It's A Sin TV Show Review (Contains Spoilers)| Carenza Bramwell

Taken from Google Images 

Title- It's A Sin

Creators- Russell T Davies 

Cast- Olly Alexander, Lydia West, Omari Douglas, Callum Scott Howells and Nathaniel Curtis with ensemble cast

Genre- drama miniseries

Length- 5 episodes

Platform- Channel 4

Rating- 4/5 stars

Plot

A chronicle of four friends during decade in which everything changed, including the rise of AIDS.

Taken from IMDb. 

Opinions 

Before I get into my thoughts in It's A Sin, let's talk about how Russell T Davies is the king of the miniseries. This is the second miniseries by RTD that I've watched and wow does he know how to pack a lot into such a short amount of time. I'd really recommend Years and Years (not the band Olly Alexander is/was in), but his other most recent miniseries. I thought it was incredible. I've been watching Russell's work since I started watching Doctor Who in 2005 and he just keeps on getting better as a writer. 

Taken from Google Images

I thought that the central cast of the five friends was phenomenal. I had only heard of Lydia West (Jill) as she stared in Years and Years. Each character was so different and the actors all brought something to the show. I saw an interview with Russell that said it was important to have as many queer and people of colour on this show as that's who the story is about. I can see each and everyone of the cast going onto do amazing things. Olly Alexander as Ritchie was great casting. Ritchie could have easily been an annoying character, and at times he was, but Olly Alexander made him feel more fleshed out. I think the cast and the writing went hand in hand perfectly.

The show tackles a particularly difficult issue of how the AIDS crisis was handled, which is very relevant in our lives today with how COVID has been handled. It was fairly obvious from the beginning that some of the characters were going to die as this was about people RTD had known during his own experiences with the AIDS crisis. There are themes of homophobia, racism, police brutality and more in this show. I was told by many I was going to cry and yet I didn't. To be fair, it takes a lot for me to cry at non-real life events (books, films, tv, plays etc) these days. This is most likely a personal thing, but I wasn't hit with the emotional punch to the gut I was expecting. 

Taken from Google Images

I pretty much loved everything about this show, expect for the ending. It just felt a little bit rushed. I would have liked more time to process Ritchie's death as we didn't really get that. Yes, it needed that slightly happy moment at the end, but it almost detracted from the sheer scale of loss throughout the series. So many people died from AIDS. I've found since studying Creative and Professional Writing at uni it is very hard for me to be absolutely blown away by a show and go wow it was flawless. Personally, I found Colin's death more shocking. You really didn't see it coming. I was so angry when Colin died that I shouted at the TV.  

Speaking of writing, I've already touched on how I think RTD is a great writer and he is. He is easily one of the best modern writers of TV. He just keeps on getting better and better. This was a story he had to tell, as he's said in many interviews. This was something he experienced and that he had to do these people justice. You can see the love, the loss, the anger and the pain come through in his writing. I would love to take a writing class from him as he's just so good. 

Taken from Google Images

I've spoken about how good the core cast is, but the supporting cast is just as good. Neil Patrick Harris and Stephen Fry, who both asked to be involved because they are gay actors, are wonderful in their roles. Keeley Hawes as Ritchie's mother somehow gives a warm yet callous and smothering performance. I hope that some of the cast get acting awards as they knocked it out of the park.

I loved this show, but because I was expecting a bit more emotion and I've become very difficult to "impress" as a viewer, I gave this show 4/5 stars. I think it will be one of my faves of the year and I can't wait to see what RTD does next. 

  

Have you seen It's A Sin? 

My Thoughts on All the Spider-Man Movies from 2002 to Present Day| Carenza Bramwell

This is a slightly different blog post from me, but recently I decided to watch all the Spider-Man films to decide which I thought was the best. By all the Spider-Man films, I mean I watched the Tobey Maguire trilogy, the Andrew Garfield duology, the MCU films with Tom Holland and Spider-Man Into the Spiderverse. The majority of these were rewatches except for Spider-Man Into the Spiderverse. I'll be talking through each film and sharing my thoughts. There are most likely going to be spoilers for these films, so if you haven't watched them, I'd recommend either not reading this post or going away to watch them and then coming back. All images have been taken from Google Images and do not belong to me. 

