A Game of Cat and Witch

by Ruby Rune

Avery Alarch has always been the worst witch at Caerwyn University. Now she’s got twenty-four hours to conjure a familiar or get kicked out for good—a fate that means losing her magic forever and being stuck on a dreary island with nothing but regrets.

Desperate times call for desperate spells. So when Avery stumbles on a forbidden grimoire, she decides to risk it all. One little summoning later, she’s expecting a cute magical cat. Instead? She gets Felix, a six-foot-six cat shifter with a bad attitude and a knack for trouble. He’s her mortal enemy, magically bound to her by an illegal spell, and very much not purring.

He wants her dead. She wants him gone. Neither of them gets a choice.

The only way out? Solve a string of enchanted riddles before their magical link destroys them both. Of course, that’s easier said than done when Felix keeps tying Avery up in shadows, and their bickering is starting to feel a little less hostile and a lot more heated.

As they unravel puzzles and secrets, Avery and Felix find themselves at the heart of a conspiracy that could upend the supernatural world. And despite every rule and reason, sparks are flying in all the wrong (or right?) ways.

Get ready for claws, curses, and cat-astrophic chemistry in A Game of Cat and Witch, the first laugh-out-loud installment in the Monstrous Shifters series.

Perfect for fans of My Funny Demon Valentine and Assistant to the Villain, Ruby Rune’s debut is a magical, banter-filled paranormal rom-com you won’t want to miss.

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Romance, Paranormal, Enemies To Lovers, Dark Academia, Dark Romance

410 pages, Paperback

Reviews

[Laura Greenhalgh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much Ruby for the ARC! 3.5🌟 This was such a fun time. Easy to follow and fast paced. I loved the premise of this story; a witch bonding with a black cat familiar only to discover he’s actually a cat shifter (and he’s not happy). Our literal black cat MMC felix was HOT and kinda scary, the tension between Felix and Avery had me feral and the spice was SO GOOD. I love a series of interconnected standalones and the overarching storyline in this is going to be fun to follow in the next books! If you want to dip a toe into the monster romance genre this is a perfect place to start.

[morgan ۶ৎ]

⸺ 𑣲⋆˚࿔ preread

i’m very lucky to have received an arc from the author, i saw this book on tiktok and am OBSESSED + the cover is so cute! (mmc is a cat shifter btw) 😛😛😛

[veerali · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank you ruby rune for the eARC—all thoughts are my own!
✦ publication date: may 10, 2026

A+ 10/10 WOULD BANG FELIX

i cannot believe that this is a debut! i've been so intrigued about this book after i saw the tropes and everything i had to sign up for an arc and i'm so happy to have received an arc of this.

avery is the worst student at her magic school. if she doesn’t find a familiar (a magical animal partner) in 24 hours, she will be kicked out and lose her magic forever. desperate, avery tries a forbidden spell to summon one. she hopes for a cute cat, but instead, she gets felix. felix is a giant, grumpy man who can turn into a cat. to make things worse, he is avery’s biggest mortal enemy. because of the illegal spell, they are now magically stuck together. felix hates avery and wants to get rid of her, but he can’t leave her side. if they want to break the bond, they must solve a series of magical riddles. as they work together to solve the puzzles, they discover a dangerous secret that could destroy the whole magical world. while they are busy arguing, they realize their feelings are starting to change from hate to something much more intense.

i absolutely loved this book! the writing is simple, funny, and very easy to follow. right from the start, i was hooked by the mystery elements. the setting and the pace were perfect, and i truly enjoyed every page.

my favorite part was definitely the dark academia vibe and the banter between avery and felix. i couldn't stop laughing. at first, i wasn't sure if the whole cat shifter idea would work for me, but i ended up loving it. avery is such a great character, i love how determined she is to prove herself. felix on the other hand is completely whipped. it was so sweet to see that he would do absolutely anything for her.

ps. felix is a shadow daddy/cat shifter and can turn this shadow into peens.

