Book Review: Seven Pets for Seven Witches

On this Mysterious Monday, we are pleased to bring you our review of Seven Pets for Seven Witches, a collection of—you guessed it—seven paranormal cozy short stories:

• “One Witch’s Trash Panda Is Another Witch’s Treasure,” by Annabel Chase
• “A Wedding for a Rat,” by Amy Boyles
• “Witch Mocha Morsel,” by H. Y. Hanna
• “Broom Mates,” by Morgana Best
• “Hazel Raises the Stakes,” by M. Z. Andrews
• “Harkin and the Snake’s Servant,” by Molly Milligan
• “Spellbook & Spies,” by Gina Lamanna

This being a cat blog, we’ll focus on the stories that feature cats in main roles. H. Y. Hanna’s “Witch Mocha Morsel” includes a young black cat named Nibs who gets in trouble with a troll. Caitlyn, who works in a magical chocolate shop and has only recently discovered she is a witch, has to track the cat down and save him—and herself. Viktor, Caitlyn’s vampire uncle who preys only on fruit, makes an appearance and is his usual comical self. There is also something called magical cinnamon and a Fat-Burning Mocha Fudge Brownie, which old SoLT would really like to get her hands on.

The cat in M. Z. Andrews’s “Hazel Raises the Stakes” is a big orange tabby named Ed who belongs to Loni, the woman who lives in “the scariest house in all of Aspen Falls.” Well, “belongs” is probably the wrong word, because Ed is Loni’s father’s second cousin once removed. Ed can also talk—at least to witches like Loni and Hazel, an ornery older witch whose daughter drops her off at Loni’s house while she herself heads off to Las Vegas. Well, Hazel isn’t having that, and soon enough she, Loni, and Ed are on their way to Vegas. Once there, Hazel manages to insert herself into a poker tournament. Hilarity ensues.

Harkin the cat is the familiar of a Welsh hedge witch named Bron. As the story opens, Harkin has woken Bron to alert her to a problem: a man has died, but his soul has not moved on. A second cat is involved in this story, as Bron and the local vicar soon find a black cat that seems to be stuck halfway up a yew. That brings to mind an old myth that says if a cat runs up a tree after a person dies, that person’s soul is going to heaven, but if the cat runs down the tree, the soul is going to hell. This cat is unable to move in either direction, implying that the soul is stuck. Harkin himself soon becomes similarly stuck, and Bron has to figure out how to help him, the cat in the yew, and the dead man. Other creatures in this tale include dragonflies and snakes.

V is a cat who is not the favorite animal of Ainsley in Gina Lamanna’s “Spellbook & Spies.” Ainsley prefers her friend Harry, who is a goldfish. (I know—weird, right?) Much to Ainsley’s chagrin, V stows away in her bag when she heads off for a much-needed vacation. And then Ainsley’s skills as a Guardian are called on when a spellbook is missing. This is potentially embarrassing for Midge, who owns the book and runs the B&B that is supposed to be Ainsley’s vacation spot. See, it’s a human spellbook being used by a witch who’s terrible at spells. Somehow, they have to figure out who took that book…

Our verdict

Seven Pets for Seven Witches is a fun collection, and a great way to sample the work of some authors you may not have read before. We had only read two of these authors previously (Hanna and Milligan), and we weren’t sure how much we’d enjoy the stories that don’t have cats, but we’re pleased to report that every story in this book is a winner. It seemed that as we read each, we thought, “This one’s our favorite,” so that by the time we reached the end of the book, we could not pick a favorite. The stories featuring a racoon, a rat, and a wombat are every bit as entertaining as the cat stories. Actually, we think you should read this book just for the wombat familiar (who is named Persnickle) in a town where coffee is illegal. Imagine that!

Highly recommended!

A note on the "Paws Up" system: Miss C gives either one or two paws up. One paw is for a good read; two paws is for a great read. She never gives three or four paws because that would require her to lie on her back...and Miss C does not do that!

The link below is an Amazon Associates link. If you purchase the book through this link, old SoLT and I could get some coin for our kibble account. Thank you!