Books That Got Me Through Lockdown| Carenza Bramwell

On March 23rd 2020, the UK went into its first national lockdown. It feels surreal that this pandemic has taken up a whole year of our lives. We're getting closer to the end and as it's now been a year since the UK went into lockdown, I wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate the books that have gotten me through the past year. Not to celebrate the fact that this has been a whole year and that we're still very much in it, but to highlight the wonderful books that have made the past year bearable. I am going to be including books I've read since March 23rd 2020 till when I'm writing this.

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell- April 2020

This is a slightly odd one to put on this list as it does cover quite a dark subject matter. This is about a woman looking back at her high school experience and what she thought was a loving, consensual sexual relationship with her teacher when she was 15 and realising it might actually be abuse. I would be aware of the triggering content in this book. Despite its harrowing subject matter, it was one I was both desperate to know more about and yet had to take regular breaks from. I read it over a couple of days and it's stuck with me, a year later.  

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa- July 2020

A slightly more light hearted book, this is about a man who adopts a cat when it is injured, nurses back to life and then the two travel across Japan trying to find a new home for the cat. This book is told from the cats perspective, which is actually quite funny. I think i read this in a day as it was so gripping and funny. I think this is becoming a film and it would make a really good animated film. This was exactly the book I needed for something a bit more light hearted with cats in it, then I'd really recommend this.  

The Diviners by Libba Bray- July 2020

Taken from Google Images

My first fantasy book on this list. I had the audiobook of this leftover from when I was subscribed to Audible. I had started listening to this on my walks and I was hooked. Evie is a new favourite character of mine. This is set in the 1920s in New York and follows a group of young people connected by their unusual powers and how they use them to solve mysteries. I had wanted to read this for a while and I'm so glad I did. This was 100% my favourite in the series. As I've already mentioned, I was hooked. I needed to know more. A phenomenal story and cast of characters. Sadly with each book, it would loose a star and my love for it, but I am so glad I read this series.  

Serpent&Dove by Shelby Mahurin Reread- September 2020

I'm cheating a bit by putting this on here as it's a reread, but Serpent&Dove is one of my favourite books of the last couple of years. It's set in a fictitious 16th century France where witches are outlawed and there are witch-hunters. Lou is a witch and Reid is a witch-hunter. They end up being forced to marry and it follows their story from there. While this time around I could see the flaws I couldn't when I first read it, I still love this book. It has a great set of characters and a rich world. I remember being swept away by it and I won't forget it anytime soon. 

 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab- November 2020

This book restored my faith in VE Schwab as a writer. Now I know there has been some discussions around this book and how handles characters of colour and the lack of them, this was something I became aware of after I read it. I was so invested in Addie's story. This is about a young woman in 1700s France who makes a deal with the devil to live forever, but doesn't realise by being granted her wish, the moment someone stops looking at her, they forget her. I really like Faustus, the play this is based on, but having had a bit of an up and down journey with VE Scwab and her books, I wasn't sure if I would like this. It took me a week and a half to read this, which is quite a long time for me. I loved all the layers to this story and the different historical periods it visited. I would like to read this again and try VE Schwab's other books again.  

The Secret History by Donna Tartt- January 2021

The first book of 2021. So far my only 5 star read. Since reading this, it has been brought to my attention that there are a lot of problems with this book and the author, particularly around how race is handled. My thoughts going forward are that I enjoyed this book but won't pick up another one of her books. This book is about a young man called Richard and he is reflecting on his time at an elite college in America. I just wanted to know more while I was reading it. I liked how unlikeable and untrustworthy all the characters were. Knowing what I know now, I would say this is a staple of dark academia literature, but I would research and read up about this issues with race.  

Women&Power: A Manifesto by Mary Beard- January 2021

A short, snappy read about feminism. This book will make you think and will make you angry. It's finally given me that push to read more about feminism, something I have wanted to do for a while and should have been doing. If you have any interest in feminism, but are looking for something shorter to sink your teeth into, then look no further than this book. 

