Hello, gorgeous library guests
and
Welcome to the Mewton-Clawson Library at BBHQ
Thank you for joining me in the stacks today, and here's wishing mew an absolutely EPICALLY EPIC 2026. I'm still a little fragile from the raucous BBHQ NYE Pawty, and if mew missed it, click here to catch up before reading on, otherwise mew'll think I need an intervention! MOL
And the password choice by Vera, well, I'm not going to mention that again - EVER!
If the place looks a little… temporal‑disaster chic today, it's the pawty aftermath, the one where Smooch bent the timeline, we counted down to midnight three times, and I may or may not have face-planted out in the frosty grass after declaring myself “Queen of the Niptini Al-Fluffo.”
Anyway, I arrived in the library this morning to find Melvyn, my supurr efficient intern, staring at the shelves like they’d personally betrayed him.
📚 A Conversation in the Library This Morning
Me: “Melvyn, sweetie, why are the encyclopaedias arranged by emotional frequency instead of alphabetically?”
Melvyn: “Because time kept looping, Amber. I shelved A–C three times. THREE. I gave up and went with whatever felt spiritually aligned.”
Me: “Spiritually aligned? Dahling, Volume 7 is next to a cookbook called Fifty Shades of Gravy.”
Melvyn: “That’s where it wanted to be.”
Me: “Books don’t want things, Melvyn.”
Melvyn: “Amber, I lived the same five minutes for half an hour. The books were whispering.”
Me: “Oh, don’t be dramatic. I passed out in the grass for a while. It was four rounds of 6 minutes, and I’m fine. It was practically a structured nap. ”
Melvyn: “Amber, you tried to knight a squirrel.”
Me: “It bowed! That’s respect.”
Melvyn: “It bowed because Fudge bribed it with snacks.”
Me: “Details. Anyway, could mew tidy the shelves? I need to meditate.”
Melvyn: “Meditate or nap?”
Me: “Yes.”
Melvyn: "Just what I thought!"
Me: “And bring me a cushion. I require proper lumbar support and comfort.”
As part of my ongoing Egyptian Adventure series, today’s destination was nothing short of divine…
🌙 Amber’s Egyptian Adventure #10: The Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el‑Bahari🐾
Location: The Temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el‑Bahari ~ a breathtaking terraced monument carved into the cliffs of Thebes, built for a queen who knew the true meaning of grandeur
Time: Dawn, when the cliffs blush rose‑gold and the desert wind whispers ancient secrets across the colonnades
Dahlings, today I rose before the sun, yes, I, Amber, willingly awake at an hour usually reserved for bakers and over‑enthusiastic roosters, because only the earliest light would do for my visit to the magnificent Temple of Hatshepsut.
My paws padded across the vast stone terraces as the first rays of sunlight spilled over the cliffs of Deir el‑Bahari, turning the whole temple into a shimmering staircase to the heavens. Honestly, if a goddess had descended right then, she would’ve had to wait her turn. I was having a moment.
“Ah,” I purred, “finally, a temple worthy of a queen… and of mew.”
I arrived draped in a flowing robe of desert‑rose silk, embroidered with tiny gold sun‑discs that glittered like dawn itself. My accessories? A wide collar of lapis and carnelian, and a headpiece inspired by Hatshepsut’s own, because when visiting a queen’s temple, one must dress accordingly.
The air was cool, tinged with sandstone and history. As the sun crept higher, illuminating the colonnades and reliefs of Hatshepsut’s divine temple, I sipped a Queen’s Sunrise Catnip Spritz, garnished with a sliver of candied date, and whispered, “Amber, mew are destiny.”
One of the statues definitely winked. Or maybe that was the spritz.
My Morning Essentials Included:
🌞 A Queen’s Sunrise Catnip Spritz, infused with hibiscus, citrus, and just a hint of royal ambition
📜 A scroll of Hatshepsut’s achievements, annotated with my paw‑written notes (“Visionary. Iconic. Would absolutely have been my bestie.”)
👑 A gold‑trimmed sun‑shade parasol, because even queens must protect their whiskers from UV rays
🐾 A desert‑rose silk fan fluttered dramatically whenever the breeze dared to ruffle my fur
I wandered through the terraces, the colonnades, the chapels dedicated to Hathor and Anubis, each space glowing with the soft warmth of the rising sun. The symmetry, the scale, the sheer audacity of carving a temple into a cliff, it was all breathtaking. But naturally, I remained composed.
After all, I am Amber, head librarian of BBHQ, and I, too, appreciate a well‑executed architectural statement.
The temple may hold echoes of queens, gods, and ancient triumphs, but this morning it held me: a cat of legend, strutting through sunlit halls, sipping spritzes, and adding a touch of feline fabulousness to Hatshepsut’s eternal legacy.
Mood: Regal, radiant, and slightly smug (but only because my silk robe fluttered more gracefully than the desert breeze)
Quote of the Day: “Greatness isn’t carved in stone, dahling, it’s carried on confident paws.”
✨ Next week, prepare for something ancient, windswept, and wonderfully dramatic, think: cliffs, carvings, and cocktails with a desert‑spice twist. 😸
Today, the P.A. is also joining in Friday Fill-ins Blog Hop with the pawesome 15 & Meowing and Four-Legged Furballs.
1. ____________________________ is a New Year’s tradition for me.
2. ______________________ is not the same as ____________________________.
3. I would pick _________ as my theme song for 2026.
4. I’m a coward when it comes to _________ but brave when _________.
The P.A.'s answers are...
1. Not making any resolutions is a New Year’s tradition for me. I find that New Year's resolutions are counterproductive for me; my brain is wired differently. If I made one, my brain would insist on rebelling and saying, "Fluff no, you've got to be kidding, that's just not going to happen, like ever!" LOL
2. Being busy is not the same as being productive. I always remember the phrase "busy fool"; I try to avoid that at all costs.
3. I would pick The Muppets as my theme song for 2026. Yep, you can tell what kind of mood I'm in, and it's only Day 2 of 2026! LOL
4. I’m a coward when it comes to heights (yeah, not my favourite thing - I refused to go up the Eiffel Tower - twice) but brave when it comes to completely bonkers ideas! Well, you guys read the stories, I don't think anyone else in the world writes stuff like the B Team, completely unpublishable mainstream because they are un-pigeon-holable! LOL
Let's see what I've got to show mew this time!
Mewton-Clawson Library Copy
by
Sarah Beth Durst
Mew may remember a couple of weeks ago that I reviewed The Spellshop, and what a furbulous book that was. This is book 2 in the series, and I read it immediately after the first one.
📚 This Week’s Paw‑Approved Top Pick: The Enchanted Greenhouse
Settle into your comfiest sun‑patch, tail curled, ears perked, because this week’s read is a warm, whimsical fantasy overflowing with singing flowers, honey‑sweet magic, and one very important detail: there is a winged cat. Yes, mew heard that right. A winged cat. Background character? Maybe. Essential to my feline‑centric rating system? Absolutely. MOL
❓ What’s the Genre?
A cosy, slightly heart‑hugging fantasy about second chances, gentle magic, and unexpected companionship. It stands beautifully on its own but shares the same enchanting universe as The Spellshop, bringing that same cottage‑core charm, this time with more flowers, more feelings, and more baked goods than any cat could reasonably steal in one sitting.
🕵️ What’s the Story?
Terlu Perna made one tiny mistake: she created a magically sentient spider plant (See book 1) because she was lonely. (Relatable, honestly.) The law disagreed, and she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away in the Great Library like a forgotten knick‑knack.
Years later, she wakes up on a nearly deserted island bursting with magical greenhouses, each one brimming with life, secrets, and the faint hum of failing enchantments.
Her only human company is a grumpy‑but‑soft gardener who bakes honey cakes capable of healing both hearts and stomachs. Add in a sentient rose with opinions, a winged cat who flutters through scenes like a furry, judgmental cherub, and a mystery threatening the island’s magic, and Terlu suddenly has more to do than simply “go home.”
Because she doesn’t want to. And maybe, just maybe, she’s found a place where she can bloom again.
⚔️ What I Loved
🌹 The Sentient Rose: Sharp‑tongued, dramatic, and absolutely convinced it knows best. A floral diva with petals full of personality.
🐈⬛ The Winged Cat: Not centre stage, but oh, the vibes. A graceful, fluttery background presence who clearly supervises everyone’s emotional growth. A true icon.
🍯 Terlu: A heroine with a tender heart and a spine of quiet steel. She’s been through the wringer, statuehood will do that, but she still chooses kindness, curiosity, and courage.
🌿 The Greenhouses: Imagine wandering through endless glass‑walled sanctuaries filled with singing flowers, glowing vines, and magic that hums like a lullaby. It’s cottage‑core meets botanical wonderland.
🔥 The Vibes: Warmth, whimsy, gentle romance, and the soft ache of starting over. Honey cakes, soft breezes, magical blooms, and a slow‑burn connection that feels like sunlight after rain.
🎬 The Greenhouse Dream: Running away to a quiet island full of magical plants? Honestly, sign me up. The story captures that irresistible fantasy of beginning again, this time with better snacks, better company, and fewer laws to accidentally break. MOL
🏝 The Setting: A lush island of greenhouses, each with its own personality, secrets, and enchantments. It’s the kind of place that makes mew want to curl up on a warm stone path and nap among the roses (sentient or not).
📖 My Final Thoughts
The Enchanted Greenhouse is a story that blossoms with charm, hums with magic, and wraps mew in a warm, honey‑scented hug. Terlu’s journey is tender, hopeful, and quietly powerful, and the cast of magical companions, especially that winged cat, make every page sparkle.
It’s a comfort read in the truest sense: soft, sweet, and full of heart. A tale about healing, growing, and finding the courage to bloom again.
Grab your fluffiest blanket, a cup of catnip cocoa (well, that's my winter beverage of choice, I'm sure mew have yours! MOL), and maybe a plant that definitely isn’t sentient (yet), and let the magic begin.
A FURBULOUS READ, TOTALLY TOP PAW!
I can't wait for book 3!
Paperback: 384 pages
Audio: 13 hours 32 mins
My Rating Scale
Ratings of:
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
The Cat Book Connoisseur
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