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Agnes and Cat
In 1981, eleven-year-old Agnes Hellaire lives with her troubled parents in the dark Redwood Forest. As her parents' marriage continues to crumble, Agnes is approached by a magical black cat that is more than it seems. It offers to solve all her problems, and she gladly accepts. However, as people close to Agnes begin to disappear; she realises there's something dangerous lurking in the trees.
Over twenty years later, Agnes is infamous as the lone survivor of a ruthless mass murderer that was never caught. Despite the nightmare of her childhood, she has managed to find some semblance of peace. Until the killings suddenly resume, and another young child emerges from the forest, covered in blood.
As she slowly begins to descend into madness, Agnes begins to realize that Cat's 'help' came with a price she is unable to pay and that the dead bodies will not stop until she fulfills her side of their deal.
Over twenty years later, Agnes is infamous as the lone survivor of a ruthless mass murderer that was never caught. Despite the nightmare of her childhood, she has managed to find some semblance of peace. Until the killings suddenly resume, and another young child emerges from the forest, covered in blood.
As she slowly begins to descend into madness, Agnes begins to realize that Cat's 'help' came with a price she is unable to pay and that the dead bodies will not stop until she fulfills her side of their deal.
343 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 14, 2023
1 person is currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Claire L. Smith
6 books46 followersCLAIRE L. SMITH (she/her) is an Australian author, poet and visual artist.
Based in genres such as gothic horror and dark fantasy, her work has been featured in Moonchild Magazine, Dark Marrow, Peculiars Magazine, The Horror Tree and more.
Her illustrations and cover art has been featured alongside several spooky stories from Off Limits Press, Ghost Orchid Press, Tenebrous Press, The Ghastling, and more.
Based in genres such as gothic horror and dark fantasy, her work has been featured in Moonchild Magazine, Dark Marrow, Peculiars Magazine, The Horror Tree and more.
Her illustrations and cover art has been featured alongside several spooky stories from Off Limits Press, Ghost Orchid Press, Tenebrous Press, The Ghastling, and more.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 10, 2024
Rules of the Fey:
✨️Never stand in a Fairy Ring.
✨️Never say Thank You.
✨️Never ever accept gifts from Fey.
✨️Never lie to a fey.
✨️Always keep your word when making a deal with a Fey.
✨️Never give them your name. Full or otherwise.
✨️Never accept food or drinks from them.
I don't read much folklore but I really should bc I love it! How this book managed to find me at a perfect time I'll never know. Not like I just sat my ass down in a Fairy Ring recently hoping they would open their portal and take me away. 🍄✨️ That was some high risk behavior I did. Oof. 😂 What? Did you think fairy's are full of glitter and grant wishes? Oh, no.
Agnes and Cat will tell you all about the real folklore of a fairy. I truly appreciated this book for that. 🧚♀️🩸This book was dark and sinister. I was captivated with this story. The story goes back and forth between when Agnes was a child and her now as an adult. Both stories had me invested.
Agnes did not have a good childhood. There was trauma and neglect. Then she meets Cat and Cat promises to make everything better. Hmmm.... not really. Things get worse for Agnes. Cats a little trickster. He's sadistic, evil and corrupts everything. He manipulates and enjoys every minute of it. She's only like 11 years old. Then when she becomes an adult she is pulled back and forced to face Cat again bc now Cat is after another family and young child.
"AGNES COME HOME."
Fair warning, there is animal cruelty. There's violence, murder, neglect of a child, gore, etc.
There's lots of things. And dark themes. I devoured this book and enjoyed taking my time reading it.
✨️Never stand in a Fairy Ring.
✨️Never say Thank You.
✨️Never ever accept gifts from Fey.
✨️Never lie to a fey.
✨️Always keep your word when making a deal with a Fey.
✨️Never give them your name. Full or otherwise.
✨️Never accept food or drinks from them.
I don't read much folklore but I really should bc I love it! How this book managed to find me at a perfect time I'll never know. Not like I just sat my ass down in a Fairy Ring recently hoping they would open their portal and take me away. 🍄✨️ That was some high risk behavior I did. Oof. 😂 What? Did you think fairy's are full of glitter and grant wishes? Oh, no.
