Anticipated Releases (Remainder of 2018)| CarenzaOnBooks

As the end of the year is slowly drawing closer and most of the books I was anticipated have been released, I thought it would be interesting to talk about the remaining few that I was looking forward to. I'm actually really behind on my anticipated releases, but hopefully, I'll have a chance to catch up during the remainder of the year. I've picked four that I am desperate to read.

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

This is a recent addition to my anticipated releases as I've only just read The Gentlemen's Guide to Vice and Virtue, which I adored. I am so excited for Felicity's story, she was amazing in TGGTVAV and I need more of her in my life. I'm hoping that there are more books in this series. As a side note, I plan on reviewing Gentlemen's Guide at some point in the near future on either here or my YouTube channel. 

  

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

Now this one is a bit of an odd one as I haven't read the first book, Strange the Dreamer, but I am determined to by the release of Muse of Nightmares. I've tried reading it a few times and I think I just need to set some time aside to fully engross myself in Laini Taylor's beautiful writing style. I am mainly interested in getting it during its release as I want the matching edition to my copy, but I am sure that I'll love this story.

What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Having read books by both of these authors this year, I am excited to read their collaboration novel What If It's Us. I am slightly nervous about this one as they both have distinct writing styles and I just want this to be really cute and fluffy. I've heard some comments saying that it is predictable in places, but I am so excited for this cute YA novel. 

 

Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare

Obviously, my most anticipated release for the remainder of 2018 is Queen of Air and Darkness. I have already preordered two copies and I am probably going to end up with a third and fourth. This book is going to be amazing and I intend on setting aside some time to devouring it. I can't wait for it, can it be December 4th already??

Carenza x  

Disappointing Reads of 2018 (So Far)| CarenzaOnBooks

As a general rule of thumb in the book community, I feel as though we only talk about books we love or positively about books. But, I thought it would be interesting to talk about some of the books I have been left feeling disappointed.

Still Me by Jojo Moyes

This may come as a surprise to some of my longtime readers as I loved Me Before You when I first read it. But the sequels After You and Still Me were not on the same level as Me Before You. I managed to read it through the Overdrive, which I am now glad about as I'm not sure I'll be picking up a physical copy. I feel as though Louisa's story was well done in Me Before You and that the two sequels were milking the cow for all it's worth. This was still a good, fun book, I gave it 3/5 stars, but I just feel that it added nothing to her story. It followed the same pattern that the other two books and I was happy with Lou's story in the first book. 

Silence is Goldfish by Annabel Pitcher

Another author I have loved books from is Annabel Pitcher. However, I finally decided to pick up her most recent release (and the only book of hers I hadn't read), and I really didn't enjoy my time reading it. I found the characters irritating and was not invested in the story. I have a feeling that this is because it's been about four years since I read those books and I am a very different reader now. As I've matured as a reader, I feel as though Annabel Pitcher's book might not be as enjoyable if I picked them up now. I would recommend her first two novels, but there was something about Silence is Goldfish that I did not enjoy.

  

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

I have yet to read a Holly Black book that I enjoyed. I found The Darkest Part of the Forest alright and The Cruel Prince was no difference. I had a sampler from the signing I attended and I read it after that. I was so excited and when I finally picked it up, I was underwhelmed. I plan on continuing this series, but I'm going into it not expecting that much. 

 

Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings   

My most disappointing read of the year is Zenith. I was very excited to read this and now that I have read it, I wish I hadn't. I gave it 1.5/5 stars. To be nice, I'll say that I found it dull. The main plot of the novel was over in less than 100 pages and this novel was 500 pages. There were far too many P.O.V and the writing style made me cringe. I have no intentions of continuing this story and I can't help but feel disappointed by it.

Carenza x

July Favourites| CarenzaOnBooks

Another month has come and gone and we are now in August (the best month of the year, but I am biased as it's my birthday month). July went surprisingly quick and I had a really good month for cultural occasions.

Books 

I am continuing with my reread of the Harry Potter books. As you guys know, I'm a huge fan of the series and as I'm going to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for my birthday for the end of the month, I want to read all of the main books in the series. Now I may be falling behind on this, but I am going to try my hardest to catch up. I don't think I need to go into detail about how much I love Harry Potter at this point, it's fairly self-explanatory.

Culture 

I saw three great shows in July, the first being Translations at the National Theatre. By the time this post goes up, the run will be almost over (finished August 11th). I loved this show and its theme at heart. I don't want to spoil it, but if you are interested in Irish Culture, then I would highly recommend it.

Next, I saw The Lieutenant of Inishmore at the Noel Coward Theatre in London. This is on till mid-September, I believe and is a very funny play. It's written by Martin McDonagh (who was the writer of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri). He is a very talented and humorous writer. I will say that it is very gory in places, but it is one of the funniest plays I have ever seen.

I was lucky enough to see a live broadcast of Everybody's Talking about Jamie in July and this has become one of my favourite musicals. It teaches such an important message about being yourself. Plus the songs are great and really catchy.

I'm almost finished with Mad Men. At the point of writing this, I have around five episodes left. I am so interested in seeing how they wrap up the series as I've become really invested at this point.

Poldark series 4 ending in July and oh boy was it an emotional series. Now, it wasn't my favourite series, but there were some good moments that I had been looking forward to and some unexpected moments. I am looking forward to series 5, even though it is going to be the last one.

Bits'n'Bobs 

I got a new  Harry Potter Mystery Mini in July and it was the Hungarian Horntail! I've been wanting this one for ages and I'm so happy I have it. I think the minis are adorable and one day, I'd love to have a full set but I know that will be very expensive.
Carenza x

Welcome to PotterlyMad!|CarenzaOnBooks

As you guys know by now, I am a huge Harry Potter fan and that is why I have decided to start a Harry Potter Instagram account- potterlymad. I've fallen out of love with Bookstagram, so I'm trying the Harry Potter side of the community.

What that means for here is that I plan on posting some Harry Potter content at least once a fortnight. I've been brainstorming ideas and I'm really looking forward to this new chapter of blogging. I know that in 2018 I haven't been the best at posting, but I'm doing this as this is content I am excited to make. I am still going to be posting regular bookish content on here, but there is going to be more Harry Potter content.

I hope this is something that you are also excited about and I look forward to sharing my huge passion for Harry Potter with you guys.
Carenza x