⤿ forced proximity
⤿ just one dorm/bed
⤿ enemies to lovers
⤿ touch her and d!e
⤿ dark academia
⤿ witch x cat shifter
⤿ fated mates
⤿ black cat mmc
⤿ underlying mystery plot

[Ruby Rune · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good I guess but idk I’m just the author

[ℛℰ]

Mystery plot in academic settings and he is a literal black cat shifter and they are fated mates ?!!!!!

[joni ౨ৎ - interactive hiatus · Rating 5 out of 5]

𐙚⋆°｡⋆♡ ── 4.85 stars

delicious. yummy. so good.

like if ur a fan of mates, witches, paranormal stuff... (a cat shifter 🙈) u need to read this!!!! SO good and like i cannot believe this is ruby's debut?!!


✧˖°🐈‍⬛ ⋆｡˚꩜ 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀
⤷ he's a literal black cat
⤷ witch x shifter
⤷ touch her and die
⤷ only one dorm/bed
⤷ fated mates
⤷ enemies to lovers


thank u ruby for the digital arc!

[H. P.]

Who’s here from the trend??? 👀🤭

[charisse ♡]

preread: soo he's a cat shifter

[Nadja]

DNF

I went into A Game of Cat and Witch ready to have the time of my life. The marketing? Immaculate. A barbed peen? A weird little cat man? Promises of extra spicy chaos? Oh I was SAT. I was READY. I had my clown makeup on, my expectations high, my dignity low. And somehow this book still managed to make me tap out before we even got to the allegedly freaky sex because the journey to get there felt like being trapped in a never-ending group project with someone who just discovered the word “familiar” and decided it needed to appear in every other sentence.

The prologue honestly tricked me. It wasn’t amazing by any means, the writing already felt a little rough, but at least SOMETHING was happening. We establish the FMC has no familiar. Cool. Got it. Understood. Heard you loud and clear the first 17 times. There’s some intrigue, the MMC shows up, and I was like okayyyy maybe we’re cooking a little. Maybe the writing is a little wattpad-core but perhaps the vibes will carry me through. And then…the author committed one of my least favorite sins known to mankind: the “let’s immediately rewind time after finally introducing something interesting” maneuver.

WHY.

Why would you introduce the mysterious MMC only to go “anyway here’s what she did the day before :)” when that day before consists of absolutely NOTHING. And I do mean NOTHING. These chapters were LONG too. Like offensively long considering the content. I’m sitting there reading chapter after chapter of this woman walking around repeating that she doesn’t have a familiar and desperately needs one as if I had suffered a traumatic brain injury between pages and forgot. Babe I KNOW. YOU TOLD ME. WE HAVE ESTABLISHED THE FAMILIAR CRISIS. Meanwhile the plot is standing in the corner starving to death because nobody is feeding it.

And the thing is, filler chapters can work if they build atmosphere or character dynamics or tension or literally anything. But these chapters genuinely felt like we paused the actual story so the FMC could monologue at me about her familiar situation for 40 consecutive Kindle minutes. There are only so many times I can hear “I need a familiar” before I start wanting HER to become my familiar just so we can move on.

And then. THEN. The book hit me with the line about how she was looking for books involving relationships between witches and shifters but couldn’t find any so she had to settle for shifter-human romances instead and I genuinely had to put my Kindle down and stare at the wall for a minute. What in the fanfiction.net self-insert was that??? Why are we doing meta Goodreads browsing inside the book??? It felt so bizarrely juvenile. Like the book kept reminding me it knew romance tropes existed instead of naturally incorporating them.

Which honestly sums up my biggest issue with the writing overall: it felt incredibly young despite the book clearly marketing itself as spicy adult paranormal romance. The tone constantly read like YA trying very hard to sound edgy and mature. The swearing especially drove me insane because listen, I curse constantly. Every other sentence out of my mouth is probably legally considered verbal violence. But here it felt so forced. Like every character was swearing not because it fit naturally into dialogue, but because the author wanted you to know this is an ADULT book for GROWN UPS who say FUCK. It had the same energy as a 13-year-old discovering they can swear online without parental supervision. None of the dialogue sounded organic; it sounded like everyone was auditioning for the role of “most aggressively quirky paranormal character.”

