✦ THEME WEEK: Girls Who Refuse the Cage ✦

This week’s reads are all about rebellion - the quiet kind, the furious kind, and the kind that burns entire kingdoms to the ground.

From the poisoned perfection of The Chemical Garden trilogy (Wither, Fever, Sever) to Addie Thorley’s Burn the Kingdom Down, these stories take the “fragile girl” archetype and twist it into something unbreakable.

They ask the same question in different ways:
What happens when the world underestimates you - and you finally stop letting it?

Over the next few days, I’ll be reviewing each of these books, tracing their shared threads of control, freedom, and defiance. There’ll be love and loss, rusted cages and blooming rage — and, of course, a few tarot pulls to match the fire.

My Chemical Garden series

Wither

Fever

Sever

Burn the Kingdom Down

Theme Week: Songs of the Stones by Katie-Jane Wright

Discover the healing properties and inner energies of these stones through ancient legends. Connect to the stones and our shared ancestors with your heart centre for healing and spiritual growth. After travelling to many sacred sites, exploring her own heritage and gathering legends of venerable stones, Katie-Jane Wright has curated a selection of grounding mineral stones with healing properties we can all access. Discover not just local, familiar gemstones such as Apaches tears obsidian, sea coal and carnelian, but standing stones such as Sedona red rock from the US and structures of flint and limestone in Mexico. The book features: photographs of the stones both individually and in their landscapes details of the stones' qualities and healing effects stories and legends from our global ancestors grids to channel the energy of the stones unique light activation code artworks rituals and meditations to connect with the stones. Each stone includes Katie-Jane's unique innovative light activation codes. Gazing upon these beautiful, golden illustrations during meditation will deepen readers' connections with the their heart centre, amplifying the healing effects of the stones. Whether you are looking to connect with our human ancestors by reading their stories, or to enhance your own spiritual growth through healing rituals, this book provides a blend of practical techniques and advanced gemstone knowledge, wrapped up in a beautiful package.

Theme Week - The Big Book of Tarot Symbols by Liz Dean

Discover the magic of tarot symbols with bestselling author Liz Dean.

Ever noticed a symbol on your tarot card—like the cat with the Queen of Wands, the moon with the High Priestess, or even the number X on the Wheel of Fortune? You’re not alone! These symbols speak directly to our intuition, making them key to unlocking deeper meanings in your readings. Symbols are the “language” of tarot, and each one—whether it’s a pattern, a plant, an animal, or a color—holds its own unique significance.

In The Big Book of Tarot Symbols, bestselling author Liz Dean guides you through over 200 tarot symbols, showing you how to interpret them for powerful insights and personal guidance. By understanding these symbols, you’ll not only strengthen your connection to the cards but also enhance your ability to give more intuitive, meaningful readings.

Here’s what you’ll find inside:

• A beginner-friendly introduction to tarot symbols, plus easy-to-follow instructions on how to use the book.
• A comprehensive explanation of the symbols and their meanings for all 78 cards in both the Major and Minor Arcana.
• Practical tools to help you master tarot’s symbolic “operating system” and provide more accurate, insightful readings.

Dive into the world of tarot symbols and elevate your readings with this essential guide!

Theme Week: Hebrew Casting Lots by Daniel E Loeb

Unlock the ancient wisdom of the Hebrew Alefbet with 11 double-sided Casting Lot talismans and comprehensive guidebook detailing their rich kabbalistic and divinatory meaning. The use of casting lots for divination and decision-making is documented throughout the Old and New Testaments. Discover this classical divination tool and explore the meaning of the Alefbet with this stunning Casting Lot talisman set and hardcover guidebook set from Daniel E. Loeb. In this comprehensive guidebook, discover how to use the Casting Lots, their rich inner meanings, and a wealth of additional kabbalistic insights. 

Included are 11 double-sided 1.25" / 33 mm Casting Lot talismans to enable readers to experience this system for themselves. Each Casting Lot provides mystical insights related to its associated Hebrew letter, numerology associations, and connections to the Tree of Life both of the Lurianic and Hermetic traditions of Kabbalah, as well as the 12 Tribes of Israel, the 10 Sefirot of the Kabbalah, and the Major Arcana of the Tarot. The Casting Lots can be selected for insights on queries, used as talismans, as focal points, and more. 

