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Haroun and the Study of Mischief: A Magical Middle Eastern Cozy Fantasy
"Don't get a torch too close to his djellaba."
"It might catch fire?"
"You might see it."
Venerable Haroun, the blind saluqi priest of the dog-headed god Yepuet, has come to the wild and collarless Tel-Bastet, the City of Cats, for an education in mischief.
And Haroun has never met a crime of fashion he wouldn't commit.
Shai Madhur, the disabled human priest of Upaja, thought accepting Haroun's leash meant being Haroun's seeing-eye human. He wasn't prepared for the political machinations… or for Haroun's blossoming sense of humor.
When a kind prophet-prince goes missing, Haroun smells iniquity in the air. (Iniquity, it turns out, smells like kumiss spilled on a tomcat in dire need of a bath.)
The problem with everyone in Tel-Bastet knowing what a Good Boy their Shai Madhur is, is that people keep trying to rescue him, whether he needs it or not. Not that he's complaining, exactly. But Madhur swears he is never going carousing again… no matter how soulful Haroun's puppydog eyes are.
With a splash of Studio Ghibli, a sprinkle of Roshani Chokshi, and a dash of Terry Pratchett, when the cats and dogs need to learn to live together, Haroun and Madhur take on the difference between what is seen and what is true.
Haroun and the Study of Mischief is set in the same Catsprowl setting as Chai and Cat-tales, and Shai Madhur and the shahzada are major characters in both, but you can enjoy them on their own!
"It might catch fire?"
"You might see it."
Venerable Haroun, the blind saluqi priest of the dog-headed god Yepuet, has come to the wild and collarless Tel-Bastet, the City of Cats, for an education in mischief.
And Haroun has never met a crime of fashion he wouldn't commit.
Shai Madhur, the disabled human priest of Upaja, thought accepting Haroun's leash meant being Haroun's seeing-eye human. He wasn't prepared for the political machinations… or for Haroun's blossoming sense of humor.
When a kind prophet-prince goes missing, Haroun smells iniquity in the air. (Iniquity, it turns out, smells like kumiss spilled on a tomcat in dire need of a bath.)
The problem with everyone in Tel-Bastet knowing what a Good Boy their Shai Madhur is, is that people keep trying to rescue him, whether he needs it or not. Not that he's complaining, exactly. But Madhur swears he is never going carousing again… no matter how soulful Haroun's puppydog eyes are.
With a splash of Studio Ghibli, a sprinkle of Roshani Chokshi, and a dash of Terry Pratchett, when the cats and dogs need to learn to live together, Haroun and Madhur take on the difference between what is seen and what is true.
Haroun and the Study of Mischief is set in the same Catsprowl setting as Chai and Cat-tales, and Shai Madhur and the shahzada are major characters in both, but you can enjoy them on their own!
368 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 13, 2025
About the author
Lynn Strong
7 books16 followersLynn Strong (MLIS) is a professional information designer, an amateur but enthusiastic trope flipper, and a questionably recovered wordaholic who used to be paid by the column-inch. It likely still shows.
Lynn is also a queer and disabled person who has lived on three continents, speaks six languages with different levels of fluency, has studied (and taught) medieval Japanese dye techniques, and at one point semi-professionally burned Kool-aid while studying for a degree in theater tech.
Lynn is also a queer and disabled person who has lived on three continents, speaks six languages with different levels of fluency, has studied (and taught) medieval Japanese dye techniques, and at one point semi-professionally burned Kool-aid while studying for a degree in theater tech.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 20, 2025
I enjoyed the gentleness of the protagonists and their care for others. Shai Madhur and Haroun are both Very Good Boys. Shai Madhur is a human priest of Upaja, and Haroun is a different sort of religious creature. They meet at a large religious convocation. The "dogfolk" Haroun has come to the city of cats, much to the cats' dismay. His breed of dog is saluki. Salukis are sight hounds, but Haroun is blind.