And I’m sorry but I refuse to take the name Lucky seriously. I can’t do it. I simply cannot. That is not a sexy mysterious paranormal MMC name. That is the name of a golden retriever who eats drywall. You’re telling me FELIX was apparently the worse option to her than Lucky??? FELIX??? Lucky sounds like a character from a children’s cartoon who learns the importance of friendship.

Speaking of cats…this man spends all this time acting like he’s some terrifying monstrous beast and then his shifted form is literally just a house cat. A HOUSE CAT. Sir be serious. You are not the darkness incarnate, you are one laser pointer away from humiliation. And don’t even get me started on the artwork because why does he have two sets of ears??? Every image had me distracted beyond belief because he’s standing there with regular human ears AND cat ears on top of his head like someone forgot to finish rendering him. Pick a lane. Why does this man have surround sound.

The truly frustrating part is that the premise had SO much potential. Witch/shifter romance? Familiar bonds? Weird monster spice? I was READY to eat this up. This had all the ingredients for absolute unhinged paranormal fun and instead it somehow became painfully boring almost immediately. The pacing was brutal, the writing repetitive, the dialogue awkward, and the characters felt more like trope delivery systems than actual people. I kept trying to push through because I wanted to at least meet the infamous barbed peen situation everyone was hyping up, but eventually I realized no amount of promised monster dick was worth suffering through another chapter of the FMC reminding me she didn’t have a familiar.

And honestly? That’s the real tragedy here. The book marketed itself as chaotic sexy paranormal nonsense and I LOVE chaotic sexy paranormal nonsense. I am the target audience. Hand me a weird little monster man and I’ll usually overlook a lot. But this just never came together. It felt like the book wanted credit for its tropes without actually putting in the work to make them compelling. By the time I DNF’d, I wasn’t even frustrated anymore. I was just tired. Tired of the repetition. Tired of the pacing. Tired of Lucky’s goofy ass name. Tired of being told this cat man was terrifying when he probably weighs 11 pounds soaking wet.

Maybe the freaky sex eventually saves it for some people. Unfortunately I will never know because the writing got to me first.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Game of Cat and Witch by Ruby Rune

This was such a fun read. It had really entertaining banter, great spicy moments, and plenty of swoony scenes that had me smiling while reading.
I really loved our FMC, Avery. Even though life handed her a rough hand, she stayed strong and never gave up on her dreams, which made her very easy to root for.
And Felix?? As a cat person, I absolutely adored this cat shifter. His cat mannerisms had me laughing so many times and added such a fun charm to the story.
The spice was definitely spicing, and there were some genuinely sweet and swoony moments that I really enjoyed.

“When I finally get to kiss you the way you deserve, no one will be allowed to watch. You are mine. Mine to touch. Mine to watch. You are an angel that is undeserving of the eyes of mortals.”

For me, the pacing occasionally felt a little uneven, and I would have loved a bit more development toward the ending because I was enjoying the world and characters so much. But overall, this was still a light, entertaining read that kept me engaged.
And honestly? The hints of more dragon shifters in book two definitely have me curious 👀

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.75)

🌶️🌶️🌶️

Thank you so much Ruby Rune for the review copy, all opinions are my own

[Annmarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 Stars
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3 Spice

The first thing this book slapped me in the face with was the cozy, funny vibes I got right from the start. I am a sucker for a cozy book with a dash of spice, so I was all in. Sign. Me. Up.

When all a witchy girl dreams of is getting a familiar and some chicken nuggets, does she get that? Nope! Not for her. Say hello to Avery. This book really shows the pressure and pain of feeling like an outsider among your own people, and at times, it’s hard seeing her struggle with that. But it also makes her feel very three-dimensional and stand out.

Now, Felix is like wildfire in this book. He is confident and sassy, and watching these two banter and fight like cat and dog was so funny at times that I thought I would cry laughing.