Agnes and Cat will tell you all about the real folklore of a fairy. I truly appreciated this book for that. 🧚♀️🩸This book was dark and sinister. I was captivated with this story. The story goes back and forth between when Agnes was a child and her now as an adult. Both stories had me invested.
Agnes did not have a good childhood. There was trauma and neglect. Then she meets Cat and Cat promises to make everything better. Hmmm.... not really. Things get worse for Agnes. Cats a little trickster. He's sadistic, evil and corrupts everything. He manipulates and enjoys every minute of it. She's only like 11 years old. Then when she becomes an adult she is pulled back and forced to face Cat again bc now Cat is after another family and young child.
"AGNES COME HOME."
Fair warning, there is animal cruelty. There's violence, murder, neglect of a child, gore, etc.
There's lots of things. And dark themes. I devoured this book and enjoyed taking my time reading it.
October 12, 2023
If you’re looking for a story about the fae full of wonder, ball gowns, twinkling lights, and morally gray heroes with wings then Agnes and Cat is… not that book.
If you’re looking for a story that will terrify you into believing the fae are malevolent, full of dark bargains and deals at a steep cost, curious to the point of psychopathology, and will warn you against any and all dealings with faefolk then consider Agnes and Cat a textbook.
Claire L. Smith’s book was a genuine surprise from the moment it opens with a young blood-covered Agnes running through woods to the moment it closes on those melancholic and wistful notes I love to read but don’t often encounter. I went into this book fully blind and unprepared, knowing it started with Agnes as a child and thinking Cat was a girlhood friend. Perhaps that’s the best way to go in: trusting and wide-eyed. Then the descent will keep you riveted from page one to the very last.
Agnes and Cat explores loss of innocence, trust in the untrustworthy, the dangers of nostalgia, and the beckoning call of dissociation. But it does not exist to serve any of those themes. It exists to serve Agnes, her narrative, and in many ways Cat’s. There’s a purity in the storytelling that sticks tightly to the narrative and rarely veers off into the woods. This is a great strength of Smith’s storytelling: continually, relentlessly dragging the reader to the heart of the matter, using every sense to keep the focus on Agnes, always Agnes.
It’s rare that I look at a book cover and feel a familiarity, a longing to remember the time I spent reading it. But every time the visceral and elegant cover of Agnes and Cat pops up I have all kinds of emotions and all of them fond, if a bit terrified. This was a surprisingly enjoyable read, one I recommend to fans of forest horror, body horror, and folklore and one I desperately recommend if you’d like to bargain with the fae yourself. Agnes and Cat is a warning for those with active imaginations and a whisper in the forest for anyone else who dares to approach the very edges of it.
If you’re looking for a story that will terrify you into believing the fae are malevolent, full of dark bargains and deals at a steep cost, curious to the point of psychopathology, and will warn you against any and all dealings with faefolk then consider Agnes and Cat a textbook.
Claire L. Smith’s book was a genuine surprise from the moment it opens with a young blood-covered Agnes running through woods to the moment it closes on those melancholic and wistful notes I love to read but don’t often encounter. I went into this book fully blind and unprepared, knowing it started with Agnes as a child and thinking Cat was a girlhood friend. Perhaps that’s the best way to go in: trusting and wide-eyed. Then the descent will keep you riveted from page one to the very last.
Agnes and Cat explores loss of innocence, trust in the untrustworthy, the dangers of nostalgia, and the beckoning call of dissociation. But it does not exist to serve any of those themes. It exists to serve Agnes, her narrative, and in many ways Cat’s. There’s a purity in the storytelling that sticks tightly to the narrative and rarely veers off into the woods. This is a great strength of Smith’s storytelling: continually, relentlessly dragging the reader to the heart of the matter, using every sense to keep the focus on Agnes, always Agnes.
It’s rare that I look at a book cover and feel a familiarity, a longing to remember the time I spent reading it. But every time the visceral and elegant cover of Agnes and Cat pops up I have all kinds of emotions and all of them fond, if a bit terrified. This was a surprisingly enjoyable read, one I recommend to fans of forest horror, body horror, and folklore and one I desperately recommend if you’d like to bargain with the fae yourself. Agnes and Cat is a warning for those with active imaginations and a whisper in the forest for anyone else who dares to approach the very edges of it.
Read
December 10, 2023Agnes & Cat is a horror fantasy story not meant for the faint of heart. This book deals with some heavy topics, it shows some ugly realities and the lengths some people will go when they’re desperate and only want a way out.