Discover the rich meaning of the Alefbet and how to use Casting Lots for worldly and esoteric insight, mystical contemplation, magical rituals, and much more.

Theme Week: The Unicorn Path Oracle Deck

Like the four elements—water, earth, fire, air—there are four suits of unicorns: Art, Music, Science and Poetry. Together, the unicorns speaks to the souls’ journey and cycles of creative imagination. This gorgeous deck will introduce you to each unicorn, describe their qualities and associations, and will explain how to work with each, channeling their energy and wisdom into your everyday life.

The Unicorns of Art embody inner vision. They give form through exalting the spiritual light within you.

The Unicorns of Music summon the life force to celebrate your existence, complete with heart and soul. These unicorn invite you on a path to express beauty and love.

The Unicorns of Science beckon you to know the world, as well as supporting you to understand yourself. These unicorns inspire learning, innate intelligence and intuition.

The Unicorns of Poetry recognize the many-sided expressions of truth when we write or speak from inspiration and creative imagination. These unicorns help to express revelation.

These Oracle cards are a picture book for any age of reader, for self-development and the imagination, facilitating playfulness and discovery. For any artist or traveller on their road to self-discovery, they will empower imagination, clear vision and bring determination to all intentions.

Theme Week: 🌙 Between the Cards and the Covers

A week of curious dives into the mind–body–spirit shelf

Every so often, I get the urge to clear a little space - on the bookshelf, the tarot table, maybe even in my head - and explore the books and decks that sit somewhere between self-discovery and the supernatural. This week, I’m doing exactly that.

Between the Cards and the Covers is a week dedicated to the mind–body–spirit corner of the reading world - the nonfiction that teaches us how to read the cards, the oracles that whisper in stone and starlight, and the quiet intersection between study and intuition.

I’ll be looking at titles like Hebrew Casting Lots and The Big Book of Tarot Symbols - perfect for readers who love their archetypes neatly labelled - alongside a new oracle deck, The Unicorn Path and a guide to crystal geology, Songs of the Stones. Expect musings, experiments, and probably one or two “aha” moments that will send me rearranging my tarot shelf again.

So grab your journal, light a candle, and join me for a week of thoughtful page-turning and card-pulling - where the lessons of tarot meet the practice of reading, and maybe (just maybe) the mind, body, and spirit get a little more in sync.

✨ Books that teach, decks that speak - let’s see what the MBS shelf has to say.

Small Wonder by Ross Montgomery

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Family secrets, a kingdom in danger, the adventure of a lifetime for two brothers and their horse . . .

'Small Wonder': that was what Tick's grandfather always called him. He taught Tick a lot of things: how to take care of himself; how to take care of his little brother, Leaf; how to take care of their horse, Pebble. But Grandfather is no longer around . . .

So when the family home is under suddenly threat, it's on Tick to put everything he's learned into practice and protect his family, by taking them on a quest filled with danger. Because it's not just their home at risk; enemies are invading the whole land. He has only six moons to get to Kings' Keep and warn their ruler . . .

Travelling through forests and mountains, encountering bandits and rogue knights along the way, the journey is not an easy one. But Tick is determined to honour his grandfather's last advice - Make it count, Small Wonder. . .

The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage

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✦ BLURB ✦

Lexi Villiers is a 29-year-old Englishwoman doing her medical residency in Hobart, working too hard, worried about her bank balance, and living with friends. It's a good life, and getting even better, because as the dawn is breaking on New Year's Day, Lexi is about to kiss the man she loves for the very first time.

But by midnight, everything will change. Because Lexi is in fact not an ordinary young woman. She is Princess Alexandrina, third in line to the British throne - albeit estranged from the rest of her family and living in voluntary exile on the other side of the world. But following a terrible accident, Lexi - the black sheep of her family and, until this moment, always destined to be the spare - is now the heir apparent, first in line to the throne once her grandmother, the elderly Queen, dies. Called back to do her duty, she arrives in London to a Palace riven with power plays and media leaks, all the while guarding painful secrets of her own. Palace waters are treacherous, rumours are rife, and selling each other's secrets is a family tradition. And with the Crown just within her grasp, Lexi must choose what bonds she will keep ... and what she is willing to leave behind.

Happy #BookBirthday! 20th Nov 25

Happy Thursday! This week there are FOUR books on our lists publishing!

Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst

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Marin had always belonged on the great blue sea. When the man she thought was the love of her life schemed to ruin her parents’ business, she did what her heart knew best: she fled to the sea.

Now working as a supply runner on her own boat, Marin sails from island to island, delivering a varied array of goods: letters, flour, stories, and even the occasional enchanted statue. It’s a lonely life, but it’s hers. Besides, she’s got the company of Perri the sea serpent and Ree the sailor shrub. They’re the best crew she could ask for.

On one of her routine trips to the capital of the Crescent Islands Empire, Alyssium, Marin finds the city on fire and a revolution underway—so she offers transportation to Dax, a composer friend who refuses to leave behind his instruments. What starts as a rescue evolves into a deal: Marin will keep Dax on as a (temporary) member of her crew if he becomes her pretend boyfriend at the End-of-Harvest Festival back home.

Against her better judgment, Marin finds herself intrigued by his stubbornness, his passion for stories, his charming smile—and realizes that perhaps she isn’t saving him. Maybe it’s the other way around.

Sea of Charms is a cozy fantasy romance about finding your crew, your family, and moreover, finding yourself.

Read in whatever order your heart desires, but don’t miss The Spellshop and The Enchanted Greenhouse.

The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst

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It was only meant to be a brief detour. But then Lauren finds herself trapped in a town called Lost on the edge of a desert, filled with things abandoned, broken and thrown away. And when she tries to escape, impassable dust storms and something unexplainable lead her back to Lost again and again. The residents she meets there tell her she's going to have to figure out just what she's missing--and what she's running from--before she can leave. So now Lauren's on a new search for a purpose and a destiny. And maybe, just maybe, she'll be found...

Against the backdrop of this desolate and mystical town, Sarah Beth Durst writes an arresting, fantastical novel of one woman's impossible journey...and her quest to find her fate.

Seven All Alone by Kirsty McKay

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Maggie Atkins will never forget what happened in that cave ten years ago when she and six other elementary school kids were kidnapped by their bus driver and kept captive. She will never forget that her friends left her alone to escape, or the image of her kidnapper falling to his death, but she has done her best to put the ordeal behind her and move on.

Her past catches up with her when she's forced to go on a school trip to the mountains with the very same people who abandoned her, and only a stone's throw away from the scene of her kidnapping. She's determined to suck it up and get through it though since it's only one night of her life. But then a brutal storm changes everything and separates her group from their chaperone. With no phones and a limited food supply, the group strategizes how they can survive the elements and make it back to safety.

Then they realize there is someone else on the mountain. Someone who knows what really happened all those years ago. Someone who wants them dead and is willing to take them out one by one. Maggie thought she'd already survived the worst thing she would ever go through--she was wrong.

The Obsession by Natasha Preston

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Sixteen-year-old Connie has been dragged into the world of vlogging - her mum Lou's vlog is hugely popular, enough to bring in money for a new house, expensive lifestyle . . . and a lot of criticism.

While Lou and Connie's older sister Isla are touring colleges, Connie stays home alone, where she becomes increasingly paranoid about comments on the vlog. Plus someone is turning up at her school and following her on her way home.

Then Connie's best friend is attacked - the third teenage girl attacked in five weeks - and suspicion turns to Connie. Connie doesn't know who she can trust any more and goes on the run. But will the killer - whoever they are - catch up with her?

Happy #BookBirthday! 13th Nov 25

Happy Thursday! This week there is ONE book on our lists publishing!

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

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When Christa joins a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains, she's hopeful this will be her chance to put the ghosts of her past to rest. But when a bitterly cold snowstorm sweeps the region, the small group is forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Despite the uncomfortably claustrophobic quarters and rapidly dropping temperature, Christa believes they'll be safe as they wait out the storm.

She couldn't be more wrong.

Deep in the night, their tour guide goes missing...only to be discovered the following morning, his severed head impaled on a tree outside the cabin. Terrified, and completely isolated by the storm, Christa finds herself trapped with eight total strangers. One of them kills for sport...and they're far from finished. As the storm grows more dangerous and the number of survivors dwindles one by one, Christa must decide who she can trust before this frozen mountain becomes her tomb.

Red as Royal Blood by Elizabeth Hart

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Ruby has never found a puzzle she couldn’t solve. Even though she’s destined to spend the rest of her life as a servant to the royal family, her mind itches for a true challenge. But no puzzle could prepare her for the king’s decision to name Ruby as the next heir to the throne just before his death.