Some of their antagonists are downright mean, and some merely unhelpful. However, Haroun keeps his cheerful spirit. One of the emphases of the city of dogs and dogfolk is obedience. The catfolk think that's horrid. Haroun gleefully takes his opportunity to learn mischief while in the city of cats, as that's one of the things cats are known for.
Shai Madhur did *not* plan to go along with Haroun and his motley crew on a night of carousing through the city. Shai Madhur's religious vocation involves feeding the hungry of all types. A large part of his work involves stirring enormous cauldrons of food and serving it out to whoever comes to eat. He's very well-known through the city of Tel-Bastet for this, so even though he's pretending that he wants a night of consorting with criminals and possibly committing crimes himself, all the beings he encounters save him from himself.
Haroun and Madhur have somehow made friends with a quite young cobrafolk acolyte of a snake-people religion, who goes on this carousing adventure with them. This also saves members of the group some trouble. Though Rana is young, her fangs are impressive, and she is intimidating to any that have ill-intent towards members of those who are attempting to carouse.
Shai Madhur also has a disability. His hip is badly damaged, and he uses a walking stick. Haroun and Madhur get some opposition to getting reasonable accomodations for their disabilities, but not like they'd get in the real world, per the author.
It's still a very nice cozy fantasy, though. It was definitely what I needed at the time, and I'll go back to it as a comfort read, as I do with other stories set in this world.
Some of their antagonists are downright mean, and some merely unhelpful. However, Haroun keeps his cheerful spirit. One of the emphases of the city of dogs and dogfolk is obedience. The catfolk think that's horrid. Haroun gleefully takes his opportunity to learn mischief while in the city of cats, as that's one of the things cats are known for.
Shai Madhur did *not* plan to go along with Haroun and his motley crew on a night of carousing through the city. Shai Madhur's religious vocation involves feeding the hungry of all types. A large part of his work involves stirring enormous cauldrons of food and serving it out to whoever comes to eat. He's very well-known through the city of Tel-Bastet for this, so even though he's pretending that he wants a night of consorting with criminals and possibly committing crimes himself, all the beings he encounters save him from himself.
Haroun and Madhur have somehow made friends with a quite young cobrafolk acolyte of a snake-people religion, who goes on this carousing adventure with them. This also saves members of the group some trouble. Though Rana is young, her fangs are impressive, and she is intimidating to any that have ill-intent towards members of those who are attempting to carouse.
Shai Madhur also has a disability. His hip is badly damaged, and he uses a walking stick. Haroun and Madhur get some opposition to getting reasonable accomodations for their disabilities, but not like they'd get in the real world, per the author.
It's still a very nice cozy fantasy, though. It was definitely what I needed at the time, and I'll go back to it as a comfort read, as I do with other stories set in this world.
August 16, 2025
A delightfully cozy fantasy filled with disabled representation set in a Middle Eastern world of humans and animal peoples, such as cat folk, dog folk, and snake folk. Mischief certainly takes the forefront and I was laughing to the point of snorting more than once. Everything I needed and more. There are some familiar faces from Chi and Cat-tales, though this is one cohesive story vs 3 short stories. I'm eagerly awaiting Chai and Charmcraft.
I will devour, literally and figuratively, anything Lynn Strong writes, recipes included (I cannot wait to give some of them a go). Thank you so much for the ARC!
I will devour, literally and figuratively, anything Lynn Strong writes, recipes included (I cannot wait to give some of them a go). Thank you so much for the ARC!
May 5, 2026
What a glorious, joyful train wreck!
September 20, 2025
An adorable cozy with a Middle Eastern Setting and disability representation. This book is great for animal lovers because it depicts people living alongside animal folk. A human priest becomes a seeing-eye human. This book has cozy vibes, humor and even recipes at the end. I previously read Chai and Cat-tales and recognized a few characters from that book, but there is no need to read that one first. Overall this is a cozy, lighthearted read that felt as comforting as a hot cup of tea.
July 23, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. It was very interesting, unique, hilarious, and adorable. It has great character development, a great storyline, a really fascinating setting/universe, and best of all there are recipes for some of the delicious food described in the book. I love all of the characters but most especially Haroun, him learning mischief was too funny.
