Showing posts with label Miranda James. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miranda James. Show all posts

Friday 23 June 2023

Book Reviews with Amber at The Mewton-Clawson Library #248 featuring **No Cats Allowed** A Cat in the Stacks Mystery - Book 7 by Miranda James PLUS Friendly Fill-Ins

Amber's Book Reviews Banner ©BionicBasil® May 2023

Hello meautiful library guests 

and 

Welcome to the Mewton-Clawson Library at BBHQ 

Thank mew for joining me in the stacks today, and mew may have heard some rumours or it may have been inferred or implied on yesterday's Midweek News regarding what happened at Fudge's 8th Birthday Rave on Wednesday.

So let me set things straight 

I wasn't tipsy, or even remotely off my chops at all. 
I didn't fall off the bar four times. 
I didn't trip over Melvyn's favourite Hubbly Bubbly nip pipe and break it. 
I certainly didn't push Posie into one of the kitty droids delivering a food order to Smooch, and the food went everywhere. 
I didn't accidentally go into the boy's litter cubical by mistake.
 I didn't lead a drunken kitty-conga line through the bunker. 
I definitely didn't take over the kitty karaoke and sing, 'I did it my way!' 
 I didn't suggest to Snowie that opening Basil's secret stash of Dom Purrignom vintage champagne was a good idea.
I definitely didn't tell Pandora and Parlsey to get the Hover Trikes out and go for a blast around the bunker. 
 I also didn't try to get Basil's tank fired up in the garage on level 2 of the bunker. 
I most certainly didn't take the drunken kitty-conga line down to level 10 into the new R & D (Research and Development) Laboratory which Humphrey has built, and whilst there encourage all the pawty guests to try out many of his new inventions, I didn't do that at all. 
I also didn't then lead the drunken kitty-conga line up to level 8 to see Horice in the Biosphere, that never happened.
I most certainly didn't encourage Fudge to drink the last of Basil's vintage Dom Purrignom - NOPE. NO WAY would I ever do that.
For the record, I never encouraged the library mice to go on a rampage in the cheese room, NOT GUILTY! 

And I'm most definitely NOT sleeping off the effects of too many Tangerine Blast nip cocktails. I'm just resting!

Amber's Book Reviews #248 ©BionicBasil® Amber's Sleeping It Off - cute elderly ginger and white tabby sleeping soundly on a sofa

Purrlease don't believe any of the tall tails that may be spreading rather profusely around BBHQ.

Now all that's cleared up, I just need a quick catnap, as mew know how exhausting reviewing books is! MOL


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Today the P.A. is also joining in Friday Fill-ins Blog Hop with the pawesome 15 & Meowing and Four-Legged Furballs.

1. Never underestimate _________________________.
2. ________________makes me _________________________.
3. I need to _________ so that I can _________.
4. I didn’t realize _________ until _________.

The P.A.'s answers are...

1. Never underestimate a cat mum/mom or dad's love for their furbabies - this statement is true for most pet pawrents. Years ago, when Catkin went missing, and I was looking for him everywhere for two days solid, and asking anyone in the area if they'd seen him. One person said to me, "It's just a cat!" They just didn't understand, that 'that cat' meant more to me than anything. I did find him, he'd been hit by a car and someone had taken him to the local RSPCA. Luckily I'd already contacted that shelter the day before and they rang me to say they'd got him. You can read all about Catkin here, he was an incredible cat, but sadly he only lived until he was three and a half.

2. Chocolate cake (I've mentioned this before! LOL) makes me very happy. And even happier with ice cream! 

3. I need to get into the craft room so that I can make this year's Crafting For Your Shelters Day project, which will start on July 20th.

4. I didn’t realize it was nearly time for Crafting For Your Shelters Day until Ann from Zoolatry emailed me the other day to ask if it was on the schedule for this year - Thank you so much Ann for the reminder! 

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Let's see what I've got to show mew this time!

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This week's top book pick is...

