This review of The Mid Witch by DJ Bowman-Smith is part of Book Reviews with Amber, the Cat Book Connoisseur at the Mewton-Clawson Library. Scroll to read.
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✨ This Week’s Intro ~ 96% Calm, 3% Cooperative Technology, 1% Mildly Smug Stationery ✨
Hello, my gorgeous library guests,
and
Welcome back to the Mewton‑Clawson Library at BBHQ.
I am thrilled to report that harmony has been almost fully restored. The fax machine and the multifunctional Calmness Tracker 3000 pen have reached a state of mutual understanding, a rare and meautiful thing in the world of semi‑sentient office equipment.
The air hums with quiet productivity.
The shelves are aligned.
The library mice are content.
And the fax machine? It’s pawsitively helpful.
📠 The Fax Machine’s Evolution Arc
After last week’s colourful chaos, the fax machine has settled into its new role as the library’s unofficial assistant. It now prints neatly formatted lists, cheerful reminders, and the occasional motivational quote (“Keep calm and collate”). It even sends thank‑mew notes to the pen.
The pen, meanwhile, has embraced its purpose with gusto. It’s writing useful lists, shopping lists, reading lists, and one particularly detailed inventory titled “Emergency Catnip Reserves.” It glows softly when pleased, which is often.
And it even prints out in duplicate, just in case one list goes missing, how thoughtful! MOL
Oh, and another Calmness Tracker 3000 pen appeared, with an orange glow this time, funny that. Melvyn says it's for me, and he'll have to programme it to my paw signature ... I'm not sure about that yet! MOL
📚 A Morning of Cooperative Calm
Me: “Melvyn, sweetie, how’s our technological duo today?”
Melvyn: “Peaceful. The fax machine printed a compliment.”
Me: “A compliment?”
Melvyn: “It said my pawwriting is improving.”
Me: “That’s adorable.”
Melvyn: “The pen agreed.”
Me: “They’re bonding.”
Melvyn: “They’ve started co‑authoring documents.”
Me: “What kind?”
Melvyn: “Lists of recommended reads. Paranormal Cozies seem to be this week's top suggestion.”
Me: “How odd, they must be reading my mind! Tin foil hat?”
Melvyn: “No, not yet, let's see what others come with a paw‑print of approval.”
Me: “Efficient and enthusiastic. I like it.”
Melvyn: “Also, it printed a recipe for catnip cookies with extra cream frosting.”
Me: “Of course it did.”
📚 General Library Status Update
Happy mice
Happy vibe
Happy fax machine (now in its helpful era)
Happy pen (glowing with purpose)
Happy thesaurus (writing haikus about teamwork)
In short:
The library is calm.
Mostly calm.
Calm with a minuscule whiff of toner and triumph, and a sprinkling of glitter.
And honestly? I’m delighted.
So, my meowvellous library guests, if mew spot neatly printed lists fluttering through the stacks or a pen glowing approvingly beside the main desk, don’t worry, it’s simply the library enjoying its newfound technological harmony.
Probably!
Now let's look at this week's top book pick!


1. I never want to forget _______________________.
2. I have a recurring dream about __________________________.
3. _________ is the strangest thing in my computer’s search history.
4. I wish I could turn my _________ into a paying job.
The P.A.'s answers are...
1. I never want to forget the way Basil would come hurtling up from the bottom of the field when I whistled him, as did all the cats if they were down there. It was like a furry stampede, ah, the good old days of a heathen horde!
2. I have a recurring dream about __________________________. Nothing of note that I can remember!
3. W.e.a.p.o.n.s are the strangest thing in my computer’s search history. Let me explain, when I'm writing a new B Team adventure, I like to look at certain g.u.n.s, etc., as Commander Basil may want to try a new one!!!
4. I wish I could turn my sewing into a paying job. Ah, well, it seems it is what it is, and so it goes. In the meantime, thank fluff for the day job!