The Poppy War by R.F Kuang- February 20201

This was a very hyped book that I actually agree with the hype and am so glad I finally read it. This is about a war orphan called Rin who manages to get a place in the elite military academy. It is based on Imperial Chinese Wars. This was bloody and brilliant. Rin was such an excellent character. She could have easily become a cliche, but she felt original. I am very much interested in continuing the series. This has really gotten me back in the fantasy mood.  

Flake by Matthew Dooley- February 2021  

My final entry is this amazing graphic novel I read in February. It's about a rivalry between two ice-cream men in the North West of England. My family and I are from the North-West of England, so a lot of the references made me laugh out loud. I moved away from my hometown almost five years ago and while it was for the best as we didn't like living there, it made me miss it a lot. It brought back some memories and desires that I can't do at the moment (partly due to lockdown and due to where I now live). The story and art style were beautiful. I would love to read more from Matthew Dooley.

That concludes my list of books that got me through lockdown. When this finally ends, I might do an updated version of this post or a part two. Books have offered me sanctuary during this madness we find ourselves in and I hope they have offered you the same. 

Carenza :)x  

 

The Great TV Show Review (Contains Spoilers)| Carenza Bramwell

Taken from Google Images

Title- The Great

Creators- Tony McNamara 

Cast- Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult and Phoebe Fox with ensemble cast. 

Genre- Comedy Drama, Historical, Satirical 

Length- 10 episodes 

Platform- All4 (UK)

Rating- 3/5 stars

Plot

The Great is a satirical, comedic drama about the rise of Catherine the Great from outsider to the longest-reigning female ruler in Russia's history. The series is fictionalised and portrays Catherine in her youth and marriage with Emperor Peter III (amalgamated with Peter II) focusing on the plot to kill her depraved and dangerous husband.

Taken from Wikipedia. 

Opinions

My family and I had seen this floating around for a while, which made us want to watch it. We knew it had some connection to the creative team behind The Favourite, which we had enjoyed. I'll admit that while I vaguely knew who Catherine the Great is, I didn't know much about her. The poster, the creative team and the premise had peaked my interest so we decided to watch it.

Taken from Google Images

One of the shows strong points was that it had a very good cast. I'd almost say that a cast this good was wasted on this show, which I'll get into later. I haven't seen much of Elle Fanning's performances before, but I really thought she shone in this role and held the show together. Nicholas Hoult is such a good actor and this role was quite narrow, so he didn't get a chance to flourish in it. The supporting cast of Phoebe Fox, Sacha Dhawan and Adam Godley were all excellent. The cast and their performances are a reason to watch this show. 

Taken from Google Images

Let's get into the things that didn't work for me. It took me quite a few episodes to get into it and actually start enjoying it. The middle few episodes were the ones I enjoyed the most, with the ending feeling rushed. A lot of my problems with the show came from the overuse of swearing, sex and violence. Sometimes, these can be used to a good effect, however this show used them so many times that they lost their impact. In the first episode, Peter shoots the bear he gave to Catherine. I don't know if this really happened, but it was the first of many, unnecessary moments of gratuitous violence. There was a whole episode around Peter torturing the court. It made for unpleasant viewing. Yes, this period in history was quite violent and if they had used it for dramatic impact, rather than in every episode, I believe they would have been able to achieve a more profound impact on what Peter was like. It also felt like every other word Peter said was a swear word. It just made his character very shallow and two dimensional.  

Taken from Google Images

We originally went into The Great thinking it was a mini-series. We thought it was about 7-8 episodes long and would be contained within those episodes. We were very surprised that it was a 10 episode long series, with a second series having been announced. Similar to my comments on the violence, I think that dragging out this story is going to loose its impact. There was another series about Catherine, called Catherine the Great, which I believe was a mini series and much more successful. 

I had really wanted to enjoy this show, but it just ended up not being for me. I think the writing really let it down, as the performances, set/costume design and production value were really good. I don't think I'll be continuing with this, despite having a bit of an interest for where this story goes. I'm just not sure I can stomach anymore of the violence used in this show and the overuse of swear words. That is why I gave the show 3/5 stars, it had it's merits, but it also had it's downsides. 

What did you think of The Great?