Amber's Book Reviews #248  What Are We Reading This Week ©BionicBasil® No Cats Allowed by Miranda James
Mewton-Clawson Library Copy

No Cats Allowed

A Cat in the Stacks Mystery: 7

by
Miranda James

       Here's a little snippet of the book blurb:      

Springtime in Mississippi is abloom with beauty, but the library's employees are too busy worrying to stop and smell the flowers. The new library director, Oscar Reilly, is a brash, unfriendly Yankee who's on a mission to cut costs - and his first targets are the archive and the rare book collection.

As annoying as a long-overdue book, Reilly quickly raises the hackles of everyone on staff, including Charlie's fiery friend Melba, whom Reilly wants to replace with someone younger. But his biggest offense is declaring all four-legged creatures banned from the stacks.

With enemies aplenty, the suspect list is long when Reilly's body is discovered in the library. But things take a turn for the worse when a threatening e-mail throws suspicion on Melba.


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This week I thought it would be nice to continue with the A Cat in the Stacks series, as it's been a while since I've reviewed any of Miranda James' furbulous novels. And if mew missed any of the previous reviews for this series so far, here are the links to catch up:

Murder Past Due ~ Book One - Reviewed by Humphrey


File M for Murder ~ Book Three


So what did I think of this one? 

No Cats Allowed is the seventh instalment in the A Cat in the Stacks Mystery series by Miranda James. I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The characters are well-developed and the plot is intriguing. The writing style is easy to follow and keeps mew engaged from start to finish, and keeps those pages turning.

In this book, we see Charlie Harris, a librarian and amateur detective, investigating a murder that involves the new library director, who is not fond of cats. And speaking of cats, his trusty feline companion, Diesel, is by his side to help him out when needed. This time, Charlie is a prime suspect, so he's on a mission to clear his name and find the real culprit.

One of the things I love about this series is how the author incorporates the kitty into the story, and although Diesel is a non-talking character, his presence is still very apparent and he's an integral part of the plot. In this book, we see Diesel helping Charlie in his investigation in his own unique way.
Overall, No Cats Allowed is a great addition to the series and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys cat cozy mysteries or just loves cats. Miranda James has once again delivered a well-written, entertaining story that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Another Totally Paw Read!

Audio: 8 hours 24 mins
Paperback: 304 pages
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My Ratings Scale

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Ratings of:

No Cats Allowed


Overall Enjoyment

Amber's Book Reviews 5 Paw Rating ©BionicBasil®

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Other Fun Blog Hops to Join in Today



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I really hope mew enjoy the book as much as I did if mew decide 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 


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Friday 18 November 2022

Love To Read Books with Cats? Book Reviews with Amber at The Mewton-Clawson Library #217 featuring **Arsenic and Old Books** by Miranda James PLUS Friendly Fill-Ins

Book Reviews with Amber at The Mewton-Clawson Library ©BionicBasil®

Hello gorgeous library guests 

and 

Welcome to the Mewton-Clawson Library at BBHQ 

Thank mew for joining me in the stacks today, and let me tell mew before we begin, I haven't had the best week, and yesterday it just got worse. Just take a look at my face for confurmation of this fact!

Amber's Book Reviews #217 ©BionicBasil® Amber the Grouch

If mew read Angel Basil's post on Wednesday, mew'll know that our internet service at BBHQ has been out since 10pm on Sunday evening. We got an update on Wednesday to say it would be on at 18.53pm on Thursday.

Anyhoo, the P.A. checked the status on Thursday morning and saw the **NEW** date.

Guess when that is?

THE FLUFFING 9TH OF DECEMBER!!!!!

Mew can see how annoyed I am because not only is that text in bold, it's underlined and has five exclamation marks!

The P.A rang the service provider yesterday to ask 'what the fluffing fluff is fluffing going on?' And was told that there's an issue with the wires coming to the village and that it's being worked on right now but it won't be restored until the 9th of December.

Let me tell me, there isn't anyone working on anything, and there hasn't been anyone working on anything since Tuesday.

This displeases me no end as I need an internet connection to do my weekly post, and yesterday it was truly heinous, as we had to hotspot the P.A.'s phone to the PC to try and write this and it took forever as the 4G kept dropping out because the only cell tower in the area was struck by lightning in 2013 and it was never replaced. What a fluffing disaster.