Spider-Man (2002)

Taken from Google Images

It's been a very long time since I watched these films. I remembered vague moments, but essentially I was watching the Tobey Maguire ones for the first time. I really struggled to connect with this version of Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Now I can't say I know that much, if anything, about the character outside of what I have seen in films about him. To me, something just felt off about this portrayal. That isn't a critique against Maguire, more one about the film as a whole. This film does have the iconic upside down kiss moment, which is a great moment of cinema. For me, it just didn't have that emotional pull. I didn't connect with any of the characters. It's been well over a month since I watched it and to be honest, I can't remember much outside of the things that happen in other origin movies. I gave it 3/5 stars.   

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

   

Taken from Google Images

This film suffered from second film slump. The villain was by far the most interesting so far. A lot of this film revolved around the love triangle between Peter, MJ and Harry. I just didn't care for it. Again, I failed to connect or care with the characters. Like the first film, it had some great cinematic moments, such as when Peter stops the train from falling off the bridge. The characters feel very flat, which is an odd choice for a superhero film. The plot was okay, but if you can't make me care about the characters, then you have lost me. I gave it 3/5 stars.

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

This was my least favourite of the trilogy and there are several reasons for that. My main reason is about the plot with MJ, Gwen and Peter. I hated that they had Peter kiss Gwen when MJ was watching. His excuse for kissing her was awful, her reaction was validated. The way women have been portrayed in these films is most likely a reflection of the time, but this was the early 2000s and so not excusable. They have the potential to be great characters and were reduced to screaming, love interests. My other reason for not liking this film is that it tried to do too much. There were three villains. That's too many. Both of these reasons made for an okay viewing experience. I think it's safe to say that Maguire's trilogy was my least favourite of all the iterations of Spider-Man. I gave this film 3/5 stars.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

These were actually the Spider-Man films that got me into Spider-Man. I know they're not the most popular versions, but I hold a soft spot for them. I connected a lot more with this portrayal of Spider-Man. I think it has the right balance of goofy and serious. It is quite dark in tone, but it works. The soundtrack is great, I regularly listen to it when I want a good study session. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are an incredible duo in this film. There's a lot of chemistry between them. Gwen Stacey also holds a lot of authority, she grounds Peter when he's being all heroic. It does take a while to get to the action and introduce the villain. He's an okay villain with an okay motive. I have watched this film about five times and I enjoy it every single time. I gave it 4/5 stars.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Like Spider-Man 2, this film suffers from too many villains. Both are great villains and were worthy of their own films to fully explore them. I know that Jamie Foxx is set to reprise his role in the MCU Spider-Man film, which I'm excited to see. Gwen's arc in this film shows her for the strong character she is. She is carving her own path independent of Peter. This makes her death even sadder. I think this is down to the chemistry between Garfield and Stone, you can see how much they love each other. This film is also a tad too long. While I enjoy it and am sad they didn't give Garfield a third film, I think The Amazing Spider-Man is my favourite of this duology. I gave it 4/5 stars. 

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)  

For a while I was convinced that Tom Holland might be my favourite Spider-Man. For one thing, he actually looks the part. He is believable as a goofy teenager. This film captures that perfectly. It reminds us that while Spider-Man is a superhero, Peter is just a kid. The scene were Peter is trapped under some rubble and starts panicking really humanises him. You very rarely see that vulnerable side of these characters. The side characters of Ned and MJ are great. This is the first time that Aunt May doesn't really play a big role in Peter's life, which is an interesting choice. The romance with Liz and the villain are probably my least favourite things about this film. It gets a lot of things right that it's predecessors haven't. I gave it 4/5 stars.

 

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

As an individual Spider-Man film, this is okay. I think that because these are so embedded into the MCU it is hard to discuss it as it's own film. We do see some development in Peter and Spider-Man. It is slightly darker in tone that Homecoming. The romance with MJ comes out of nowhere, in my opinion. This has some very nice comedic moments. The villain was okay. Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Holland had excellent chemistry. The ending of this film leaves Peter's journey in a very interesting place. I am excited to see what they do with Peter and Spider-Man in the next film. I like this version of Spider-Man, but it's so hard to talk about it as a Spider-Man film when this one is linked to Endgame. I gave it 4/5 stars.

Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse (2018) 

I finally watched this film after having wanted to watch it for ages. I thought the animation style was stunning, probably one of the best I've ever seen. It's insane just how far animation has progressed in the past 15-20 years. I watched this film in four sittings, which was probably a mistake. I think it's a film that demands to be watched in one sitting. I struggled with the plot and staying connected, but that was probably my own fault. I did go and read the Wikipedia summary after I had watched it. It's one I'll watch again. I knew that Miles Morales was a version of Spider-Man, but I didn't know much about him. I'm now interested in all the different versions and learning more about them. As I've already said this film was visually stunning, but I struggled with the plot. I will watch the sequel as I am interested to see where they could take this story. I gave it 4/5 stars. 