I did have one small problem. While I felt like Avery and Felix were really well fleshed out and practically came off the page, I felt like a lot of the side characters around them were a little too two-dimensional. I loved the main character, but what about Maya and Wren?? Tell me more about them, I want more!!

The story turns out to be much more than just some cozy read, though. Nope. There is a kick ass storyline, mystery, secrets, and surprisingly good action. I honestly thought I was going into a super fluffy, funny read all the way through, but while it starts off more easygoing, it slowly slips into a much darker and deeper story, which I personally found amazing!

There is banter and fun, but there is a lot more than that too. I found myself flying through the pages and genuinely having a really good time. I would say it is not the most serious read I have ever picked up, but it was absolutely worth reading.

There were a few moments where I felt more could have been done, or where something could have been expanded on a little more to help develop another character. But overall, it was a quick and easy read.

There is spice in the book, and it is good, but honestly? I found myself enjoying the storyline even more than the spice. Together though, they balanced each other out really well.

That ending though!!! Sweet Lord, it had me clutching me pearls and scared to death, but what an ending!! Can't wait to see what's next.

P.S. Dust bunnies for the win!

[Janessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruby’s debut novel had me sweating, giggling, and kicking my feet. From the first page I was enthralled. 🐈‍⬛❤️‍🔥

If you know me you know, I love paranormal stories but if you add in romance, I’m done for!

We’re pulled into Caewryn University, an urban fantasy, dark academia setting, where witches bond with familiars (furry sidekicks) and exist away from shifter and humans.

Avery needs to conjure up a familiar pronto before she gets expelled.

Only problem? She bonded with a Shifter. Shifters are witches mortal enemies.

She wants him gone. He wants her dead.

Avery- your unorthodox witch, self deprecating, but loves deeply, and only wants to make her family proud. Her humor fed my soul, it’s dark, dry and unhinge, I felt seen 😝.

Felix- BIG black cat MMC energy, but also literally a black shifting cat. He’s so broody, possessive and pushing her buttons for his amusement. He hates touch but can’t stay away from Avery.

Honorable mention: dust bunnies 🐰

I enjoyed every sarcastic comment, unhinged moment, banter, mindless flirting from Felix, and extreme tension.

The spice? Babe you’re going to need some water. It delves into primal play, biting kinks, chasing, & shadows (mhm do what you will with that context), etc.

The plot twist? I did not see coming at all. But their story wrapped up so sweetly & their character development was amazing!

For those who are seeking paranormal romcom but make it DARK (have you questioning your morals), unlimited cat puns, meddling goddess, underlying mystery plot, enemies to lovers, and good o’ spicy time, you need this.

A Game of Cat & Witch is a standalone with an overarching plot, yes it’s confirmed. It’s an interconnected standalone series; you will want hold on tight kitties, there’s more to this world! 😈

I had the absolute greatest pleasure to read this as an ARC. Thank you Ruby!! ♥️

[Noi (in & out)]

say less

[Keeley B · Rating 5 out of 5]

love love love this book — read it now!!

[marialetto.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐ ⊹ 3 🌶️ ⊹ 410 📖

⁀➴ Overall: Awesome debut with a unique premise with very playful writing! The story gets better and better the farther you get into it

⋆⟢ Tropes + Vibes:
❤️ enemies to lovers
🐈‍⬛ fated mates
🤎 dark academia
❤️ forced proximity
🐈‍⬛ witch + cat shifter
🤎 dual POV
🖤 check tw/cw

⁀➴ Bookish Breakdown:
This was a very good debut novel in the romantasy space! It has so many incredible tropes in it and it’s engaging throughout. I really appreciated the pacing, where the plot was following the standard romantasy/fantasy vibes. It starts off a bit slower as you’re introduced to the world, key players, various important little tidbits, and then speeds up as the reader understands more and more. I greatly appreciated that the storyline kept ramping up. I knew going in that this would be the first in a series of interconnected standalones (with an overarching plot!), which got me excited about all the new information you get as you get farther into the book.

