First off the artwork in this book is amazing and I loved that part of it. However this book was a little odd for me. I read this one prior to reading to the kids and was a little iffy about it. They enjoyed it though they didn't seem as interested during.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Kinda weird book, liked the art but the story was odd

I enjoyed reading this book. The illustrations are gorgeous.

I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.

A witch, Carmina is allergic to her cat thanks to a hex by another magic-user named Hector. But with the help of one of her cats, Castor, she may have found a solution.
I thought the artwork was nice but the story was too long for a picture book. Also, I didn't like the story overall Carmina's actions against her cats is not the kind of message I want to send to my students about problem-solving.

While it never comes right out and and says “Witch” Carmina is a witch. Her friend has been hexed with allergies to her cat. And Carmina’s curious cats keep bringing her dead lizards. As an adult I liked this story, but it’s windy, and gets lost in itself. It’s too long for most picture books, has no rhyme and changes topics. It’s almost like talking to your grandmother. Overall I liked it, and I love the illustrations, but It will never be mainstream read.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Lizards Brew is the sequel to Bonnie Stanards book Cats Fur. I found this book more enjoyable than book 1 as I seems to have more information about what is happening. These books are definitely books for everyone and are quite dark. I've enjoyed this series and hope there will be a third book too.

Surprisingly, I liked this one much better than Cat's Fur! It's like a proper sequel to that book. And this one is much more wholesome and longer. I liked how this one is more well done.

I love the illustrations! It's so apt for the season!

All the Halloween vibes here!

The old witch is trying to brew a cure for her running nose and to create something to cure a hex.

I can totally relate with her lonely times when one's sick and alone.

The cats seem a little less in this one but still way too many to be taken cared of by a lone, old woman.

However,I didn't like the lizard brewing part. I know it's witch brewing classic recipe but no, no lizards be harmed fictional or fantastical it may be. Kids don't need to know lizards be brewed like that. Yes, the animal protection vibes sprang up out of nowhere.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

The illustrations in this book are gorgeous. I just wish it had a different or more clearly written story to go with it. From page one I was really confused as to what was going on, and now I see there's another book called Cat's Fur by this author which apparently comes just before this one? Expect there is no where in the description that says that... The story just doesn't flow well and is sort of disjointed and jumps around, like one minute the witch is looking for a cure for a hex that's made her (and her friend? I'm still not clear on that...) allergic to her cats, and then suddenly she's like "Meh, this potion for good dreams looks cool, I'll just make that." Uh... What? That being said, my 4 and 6 year old stayed pretty engaged through the most of the book, despite having a lot of text on each page and the book being fairly long. I think maybe they're too young to have noticed the bits where the story didn't make much sense, haha.


Guest review by Jaime (age 6):
What was your favorite part? "The throat part, the healin' throat part where she was all better. Also, I like the potions one too. I would definitely take one of those because then I wouldn't have nightmares."
Where there any parts you didn't like? "Nope, nothin'. I like everything."


Guest review by Link (age 4):
"Good, it was so good. My favorite part was the potion, the dream potion."
Where there any parts you didn't like? "There's nothin' bad about the book."

I found the illustrations a little creepy at times. The illustrator did a wonderful job making the old man and woman look old! The cats were really cute and it is a really good storyline about a lady who wants to rid herself of her cat allergy.

Lizard Brew is a picturebook about Carmine and her cats. Carmina is a witch and is hexed by Hector so that she is allergic to cats. Her friend Sagmarilla shares the same fate. Carmina starts sneezing and is having headache around her cats. How can a witch live away from her cats?

One of her cats, Caster starts bringing her dead lizards. Will Carmina be able to figure out the potion for removing her allergy? Why does Caster keep bringing dead lizards?

Surprisingly this a book that I can’t figure out whether I liked or not. The story is simple but seemed disconnected in a few places. The illustrations are one of a kind. This book is apt for reading around Halloween time, with a witch, cats, lizards, spells and brews.