Thrown into the viper’s nest of court, Ruby is forced to contend with a kingdom in crisis, the dead king’s angry wife, and the three entitled and annoyingly handsome princes. Then, as if being newly crowned queen wasn’t enough, she discovers a note left by the king that claims he was murdered . . . and that she might be next.

Unsure of who she can trust, Ruby makes uneasy alliances with each of the princes as she tries to solve the king’s murder. But with the clock winding down, she will face her most difficult challenge finding the truth before the killer comes for her.

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A servant girl turned heir, a kingdom of secrets, and a deadly puzzle at the heart of the throne—this thriller is as sharp and sumptuous as its title.

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PRE-READING THOUGHTS

The cover compares this to The Inheritance Games, and I wasn’t sure if it would feel too derivative. A puzzle-solving heroine thrust into unexpected wealth and power is a fun premise, but would it deliver its own twists?

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POST-READING

As I thought…
It was clever, fast-paced, and easy to sink into. Court politics, rivalries, and high-stakes intrigue kept the tension humming, and I had a blast watching Ruby navigate a kingdom where everyone’s motives are murky.

It surprised me by…
Standing firmly on its own despite the comparison. The royal court backdrop, the mix of murder mystery with romance, and the layered betrayals all gave it a unique identity. My only (very small) quibble was Ruby missing some fairly obvious clues—but in fairness, hindsight is always kinder from the outside looking in.

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🎵 MUSIC PAIRING

• Featured Song: Royals — Lorde (tongue-in-cheek but fitting for Ruby’s unlikely elevation)

• Vibe Album: Froot — Marina (lush, clever pop with sharp edges and layered themes of power, desire, and identity)

• Artist Recommendation: Florence + The Machine (regal, dramatic, and emotionally charged—just like this story)

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🎨 VIBE CHECK

• Colour Palette: Crimson velvet, black marble, and burnished gold

• Soundtrack: Chamber strings swelling under whispered conspiracies

• Season: Late summer turning to autumn—ripe, decadent, and dangerous

• Mood: Opulent paranoia

• Scent: Spiced wine and candle smoke in an echoing hall

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🃏 TAROT PULL

Seven of Cups (Gilded Tarot Royale): Seven ornate cups shimmer with jewels, gold, and fleeting visions of danger and desire. This card perfectly mirrors Ruby’s royal puzzle: every choice carries risk, every alliance conceals hidden motives, and illusions abound. It captures the dizzying swirl of options and threats she must navigate, reminding us that clarity comes only from careful observation and steady wit.

Side note: Ruby herself radiates Queen of Swords energy—intelligent, precise, and growing into her authority—while the Seven of Cups reflects the chaotic, high-stakes world surrounding her.

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FOR FANS OF

• Book: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

• TV: Reign (royal drama, scheming, and beautiful gowns concealing knives)

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DISCLAIMER

Red as Royal Blood publishes on the 18th November, 2025. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.

🃏 The deck had opinions: [The Tower] — [Can't get more obvious than this! Ruby's whole world crashes down, but a better one rises from the ashes.]

🧹

P.S. You're the Worst by Chloe Seager

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Everyone knows the death card in a tarot reading isn’t a literal death sentence. Well, everyone except Becky.

Becky is not doing well. Her dreaded thirtieth birthday is looming, and she can’t help thinking she’s falling behind in life. Her (smug) friends are all planning weddings, buying houses, or starting their own businesses, but not Becky. She still lives with her mom, hates her job, doesn’t speak to her father, and—despite numerous dates—hasn’t moved on from her ex-boyfriend. Things can’t get much worse.

Becky doesn’t believe in the arcane, but armed with a gift card and a desperate need for guidance, she visits a tarot reader… who tells her she’s going to die. Convinced she’s a goner and panicked about having done nothing with her life, Becky finally takes action. She writes a series of letters to the people she loves unloading all the things she’s been holding back. And she waits.

But in the morning, she’s not dead. And worse, the mail is already reaching people’s doorsteps. Will the letters be the wake-up call Becky needs, or just the next step in a never-ending downward spiral?

With sparkling wit and compassionate insight, Chloe Seager chronicles Becky’s ups and downs as she figures out how she wants to show up in life—for herself and for the people she loves.