Let's see what I've got to show mew this time!
Mewton-Clawson Library Copy
The Mid Witch
A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (The Mid Witch Series Book 1)
by
DJ Bowman-Smith
This was a TikTok find about three weeks ago, and **at the time of posting**, the first three in the series are available on Kindle Unlimited. But do check, as books pop in and out of the catalogue.
I purrchased the audio version, but as the rest aren’t available in audio yet, I’ll be reading them on Kindle.
📚 This Week’s Paw‑Approved Top Pick: The Mid Witch
Dahlings, fluff your whiskers and brace yourselves, because this week’s read is a deliciously chaotic blend of midlife mayhem, magical awakening, and one woman who discovers that hot flushes aren’t the only thing heating up her life. It’s funny, it’s fierce, and it’s furbulously relatable for many - thank cod cats don't have a meowopause - I saw what happened to the P.A. in her menopausal mayhem!!!
❓What’s the Vibe?
Think midlife crisis meets magical awakening, sprinkled with humour, heart, and a heroine who refuses to go quietly into the night, even though everyone else would like exactly that!
It’s warm, witty, with just the right amount of witchy vibe.
🐾 What’s the Story?
Lilly is having a time, dahling.
Her husband is a cheating toad.
Her children have flown the nest.
Her job has evaporated.
Her finances are wobbling like unset jelly.
And now her almost‑ex wants to sell her ancient family home, the one place she still feels rooted, and will try anything to make it happen.
As if that weren’t enough, she’s encountering at the most inopportune moments:
rude estate agents
stray dogs
hot flushes
and the creeping suspicion that reality is … shifting
Because Lilly isn’t just overwhelmed, she’s becoming a witch.
Not the pointy‑hat, cackle‑in‑the‑moonlight kind (though honestly, she’d rock that look), but a woman discovering her power, magical and otherwise, at exactly the moment she needs it most.
⚔️ What I Loved
🧙♀️ Lilly: A wonderfully real, flawed, funny heroine. She’s strong even when she feels broken, and her magical awakening is both hilarious and heartfelt.
😸 Clawdia, the cat: Although not a huge part of the book, she did appear in the final quarter and was the reason I read it! MOL
🪄 The Magpie: Maud. An interesting character, smart and magical.
🔥 The Midlife Magic: Hot flushes + spellcraft? Iconic. Truly iconic.
🐕 The Greyhound: Ink, a chaotic, adorable addition who adds warmth and humour.
🏚 The Cottage: Atmospheric, rooted in history, and purractically humming with magic. A character in its own right.
✨ The Tone: Funny, poignant, empowering, with just a smattering of spice in a couple of places.
🔮 The Magic: Not over‑the‑top, but woven beautifully into Lilly’s emotional journey.
📖 Final Thoughts
This is a charming, funny, and deeply relatable paranormal women’s fiction novel that celebrates midlife, reinvention, and the quiet power of claiming your own story. Lilly’s journey is messy, magical, and well worth the read.
If mew love stories about older women rediscovering themselves after a midlife meltdown. With a dash of witchcraft, a sprinkle of chaos, and a cute cat who I hope really has a bigger role in the next books, this is a purrfect pick.
🪄 Summed Up in One Sentence
🐾 A warm, witty, witchy tale about midlife, magic, and a woman finally stepping into her power. 🐾
A Top Paw Read!
Paperback: 334 pages
Audio: 8 hours 2 mins
My Rating Scale
Ratings of:
The Mid Witch
Overall Enjoyment
Other Fun Blog Hops to Join in Today
I really hope mew enjoy the book if mew choose to read it.
It's time for me to say BFN or bye-for-now as mew know the drill, so many books, so little time, and I'll be back next week with another specially paw-picked book just for mew, and don't forget that all my previous reviews can be found on my Book Review page.
Until next time...
Keep calm and read more books
Amber
The Cat Book Connoisseur
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