Carenza :) x     

Balancing Reading and Watching Time| Carenza Bramwell

If you are a long term follower of my blog or any other social media sites, then you will know I am both a big reader and a big watcher (of film and TV). Since last March, both have become even more important in my life. I wanted to use this blog post to talk about my passion for both and how I balance both. 

What Books, Films and TV Shows Mean to Me

It is a slightly cliche answer, but reading has always been a passion of mine. I come from a family of readers, so it's practically in my DNA. Over the past few years, I have made it a part of my daily routine to always have some time to read. Similarly, with films and TV shows, they have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I wouldn't say it was as active as reading, but there were films and TV shows I waited for and was so excited to finally watch. Since starting university, but particularly in the last year, my passion for films and TV shows has become more pronounced. I watched way over double what I read last year. Being able to escape into these worlds (which I also do with books) was bliss. 

I am also a Creative and Professional Writing student, with the hopes of one day becoming a professional writer. I had thought that I would always go down the fiction route, wanting to write books as they had shaped my life so much. I think I'm now leaning more towards working in film and TV when I graduate. I haven't fully decided as I enjoy writing both and there's nothing to say I can't write both. So not only do I enjoy books, films and TV shows as a consumer, I also like writing them, which plays into why they are so important to me. 

How to Balance Both Passions

Reading and watching are very time consuming passions (hobbies?), which means I have to set aside a lot of time for both. Part of this is for my own enjoyment and part of this is for my degree/to learn more. In 2020, the balance definitely leaned more on the favour of film and TV. This is something I'm trying to balance more in 2021. Whenever I finish uni for the day, my main goal is to try and read for an hour. That doesn't always happen for various reasons. If I don't read for an hour, I like to at least read a couple of chapters.

Sometimes I will prioritise watching films and TV shows over reading. I like watching things before I go to bed as I've found I can get sleepy while reading but it takes me a while to fall asleep. So I've started watching things before I go to bed so I am actually quite tired before I fall asleep. I do set a time limit of 11:30pm being the latest I will be switching things off and going to sleep. This is the balance I've found that works for me personally, so it's really about finding the balance that works for you.

Is One More Important than the Other?

I wanted to include a section on which is more important to me as I feel that is something that should be discussed. The honest answer is no. Both are equally important to me, however, I will always prioritise reading over watching. Most of my content is about books, so therefore I have to put more of my time into books. However, career wise, I see myself going down the film and TV route. This does make finding a balance difficult because they are both so important to me. I think I will always end up watching more than I read because you know how long something is going to take to watch, you can never predict how long something is going to take to watch. So in a rather long winded way, my answer is that both are just as important and finding a balance can be difficult.

My Reading and Watching Routine

I start my day by watching something that is roughly twenty minutes long to help with some back problems I have. I then will watch something that is around half an hour with my parents at lunchtime. Reading is usually my priority and I will read while tea is being cooked. I then watch something with my parents while we eat our tea and spend time together after our busy days working. I like to read a couple of chapters roughly before I got to bed. I end my day by watching something, always making sure to be turning everything off by 11:30pm. 

That concludes this post on my reading and watching habits and how I try to balance the two.

Carenza :) x 

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas Book Review (Contains Spoilers)| Carenza Bramwell

My cat with my copy 

Title- Cemetery Boys

Author- Aiden Thomas

Series- N/A

Published- 2020

Page Count- 352 pages

Publishing House- Swoon Reads

Genre- YA Urban Fantasy, LBGTQIA+ Fiction

Rating- 4/5 stars 

About the Author

Aiden Thomas is a New York Times Bestselling Author with an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College. Originally from Oakland, California, they now make their home in Portland, OR. As a queer, trans Latinx, Aiden advocates strongly for diverse representation in all media. Aiden’s special talents include: quoting The Office, useless trivia, Jenga, finishing sentences with “is my FAVORITE”, and killing spiders. Aiden is notorious for not being able to guess the endings of books and movies, and organizes their bookshelves by color.

Aiden's debut novel, CEMETERY BOYS, is a Dia de Muertos paranormal romance about Yadriel (a gay, trans brujo) who accidentally summons the wrong ghost (Swoon Reads/Macmillan, September 1st, 2020).

Taken from Aiden's website.