Plus we're in the middle of getting the Catmas cards designed, the new winter and Catmas banners and now all that's gone down the swanny.

Please send some pawsitive vibes, so that we can get up and running as soon as pawsible.

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Today the P.A. is also joining in Friday Fill-ins Blog Hop with the pawesome 15 & Meowing and Four-Legged Furballs.

1. On holidays, I usually have a second serving of _________________________.
2. I am thankful for ______________, ________________ and ________________________.
3. I would like to invite _________ over for a feast.
4. _________ was a blessing in disguise.

The P.A.'s answers are...


1. On holidays, I usually have a second serving of whatever takes my fancy in that moment! LOL 

2. I am thankful for small mercies, occasional blessings and the luck of the Irish on rare occasions.

3. I would like to invite all my blogging friends over to BBHQ for a feast. It would be a riot for sure! LOL

4.  Not landscaping the back corner of the garden until this year was a blessing in disguise. I was planning on sharing the final Gardening with Cats post on Monday so you can see it all finished, though with the internet issue I might leave it now until the Spring, sorry.

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Let's see what I've got to show mew this time!

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This week's top book pick is...

Amber's Book Reviews #217 What Are We Reading This Week ©BionicBasil® Arsenic and Old Books by Miranda James
Mewton-Clawson Library Copy

Arsenic and Old Books


Cat in the Stacks Mystery Book 6

by 

Miranda James

       Here's a little snippet of the book blurb:      

Lucinda Beckwith Long, the mayor of Athena, has donated a set of Civil War-era diaries to the archives of Athena College. The mayor would like Charlie to preserve and to substantiate them as a part of the Long family legacy - something that could benefit her son Beck as he prepares to campaign for the state senate.

Beck's biggest rival is Jasper Singletary, and their families have been bitter enemies since the Civil War. He'd like to get a look at the diaries in an attempt to expose the Long family's past sins. Meanwhile, a history professor at the college is also determined to get her hands on the books in a last-ditch bid for tenure. Now Charlie is left with a catalog of questions. 


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Before we jump into this week's review, here are the previous reviews for this series so far:

Murder Past Due ~ Book One - Reviewed by Humphrey


File M for Murder ~ Book Three

Out of Circulation ~ Book Four



So what did I think about book 6? Mew know Miranda James always delivers a really excellent cozy mystery novel, and they never disappoint.

In book 6 we meet some new characters as the cast expands a little further with each story. Though Charlie and Diesel are still front and centre in all the murderous mayhem. 

I thought I had the purrpetrator pinned on a couple of occasions, but Miranda James out-foxed me until almost the end. The tempo is wonderfully paced in a lovely southern way, never rushed just right on time in an exceedingly well-mannered fashion. The plot weaves us around the lovely town of Athena and of course, there are the dead ends and obligatory red herrings.

This is another Top Paw read, so if mew haven't read it already, do add it to your to-read list as I'm sure mew will enjoy it as much as I did.

  • Mass Market Paperback: ‎ 320 pages
  • Audio: 8 hours 23mins
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My Ratings Scale

Amber's Book Review Paw Ratings Scale Pink ©BionicBasil®

Amber's Book Review Pink Dot Divider ©BionicBasil®

Ratings of:

Arsenic and Old Books

Overall Enjoyment

Amber's Book Reviews 5 Paw Rating ©BionicBasil®

Amber's Book Review Divider ©BionicBasil®

Other Fun Blog Hops to Join in Today



Amber's Book Review Pink Dot Divider ©BionicBasil®

I really hope mew enjoy the book as much as I did if mew decide to read it.

It's time for me to say BFN or bye-fur-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 furget that all my previous reviews can be found on my Book Review page.

Until next time...

Keep calm and read more books

Amber 


Amber's Book Reviews Pink Review ©BionicBasil®





Amber's Book Review Pink Dot Divider ©BionicBasil®

& @BionicBasil® on Instacat

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

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 graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com