Shai Madhur makes and serves food for his community and is a noble priest to his God, but when Haroun comes in and mistakes him for shadazah, he gets drawn into things he never anticipated. When the Shadazah goes missing, Madhur and his new friends all work together to try to find him.
(I received this as a arc)
Shai Madhur makes and serves food for his community and is a noble priest to his God, but when Haroun comes in and mistakes him for shadazah, he gets drawn into things he never anticipated. When the Shadazah goes missing, Madhur and his new friends all work together to try to find him.
(I received this as a arc)
August 16, 2025
This book was such a ride.
I have to admit that the first chapter had me wondering if I'd manage to finish this, there were so many characters introduced into a new setting. But once that first chapter was out of the way and it was mostly Madhaur and Haroun and their merry band of mischief makers then the story really took off for me.
I'm not pretending I understood all that was going on, I didn't get the Dark, or the nature of any of the relationships (are they all platonic?) but even without that knowledge I didn't care. The story is fun, the world building is rich in detail (the author explains their research in notes at the end of the book), and the relationships are sweet, especially between Madhaur and Haroun.
A surprisingly great read. Sometimes you find a gem when you're least expecting it.
Edited to add: This is what I imagine Haroun to look like...
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
My only complaint, this was a Netgalley ARC and it's a copy that expires after a certain number of days, so if I want to revisit this world I'll need to buy my own copy. As an author I would never withdraw a copy of a book I'd asked someone to review. If they give up the time to read and review they should be allowed to keep the book.
I have to admit that the first chapter had me wondering if I'd manage to finish this, there were so many characters introduced into a new setting. But once that first chapter was out of the way and it was mostly Madhaur and Haroun and their merry band of mischief makers then the story really took off for me.
I'm not pretending I understood all that was going on, I didn't get the Dark, or the nature of any of the relationships (are they all platonic?) but even without that knowledge I didn't care. The story is fun, the world building is rich in detail (the author explains their research in notes at the end of the book), and the relationships are sweet, especially between Madhaur and Haroun.
A surprisingly great read. Sometimes you find a gem when you're least expecting it.
Edited to add: This is what I imagine Haroun to look like...
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
My only complaint, this was a Netgalley ARC and it's a copy that expires after a certain number of days, so if I want to revisit this world I'll need to buy my own copy. As an author I would never withdraw a copy of a book I'd asked someone to review. If they give up the time to read and review they should be allowed to keep the book.
July 27, 2025
A city of cat-people and humans is hosting a gathering of representatives from a wide variety of religions. Dog-priests, peacock-priests, cobra-priests, and more. The soup-priest (in that he minds the soup cauldrons, not that he is soup) Shai Madhur navigates dietary preferences and needs of all these creature-peoples. He also must navigate politics when he accidentally bonds with the blind dog-priest Haroun, who is fascinated by mischief.
The early part of the book interested me most, with all the cultural differences. Like when bird-people are coming to dinner, what is the etiquette surrounding egg eating? Keep in mind some birds eat the eggs of other birds in nature. It's an exploration of dietary differences taken to a biological extreme.
The latter part of the book dives headlong into the "Mischief" part of the title. Antics and shenanigans abound. I imagine it's a cozy fantasy variation on the movie Dude, Where's My Car. Very silly, but too much for my tastes.
The early part of the book interested me most, with all the cultural differences. Like when bird-people are coming to dinner, what is the etiquette surrounding egg eating? Keep in mind some birds eat the eggs of other birds in nature. It's an exploration of dietary differences taken to a biological extreme.
The latter part of the book dives headlong into the "Mischief" part of the title. Antics and shenanigans abound. I imagine it's a cozy fantasy variation on the movie Dude, Where's My Car. Very silly, but too much for my tastes.
January 10, 2026
This book is like going on an adventure with your oldest and dearest friend, full of hugs but most of all, mischief!