Plot

A trans boy determined to prove his gender to his traditional Latinx family summons a ghost who refuses to leave in Aiden Thomas's paranormal YA debut Cemetery Boys, described by Entertainment Weekly as "groundbreaking."

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can't get rid of him.

When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his true gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.

However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school's resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He's determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

Taken from Goodreads. 

Opinions

I had seen Cemetery Boys around a lot when it came out in September 2020, but for some reason I just didn't get to it. I had received some vouchers for Christmas, which I obviously used to buy books and one of them was Cemetery Boys. As this book is set around Halloween and Day of the Dead, I do now wish I had saved it for October as it's the perfect book for then, however, I hadn't read any YA in 2021 so I decided to make this my first YA book of the year.

I struggled with the first chapter, having to reread it to get more invested in the story. This rocky start did put a bit of a damper on my experience, especially after hearing so much about this book. However, I think this was just a personal preference as the writing was easy to engage with throughout. First chapters can be quite difficult to get right, but are so important to get right. 

Despite the rocky start, I will say that the characters shone throughout, especially our main characters of Yadriel, Julian and Maritza. Each felt very unique and real. They had their own quirks, which meant they interacted really well as a group. I felt the banter between them was funny yet realistic. It didn't feel out of place for teenagers (I feel really old writing that as I'm only just twenty). I felt that Aiden handled the more serious side of their conversations well. It's important that these topics are handled among all ages and having these characters discuss identity, sexuality and religion was nice to see. The relationship between Yadriel and Maritza was so strong throughout. They were always supporting of each other, despite their differences and views. It could have easily become spiteful and it was nice that it didn't go down that route.

This isn't really a critique about the book, but the romance did feel a bit rushed, yet it worked. This book takes place over three-four (I'm unsure) days and by the end of it Yadriel and Julian are a couple. Romance is normally where I have a lot of issues with books, but something about this one and how they bonded worked for me. I did think at first that the final chapter was over a year after the initial events, which would have made more sense for their relationship, but it was actually the next day. I would have preferred a longer time frame for their relationship, but the time pressure made the stakes higher and for once convinced me that romance in books isn't always a bad thing. 

I felt that the middle section of this book was really where Aiden Thomas was able to show their talents as a writer. There was a nice balance between action and calmer moments. The plot progressed at what felt like a natural pace, with information being revealed about characters at the right moment and the characters development (across such a short time span) was really good. This was the section where I became fully invested and didn't want to put the book down.

Having already talked about the beginning and middle, let's talk about the ending. I didn't like the ending. I felt the reveal of his uncle being the killer came out of nowhere. Normally, you get a few clues as to who the killer could be, but this came out of nowhere and felt out of character. The motives were also quite weak, with it just being out of spite. I feel like once they resolved the issue and the dead where brought back to life, the emotional repercussions of it being a family member were skated over a bit. I would have liked more emotional exploration there.

Ultimately, I did enjoy this book despite the rocky start and end. Aiden Thomas has established themselves as a good YA writer. I know they have another book coming out this year and I am interested to see what they do. It reminded me how much fun YA can be, especially as I'm not reading as much and am slowly moving away from YA. 

   

What did you think of Cemetery Boys?

Carenza :) x 

What Do You Do With Problematic Books?- Book Topic Discussion| Carenza Bramwell

Recently I've been thinking about "problematic" books, specifically the ones I have owned and read. I've been thinking about what I should do with them. I wanted to discuss my feelings on the matter and if I think I should chuck them or keep them.  

It's very easy for something to become problematic. More often than not, it is because the book or author is problematic. But what do you do when you have bought these books or read them? When I read A Gentlemen's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee, I don't think it was considered a problematic book. There was definitely content in it, that at the time due to my age and lack of awareness, I didn't pick up on as being problematic. However, since then, Mackenzi Lee has become to be known as a problematic author, partly due to her signing other people's books during the pandemic and accusations of using trans people as plot devices. I loved AGGTVAV when I read it. I thought it was a really good, fun book. I didn't enjoy the sequel, which is why I never carried on with the series. However, since all the accusations against Mackenzi Lee came out, I haven't felt good owning these books. It's only in the last month, I've decided that when I can get rid of my copies, I will. 

