Meraki Candles Anime Quarterly Unboxing- Yuri on Ice| CarenzaOnBooks

Today I am posting my slightly belated Meraki Candles Anime Quarterly Yuri on Ice unboxing. This was meant to go up next week, but I am very behind on my reading for reviews. I was super excited to receive this box, I bought it back in May when it was announced and it wasn't supposed to arrive till July, but it didn't come till the end of August, which I was a bit disappointed by. I paid £23.29 in total, which included £3.50 postage. The box itself should have been £21.99, but I got a 10% discount by using one of the reps codes, so it was £19.79. But, that aside, here is my unboxing of the Yuri on Ice box.

This is what the actual box looks like. I do like how it's quite small and could easily fit in a postbox.

So there were two candles in the box. One was Eros which smells of sweet orange and chili. It's a surprisingly nice combination and I wasn't expecting to like it. The other one was Agape which smells of bergamot, apple and vanilla. Again, this is a surprisingly nice combination and I also really like it.






 

So this is what the candles look like with the lids off. They are such beautiful colours and really go with the theme and meaning behind the candles.

The first item is this History Makers mirror by Meraki Designs, which is the design side of Meraki Candles. I have to admit that I don't use mirrors that often and I have about 3 from subscription boxes that are gathering dust. So this item was not a hit with me, but the design is lovely.

This item is amazing and it's a letter from Victor to Yuri (I haven't posted the actual letter as I don't want to spoil anyone). This is from bookified. I love how this is such a unique item and I'll look into getting a different one from a different character.

This is the design on the spoiler card, I love that the whole gang is there and that Yuri is in the center (where he belongs).

A little extra was this character postcard, it is double sided, but silly me forgot to take a photo of the other side. But look at Victor and Yuri! They're so cute!

On the other side of this beautiful picture are some anime recommendations. They are for sport anime's and I have heard of Free!, but I've only been able to watch the dubbed version and I cannot stand dubbed Japanese films/tv.

This is the other little extra print, it's loads of information about figure skating.

The final item is this character notebook, I can't see who made it on the card though. It's a very cute, little notebook and it has lined paper inside.












So overall, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed about the contents and overall process of getting this box. It came really late and there was no warning about it coming late, which is really upsetting as a customer as you begin to worry that it's got lost in the post. The contents, while nice, was not worth what I paid for this box and I don't think I'm going to get much use out of the items. I don't think I'll be getting another one of these boxes, but I still love the candles and will continue to order big candles from them.
Carenza x

August 2017 Fairyloot Unboxing and Review| CarenzaOnBooks

I'm really sad that this is my last Fairyloot review for a while as I've had to cancel my subscription. But, that aside, this was one of my favourite boxes and it makes me so happy to see them grow as a company.

The theme for Augusts box was Other Worlds and this is probably my favourite design of theirs.

The first item was a exclusive Witchsoul candle from Book and Nook. I got Anais, which smelss of Coco, Cardamon and Fig. I'm not 100% sure if I like the scent, but I am happy that I finally got to try and Book and Nook candle.

The next item was this gorgeous exclusive sleep mask designed by Fairyloot themselves. It feels really nice on the skin and makes it easier to sleep, if like me, you can't sleep unless the room is pitch black. It matches the aesthetic the Oven Glove from last months box.

Then there was this exclusive Velaris Pendant made by Oh Panda Eyes. I'm not as big a fan of Sarah J Maas as I used to be, but I love this necklace. It has a vintage style to it and it is something I'm probably going to wear.

Probably my favourite item in the box was this Westeros Tea Strainer designed by Fairyloot. As someone who doesn't drink tea, this item isn't that useful to me. But as a lover of novelty items, this is great. You pull the hilt of the sword of and put your tea inside. My parents have already made claims on this as they are tea people.

Then there is this super cute Neverland notebook designed by TJ Lubrano. I've been following her for a while on Instagram and have been dying to try her products. While I love this notebook, I do wish that it had been lined rather than blank as I can't write in a straight line.