November 21, 2025
What a heart-warming story, filled with humor, real people for all they are also beasts, and positivity. There is a lot to love here, and there is a lot of love and joy in the story as well.
Very nice to meet some people of the chai-stories again too.
I have not finished it yet, but it is already on my favorites shelf. And I love the cover!
Overall, I would say that the story did not disappoint. I sometimes found it hard to follow because Haroun's twists and turns were quite unusual, but it remained a humorous and well-written story.
I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.
Very nice to meet some people of the chai-stories again too.
I have not finished it yet, but it is already on my favorites shelf. And I love the cover!
Overall, I would say that the story did not disappoint. I sometimes found it hard to follow because Haroun's twists and turns were quite unusual, but it remained a humorous and well-written story.
I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.
August 8, 2025
I was immediately drawn to this book due to the representation flooding the pages - We have a disabled character that has genuine and relatable struggles due to this, needing to occasionally be carried because of pain, but it's written so well and with so much care that it doesn't come across as pitiable. It's simply a facet of Shai Madhur, rather than making the entire character a caricature of "disabled person". Not only that but Haroun is blind, and it never is written as though this is something that needs to be fixed. It's simply normal, as is all the other disability representation, the queer representation and sex positivity. There are other issues to be worked through, but the gold standard (you know the ones, the Gay Awakening, the Gender Envy, etc) are not included and it's so refreshing.
Many of the characters also have dietary limitations and preferences, and Shai Madhur learns to navigate them and cooks whatever he can to help out his people, in scenes so lovingly described that I genuinely got hungry reading some of the food descriptions! It was like Redwall all over again, and my copy of the eARC even had some recipes included which was honestly so kind of the author to provide because I wanted all of them.
As for the plot itself, while I found it amusing, it also kind of pricked my sense of second hand embarrassment, which admittedly is extremely overblown and strong so I had to keep putting the book down for a few minutes for some of the scenes where Haroun is actually doing the mischief part of the "study of mischief" (though there's one scene that did actually make me laugh out loud, because fashion humor is so rare these days and Haroun is LIVING fashion crime).
Unlike the last book I read that was labeled "cozy", this one actually delivers. If you're interested in Middle Eastern mythology, cozy fantasy set within that mythology and disability representation, I fully recommend this book.
Many of the characters also have dietary limitations and preferences, and Shai Madhur learns to navigate them and cooks whatever he can to help out his people, in scenes so lovingly described that I genuinely got hungry reading some of the food descriptions! It was like Redwall all over again, and my copy of the eARC even had some recipes included which was honestly so kind of the author to provide because I wanted all of them.
As for the plot itself, while I found it amusing, it also kind of pricked my sense of second hand embarrassment, which admittedly is extremely overblown and strong so I had to keep putting the book down for a few minutes for some of the scenes where Haroun is actually doing the mischief part of the "study of mischief" (though there's one scene that did actually make me laugh out loud, because fashion humor is so rare these days and Haroun is LIVING fashion crime).
Unlike the last book I read that was labeled "cozy", this one actually delivers. If you're interested in Middle Eastern mythology, cozy fantasy set within that mythology and disability representation, I fully recommend this book.
September 7, 2025
This is unquestionably one of the very best books I’ve ever read. There are so many things to appreciate that I cannot possibly name them all in a review, so let me just speak from the heart.
This is an absolute home run of joyful reading! It's fine to read epic escapism to lose yourself in a sweeping drama or adventure if that’s what you’re after. But if you’d rather sit down with your best friend and hear a great story about a crazy week they had, this is the book you need to read next.
Lynn Strong’s broad understanding of what makes us human helped her build a thoroughly relatable and simply delightful story. I’ve heard that cozy fantasy means “the stakes are low” in grander terms, but the plot of this tale is deeply important to the characters we meet herein. And the world-building is fantastic! The author clearly understands the nature of cats, dogs, falcons, peacocks, and cobras, at the very least, and putting these catfolk, dogfolk, etc. in the same city for several days leads not just to unexpected encounters, but more humor than I would have thought possible outside of a satire.
