This was unlike any other fairytale Levine has created!

Very loosely inspired by Puss in Boots (and by inspired, it has cats, and that’s where the similarities end), Levine creates a distinct new kingdom where 12-year old Elodie sets off to apprentice herself as a mansioner. That’s the word for actor over there.

But apprenticenships don’t come for free at Two Castles so Elodie settles for work as an assistant to deducer, inducer, the all-seeing dragon masteress, Meenora. Her first mission is to protect Count Jounty Um.

Now, Jounty Um is a kind, generous man but he’s an ogre and everyone in town despises him for that fact. With the announcement that he’s to be engaged to Princess Renn and will someday become king, there’s threats everywhere especially as cats are known to force ogres to turn into mice to be eaten.

There are too many suspects to count and Elodie has no idea who to trust (or how to serve wine) including the Count and her Masteress.

While Elodie’s questioning of everyone can get a bit annoying at times, you can understand since she’s only been in town for three days and now she’s in the middle of a potential murder plot among royalty and magical creatures. Plus it strengthens her own journey of deducing and using common sense, and figuring out what she wants to do with her mansioning skills if she cannot do it the traditional apprenticenship way.

Plus the characters are all so lively and memorable from flighty Princess Ren to her greedy father, sweet Jounty Um, know-it-all Meenora and the charming cat trainer, Master Thiel. They all have a part to play or red herring to present in this twisty mystery that will leave you guessing and scratching your head.

As usual, the magic system is all of its own with its rules and expectations that everyone is supposed to know. Same with the town as Elodie stumbles about, trying not to look like a Laht bumpkin who gets robbed by cats in her first minute onshore.

A really fun read! 4 stars