Violet Thistlewaite is not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz

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Guy Shadowfade is dead, and after a lifetime as the dark sorcerer’s right-hand, Violet Thistlewaite is determined to start over—not as the fearsome Thornwitch, but as someone kind. Someone better. Someone good.

The quaint town of Dragon’s Rest, Violet decides, will be her second chance—she’ll set down roots, open a flower shop, keep her sentient (mildly homicidal) houseplant in check, and prune dark magic from the twisted boughs of her life.

Violet’s vibrant bouquets and cheerful enchantments soon charm the welcoming townsfolk, though nothing seems to impress the prickly yet dashingly handsome Nathaniel Marsh, an alchemist sharing her greenhouse. With a struggling business and his own second chance seemingly out of reach, Nathaniel has no time for flowers or frippery—and certainly none for the intriguing witch next door.

When a mysterious blight threatens every living plant in Dragon’s Rest, Violet and Nathaniel must work together through their fears, pasts, and growing feelings for one another to save their community. But with a figure from her past knocking at her door and her secrets threatening to uproot everything she’s worked so hard to grow, Violet can’t help but wonder…does a former villain truly deserve a happily-ever-after?

Mindworks by Neal Schusterman

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This collection of unforgettable and uncanny stories could only come from the mind of award winner Neal Shusterman. Compiled for the first time in one epic volume, these stories both classic and brand-new will stretch your imagination from terror to the sublime and back again. Explore a world where bats block out the sun, where soup is a trap for your soul, or where the life-force of a glacier can bring back the dead. Journey to a place where the wind can be captured, time can be crafted into infinite attic space, or a hot tub can house an ancient monster. And revisit the Arc of the Scythe universe for two all-new tales of gleaning.

In this collection, the only thing that is truly certain is nothing is certain.

One was Lost by Natalie Richards

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Damaged. Deceptive. Dangerous. Darling. Are they labels or a warning? The answer could cost Sera everything.

Murder, justice, and revenge were so not a part of the plan when Sera set out on her senior camping trip. After all, hiking through the woods is supposed to be safe and uneventful.

Then one morning, the group wakes up groggy, confused, and with words scrawled on their wrists: Damaged. Deceptive. Dangerous. Darling. Their supplies? Destroyed. Half their group? Gone. Their chaperone? Unconscious. Worst of all, they find four dolls acting out a murder—dolls dressed just like them.

Suddenly it’s clear; they’re being hunted. And with the only positive word on her wrist, Sera falls under suspicion…

Cabin by Patrick Hutchinson

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Wit’s End isn’t just a state of mind. It’s the name of a gravel road, the address of a run-down off-the-grid cabin, 120 shabby square feet of fixer-upper Patrick Hutchison purchased on a whim in the mossy woods of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state.

To say Hutchison didn’t know what he was getting into is no more an exaggeration than to say he’s a man with nearly zero carpentry skills. Well, used to be. You can learn a lot over six years or renovations.

CABIN is the story of those renovations, but it's also a love story; of a place, of possibilities, and of the process of renovation, of seeing what could be instead of what is. It is a book for those who know what it’s like to bite off more than you can chew, or who desperately wish to.

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A love story between a man, a mossy patch of woodland, and 120 square feet of “what have I gotten myself into?”

Pre-Reading Thoughts

I love a good “taking on a project I have no business attempting” story — whether it’s watching someone build a shed or bingeing renovation shows. This sounded like the book equivalent of that, so I was curious to see if it would capture the same mix of chaos and charm.

Post-Reading

As I thought…
This really is a story of learning by doing (and sometimes re-doing). Hutchinson’s account of transforming a shabby cabin into a livable space is funny, reflective, and filled with the kind of details that will appeal to anyone who’s ever thought “how hard can it be?” only to find out: harder than expected.

It surprised me by…
How lyrical it is. At times it felt like every chapter circled back to the joys of going off-grid and building something with your own hands — which could feel a little repetitive — but it also reinforced just how deeply he loves both the process and the place. That earnestness makes the book sing.

For fans of:
I don’t usually do recommendations for nonfiction, but if you enjoy Grand Designs or any of those house-renovation shows that make you simultaneously inspired and exhausted just watching, this book will hit the same sweet spot.

Disclaimer

Cabin publishes on the 6th of November, 2025. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.