General Thoughts and Ranking

I really like Spider-Man as a character. I will always hold a soft spot for the Amazing Spider-Man films as they are the films that introduced me to the franchise. I do want to read some Spider-Man comics but have no clue where to start. I know a lot of people really like the Maguire films, but I didn't connect with them at all. 

1) The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

2) Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

3) The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

4) Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

5) Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

6) Spider-Man 2 (2004)

7) Spider-Man (2002)

8) Spider-Man 3 (2007) 

What is your favourite Spider-Man film? 

 

  

If We Were Villains by M.L Rio Book Review (Contains Spoilers)| Carenza Bramwell

Title- If We Were Villains 

Author- M.L Rio

Series- N/A

Published- 2017

Page Count- 422

Publishing House- Titan Books 

Genre- mystery, dark academia

Rating- 5/5 stars 

About the Author

M. L. Rio was born in Miami and raised in North Carolina by parents from California, and has never known how to answer the question, “Where are you from?” She is a reader, writer, thespian, and melomaniac. Storytelling has always been her specialty.

Her writing career began when she participated in Reading Rainbow’s Young Writers and Illustrators Contest and wrote her first real story–about a girl who was lucky enough to have a pet dragon and somehow clever enough to hide it from her parents and everyone else who might have been interested in such a biological marvel. She suppressed the creative itch for a few years, and then picked up a pen to write her first novel at the much more judicious age of twelve. Mercifully she realised it was garbage, scrapped it and started writing something else. Half a dozen ‘Drawer Novels’ later, she is represented by Arielle Datz of Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency, Inc. Her debut novel, If We Were Villains, was published by Flatiron Books in 2017.

Taken from M.L Rio's website. 

Plot

Oliver Marks has just served ten years for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day of his release, he is greeted by the detective who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, and he wants to know what really happened a decade before.

As a young actor at an elite conservatory, Oliver noticed that his talented classmates seem to play the same characters onstage and off – villain, hero, temptress – though he was always a supporting role. But when the teachers change the casting, a good-natured rivalry turns ugly, and the plays spill dangerously over into real life.

When tragedy strikes, one of the seven friends is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless...

Taken from Goodreads. 

Opinions

I had heard nothing but good things about this book and rightly so. I loved this book from start to end. I didn't want to stop reading. This is set in a theatre school, with lots of reference to the theatre and it made me miss the theatre so much. I haven't been in over a year because of COVID and I am now desperate to get back into a theatre because of this book. The writing style was addictive. On average, I'd say I read between 20-50 pages a day but when I was reading this, I was easily reading 50-100 a day because of the writing.  

The mystery in this book kept you hooked. You knew that one of the seven died and I was kinda surprised when it was revealed to be Richard. I had assumed it would be James as that was what had been foreshadowed. Each twist and turn was executed so well that you needed to know more. I think it helped that it was an interesting setting and an interesting set of characters. To some degree, they were cliched, but the more you got to know them, the more you saw that they weren't. There wasn't a character I didn't find engaging. They were also very entangled and it was fun trying to piece together the connections between each person. The reveal that James had killed Richard really took me by surprise. When I started reading it, I was adamant that it would be the other way around. A solid mystery that kept me on my toes. 

Despite how much I loved this book, I will say that I did have one issue with it. After a while, I did find the amount of Shakespearean dialogue annoying. I like Shakespeare and have seen the vast majority of his plays throughout my life. The shorter quotes were fine, it was when there were whole passages that it got a bit much. Also one of the major reveals was told through dialogue from King Lear (my least favourite Shakespeare play) and it kinda lost me. I understand why there was so much Shakespearean dialogue as this is set at a Shakespeare theatre school, but it did become quite annoying. Something I loved about how it was about the theatre and actors is how at times it was formated to be like a play. It was a really nice touch that I appreciated a lot.   

A plot line that kinda came out of the blue and I'm unsure how I feel about it was the romance between James and Oliver. We were never shown it, we were only told about it in the ten years afterwards sections. It didn't add much to their characters and felt a bit like an afterthought. I am glad that there was some LGBT+ rep. I just wish we could have seen more of it when they were interacting with each other. 