It was partly this decision that sparked this blog post. Is it wrong to keep problematic books? Is it wrong to have enjoyed them in the first place, if you were unaware of them being problematic? The same goes for Call Me By Your Name. Since the film adaptation, a lot has been pointed out why this book is problematic. I've also decided to get rid of my copy, despite enjoying it at the time and enjoying the film. I don't feel good owning it. I also didn't like the sequel. I'm partly getting rid of it because of the problematic nature of it and because I really don't see myself reading it again. It can be so easy to just decide that something is problematic and severe ties with it. But that doesn't stop it being problematic. I think you can enjoy these books, as long as you realise what is wrong with them.

My most recent experience of this was reading Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I had no idea that it was problematic at the time I purchased it, having picked it up because I saw it everywhere. Once it was brought to my attention, and I hadn't read it before I learnt this, I let it impact my reading experience. I felt wrong reading this book. A lot of this boils down to I felt wrong reading or keeping these books. I wanted to cleanse myself of them. Forget I ever owned or was associated with them. Harry Potter made me think about this a lot. I will always treasure my memories of Harry Potter, they were some incredible moments in my life and I'm not about to throw them away. However, I feel uncomfortable being associated with them. I barely talk about them or feature them on any of my platforms anymore. I will be getting rid of some of my merch pieces, but that's because I don't have space or a need for them anymore. I could very easily have packed up all my HP things and thrown them away. 

I'm aware this post is very rambly and truthfully I'm not sure I have an answer to my own question. Is there a right way to handle problematic books? I think as long as you acknowledge they are problematic and make an effort to speak out against that, then you are doing something good. The books I am getting rid off, it is because I no longer have a strong attachment to them and because they are problematic, it's time for them to go. If you fail to acknowledge something is problematic, that is where the harm comes in. Sometimes it can be through pure lack of understanding. I had no idea of the problematic content when I was reading Gentlemen's Guide and Call Me By Your Name, partly because of my age and partly because discussions around these things were only just starting to happen. It's a question of morals and opinions. By no way, does it make you a bad person if one of these books is your favourite books. It shouldn't taint your feeling or experiences of them. Taking the time to acknowledge and educate yourselves on these issues takes time. I'm not trying to defend problematic books, but in an age when it becomes so easy for something to be deemed problematic, where do we draw the line? My advice would be to do what you think is best. If that's distancing yourself from them and getting rid of them, that's fine. If that's holding onto them, so long as you are able to understand what is wrong, that is also fine. 

Carenza :) x  

Greenland Film Review (Contains Spoilers)| Carenza Bramwell

Taken from Google Images

Title- Greenland

Creators- Ric Roman Waugh and Chris Sparling 

Cast- Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin and Roger Dale Floyd with ensemble cast 

Genre- American disaster film

Length- 2 hours

Platform- Amazon Prime (UK)

Rating- 4/5 stars 

Plot

A family fights for survival as a planet-killing comet races to Earth. John Garrity (Gerard Butler), his estranged wife Allison (Morena Baccarin), and young son Nathan make a perilous journey to their only hope for sanctuary. Amid terrifying news accounts of cities around the world being levelled by the comet's fragments, the Garrity's experience the best and worst in humanity while they battle the increasing panic and lawlessness surrounding them. As the countdown to global apocalypse approaches zero, their incredible trek culminates in a desperate and last-minute flight to a possible safe haven. 

Taken from IMDb. 

Opinions

Apocalyptic, end of the world films are the type I normally gravitate towards. I'm fairly certain the only other one I have seen was 2021, which I did enjoy. We decided to watch this after seeing it get good reviews and wanting something a bit less serious to watch. If you are looking for something fun and popcorn worthy to watch at the moment, then look no further than Greenland. The plot and visual effects make this a highly entertaining watch. The two hours will fly by, even during some of the tenser moments in the film. 

Taken from Google Images

I think what I enjoyed most about this film was that it felt realistic compared to some other films or tv shows in a similar genre. You could see this happening. A lot of that realistic quality came from the characters and their performances. Not only the central performances, but a lot of the minor and supporting roles had incredible moments. As the plot summary says, this film does show the best and worst of humanity. It also allowed you as a viewer to breath in between some of the tenser action scenes. There were some really nice calm moments in between the parts where they were being attacked by the comet. 

