Curse Meow Not

The Infurnal Catrastrophe, Book 1

By: Kysa Steele

Narrated by: Arielle Noelle

A cursed princess. A haunted house. And a very undignified amount of fur.

Velzara was born for fire, forged for ruin, and meant to become a god’s vessel of destruction. But the ritual went wrong—or right, depending on who you ask—and now she’s trapped in the body of a black housecat with far too much attitude and nowhere near enough claws.

Elira is a soft-spoken witch-in-training with a cinnamon kettle, a cursed inheritance, and a house that rearranges itself when no one’s looking. She thinks Velzara is a familiar. She’s not. She’s a war crime in waiting.

As sigils misfire, mirrors whisper, and something older than either of them stirs beneath the floorboards, Velzara must choose: reclaim her monstrous birthright… or protect the girl who might undo her.

The curse was never meant to save her. Just to make sure she survived.

©2025 Kysa Steele (P)2025 Kysa Steele

Feline haughtiness in all its purrfect glory

Everyone who has ever had the fortune or misfortune of a regal feline companion will recognize their furry overlords in this purrfect audiobook where a god of fury is reduced to feline form and affronted by the curse of warm pillows, litter boxes, and possessed vacuums. I laughed on more than one occasion and was thoroughly entertained by the narrator’s skilled purrformance. If a cat had a voice, this would be it. 10/10 highly recommend!

strong first showing

my only issue with this story is that the main character's complaints, while very well within what you would expect on that sort of situation, does get to be a bit much. if they weren't internal monologue then I would have expected some sort of retaliatory action by Elira.

that being said it is the first book from this author and they show a lot of potential. maybe adjust the ratios a bit in book 2.

The performance delivered by Arielle Noelle is spot on and captures the indignant whining perfectly while also making Elira come across as perfectly sweet and naive. I always appreciate narrators who can separate characters by tone and cadence as much as by others would be using an exaggerated voice.