Overall, I bloody loved this book. I can see it making it onto my favourites for the year. I would read from M.L Rio whenever she releases another book as she knows how to capture an audience. I think these types of book, mysteries with dark academia vibes might be a favourite as I also loved The Secret History by Donna Tartt. That also had a character called Richard, so maybe it's a staple name for these types of books.

What did you think of If We Were Villains by M.L Rio?

The Mauritanian Film Review (Contains Spoilers)| Carenza Bramwell

Taken from Google Images

Title- The Mauritanian 

Creators- Kevin Macdonald, M.B Traven, Rory Haines and Sorhrab Noshirvani   

Cast- Tahar Rahim, Jodie Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch and Shailene Woodley 

Genre- legal drama, based on real events

Length- 2 hours

Platform- Amazon Prime (UK)

Rating- 4/5 stars

Plot

Based on the NY Times best-selling memoir "Guantánamo Diary" by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, this is the true story of Slahi's fight for freedom after being detained and imprisoned without charge by the U.S. Government for years. Alone and afraid, Slahi finds allies in defense attorney Nancy Hollander and her associate Teri Duncan who battle the U.S. government in a fight for justice that tests their commitment to the law and their client at every turn. Their controversial advocacy, along with evidence uncovered by a formidable military prosecutor, Lt. Colonel Stuart Couch, uncovers shocking truths and ultimately proves that the human spirit cannot be locked up. Written by STXfilms.

Taken from IMDb. 

Opinions 

I had wanted to watch this film after hearing about it through the awards season, for which Jodie Foster won an award for her work in this film. I was very surprised to see it available on Amazon Prime as I wasn't expecting it to be available in the UK. As the summary mentions, this is based on the true events of what happened to Mohamedou. I'm now really interested in reading the book as I'd like to read it from his account. I'd recommend doing some research into this film before you watch it as it's fascinating. 

Taken from Google Images

Tahar Rahim had been on my radar after watching The Serpent, which he stared in as the titular character. While I hadn't enjoyed the series overall, the performances, particularly from Rahim were amazing. He holds this film. As the titular character, you really go on this journey with him. Rahim never makes the performance feel cliched. He brings so much depth to the role. I'm interested in watching some of his other performances as he is a really good actor. This is a harrowing film. It is hard to believe that this actually happened to someone. Yet through Rahim's performance, he brings that lightness that is needed and is based on Mohamedou. It's really one characters perseverance and hopefulness that shines throughout.

Taken from Google Images

The whole core cast was incredibly strong. These roles were a bit more cliched, despite being based on real people. You don't have quite the same emotional connection to them as you do to Mohamedou. The performances were strong and despite being slightly cliched, they never felt like caricatures. Aside from Benedict Cumberbatch's Lt. Colonel Stuart Couch, there isn't much information online about the real life counterparts as I'd like to know more about these people.

Taken from Google Images

This film could have easily been a cliche legal drama and it wasn't. It showed Mohamedou as a person. His hopefulness shone throughout. With Rahim's performance in the central role, the lighter moments did feel like. It never felt too heavy. The torture scenes, which have been criticised online, were okay to me. I think they had to be there and they could have easily gone on for much longer than they did. I think they gave us a nice (well nice isn't the right word, but you know what I mean) snapshot into the horrors Mohamedou faced. 

I liked how they ended the film, with clips of the real life Mohamedou and how he's doing. Despite the awful things he went through, he seems like this optimistic guy filled with happiness. I keep mentioning the hopefulness of this film and it's such a key theme. It can be easy to leave films based on true events feeling miserable, but this one was optimistic. I think that's exactly what we need right now.   

Those are my thoughts and opinions on the Mauritanian. What did you think of the film?

Carenza :)x 

Managing Exams and Deadline Season| Carenza Bramwell

The time that every student dreads has arrived. Exam and deadline season. As I write this, I am five weeks away from handing in my first deadline. This time of year is always hellish and so I wanted to write a blog post about how to manage exam and deadline season.

Now, I can only speak from personal experience. I'm in my final year studying Creative and Professional Writing. Our course is entirely coursework based, meaning I've only done one university exam. I am going to be mostly talking about how to manage deadline season, but I'm sure some of my advice can be applied to those studying for exams. To any students reading this, I want to wish you the best of luck and here are some things I do to make this time period manageable. 