This warm, enchanting book made me laugh with sheer delight over and over again. And the characters touched my heart so many times that I cannot wait for more stories of their adventures, great or small. If you enjoy a comforting read that can surprise you with its humanity every bit as much as its magic and the fascinating other folk that populate this world, pick up Haroun and the Study of Mischief today. You won’t want to put it down until you’ve savored every page of this wildly charming novel!
This is an absolute home run of joyful reading! It's fine to read epic escapism to lose yourself in a sweeping drama or adventure if that’s what you’re after. But if you’d rather sit down with your best friend and hear a great story about a crazy week they had, this is the book you need to read next.
Lynn Strong’s broad understanding of what makes us human helped her build a thoroughly relatable and simply delightful story. I’ve heard that cozy fantasy means “the stakes are low” in grander terms, but the plot of this tale is deeply important to the characters we meet herein. And the world-building is fantastic! The author clearly understands the nature of cats, dogs, falcons, peacocks, and cobras, at the very least, and putting these catfolk, dogfolk, etc. in the same city for several days leads not just to unexpected encounters, but more humor than I would have thought possible outside of a satire.
This warm, enchanting book made me laugh with sheer delight over and over again. And the characters touched my heart so many times that I cannot wait for more stories of their adventures, great or small. If you enjoy a comforting read that can surprise you with its humanity every bit as much as its magic and the fascinating other folk that populate this world, pick up Haroun and the Study of Mischief today. You won’t want to put it down until you’ve savored every page of this wildly charming novel!
July 20, 2025
Thank you to the author for kindly giving me an ARC.
This was a really fun and light-hearted read. The world-building was fantastic, the setting felt really unique, and the character dynamics were amazing. I really liked how different all the characters were, they had distinct personalities, and played various roles in the narrative.
I would say Haroun's study into mischief went extremely well. There were several really funny moments in the novel, especially Haroun specifically choosing an ugly piece of clothing and waiting to see if Shai Madhur would ever tell him. In both the author's books, I feel there's always one character who just wants to live a quiet life and instead gets dragged into all kinds of chaos. Poor Shai Madhur just wanted to serve people food at the temple, but instead got an adventure he never planned on. The progression of Shai Madhur and Haroun's realtionship was so sweet and Shai Madhur insisting they room together because they're friends and equals at the end was so lovely.
The representation is always so good in the author's writing. I love that, not only do we have disabled representation, but we actually see how it affects the character. Shai Madhur does need to be carried at one point because his hip is in a lot of pain. It makes the depiction extremely realistic and is always treated as an addition to a character, rather than something that retracts from them, as should always be the case in books, but sadly isn't. I liked the queernorm world. I also really liked the sex-positivity of the world. It was really refreshing to see.
This was a really fun and light-hearted read. The world-building was fantastic, the setting felt really unique, and the character dynamics were amazing. I really liked how different all the characters were, they had distinct personalities, and played various roles in the narrative.
I would say Haroun's study into mischief went extremely well. There were several really funny moments in the novel, especially Haroun specifically choosing an ugly piece of clothing and waiting to see if Shai Madhur would ever tell him. In both the author's books, I feel there's always one character who just wants to live a quiet life and instead gets dragged into all kinds of chaos. Poor Shai Madhur just wanted to serve people food at the temple, but instead got an adventure he never planned on. The progression of Shai Madhur and Haroun's realtionship was so sweet and Shai Madhur insisting they room together because they're friends and equals at the end was so lovely.
The representation is always so good in the author's writing. I love that, not only do we have disabled representation, but we actually see how it affects the character. Shai Madhur does need to be carried at one point because his hip is in a lot of pain. It makes the depiction extremely realistic and is always treated as an addition to a character, rather than something that retracts from them, as should always be the case in books, but sadly isn't. I liked the queernorm world. I also really liked the sex-positivity of the world. It was really refreshing to see.
January 31, 2026
Absolutely delightful story with even better addendums on food and the people and history this came from. Looking forward to to any and all stories in this world.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews