Book Reviews with Amber at The Mewton-Clawson Library #341 featuring **The Spellshop ** by Sarah Beth Durst **PLUS** Friendly Fill-Ins

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

          Brian's Home   Catblogosphere    Feline Friday   Nature Friday    Flashback Friday   Friendship Friday      

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 

Follow us at @BionicBasil® on Instacat

Don't furget to subscribe and never miss another review! 

 graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com  

The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up **SORRY FOR THE FLUFF UP** ~ Fudge and Smooch Are Sad, Pandora's Purrching, and Melvyn, Parsley, Pandora and Fudge Deciding What To Watch ~ **PLUS** Melvyn's Modelling

Pawesome Greetings Furbulous Furiends

Welcome to the BBHQ midweek news round-up!

Well, the weather at BBHQ has been a mix of rain, rain and more rain in varying degrees; it's been up to 14 degrees Celsius and down to 4 degrees Celsius. The bad news is that it's leaking in the crystal room; a couple of tiles have shifted and are now causing the issue. The P.A.'s cousin is a builder. He came out in January and said he'd be back when the weather was warmer, but, as with all family, he never followed through, and as it was supurr dry all year, we never really thought about it until now!!! MOL

Anyhoo, so it goes!

The P.A. still is feeling unwell; this flu is a really doozy. The P.A. rarely gets anything, so this has knocked her sideways.

We apologise for the Catmas card debacle. We ordered our cards last month as always, to get ahead of the curve. The P.A. went away for a week and forgot all about it. The cards didn't turn up, but then a week or two later, some other cards did, not ours, but for a company in Germany, and by the time this all happened, it was too late to post, so we feel really hissed off about that. So we'll have to send e-cards this year... sorry about that.

First up in the news

Fudge and Smooch Are Sad

Smooch and fudge were sad when they went into the garden the other day and saw the catmint... yep, it's looking even more sad than the P.A. feels right now.

Next up in the news

Pandora's Purrching

Pandora was purrching on one of the ancient rocks in the garden. We've never seen her do this before, but then she suddenly started doing a lot of things she's never done before! MOL

In other news...

Melvyn, Parsley, Pandora and Fudge Deciding What To Watch 

This was the scene in the sitting room the other night: a strong debate was underway about whether National Geographic on the Serengeti or the David Attenborough Ocean Odyssey was being watched. MOL

Amber said, "I'm too fluffing old for this!" And promptly went upstairs to watch the library shopping channel with Smooch!

Finally this week

Melvyn's Modelling The Top Bandana Pick

Here's the gorgeous Catmas Cats bandana, and here's the main dude, doing his thing! MOL

We really liked this week's video; it's got a lot of diversity happening!!!!! MOL

Check out Melvyn's videos on your preferred social media channel:

TikTok

Instagram

YouTube

Which one is your favourite this week?

That's us done for today. Amber will be back on Friday with another meowvellous book, and if mew missed any other posts, here are the links:

 Parsley's Selfie

Crafting with Cats - Catmas Special

Wishing mew a furbulous day, and remember to always...

Wing Commander Basil & The B Team 

Don't furget to subscribe and never miss another post! 

Graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com 

**CRAFTING WITH CATS RERUN**CATMAS SPECIAL** ~ HOW WE MADE THE EPICALLY EPIC SANTA PAWS CATMAS SLED

 Supurr Festive Greetings Pawesome Pals

Welcome to the first of our Crafting with Cats Catmas Specials. 

If mew missed any of our previous CWC posts, stop by the Crafting with Cats Page and see all our previous projects, and mew don't have to be an expert in anything to make any of them. Plus, we offer workarounds and no-sew projects for those who don't like to sew.

*    *    *

**A quick note before we begin**

All Crafting with Cats ideas and creations are of our own design, and we share them for purrsonal/home use only.

  So purrlease do not copy for commercial/resale purrposes.

Copyright ©BionicBasil®

*     *     *

THE SANTA PAWS SLED 

What We Used:

2 x large cardboard boxes

hot glue gun

scissors

red spray paint

black acrylic paint + brush

For the decor

white felt

non-toxic pva glue

white pom pom trim

white feather trim

1 x small Christmas tree

small red baubles

red & white bells

small gold bows

2 x stick-on lights - headlights

2 x mood lights - underneath

2 x fat quarters for cushions and Santa sack

wadding for cushion and catnip cushions

1 set battery-operated fairy lights

1 x small wooden plaque

other wooden Christmas tree decorations

>^.^<

Optional Cat ~ Smooch was today's Craft Room Snoopervisor

Normally, we share step-by-step instructions showing how to make things, but in this post we thought we’d show mew exactly in almost real-time how the sled was created from start to finish, letting mew see how a mid-size cardboard box was transformed into a supurr festive sled for cats.

There are 6 videos in total, approximately 10 + minutes each

Links to all episodes:

Part 1   Part 1 a    Part 2    Part 3   Part 4   Part 5

ISN'T IT EPICALLY EPIC? 

Melvyn did pull the tree off the back at the end of the final episode! MOL 

What a fluffing heathen, anyhoo, it's all back together now as the P.A. has used a lot more glue. She thought it was secure enough, but sadly, it wasn't quite fully Melvyn-Proof, which he pointed out when it landed in the sleigh bed - OH DEAR!

But that little incident aside, we still think it turned out epically epic.

FYI - We are not allowed to use the sled without pawrental guidance, purrlease be aware of safety issues and the safety of your cat at all times if making this or any other crafting projects.

And that furiends sadly brings us to the end of our first Catmas Crafting with Cats post. We do hope mew liked it, and if mew decide to make your furry own Santa Paws Catmas Sled, we'd love to see, so feel free to tag us on social media @BionicBasil - Instagram & Twitter or @BionicBasilCats on TikTok.

So we'll sign off on this bright and breezy Monday and look forward to your company on Wednesday's Midweek News.

In the meantime

Keep calm and have a niptini. Well, it is almost Catmas! MOL

Festive purrs

Wing Commander Basil & The B Team

Don't furget to subscribe to our blog and never miss another post. 

Disclaimer:

We at BionicBasil HQ are not responsible or liable for any injuries to person/s and/or cat/s, crafting addictions, glue on cats, paper cuts, misplaced pins and needles, cats stealing your supplies, broken scissors, cat fur stuck on your projects, or your project not turning out as planned.  By using this information, you hereby agree to indemnify and hold harmless BionicBasil and staff from and against any and all claims for personal injuries or damages of any kind arising from use of any Crafting With Cats posts we may share.

Graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com