Taken from Google Images

My only critique of this film would be that it was seeped in tropes and cliches. Even in the plot summary, you can see it. The central characters are estranged due to his affair, can you get anymore cliched? It was very much the case of the husband saving the day and the wife and child screaming a lot. I will be fair to them, in that some of the situations, I would have just screamed as well, but it would have been nice to see a bit more bite from them.

Taken from Google Images

I'm aware this is a lot shorter than my other TV show reviews, but I did really enjoy this film. I wouldn't call it lighthearted, but it was something to watch to take the mind off everything that is happening right now. It is one of the better films like this, a lighter version of 2012, with characters you care about, strong performances from its central cast, a decent plot and some really good action sequences. I liked how open the ending was. If you are looking for a fun, popcorn worthy film to forget reality for a couple of hours, Greenland is for you.

Carenza :) x     

What I've Been Reading Recently- Winter Edition 2021| Carenza Bramwell

How are we already two months into 2021? Time is going so quickly! I've had a really strong start to the year with the books I've been reading. Over the last two months, I've read 14 books. I'm hoping that the rest of my reading year stays as strong. I'll be sharing the books I've read in January and February.

January

I read eight books in January, which I'm very happy with. I had quite a diverse reading month, reading from a wide range of genres and a whole spectrum of ratings. 

The Angry Tide by Winston Graham

I have been reading the Poldark books on and off since 2018, with one of my goals for 2021 to catch up on the books I own. This was the last one that I did and I decided to make it my first read of 2021. I miss the shortness of the first three books, but still enjoyed my time with this one. As this is the seventh book in the series, I can't talk too much about the plot without it being a spoiler. I am a big fan of the TV show and I know it's a crime in the book community to admit it, but there were aspects of the TV show that I preferred. A solid first read of the year, I gave it 4/5 stars.

Working on a Song- Lyrics of Hadestown by Anais Mitchell    

This was a Christmas present as I was a big fan of the musical. I didn't even know there was a book about this show. As the title suggests, this is the lyrics of Hadestown. However, it shows the final version and then talks about how it changed between each of the major productions. I am a big fan of "behind the scenes books", as I call them. I love learning about the creative process behind things I like and this was an interesting insight into a musical I adore. I also gave it 4/5 stars.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

After seeing rave reviews about Where the Crawdads Sing, I picked up a copy in October and finally got around to reading. Just before I started reading it, I was made aware of it's problematic content. I did let that taint my experience, however I think this book just wasn't for me. I do have a full review, which you can read here. My two main qualms with this book were the romance and the ending. Both just didn't sit well with me. That being said, I did enjoy the middle of this book. In the end, I gave it 3/5 stars and have decided I won't be keeping my copy. 

How Should One Read a Book? by Virginia Woolf

I saw this floating around bookstagram around Christmas time and as I had some Waterstones vouchers, decided to get it. I had only read one other Virginia Woolf book and I did not like it. However, this was an enjoyable and short book. A non-fiction book about how you should read books you enjoy, it's something a lot of readers will enjoy. It was a short, easy and fun read. I can see myself rereading it at various points in my life. I gave it 4/5 stars. 

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

I had been wanting to read this for years and finally bought a copy in October. It's one of those books you see in charity shops all the time. I loved this book. I have a full review with all my thoughts, which you can read here. Each twist and turn was amazing. The characters were an interesting bunch, especially as you couldn't trust or like any of them. I had been interested in picking up Tartt's other books, however I've seen some blog posts/tweets floating around saying that the Goldfinch has some racist undertones and that doesn't sit well with me. I think I'll just stick to enjoying this one. I gave it 5/5 stars.  

Women&Power: A Manifesto by Mary Beard

Back to non-fiction, I decided to read this book. Mary Beard is a well-known academic in the UK and I'd had this on my TBR since the summer. A short read about feminism. It showed the link between well known myths and feminism, showing how some of the things that happened are still happening today. This will make you think and then make you angry. I am interested in reading more about feminism after reading this. I gave it 4/5 stars.