To-Do Lists

This could be a personal preference, but as deadline season approaches, I always feel a bit overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to do. Studying four, intense writing modules, means I have a lot of work to prep for. At this point, I often feel so overwhelmed that I can't start. This is where my first tip comes in. Making to do lists.

I find that setting time aside before I actually start working creating a list of what's due when, what I need to prioritise and so on creates a sense of order in the chaos. I like to write out one big master list with all the things I need to do for all my modules. I include all deadlines (such as when the piece is due and if there's a feedback/tutorial deadline). I like to structure my list in order of which module is due first. I find this means that my priority goes from what is due soon to what is due in the future. 

My method of writing lists involves writing out the master to do list on word/notes etc so then I can go and add stuff as and when I need to. Personally, I am more of a handwriter than typer, but with these lists there's often so much to put on, that typing it is more beneficial. Once I have my master to do list complete, I like to break it down into when I want or need to get stuff done by. I find that breaking it down into a list of dates again makes the chaos seem more manageable. Finally, once I know when I have to get stuff done by, I go and write it on my calendar and my planner. This means I always know what work I've got to do that week.  

Some people view this process as procrastinating, but by taking as much time as you need to make to-do lists or a schedule it means that you can keep on top of your work more efficiently. You aren't trying to work out what you need to do because you already know what you need to do. Everyone has their own method for scheduling and creating to do lists. This is just how I like to do it. Feel free to try my method or stick with what works for you.

Take Breaks

I don't know about anyone else, but this is something I often need to be reminded to do during deadline season. It can feel wrong, but you need to take breaks. Give yourself a rest from all the hard work you're doing. It's okay to do this. 

What I like to do is to schedule in lots of ten minute breaks throughout the day. I try to get two hours of work done in the morning. Starting at around 9:30-9:50am, I get an hours work in, then take ten minutes off. I'll do another hour and then have lunch. I try to get back to work at around 1pm. Depending on how I'm feeling, I like to finish working for the day at between 4-5pm. The largest amount of work I do in an afternoon is about three hours. I always try to get up and move around every hour as I find sitting at my desk all day quite painful.

Recently, I've rediscovered my love for the app called Forest. It's a productivity timer app that you can use to time work sessions from 10 minutes to 2 hours. Lately, when I was feeling a bit burnt out and needed a break, I began using this app again. It's really helped my motivation as I love growing the tiny virtual trees. I'd highly recommend this app.

Again, everyone has their own work methods and how they like to take breaks. This is just the method that works for me. I don't always do everything on my to do list. Please do what's best for you as you know what's best for you. 

Routines

This is something I've touched on briefly in the taking breaks section, but making a routine is really valuable. Especially at the moment when there isn't much structure to our days due to the pandemic. I like to treat my day like a work day. I typically work from roughly 9am-5pm. I take an hour for lunch and make sure I take regular breaks to get up and move the body. 

Once I stop for the day, that's it. I've stopped. I tidy up my workspace so then I'm ready for the next day. I'm very lucky that at my family home I have a separate work space from my bedroom. This means that when I want to finish, I can leave all my work in another room. It creates that separation that I miss about going onto campus. 

My evening routine involves lots of reading. I like to try and read for an hour by myself after I finish working. I do my daily Duolingo for 5-10 minutes a day. I then spend the rest of the evening before I go to bed with my family. I know how difficult it can be to switch off and have that separation during this time, but it is so valuable that you do. It's a mentally and physically exhausting time, so give yourself that little rest-bite that you need to feel recharged for more work the next day.   

So those are my tips on how to manage exam and deadline season. I hope you find these useful and that you are able to use some of them in your own management. Once again, good luck to all the students reading this with deadlines and exams coming up. This year hasn't been easy, but we are so near the end and then we can give ourselves a bit of a break. 

Carenza :) x 

Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare Book Review (Contains Spoilers)| Carenza Bramwell

Title- Chain of Iron    

Author- Cassandra Clare

Series- The Last Hours (Shadowhunter Chronicles)

Published- 2021

Page Count- 656 pages

Publishing House- Simon&Schuster 

Genre- YA Urban Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Rating- 4/5 stars 

To read my review of Chain of Gold, click here. 

About the Author

Cassandra Clare was born to American parents in Teheran, Iran and spent much of her childhood travelling the world with her family, including one trek through the Himalayas as a toddler where she spent a month living in her father’s backpack. She lived in France, England and Switzerland before she was ten years old.