Seeing all that Agnes went through was a bit rough. I felt for her. I don’t think this book is for everyone, it might put some readers in a tough headspace. But if you are looking for creepy fae instead of sexy ones, perhaps you’ll like this story.
This book features:
-Gory descriptions
-Social commentaries about prejudices
-Child neglect
-Animal cruelty
-LGBT rep
Seeing all that Agnes went through was a bit rough. I felt for her. I don’t think this book is for everyone, it might put some readers in a tough headspace. But if you are looking for creepy fae instead of sexy ones, perhaps you’ll like this story.
This book features:
-Gory descriptions
-Social commentaries about prejudices
-Child neglect
-Animal cruelty
-LGBT rep
October 16, 2023
4.5 / 5
Talk about a creepy, but beautiful story! And I mean that with all the delusions and eeriness of a classic horror novel. Smith is a one of a kind author who knows how to weave this type of story: the one that keeps you on your toes, that makes your stomach (or maybe that was just me] turn at the best times. Fans of body horror, folklore horror and some levels of psychological horror, please give this book a read
Talk about a creepy, but beautiful story! And I mean that with all the delusions and eeriness of a classic horror novel. Smith is a one of a kind author who knows how to weave this type of story: the one that keeps you on your toes, that makes your stomach (or maybe that was just me] turn at the best times. Fans of body horror, folklore horror and some levels of psychological horror, please give this book a read
December 15, 2023
Agnes & Cat is a hybrid horror fantasy novel that takes you on a journey into the world of the malevolent fae. These are not the type of fae that you want to make bargains with.
More importantly this is a coming of age story of innocence lost and the story of Agnes.
Parts of this are genuinely terrifying and brought chills to my skin. Be prepared that even though this is a fantasy it is also horror and there are visceral aspects such as body horror throughout. It also deals with some pretty heavy topics such as child abuse and prejudice.
The elements of folklore and the spooky forest atmosphere were an absolute highlight for me.
If you’re looking for a dark fae fantasy which is infused with horror then I highly recommend picking this up!
Thank you so much to the author for gifting me a copy to read and review!
More importantly this is a coming of age story of innocence lost and the story of Agnes.
Parts of this are genuinely terrifying and brought chills to my skin. Be prepared that even though this is a fantasy it is also horror and there are visceral aspects such as body horror throughout. It also deals with some pretty heavy topics such as child abuse and prejudice.
The elements of folklore and the spooky forest atmosphere were an absolute highlight for me.
If you’re looking for a dark fae fantasy which is infused with horror then I highly recommend picking this up!
Thank you so much to the author for gifting me a copy to read and review!
January 20, 2024
This book instantly became one of my favourite horror novels and I was hooked from the first page.
My favourite kind of fae creatures are the conniving, manipulative horrors and this book beautifully mixes them with body horror and gore, while encapsulating the feelings of a heartbreakingly lonely little girl in a gothic, eerie, utterly unique story.
My favourite kind of fae creatures are the conniving, manipulative horrors and this book beautifully mixes them with body horror and gore, while encapsulating the feelings of a heartbreakingly lonely little girl in a gothic, eerie, utterly unique story.
December 26, 2023
I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly Agnes and Cat drew me in and kept me engrossed till the dramatic conclusion. Claire L. Smith excels at plotting and characterization, with the story and mystery never dragging, and plenty of compelling characters to follow. The novel uses a dual timeline, simultaneously taking us through Agnes's traumatic childhood, and the trauma that has come back to haunt her as an adult. The timeline is really effective in allowing us to get to know characters better, seeing them both as children and adults, and allowing us to understand what's truly going on in Redwood Forest along with the characters.
Agnes and Cat is based on very dark, traditional fae folklore which has much more in common with horror stories than, say, Tinker Bell. The author really captured the essence of this folklore, the way the fae have always felt to me like an embodiment of nature's capriciousness and cruelty. At the same time, this novel feels like a gritty, ultrarealistic crime novel, and somehow these two strands of dark realism and dark fantasy work together perfectly. This took a lot of skill on the author's part!
Agnes and Cat is a compelling, dark yet hopeful story that I highly recommend!