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

This was a book I bought with my Christmas money after seeing BooksNest rave about it. I read the description and it sounded like something I would enjoy. I was sadly wrong. I really struggled with the protagonist, I just didn't like her. However, my main problem with this book was that there was no plot. I did think it did a wonderful job creating atmosphere, but it sacrificed the plot a lot. I also felt that some of the academic terms went over my head at times. This book just really ended up not being for me. I gave it 2/5 stars.

Moulin Rouge by Baz Lurhman 

My final read of January was another non-fiction book and this was about one of my favourite films, Moulin Rouge. It had been a very long time since I watched the film and so I rewatched it. I then read this book, which is all about the behind the scenes process for making this film. It was an interesting insight into Lurhman's creative process and all that went into making this wonderful film. The last third was a series of behind the scenes photos from three different photographers, which was a nice touch. If you are a fan of the film, I'd recommend trying to get ahold of this book. I gave it 4/5 stars.

February

As February is a shorter month and was quite a busy month, so I only managed to read six books, which is quite good, but like the over ambitious person I am, I was hoping to read more. 

The Poppy War by R.F Kuang

This is such a beloved and hyped book in the book community, and rightly so. I hadn't read a fantasy in a while and was really in the mood for one, so I picked this up. Rin was an amazing character, I absolutely adored her journey. This was an epic fantasy. It was exactly the fantasy I was looking for. There was some quite dark content at times, this is a book about war, so I would be aware of that before going in. I am very excited to continue this series at some point in the year. I gave this 4/5 stars.

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

I had a lot of problems with this book. This was something I thought I'd enjoy and bought it with my Christmas money. I have a full review of this book, which you can read here. The marketing of this book really made it out to be a fun and fluffy book, when in fact this is actually quite a dark, social commentary. This has a lot of disturbing, triggering content such as child abuse, sexual abuse, rape of a child, murder and cannibalism. I felt sick while reading a certain part of this book. I can see what this author was trying to do, however I just did not like this book. I gave it 2/5 stars. 

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

My first YA book of the year! I had forgotten how fun YA can be and thankfully this reminded me. I had wanted to read this for a while and am so glad I finally picked it up. It had a bit of a rocky start, but improved in the middle. I didn't like the ending, however I enjoyed the rest. This did a really good job of tackling LGBT+ issues in the Latino community. I would read from Aiden Thomas again as they're a really good reader. This is the perfect book for Halloween. I gave it 4/5 stars. 

Flake by Matthew Dooley

This year, my family and I did a small family Valentine's Day, with Flake being my present. I had mentioned it to my dad as it's a graphic novel set in the same part of the UK that we all grew up in. I loved this book. It had a wonderful story and some very pretty graphics. The humour actually made me laugh out-loud and I don't do that very often. It's really gotten me in the graphic novel mood. I gave it 4.5/5 stars.  

How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are by various authors

I have owned this book since 2015 and I finally finished it. I had read almost a half in 2015 and then gave up for some reason. This book is much more suited to me as a twenty year old, rather than a fifteen year old. While it's not a lifestyle I see myself living, it is one I enjoyed reading about. I would read more lifestyle books in the future. I gave it 4/5 stars.

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

My final book of February was to reread Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare. Chain of Iron is already out by the time this post goes live and I felt I needed a recap of the first book. I do have a full review from last year, which you can read here. I was very happy to be back with these characters and in this world. I'm still not sure where this one stands in my overall ranking, but that will be determined by the remaining books in the series. I obviously gave it 5/5 stars.

That concludes my wrap up for the winter months. What did you read this winter?

Carenza :)x  

Books for Fans of Maeve Wiley from Sex Education| Carenza Bramwell

Today's post is a bit different from my normal content, but I had this idea last month and I had to do it. I am a huge fan of Sex Education on Netflix, specifically Maeve Wiley. She is a badass, a feminist and an icon. I love her character and part of that is her love for books, specifically feminist ones. So, in today's blog post I thought I would share with you some books that fans of Maeve Wiley will enjoy. If you haven't seen the show, don't worry! There are no spoilers in here for it. 