Taken from Cassandra's website. 

Plot

The Shadowhunters must catch a killer in Edwardian London in this dangerous and romantic sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling novel Chain of Gold, from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Cassandra Clare. Chain of Iron is a Shadowhunters novel.

Cordelia Carstairs seems to have everything she ever wanted. She’s engaged to marry James Herondale, the boy she has loved since childhood. She has a new life in London with her best friend Lucie Herondale and James’s charming companions, the Merry Thieves. She is about to be reunited with her beloved father. And she bears the sword Cortana, a legendary hero’s blade.

But the truth is far grimmer. James and Cordelia’s marriage is a lie, arranged to save Cordelia’s reputation. James is in love with the mysterious Grace Blackthorn whose brother, Jesse, died years ago in a terrible accident. Cortana burns Cordelia’s hand when she touches it, while her father has grown bitter and angry. And a serial murderer is targeting the Shadowhunters of London, killing under cover of darkness, then vanishing without a trace.

Together with the Merry Thieves, Cordelia, James, and Lucie must follow the trail of the knife-wielding killer through the city’s most dangerous streets. All the while, each is keeping a shocking secret: Lucie, that she plans to raise Jesse from the dead; Cordelia, that she has sworn a dangerous oath of loyalty to a mysterious power; and James, that he is being drawn further each night into the dark web of his grandfather, the arch-demon Belial. And that he himself may be the killer they seek.

Taken from Goodreads. 

Opinions

I was very excited to be back in this world. I needed this book as my uni life has been very stressful and I couldn't wait to be back with my favourites. I reread Chain of Gold in preparation for Chain of Iron. I'm glad I did as I had forgotten most of what had happened. It has put me in the mood to reread all the Shadowhunter books again. These books are special to me and I hope I'll always be excited for them.

Something I spotted about this series in particular that I don't remember being as prominent in Cassie's other books is how character driven it was. I am a character reader mostly. I like caring about characters, even if the plot is a bit lacking. However, this leaned too heavily on character based storylines. I felt like the main plotline was interesting, however it wasn't explored as much as I would have liked it to be. I also figured out very early on who the murderer was, which meant it wasn't as surprising. It's been about a month since I read this and I can't remember much about what happens in it. This did end up relying a bit too heavily on the love triangle/whatever shape it is at this point for my liking. I would have liked more plot to have been weaved through. 

I think part of the reason I struggled with this book was because I read it in three days. Looking back, I regret this, as I feel it demanded a bit more attention. I felt the same way when I read Chain of Gold. I will most likely reread both books before the final one comes out and I'm going to take my time. I might even tab them, which is something I started doing with Lord of Shadows (which remains the last Shadowhunter book that truly shocked and destroyed me) and I think it might help me connect with the story. 

So far in this review, I have been very negative, which I don't like, so it's time to talk about some things I did like. The romance between Alistair and Thomas. We all saw it coming in Chain of Gold and it was done so well. I like that it hasn't been rushed, that they are two men taking their time. It feels like a very genuine relationship and one I'm excited to see explored more in the final book. Now, I know I said I didn't want to be negative, but I can't not mention it in this section Anna and Ariadne's relationship. I'm not sure why they started using their relationship in such a toxic way, but when we know both of them clearly love each other, it felt wrong to their characters. This was something Cassie talked about in the UK event (virtual event) I went to and I hope it's discussed more in the final book. Cassie always handles her relationships really well, which is something I admire about her writing. 

This section is hard to talk about as it does have spoiler links to The Dark Artifices, however I'm imaging that most people reading this have read TDA, but I'm still going to be as spoiler free as possible. I'm very interested in the plot line with Lucie, Grace and Malcolm. I didn't see that coming and is possibly the thing I'm the most interested in reading in the final book. It was a nice link to TDA, providing us with some solid backstory while being key to this storyline. 

I plan on rereading this book at some point and I'll be reading it slower as to absorb the story better. I felt this way with Chain of Gold that it felt too rushed. So far, The Last Hours hasn't really made an impact on me. The Infernal Devices remains my absolute favourite series by Cassie and I thought I'd love being back in London with their children, but these books just haven't wowed me. This could be because my tastes as a reader have changed significantly. I look forward to seeing where this story goes and will probably reread all the books at some point in one big year long reread like I did back in 2018. I think I'm in a minority as I've seen a lot of people gushing over this book. 

What did you think of Chain of Iron? 

Carenza x :)