Hello, gorgeous library guests
and
Welcome to the Mewton-Clawson Library at BBHQ
Thank you for joining me in the stacks today.
Well, I am sorry I missed last Friday, but due to severe staffing issues, namely the P.A. with the flu (so selfish) and the library mice saying that they were busy prepping for their annual Chrispmouse Celebrations, I was left suitably overwhelmed and horribly under pressure, so I thought, mew know what, fluff this, I need a mental health day and decided to go to Level 8 and spend the day with Horice in the Biosphere in a balmy 25 degrees celcius.
I did plan on getting back to my post; however, there was the incident with the coconut nip cocktail, well, the fifth one to be exact. According to the security footage, it appears that I passed out on the beach on a unicorn floaty. Yeah, and I missed the deadline... hmmm...
Smooch said, "Amber, I told mew no more than four!"
I replied. "Technically, the fifth was medicinal. Horice said it would balance my chakras."
Smooch narrowed his eyes. "Amber, it was served in a pineapple wearing boggly eyes."
I shrugged. "And it worked. I was purrfectly balanced, horizontally, on a unicorn floaty, snoring like a pharaoh. I don't think I've ever felt so zen!"
Smooch sighed. "I’m installing an auto cocktail counter app on your iPaw watch."
I flicked my tail and replied, “Smooch, dahling, if my iPaw watch starts judging my cocktail intake, I’ll simply reset it to factory settings, preferably with a martini in paw.”
Smooch raised an eyebrow. “Amber, it’s supposed to track your health.”
I purred, “It does. It tracks my hydration levels in nip‑tonics, my cardio in floaty paddling, and my mindfulness in unicorn meditation practices. I’m thriving.”
Smooch muttered, “Thriving horizontally, unconscious on a unicorn floaty isn’t exactly wellness.”
I grinned. “Wellness is subjective, dahling. Mine involves glitter, cocktails, and naps in purrfectly heated biospheres.”
🏛 My Egyptian Adventure #8: Masks, Mystery & Martini Moments 🐾
Location: The Grand Egyptian Museum, basking in the glow of Tutankhamun’s treasures
Time: Twilight, when shadows stretch long, and secrets whisper through gilded halls
Dahlings, today I traded sandstone cliffs for shimmering glass and marble. My paws padded across the polished floors of the Grand Egyptian Museum until I stood nose‑to‑nose with one of the most famous artefacts in history: Tutankhamun’s golden death mask.
“Ah, finally, a mask worthy of mew.”
I arrived draped in a flowing robe of midnight silk, my sapphire sash catching the museum lights, and my crescent‑moon pendant gleaming like a secret shared between gods. A new hat, naturally, a crown of golden lotus petals, because one must never be outshone by artefacts.
The air was cool, tinged with antiquity and mystery. As the mask’s eternal gaze met mine, I sipped a Golden Mask Extra-Nip Martini from a crystal coupe and whispered, “Amber, mew are eternal.” The mask didn’t blink, but I swear the eyes twinkled.
My Evening Essentials Included:
🐟 A platter of Nile perch tartare with edible gold flakes
🍸 A Golden Mask Martini, shaken with saffron and starlight
📜 A scroll of Tutankhamun’s treasures annotated with my paw‑written commentary (“Lovely accessories, dahling, and I love all the turquoise”)
🐾 A silk fan painted with Anubis fluttered dramatically at key moments
I wandered through the galleries, relics glowing under soft light, cats carved into eternity alongside kings and gods. The grandeur was overwhelming, yet I remained composed. After all, I am Amber, head librarian of BBHQ, and I, too, command legacies (and cocktails).
The museum may hold echoes of dynasties and curses, but tonight it held me: a cat of legend, strutting past golden masks, sipping martinis, and rewriting history with impeccable taste.
Mood: Mysterious, glamorous, and slightly smug (but only because my crown sparkled brighter than Tutankhamun’s).
Quote of the day: “Mystery is not hidden in tombs, but in the paws that unveil it.”
✨ Next week, I’ll be whisking mew away to a place of mystery and masquerades, expect intrigue, elegance, and cocktails with a twist. 😸🌙
Today, the P.A. is also joining in Friday Fill-ins Blog Hop with the pawesome 15 & Meowing and Four-Legged Furballs.
1. I still need to _________________ before Christmas.
2. Don’t forget to acknowledge ___________________ at Christmas.
3. _________ is my Christmas miracle.
4. I _________ on Christmas Eve and _________ on Christmas Day.
The P.A.'s answers are...
1. I still need to do everything before Christmas. This flu has completely scuppered all plans, so I have a lot of catching up to do!
2. Don’t forget to acknowledge everyone who brings you joy at Christmas.
3. A surprise snowfall on Christmas morning is my Christmas miracle. There's nothing like a white festive season... it doesn't happen very often where I live.
4. I watch Scrooged on Christmas Eve and eat far too much pudding with custard on Christmas Day.
Let's see what I've got to show mew this time!