Taken from Google Images

Contemporary Books

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu 

Moxie is a YA Contemporary about a group of young women at high school starting a feminist revolution against the sexism they face every day. It's about to become a movie on Netflix, coming out on March 3rd. Maeve is a feminist through and through. I feel this is a book she'd enjoy as it's about taking down the patriarchy. If you are looking for something fun and feminist, then look no further than Moxie. I'd also recommend Jennifer's other book, The Truth About Alice, a slightly darker book, but one with a great female main character. 

The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed

The Nowhere Girls is also a YA Contemporary, but it's much darker than Moxie. This is about three ordinary girls coming together "avenge the rape" of a fellow classmate. The three girls learn of what has happened to their classmate, who has had to flee as she is being victim shamed, and they form the Nowhere Girls to seek justice for her. I read it back in 2018 and I remember it being very moving, especially with the #MeToo movement happening at the time. Both of these books are about young women standing up and speaking out against the truly horrifying, everyday things that most women go through. It will make you want to get up and get involved. Like I said, this is a much darker book, and tackles some heavy issues (not that Moxie doesn't), so I'd be aware of that before going into it.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give is my final YA Contemporary book on the list. This is a well beloved YA Contemporary about a young woman named Starr who witnesses the police murder her friend because they are two black teenagers in a car. It's since been turned into a very successful film adaptation. This book came out around the time the Black Lives Matter movement really got some momentum, especially in the UK. I had the pleasure of meeting Angie Thomas in April 2017. Similar to The Nowhere Girls, this does a brilliant job of highlighting the issue and educating. Angie's books are amazing, I've read two of them and loved them both. If you are interested in more political books from female authors of colour, then I'd recommend The Hate U Give. 

Fantasy Books

Serpent&Dove by Shelby Mahurin 

Branching out into fantasy, the first book on my list is Serpent&Dove. This is one of my favourite books from the past few years because of Lou. Lou is one of our protagonists. Set in a fictitious 16th century France, where witches are outlawed and there are witch hunters, it is about Lou (a witch) and Reid (a witch hunter) being forced to marry. Lou is a feminist icon and it will take a lot to change my mind. She doesn't take no from no one and doesn't let her gender hold her back in a very male dominant world. Lou is the reason I fell in love with this book. Shelby Mahurin, the author, is also a really fun writer to read from. These books are fun and fantastical, with fierce female characters. And yes, I wrote that sentence to see how many "f" words I could include. 

 

The Poppy War by R.F Kuang 

The Poppy War is a recent fantasy read. It is inspired by Chinese Imperial Wars, set in a world ravaged by war, orphan Rin manages to bag a place at the prestigious military academy and follows her journey from there. Rin is another amazing character. I feel her role is a very traditionally male one and it was refreshing to see it from a woman's perspective. Rin is a badass. She does some truly epic things in this book. I'm not sure I've ever read a fantasy book like this from a female writer before. I cannot wait to continue with the series. I will say that it does have some very brutal/gory moments, this is a book about war after all, so be aware of that going in. 

Non-Fiction Books 

Women&Power: A Manifesto by Mary Beard

This is a book every feminist should read. Mary Beard is a well known academic in the UK, I've seen her on various TV shows, but this was the first time I had read from her. It's about looking at classic female characters, mostly from Greek and Roman mythology, and looking at them from a feminist perspective. It's about highlighting the everyday sexism that still occurs, while comparing it to these stories. This book will make you angry, because sadly I can guarantee at least one of these things has happened to you. It will make you think. If you are looking to get into more feminist non-fiction, this is easy to read and it's on the short side. I'd 100% recommend it. If this is the only book you read from this list, then I will have done what I set out to do. 

How Should One Read A Book? by Virginia Woolf 

I couldn't not talk about books for fans of Maeve Wiley and not put a Virginia Woolf book on here. Maeve loves Virginia Woolf. I had read Mrs Dalloway in college and I did not like it, but then I saw this book floating around bookstagram and I had some Christmas money, so I got it. As the title suggests this is a book about reading books. Mostly about how you should read what you enjoy and find fun. It is a sweet little book about books that any book lover would love. 

Those are my book recommendations for fans of Maeve Wiley from Sex Education. Do you have any recommendations?

Carenza :) x