I liked both our FMC, Avery, and our MMC, Felix. There were definitely times when they felt young to me. It could just be my age or the author’s age playing into it. Despite that, I still found them to be good leads and people whom I was rooting for throughout the book. I liked watching their relationship grow and how them trusting each other more and more led to them being what I felt were true leads!!

The writing can best be described as playful! It was descriptive, but also very fun! I think sometimes fantasy and romantasy novels can get really fancy with their writing styles and vocabularies, but this felt really accessible and real. It feels like one of your best friends is telling you the story. Also, I love a pun and I have to say the cat puns were phenomenal throughout.

I am absolutely looking forward to future books in this series, and I’d definitely recommend you pick this one up for a fun, romantasy series starter! :)

Thank you to Ruby Rune and Tales and Teacups PR for this ARC. This is my honest, voluntary review.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you think of the word fun and put it together next to the word book, you get ‘A Game of Cat & Witch’.

This was the most fun I’ve had reading a book. Ruby did such a phenomenal job with creating these characters, I truly loved them from the minute they stepped onto the page. The plot is absolutely chaotic (which we encourage) and Felix & Avery are just as insane as you would think. Their banter was absolute goals (and lowkey I need me a shifter bad). Felix was SO hot and honestly, Avery was just as hot. Those two freaks are a match made in heaven. I have never laughed as much as I did while reading this book.

I stayed up till late each night because I truly could not find it within myself to put this books down. I was having such a great time, so much so that I felt a pang of sadness in my heart when I realized I only had a couple of chapters left. And with the way that it ended, I cannot wait to see how the next book unfolds with a certain witch and some dragon shifter(s).

Thank you so much to Ruby Rune for giving me the chance to read this book early!

[Romie (romesreads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was such a fun and sexy time

we’ve got an academic setting, shifters, witches, a mystery plot, shadows that get ✨ creative ✨ - what more could a girl want?

i absolutely loved the humour in this, the sarcastic interactions between felix and avery had me giggling and kicking my feet, as well as hearing both of their sassy internal monologues. felix really channeled his grumpy black cat energy which made for such an entertaining read, especially when he was in his small cat form

this book was full of tension, yearning and reluctant attraction. the push and pull between avery and felix makes for an addictive read that you can’t tear yourself away from! there was certainly has some interesting appendages which had me invested 👀

i really enjoyed the set up leading to the next book, even though this is a standalone we’re left with a lot of unanswered questions which will feed into the next book in there series. I love interconnected standalones that have an overarching plot within the series, especially when we see a snippet of the next couple, after being introduced to a certain dragon shifter I can’t wait to see where it goes 👀

thank you so much to ruby for letting me read this prior to release!

[౨ৎ e L L i e · Rating 5 out of 5]

[5⭐️]

one thing i absolutely love about being in the bookish community is finding new books to obsess over and new authors to discover!! because omg this book exceeded all of my expectations. a debut novel as well!! right off the bat the first chapter had me intrigued and i feel like that’s never an easy task. the banter in this book between avery and felix was top tier. if there’s one thing you need to know about me, it’s that i’m a sucker for some sarcastic humour. it’ll get me every damn time. now felix… wooo what a character!! he has some very interesting…body parts, let’s just put it that way. which yes, did persuade me to preorder the book that comes with some nsfw artwork of it 👀🫣 the amazing main characters and even side characters aside, the plot itself kept me on my toes enough to keep me interested throughout the whole book. there’s so many moments that you don’t see coming that has you wanting to read more and more!! plus the ending, omg!! i feel like i could genuinely go on and on about this book until you’re sick of hearing from me 😭 i urge everyone to check this book out, but of course make sure to check the tws first always as this does have dark themes included 🫶🏻

[xAsheMariex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely speechless and more than I expected. The sass, the banter, the humor, the YEARNINGGGGG, THE SPOCE?!? It was all quite literally perfect. And the plot?? The mystery was doin things, I was obsessed with the spice and the romance plot, but I was fully submerged into this plot line. I’m sad to see Avery and Felix as side characters for the next book, but I’m so very excited to dive into the mind of Wren and her…familiar and see how this mystery unfolds, because WTAF. Hands down one of my favorite reads of the year so far! YOU WANT TO READ IT, JUST DO IT 😈

5 ⭐️’s
4.5 🌶️’s


Tropes-
Forced Proximity
Just one dorm/bed
Enemies to lovers
Touch her and die
Academy setting
Witch + Cat Shifter
Fated Mates
Literal Black Cat MMC
Underlying Mystery Plot

[Liz 🪽✨ S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruby Rune smashed her debut with A Game of Cat and Witch!!

It was so fun, hot, full of tension, so much banter I was actually laughing out loud and the perfect amount of conflict to keep you eating up each page, I genuinely finished this in 24 hours.

Avery, a witch at Caewryn University is the last of her class and what feels like the last witch in the world to summon a familiar. In a last ditch effort before she is shunned for good, she tries again…and it does not go according to plan.

Incomes Felix, the furthest thing from a familiar and summoned by the one thing he hates the most- witches. Felix is shifter and a very funny, sarcastic and hot one at that (major black cat energy obvi).

Honestly a cat shifter romance was not my first choice of shifter preferences but when the real monster inside came out to play, I was SAT.

If you are in the market for a good pick it up and read it in one sitting paranormal rom com (plus there are dust bunnies with personalities), PLEASE read this!!

4.5 stars!!

Thank you so much to the author for this ARC!!

[Ali (Taylor’s version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You are still staring"
"I am a man of my word. Why would I look away when my whole world is in front of me?"

A game of cat and witch es mezcla puurrrfecta de fantasía, dark romance, vibes de academia gótica y un pelííín de misterio. Y sí, es un poquito de misterio, porque aunque realmente todo comience por *algo* que tienen que acabar resolviendo los dos protas (Avery y Felix) juntos, el hilo de trama prinicpal es el romance.

Y hablando de los personajes principales:
Avery. Avery es la FMC del libro, caótica, deprimida y muyyy gen z. Y esto lo recalco, porque nunca pensé que en un libro llegaría a leer un: "And he had tattoos. Smash"
Que razón no le falta jaja, pero eso.
En general es un personaje que me ha gustado bastante! Es una girl's girl, muy relatable tanto en su vida personal como en cómo se siente frente al mundo y lo que le sucede. Y bueno... un meme andante, ya de paso.
Ah bueno, y ya he dicho que es una bruja (sin familiar) y por lo cual recurre a magia oscura para tener uno porque no quiere estar deprimida, amargada Y viviendo debajo de un puente porque no la quieren en su universidad? AH NO? pues mira

Y Felix es... Felix. Muy sassy, muy icónico y una girl's girl también, ya de paso.
Me he reído mucho leyéndolo y ha estado bien:)
En general trae esa vibe caótica de personaje secundario gracioso, but let's make him the MC just for the sake of it sabes?
Felix no aguantaría ser personaje secundario, necesita ser la estrella. La estrella y representante de los shifters... porque él y Avery deberían odiarse a muerte... aunque Avery acabe de hacer un lazo de familiar-bruja entre ellos y ahora pues... Felix se tiene que hacer pasar por un gato (su forma animal tho) para que no lo aniquilen en espacio enemigo (yay!)

"If I had never met you, I would have lived every life searching for you.
Thank you for putting me out of my eternal misery."

La trama en general es bastante simple y predecible ya que se basa realmente en el romance... y a ver, es un "enemies" to lovers, así que aquí no podemos engañar a nadie.
Y recalco enemies entre "" porque enemies eeeneemiessss tampoco es que sean.
No he visto mucho odio propio en el ambiente (aunque sí tensión y odio generacional quizás...) pero para mi Avery y Felix no se comportan como enemigos reales. (aunque lo sean)
Yo creo que la razón principal por la que no veo esto es que realmente Avery y Felix tienen que llegar a un acuerdo de manera rápida (o muerte muerte y vivir bajo de un puente) así que no hay una clara distinción entre lo que es antes del pacto o después.
Además, Felix, con lo sassy que es ha hecho que sea bastante easy peasy lemon squeezy el estar juntos y que sea viable.
En general, que me han gustado como personajes, pero su relación, el cómo se conocen,... me parece bastante apresurado. Es que para reflexionar que el libro realmente sucede en DOS SEMANAS.
Y esas dos semanas pasan de enemigos "mortales" a mates... permiteme dudarlo.