Mewton-Clawson Library Copy
The Spellshop
by
Sarah Beth Durst
📚 This Week’s Paw‑Approved Top Pick: The Spellshop
Curl up in your cosiest nook, tail tucked, whiskers twitching, because this week’s read is a cozy fantasy that proves libraries hold more than dusty tomes; they’re for magic, mischief, and the occasional sentient plant who knows how to steal the spotlight. FYI, there are cats in this, but they are not front and centre, just part of the scenery, but they are still there, so this is still technically a book with cats! MOL
❓ What’s the Genre?
A whimsical, heart‑warming fantasy that can be read as a stand‑alone, but also is part of a trilogy that blends cottage‑core charm with magical adventure, a dash of romance, and plenty of bookish delight.
🕵️ What’s the Story?
Kiela, a librarian hiding forbidden spellbooks, flees the city with dreams of opening a quiet bookshop by the sea. But magic won’t stay shelved, and neither will the villagers’ curiosity. Alongside her unlikely companion, Caz, a sentient plant brought to life by another librarian (this is revealed in book 2), she must navigate secrets, spells, and the challenge of building a new life where danger lurks behind every enchanted page.
⚔️ What I Loved:
🌿 Caz the Spider Plant: Not a cat, but still gloriously snarky and scene‑stealing. Caz is witty, stubborn, and rooted (pardon the pun) in purrsonality, the kind of companion who’d lecture mew about sunlight requirements while saving your life.
🍸 Kiela: A heroine with bookish grit and quiet courage. She’s the kind of woman who’d catalogue your spellbooks, defend your right to magic, and still argue with her plant about watering schedules.
🔥 The Vibes: Imagine cosy seaside cottage meets magical library, sprinkled with enchanted pastries, whispered spells, and winged cats fluttering through the skies as background scenery.
🎬 The Bookshop Dream: The fantasy of running away to start over is infused with warmth, humour, and just enough peril to keep the pages turning.
🏚 The Setting: A seaside village full of quirky characters, hidden magic, and the kind of atmosphere that makes mew want to curl up with a blanket and a stack of spellbooks.
📖 My Final Thoughts:
This is a fantasy that purrs with charm, hisses with danger, and sparkles with bookish magic. Kiela is the kind of heroine mew’ll want to follow through every dusty tome and seaside secret, and Caz is the purrfectly leafy sidekick #epic! It’s a cosy, magical tale that’ll leave mew yowling for more enchanted libraries. MOL
Available in audiobook and print, so grab your catnip cocoa or nip gin, a blanket, and let the magic (and plant sarcasm) begin!
Book Two review coming soon - yes, I have already read it! MOL
A FURBULOUS READ, TOTALLY TOP PAW!
Paperback: 385 pages
Audio: 12 hours 10 mins
My Rating Scale
Ratings of:
The Spellshop
Overall Enjoyment
Other Fun Blog Hops to Join Today
I'm off to read next week's books, as mew know the drill, so many books, so little time!
Don't forget, if mew are looking for great books with cats, check out the Book Review page, just click the link here or at the top of the page, as that's the place to visit to get your feline fiction fix.
Until next time...
Keep calm and read more books
Amber
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Amber, such vibrant adventures you have! And the book does sound intriguing!
ReplyDeleteThis looks to be a great read Amber. You pick some of the best books. and we do hope that by Crispmouse Day the P A is up to snuff fur celebrating. We have the snow today, but we don't think it will be here on the 25th. Not sure how Santa is going to get around without any.
ReplyDeleteAppreciate the book review, Amber!
ReplyDeleteAnd for the P.A. to remind me to go get my flu shot. (Hope you feel better!)
That was a good review and good fill-in answers too!!!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful Amber. Another great book review x 😽
ReplyDeleteAsleep on a floaty sounds great, as long as there's a lifeguard. You don't want to slip in the water.
ReplyDeleteLeave it to Amber to outshine King Tut.
I enjoyed the fill in answers and this book sounds like great fun. Thank you for linking up with Feline Friday!
I enjoy reading about your travels Amber. And I enjoyed your review- looks like a good book. Thank you to the PA for participating in the flll-ins, great answers except I am sorry you were so sick. I love Scrooged too. Xo
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic adventure you were having, Amber! How are you adapting back to normal life? Oh, I forgot, life is never normal for the B Team. That sounds like a very good book.
ReplyDeleteI hope the PA is starting to improve Thankfully I am on the priority list for Covid and flu shots and had them before we went on the cruise in October.
When I went to the chemotherapy ward on Friday last week, you weren't allowed in without a mask. From Monday no-one was allowed in the hospital without one.
Just to clarify, I am not having chemotherapy now, but that ward is the only one allowed to insert the needle into my port for the CT scan contrast dye. I have to go back there after the scan to have the needle taken out again.
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining Angel Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
ReplyDeleteYou definitely needed a mental health day, Amber. We had quite a bit of snow on the ground but it all melted yesterday. More is coming on Tuesday though!
ReplyDelete