Agnes and Cat is based on very dark, traditional fae folklore which has much more in common with horror stories than, say, Tinker Bell. The author really captured the essence of this folklore, the way the fae have always felt to me like an embodiment of nature's capriciousness and cruelty. At the same time, this novel feels like a gritty, ultrarealistic crime novel, and somehow these two strands of dark realism and dark fantasy work together perfectly. This took a lot of skill on the author's part!
Agnes and Cat is a compelling, dark yet hopeful story that I highly recommend!
February 25, 2025
Oh. My. God. This book was so addictive and captivating, I couldn't stop myself from turning the pages. This follows the haunting tale of Agnes, a little girl who befriends a very strange - and magical - cat, who pushes her to do favours for it in exchange for her parent's happiness. It's written in past (12 yrs old) and future (32 yrs old, alternating each chapter about what happened on that traumatising day in 1981. This story will have your spine tingling and mind racing as Agnes uncovers the truth of what happened to her when she was a child, and how that story was only the beginning of something much larger and sinister. I was anxious as fuck during this whole book, and the setting was perfect for a horror, who doesn't love a little house in the middle of some haunted woods? I'd 100% recommend this to anyone who enjoys the horror genre, or even gothic literature. There's a satisfying amount of body horror that isn't overwhelming, but enough to give you nightmares if you picture it too intensely. I loved this one.
July 8, 2024
Agnes & Cat is a short horror book which is spiderwick meets Coraline. It was atmospheric & fast paced.
I loved the way Smith used the dark fae but also blended it with reality creating magical realism. I loved the corrupted land that was the Forrest to poison the adults so that the children needed the dark fae.
I’m not sure if this was the intention but I found cat to be a metaphor of the poisonous thoughts that abused children/adults tell themselves (That it’s their fault, no one wants them etc) Cat was a representation of depression & anxiety. It was very well done & the reader could see it straight away but poor Agnes … so lonely & abused couldn’t.
I personally found the book more heavy on the mental abuse more so than the gore but that might just be because I could relate to how Agnes was feeling at times.
A big thank you to the author for sending me a copy!!
I loved the way Smith used the dark fae but also blended it with reality creating magical realism. I loved the corrupted land that was the Forrest to poison the adults so that the children needed the dark fae.
I’m not sure if this was the intention but I found cat to be a metaphor of the poisonous thoughts that abused children/adults tell themselves (That it’s their fault, no one wants them etc) Cat was a representation of depression & anxiety. It was very well done & the reader could see it straight away but poor Agnes … so lonely & abused couldn’t.
I personally found the book more heavy on the mental abuse more so than the gore but that might just be because I could relate to how Agnes was feeling at times.
A big thank you to the author for sending me a copy!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2025
"Come home Agnes"
Claire L. Smith presents you with a creepy cautionary tale about making deals with mysterious creatures.
This story will horrify you in ways you don't expect; I never anticipated that visceral descriptions could be presented in such a beautiful and poetic manner.
The story follows adult Agnes as she reflects on the major horror of her childhood. The story switches from adult Agnes to 12 year old Agnes as the story of her significant trauma unfolds.
Agnes' parents don't appear to show her affection anymore; they're too stressed or tired from work to pay attention.
Cat shows her attention and affection. You just need to do as it asks, pet.
Highly recommend this stunning yet creepy horror fest.
Claire L. Smith presents you with a creepy cautionary tale about making deals with mysterious creatures.
This story will horrify you in ways you don't expect; I never anticipated that visceral descriptions could be presented in such a beautiful and poetic manner.
The story follows adult Agnes as she reflects on the major horror of her childhood. The story switches from adult Agnes to 12 year old Agnes as the story of her significant trauma unfolds.
Agnes' parents don't appear to show her affection anymore; they're too stressed or tired from work to pay attention.
Cat shows her attention and affection. You just need to do as it asks, pet.
Highly recommend this stunning yet creepy horror fest.
October 14, 2023
This book combines everything I love with traditional stories about Fair Folk and reimagines it in such a cool way! Claire perfectly entwined trauma and body horror, making this horrifying on many levels. Following Agnes through her past and present as she uncovers the secrets of Cat and explores her trauma made me feel so many emotions. It's heart-wrenching and gross all at the same time!
Agnes and Cat is perfect for people that love trauma-focused stories, body horror and folk horror.
Agnes and Cat is perfect for people that love trauma-focused stories, body horror and folk horror.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews