While the wizard is away, the cat will play, but that would be beneath the dignity of Sir Kipling, who instead resolves to keep an eye onmatters while Lily Singer is away on business. Instead of being locked up in the house, he decides to ensure the safety of the magical library thatLily is responsible for. Of course, when Lily is away, it is the ideal time for unsavoury demon types to start snooping around trying to gain access.Sir Kipling finds he has to defend it from those who would try to steal its secrets, with little more than his wits and the assistance of an elderlywizard.

Cat magic is an excellent standalone book following Sir Kipling from the Love, Lies and Hocus Pocus series. Sir Kipling is a character in his ownright, most certainly coming across as cat first and magical familiar second. The story helps to flesh out the world view and while simple enough, itbrings extra colour and background to the main stories. The writing is quick, funny and serves well to highlight the difference in view points betweencats and people, even magical ones. If there were any errors or mistakes, I was having too much fun reading it to notice.

The novella is also an excellent starting point for the main series, and the full adventures of Lily Singer and Sir Kipling. Fans of the genre willlove it, as will anyone who likes cats. Everyone else should give it a read anyway, for a cracking story about a magical cat.