"Is he dead?"
"As a dodo. Dodo's deserved far better than him, though"

Además, el misterio (aunque ya he dicho que es más secundario) me parece que es demasiado fácil. Dentro de todo lo malo que les pasa a diario a ambos personajes, y ahora me estás diciendo que son capaces de descubrir una red que llevan escondiendo las brujas durante años? . Sin ayuda, sin problemas adicionales... solo por amor?
I mean, pintadme sorprendida jaja
Al final me parece que todo lo que sucede acaba siendo demasiado conveniente, lo que lleva a que pueda ser... aburrido?

pero bueno, insertemos aquí canción de Avril Lavigne porque en verdad la dupla galáctica sí que es icónica lmao

He was a shifter
She was a witch
Can I make it any more obvious?

En fin, que si queréis leer algo fácil, divertidillo y para pasar el rato, este es vuestro libro!
Ruby realmente ha hecho un buen trabajo y creo que el segundo libro va a ser incluso MEJOR que este <333

[Mayooooo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sigh. This reads like a debut and while that isn’t usually a bad thing, in this case, it is. I even came out of GR retirement because it pissed me off that bad.
Maybe it’s on me for expecting a book for adults considering the level of apparent spice it has. But you can’t convince me this isn’t YA with smut, which is just gross.

The MCs are apparently in their early 20’s but act and speak like teenagers. The FMC clarifies almost every brain fart with something in a parenthesis (I’m not exaggerating). The dialogue and internal thoughts are cringey at best. And everything is just so awkward. I’m not a fan of things being dated with pop culture references and modern day slang THIS much either.

And I suppose most of that could just be personal preference but here’s what made me categorise it firmly in the “terrible debut” pile and DNF: The metaphors and similes conjure bizarre imagery that genuinely make no sense in context. There’s soooooo much repetition that I was immediately frustrated. The writing style is juvenile and I’m not sold on the amount of editing (given the grammar mistakes and previous points mentioned). There’s so much tell not show, naming every feeling the characters experience instead of describing it and allowing the reader to be immersed in the story.

All in all, I think the author was trying too hard without the skill to back it up. This is what happens when “influencers” think they can write simply because they have a platform; their desperation clings to the story like flies on shit.

[Carly K · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️
If you’re looking for a fun, darker, lusty romcom styled shifter/monster story, I think this could be up your alley!

The cheeky commentary, both internally for Felix and Avery as well as to one another, genuinely made me chuckle quite a few times. At times it was cheesy but also worked well? Kinda reminded me of ‘The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy’ a little with the adult humor. The fanfiction scene with Maya also cracked me up because that’s such a real friendship convo haha.

The plot was interesting and had so much more potential, but I felt like it got lost in the sauce of shadow freakiness? Like when the characters would be on to something/cracking open a mystery it would always divulge in to lust and I’d find myself wishing that it came AFTER if that makes sense? But I also know that this was supposed to be an unhinged freaky paranormal romance, so I guess it delivered in that sense.


Thank you to the author for an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review 🖤

[Bryanna Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

This was such a fun little witchy shifter romance 🤭🖤

I haven’t read many monster/shifter romances, so this was a really entertaining intro into the genre for me. It’s one of those books that’s super easy to fly through because it constantly keeps you wanting to know what happens next.

What surprised me most was how much I genuinely enjoyed the plot and mystery side of the story. There’s clearly a lot more going on beneath the surface, and I’m really hoping the next book dives even deeper into it because I feel like there’s still so much left to uncover.

The whole vibe of this book was chaotic, fun, a little unhinged at times, but always entertaining enough to keep me reading.

And the fall/spooky season atmosphere??? EXACTLY what I’ve been craving lately. This felt like the perfect cozy but chaotic seasonal read.