The next item are these exclusive Lord of the Rings magnetic bookmarks from Paperly & Co. There were three sets you could have received and I got Arwen and Aragorn. I would have preferred Frodo and Samwise, but these are super cute and I love adding magnetic bookmarks to my collection.

The final item is this exclusive Northern Lights print by Melissa Nettleship. I love prints that don't have quotes on and this really fits my aesthetic at the moment. It's giving me major wanderlust and makes me want to see the Northern Lights in person.

The book for August's book was Wicked Like A Wildfire by Lana Popovic. I've been dying to read this book and I'm hoping to get to it this month. Is the cover not stunning?

As always there is a signed book plate and letter from the author.

And here is my reading buddy hashtag for the month of August.

Another beautiful Fairyscoop that I'm going to read and enjoy.

I love that Fairyloot includes these matching bookmarks, I'm going to miss collecting them.

And finally, the promotional items for some up and coming books.













I'm sad that my subscription has come to an end, but I have loved every single box I have received. I can't wait to see what they include in their future boxes.
Carenza x

August Favourites 2017| CarenzaOnBooks

Another month has flown by and I have more things to add to my ever growing list of favourites. August was a very good month, but I may be biased as it is my birthday month. I always look forward to August because it's when my family have our summer holiday. I did a lot of amazing things this August and consequently, I have a lot of favourites.

Books

If you saw my monthly wrap up, then you'll know I am in the middle of my Harry Potter reread. I will always love these books and it made me exceptionally happy rereading them. Reviews will be coming your way soon once I have finished my reread.

Culture

August was a very good cultural month. I went to Edinburgh twice and I also went to London. My first trip to Edinburgh was to meet Cassandra Clare and Holly Black at their Edinburgh signing. I have wanted to meet Cassie for 4 years and I finally got to met her. I wrote a blog post about it and you can check it out here.

My other trip to Edinburgh was for the Fringe festival. This was my fourth year in a row attending. I saw some amazing theatre and some less amazing theatre. I'm hoping to go again next year for longer than a day and experience more of the festival.

I went to London over the Bank Holiday to see Andrew Scott play Hamlet. It was a part of my birthday celebrations. Andrew Scott's Hamlet was one of my favourite Hamlet's and I can't wait to watch it again when it airs on BBC 1 or 2 next year.

My final cultural favourite was my trip to the Harry Potter studios. I got to go round it properly (I went in January with my college) and see the new Forbidden Forest. I'm already planning my next trip, probably this next year. I'm thinking of making a blog post about tips and tricks for people planning on going to the Studio, would you guys be interested in it?

Bits'n'Bobs

My favourites in the Bits'n'Bobs category has been depleting these past few months, but my Bits'n'Bobs choice for August is Pop Funkos. I've really gotten back into collecting them and have added a few to my collection in the past month. I really want to collect all the Harry Potter ones, but it will take a while as most of the ones I don't have are American exclusives.

And that concludes my August favourites. I can't believe there are only 3 months left of 2017, where did the year go?
Carenza x

August Wrap Up| CarenzaOnBooks

It's official, we only have a quarter of the year left. Where did the year go? And that means it's time for my monthly wrap up. In August, I read 6 books, which I am happy with. I did reread four books as a part of a reread I'm doing.

The first four books I read where books 2 to 5 in the Harry Potter series. I decided to start rereading the series in July and am currently over halfway through Half-Blood Prince. I am planning on reviewing the series once I've completed my reread and have them posted back to back in one week. Each time I reread this series, I fall a bit more in love. Order of the Phoenix is still my favourite, but Prisoner of Azkaban is still a close second. I did start reading these in the physical format, but I then switched to audiobook. Stephen Fry is the perfect narrator for this series and I could listen to him reading the Harry Potter series back to back.

The other two books I read where scripts. The first being Angels in America by Tony Kushner. I love this play with all my heart and I read this in a day. It made me so inspired to write and I want to go see it again. If you enjoy reading scripts, then you should check this out.