**I received an e-ARC from NetGalley for an honest review**

The artwork was interesting, but I felt as if this was a little dark for children. Maybe children from the 1980s who grew up with Labyrinth, but definitely not children from 2020.

The words seemed to be overly crowded onto the page, maybe if it had been spread out more, it would have been a little bit of an easier time to read.

Overall, even though the description says there is a prequel, it almost feels as if the prequel should have been combined with this book to make a complete story. It just feels incomplete, as if someone wanted to rush production on this book.

Wonderfully llustrated and an imaginative story. Castor the cat helps Carmina to find a cure for her allergies.

This is a cute an imaginative story with some beautiful imagery. I will admit I was a bit lost at the beginning and found the story to be a bit long for a children’s book. However, it’s a neat story (a witch becomes allergic to her cats and goes in a quest to undo a hex). I loved the natural elements. I don’t know if I’d recommend this one though, for the right audience (lovers of Halloween and spooky stories), then perhaps this is the right book. For me it misses the mark, but the beautiful artwork made up for it.

What a quirky little story. I appreciate that it's not simply filled with mainstream cutesy creatures and beautiful witches, but considers and accepts wrinkles, sneezes and aging. I"m afraid this one will be a tough sell for most children due to this same lack of diva witches. The illustrations are beautifully drawn and the story, though simple, has a touching level of heart.

Lizard Brew by Bonnie Stanard was an interesting read.

I really enjoyed the illustrations and really felt they added to the book.

I was a little confused about this story. I do not know if this was due to it being the second in the series or just not finding it that interesting. I did not find the idea of a witch being allergic to her cats overly exciting. Secondly, I wasn’t sure if this book was for adults or children. It seemed too dark for children, but not interesting enough for an adult.

I think some might enjoy this, but it just was not for me. The illustrations were beautiful though.

I received an electronic advanced reader copy from Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA.) All opinions are 100% my own.

This is the second book that I have read by this author and I did prefer this to the previous one but it is still a story that didn't work for me.

The story is quite dark, as are the images which do suit the story but I will be honest it is not one that I would re-read and not one that I would read with my daughter.

It is 2.5 stars from me for this one, rounded up to 3 stars for Goodreads and Amazon - just not one that worked for me.

This is the second book that continues the story from her first book. I felt this second one had a much longer story with larger words maybe for a bit older child than the first one. I still loved the artwork and the atmosphere and concept. I loved how the cats followed her in her search for a cure to the allergies to the cats. I felt some of this story could have been in the first book to give it more depth and length. However it lost a little of the fun quirkiness it started off with. I still thought it was so very cute and loved the witch breathing in the fumes of her potion. I liked it overall but, just wish the two books were either combined or divided eqaully with clear beginnings and endings in each with the fun still involved.

'Cat's Fur' & 'Lizard Brew' are two books that go together. Honestly the first just ended abruptly. The continuation was written differently- way too long and more lengthy that cats fur. It really bothered me that the books weren't uniform with each other. I really think that this story would have been better suited as one book.

I feel like I missing a piece of the story?! I don’t know. It’s a bit odd and there is too much text on each pages for this type of book and sometimes the way the text is positioned is hard to figure out what to read (like the columns?)
I personally prefer less text and more specific for these kind of kids books. I’m sure the author would be good to write a novel tho:
I wouldn’t recommend it for young readers probably more like 7-10yrs and I’m not sure over that they will be interested tho
Overall it’s a nice book for Halloween, pictures are okay a bit fade for me but I think it’s fine for a witch story.

Utterly unremarkable book about a witch whose cats get hexed to make her allergic to them. So-so script and artwork – I just don't consider this very memorable at all. What's more, this is the sequel to the announcement of the curse, which is available elsewhere – now, the two books are certainly two halves of a pair, but when one has about fifty words and the other five hundred, why can't two become one??!!