If you love monster/shifter romances and want something fun, bingeable, and guaranteed to make you giggle, this is definitely worth picking up.

P.S. Felix absolutely stole the show for me. Funniest character by far.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious , sexy and a bit unhinged , Ruby Rune’s debut novel is a total success! This is definitely my type of book, borderline monster romance - we have a MMC who’s a cat shifter and a FMC who’s a witch that needs to summon an animal familiar or she’s basically going to be a failure and get kicked out of her University. Well going against the rules she dabbles in some blood magic and ends up with a SHIFTER MANNNN who’s hot af!!! There’s a mystery we’re trying to uncover and we learn a lot about the world and magic system along the way. I was laughing out loud multiple times and couldn’t put this down !! This was a fun time and I couldn’t be more honored to have been chosen as an ARC reader🥹🥹 Guys go read this!!!

[Breezy · Rating 5 out of 5]

thank you Ruby for the honor of letting me beta read this stunning novel (her debut may i add!!)
this book is honestly one of the easiest books to start, you’re being pulled in within the first paragraph and it’s SO hard to stop. Avery is the perfect amount of self deprecation but in a relatable way if that makes sense.
her sense of humor is amazing and her inner monologue was easily one of my favorite things about her.
felix, our shifter black cat, is honestly so precious and sarcastic and grumpy and he is so incredibly sweet and precious to avery. he wants nothing more than her to be okay.
the relationship in this book isn’t like most romance novels i’ve read, there is some heavy banter but they’re not insta into each other. i mean it’s an accident!
girl now listen, there are some side characters in this book that will SEEEEND you omfg. i’m still dying over that damn horny tree.
i will forever be so thankful to be apart of Ruby’s team and the beta team was a dream to work with. you’re all just as stunning.
there is so much emotion and fun and yearning and spice in this book and im going to be thinking about her for years to come and i can not wait for book 2 omg

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first 6⭐️ book of the year and let me tell you, Ruby really cooked with this!

Initial thoughts, BARK, BARK, BARK or should I say MEEEOOOOWWW! I got to beta read this book and let me set one thing straight, it is worth the hype!

The humor in this book was top tier. The MCs Avery and Felix meshed so well together. Their banter had me flying through the pages hungry for more! I loved that both of them were very sarcastic. I think sarcasm is its own perfect love language.

The pacing of this book was absolutely perfect. I never felt like a scene went on forever or that I didn’t get enough of. (maybe the spicy scenes but that’s just me being greedy hehe)

The side characters, special the goddess? A++. Her mom? F- but written incredibly well. (Read the book to understand, you won’t regret it)

If you are looking for a literal black cat, shifter x witch, touch her and 💀romance, where the spicy is 🥵, and the plot is plotting, please read this (I’m not begging you but I will).

Thank you Ruby for trusting me to beta read for you and congratulations on your debut novel. If all your books are like this one, we have a real treat in store for us.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fun, super slutty good time
Never in my life did I assume id be thinking “damn I’d fuck a cat-man” yet here we are
This debut was great. A quick read with the right ratio of plot-smut.
I will 100% be reading the following books in the series.

[Gia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me-ow. Here kitty kitty.

But seriously this book was scrumptious. Thank you Ruby for the Arc and for letting me experience the whirlwind of a romance that is Felix and Avery. A witch and a shifter? What more could you ask for.

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Booktok brainrot at its finest. So many tropes I couldn’t breathe. Witch x Shifter romance with seriously unhinged smut.

Look, I knew what I was going in for, so how can I be disappointed? It was never gonna change my life and I have to rate it based on the kind of book it is.

Is it unhinged? Yes.
Is it tropey? Yes.
Is it entertaining? Fuck yes.

Unfortunately I’m gonna say it lost a star for plot - not because the plot wasn’t there, but because I actually feel it was but it wasn’t explored as much as it could have been. Another star for the nipple piercing (iykyk).

Read for barbed 🐓 and shadows going in every hole.

3 🌟