The other script I read was the script for Dear Evan Hansen. I listened to the soundtrack for DEH and it's now one of my go to musicals. It has such a powerful meaning and it was interesting reading the dialogue in between the songs.

And that concludes my August wrap-up. I'm hoping to reach my reading challenge goal by the end of the year and maybe go beyond it.
Carenza x

Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody Spoiler-Free Review| CarenzaOnBooks

Title- Daughter of the Burning City
Author- Amanda Foody 
Series- N/A
Published- July 25th (USA) September 7th (UK)
Page Count- 377 (US Hardback)
Publishing House- Harlequin Teen/ Harper Collins
Rating- 4/5 Stars
Note- I was sent a eArc by the publishers, so thank you Harper Collins for sending me a copy!




Happy publication day to Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody! As I've already stated, I was sent a copy by the publishers, but I was also lucky enough to receive a physical copy from a Fairyloot box. As today is the publication day, this will be a spoiler-free review. I will post a spoiler filled review later in the year once more people have had the chance to read it.

I really enjoyed reading DOTBC, it was a really interesting concept and something I had never heard of. I'm not usually in to circus books, but I had wanted to read it even before I was sent a copy. I had been hearing nothing but good things. To me, this book reminds me of reading YA books when I was younger. It was a fun and easy book for me, and I really enjoyed the "who did it" aspect of the book. It's been a while since I read a book that had to make me think and didn't just hand me all the information straight up.

There was such a diverse range of characters in this book, and from a wannabe-writers perspective, this was heavenly to read. I loved how there were characters of different sexuality and there was no big deal made about it. With this search for diversity that the YA book community is currently undergoing, I feel like we need to shout about all the diversity there is in books. Yes, diversity is an issue, but we should be reading books because we want to, not because of these elements of the books.

I liked Sorrina as a character, but at times I did find her a bit whinny and YA-typical. She seemed to think that she knew best and everyone around her was wrong. She also became absorbed by her grief and that is a trope I'm getting tired of seeing. I want to see strong characters who can grieve, but also continue to live their lives. There were also a couple of her lines that I found a bit cheesy, going along the lines of "I will have revenge". These lines did make me giggle because they were a bit cringy.

Overall, I really enjoyed DOTBC and hope to read more from Amanda Foody in the future. At the moment, I believe this is a stand alone book, which is a very interesting choice for a fantasy author to make.
Carenza x

A Love Letter to Harry Potter| CarenzaOnBooks

At 11 O'clock today, the epilogue for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows becomes reality. Today is 19 years later. Today is a special day for Potterheads around the world. I've already made posts about how much Harry Potter means to me and while this post is in the same vein, my love for Harry Potter has increased since my last post.

The Boy Who Lived and the Wizarding World came into my life over 10 years ago. I can't deny that it hasn't played a huge part in my life. They were the books that got into reading and the books I aspire to write. These books took the world by storm and I was caught up in it. Reading them made me want to read more. They told me of a magical world I could escape to when the real world became scary. They're still the books I read when I need to escape from our crazy world.

In these books, I found people I wanted to be and people I wanted to know. I've spent half my life being told I sound and act like Hermione Granger, though I'm not sure how true that is, I'm nowhere near as academic as she is. I found characters I longed to know more about and characters I could spend hours talking about.

Most people I know have moved on from their Harry Potter phase, but I'm still very much there. I recently went to the Studios again for my birthday and have already been once this year. I'm about to finish my reread of the books and will probably watch the movies soon. Harry Potter introduced me to the world of fandoms and fandom communities. Because of Harry Potter, I have an excessive amount of Pop Funkos (and I plan to continue collecting). Plainly, Harry Potter continues to be there for me when I feel as though there is nothing else.

Harry Potter has had a huge impact on my life and will continue to. It's made me the person I am today. I may have spent more money than I should have on this fandom, but every piece of merch or memory never fails to make me happy. And as Dumbledore says "Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home"