Hello, meautiful library guests
and
Welcome to the Mewton-Clawson Library at BBHQ
Thank mew for joining me in the stacks today, and welcome back to the new review season!
Wow, where do I begin, what a summer, and I'm sure mew've seen all my postcards! Talk about an EPIC adventure, and to visit the motherland too, what a privilege indeed.
I've got some more photos to share with mew over the coming weeks, so mew can see where I visited and all the other fun things I did, but for today I'm sharing my Day One Holiday Snap.
Yes, I am wearing a life jacket with a safety rope because I fell off my floaty and had to be rescued. Therefore, the resort staff implemented several health and safety protocols to prevent such incidents from happening again.
I don't know how it happened, but apparently, I was still clutching my glass, which was my fourth drink of the morning, a really spicy Primo Nip Bucks Fizz.
I must explain that, at the time of drinking, I honestly thought it was orange juice with sparkling water. Hmmmm! MOL
Smooch, Fudge and Basil told me I was a total lush and to stay away from the bar...
Swiftly moving on.
I have to give a HUGE thank mew to Melvyn, who, in my absence, looked after the Library Archive on Level Six. He was tremendous in his endeavours, and I must thank him for translating my diaries and posting the last few chapters of the Dear Prudence Saga. Which I hope mew enjoyed, it was a fun adventure, and turned out quite unexpectedly.
If mew missed out, here's the link to go to Episode One of Melvyn's Mewsings and read everything that happened while I was on my holiday.
Anyhoo, let's look at this week's top book pick.
Today, the P.A. is also joining in Friday Fill-ins Blog Hop with the pawesome 15 & Meowing and Four-Legged Furballs.
1. It’s impossible to ______________ when you _______________.
2. ______________ is great until ________________.
3. I wish I could solve the mystery of _________.
4. _________ is one of the creepiest _________ I’ve ever encountered.
The P.A.'s answers are...
1. It’s impossible to leave a bookshop empty-handed when you tell yourself, “just browsing” - oh, bookshops are fiendishly deceptive portals of literary temptation, where “just browsing” turns into “just one more” and suddenly you’re cradling a stack of novels like it's a kitten.
2. Unlimited Wi-Fi is great until you realise you’ve spent six hours watching conspiracy theory videos about squirrels. YEP! #Truestory (LOL!)
3. I wish I could solve the mystery of why socks vanish in the washing machine like they’ve entered a portal to another dimension. It's uncanny, really, one of those impossible-to-solve mysteries!
4. A whisper that repeats your name in an empty room is one of the creepiest auditory experiences I’ve ever encountered.
Let's see what I've got to show mew this time!
Mewton-Clawson Library Copy
Jinxed
by
Amy McCulloch
Here's a little snippet of the book blurb:
Lacey Chu is a girl who codes. She has always dreamed of working as an engineer for MONCHA, the biggest tech firm in the world and the company behind the "baku" a customizable "pet" with all the capabilities of a smartphone. But when Lacey is rejected by the elite academy that promises that future, she's crushed.
One night, Lacey comes across the broken form of a highly advanced baku. After she repairs it, the cat-shaped baku she calls Jinx opens its eyes and somehow gets her into her dream school. But Jinx is different than any other baku she's ever seen...He seems real.
I just finished Jinxed by Amy McCulloch, and it's fluffing brilliant. Seriously, I may or may not be side-eyeing my i-Paw phone, wondering why it doesn’t talk back or turn into a sassy robotic cat. Rude. So much so that I've asked Humphrey, BBHQ's inventor, to make it happen! MOL
So here’s the scoop:
Jinxed is set in a near-future world where smartphones have evolved into “baku”, intelligent, animal-shaped companions that do everything from managing your calendar to helping mew ace your exams. Think Siri, but with fur, claws, and a whole lot more cattitude.
The heroine, Lacey Chu, is a tech genius who dreams of working at Moncha Corp, the company behind these magical little creatures. But when her dreams hit a wall, she stumbles upon a broken baku in the shape of a cat, and names him Jinx.
Now, Jinx isn’t your average baku. He’s clever, cheeky, and possibly illegal. He’s also the best part of the book. Their banter? Top tier. Their bond? Adorable. Their adventures? Absolutely gripping.
What I loved:
🐱 Jinx is basically the feline version of your dream best friend, if your best friend could hack into systems and throw shade at your enemies.
💻 Lacey is smart, determined, and refreshingly geeky.
🎮 The Moncha Academy scenes are like Hunger Games meets Silicon Valley, competitive, intense, and full of secrets.
💥 There’s mystery, sabotage, and a twist that had me gasping into my catnip tea.
It’s fast-paced and funny, as the plot hurtles along. The story does a brilliant job of exploring tech ethics, ambition, and friendship, all wrapped up in a shiny, futuristic package. I flew through it in two sittings and immediately started Mewgling whether I could adopt a baku. (Spoiler: I can’t. Yet. Humphrey needs to do something, STAT!)
If mew love books with clever world-building, strong female leads, and just the right amount of snark, Jinxed is your next must-read. And good news, it’s the first in a duology, so there’s more to come, and mew know how much that pleases me! MOL
A Totally Top Paw Beginning!!!
Paperback: 328 pages
Audio: 8hrs 4 mins
My Rating Scale
Ratings of:
Jinxed
Overall Enjoyment
Other Fun Blog Hops to Join Today
I'm off to prepare for next week's review, as mew know the drill, so many books, so little time!
I always look forward to your company every Friday throughout the review season as I share a specially paw-picked book just for mew, my epic readers!
Until next week...
Keep calm and read more books
Amber
Follow me at @BionicBasil® on Instacat
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