say much more beyond that because it might give some of the fun away. It was a little worrying for me when our lead character Brean, explained why she ran away (she didn't want to marry a guy because she was a lesbian and her royal mother didn't listen to her), but it was still able to pull off the whole political thing without sliding into homophobia. Still gross, especially since the Prince Brean was supposed to marry also didn't want to marry her, but it was handled much better than most of those plot lines.

Overall, this hit a lot of the marks for a quick fantasy read, and I think a lot of readers will have fun with it.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Four and a half stars. I really enjoyed this. There are your usual fantasy tropes, but the LGBTQ themes made it interesting. The body-swapping part was a little hard to follow, but I'm probably just tired. In terms of pacing, the plot worked well with the length, and I don't necessarily think that this would work as a full-length novel. Yet the romance moved way too abruptly. With everything else going on, there really wasn't enough time for the characters to bond. (spoiler) I don't mind that they got married to resolve the betrothal issue, because it was a practical solution. The fact that they aren't ready for a real marriage should have been emphasized, because really, the declarations of love was jumping the gun. It should have been played off as a "We like each other a lot and we'll see where this goes, in any case we chose the best option from the cards we were dealt."
Still, the romance issue wasn't that bad, because I did root for the characters. Fun story!