21 Books for 21 Years- A Bookish Birthday Post| Carenza Bramwell

Today's post, as the title says, is 21 books for 21 years. In other words, today is my 21st birthday. I thought I would share 21 books that had a big impact on me or I have fun memories of reading them. As there are 21 books, I'm going to keep this post short and sweet. 

1- Twas the Night Before Christmas (children's version)

I'll be honest, I don't remember reading this one, but I have a photo of me using a children's fabric version as a blanket when I was about 4 months old. And thus began my journey to becoming a bookworm.

2- Humphrey's Corner by Sally Hunter 

This is a sweet book about a small elephant called Humphrey who just wants to find the perfect place to play. Someone bought me this as a child and gave me a cuddly version of the main character, that I still treasure to this day. At 21 years old, my very battered and well-travelled/loved Humphrey, still has a spot on my bed. 

 

3- Red, Yellow, Blue and Green 

These are four books about each of the colours above. They take you through objects that are those colours. I have no idea who wrote them sadly. I have a memory of my grandpa reading them to me when I was little. I remember just running up and demanding he read them to me over and over. 

4- The Rainbow Fairies 

When I started primary school, my mum would take me to the local library once a week and I was allowed to borrow a book or two. So I started with the Rainbow Fairies. They've expanded a lot since the early 2000s and there's now a fairy for everything. I even think Greta Thunberg has been turned into one, which is pretty cool. I remember these being great fun and liking the illustrations as well as the stories. 

5-Five Minutes Peace by Jill Murphy  

This was a book we used to be read in one of our classes at primary school. It's about a mother elephant (I see to have a thing for elephants) wanting just five minutes peace from her children and husband. We used to love having this read to us by our teacher. 

6- Matilda by Roald Dahl 

I read a lot of Roald Dahl as a kid, but Matilda was always my favourite. She was a fun little bookworm who got up to great things. I also remember liking the BFG and the Twits, but Matilda has a special place in my heart. 

7- Horrid Henry- the Audiobook

I had a CD player in my bedroom and a small stack of CDs to listen to, one of which was a Horrid Henry story narrated by Miranda Richardson. I don't know if I ever read any of the physical books, but I listened to this so many times, that I can still remember all her voices for the characters as I'm writing this. 

8- Astrosaurs 

The Astrosaurs was my first ever World Book Day book. My dad bought it for me and I loved it so much that I went onto read some of the other books. These are about dinosaurs in space and I remember them being great fun.

9- Midnight by Jacquline Wilson

I read a lot of Jacquline Wilson books a child, but my favourite was always Midnight. This is about a girl called Violet who likes theses fairy books and writes to the author about them. She then befriends the popular new girl and it spirals out from there. I still have my copy of Midnight, which is very well read. It was on the slightly spooky side, which is why I think I liked it more than the other ones. 

10- Harry Potter by JKR 

Okay, so this one is going to take a bit of explaining. Harry Potter played a huge part in my upbringing. I have fond memories of reading the books and watching the films. It shaped me into the person I am today. Since JKR's comments in June 2020, I have distanced myself from this series. I have stopped buying Harry Potter themed items and in no way, shape or form do I support JKR. But I can't deny what Harry Potter has done for me and what it means to me. I will treasure the memories I have of it. 

11- Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman 

I was probably a bit on the young side to be reading this series, but I think this was the first YA series I ever read. I'm fairly certain I borrowed it from the library before acquiring my own copies. This follows to young people, one a white inferior Nought and the other a black superior Cross. It's a reimagining where people of colour are from the higher classes and white people are the second rate citizens. They just did a great adaptation of it on the BBC. I loved this series and I still need to finish it. But I remember being swept away by it. 

 

12- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 

I started reading these books in school as the films were coming out. We actually studied them in my English class when I was 12. Being the bookworm that I was, while everyone else was reading The Hunger Games, I was reading Catching Fire under the table as I'd already finished The Hunger Games. I haven't read them since then and I'd love to reread then nearly ten years later as when I originally read them, I somehow didn't realise that a main character had been killed off until someone told me two years later. And I still need to finish the films. These books were the first ones I remember become obsessed with and I'll always treasure those memories. 

13- City of Bones by Cassandra Clare 

City of Bones and the Shadowhunter Chronicles came into my life when I was going through an especially difficult period. I found a lot of solace in these books as a teen. I bought the book and then the DVD of the film. I love the film adaptation as it introduced me to these books. I quickly collected all the books that were out at the time and read them over and over and over. As soon as I finished a reread, I'd jump straight back to book one. I will forever be grateful for these books, for them coming into my life when I was going through the most difficult period of my life. 

14- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 

Despite no longer owning my beloved copies of my John Green books, I had a great time reading them. I was adamant that I wouldn't cry while reading TFIOS and yet I sobbed buckets. I went and saw the film with a friend at the time and we made it into a special weekend. We made our own t-shirts. It was the first time I remember being excited for a book to movie adaptation of a beloved book. I hope wherever my boxset ended up after deciding I wouldn't reread these books and that I no longer wanted them, it ended up with someone who enjoys them as much as I did. 

 

15- Divergent by Veronica Roth

Another book series that I became obsessed with due to the films. My friend and I went and saw the first one in the cinema. I then went out and bought the books. I really enjoyed them. Even when I had the final one spoiled for me by some random girl in my school canteen when I was reading Insurgent while my friends ate lunch. Around this time, I read these books countless times because I couldn't imagine enjoying anything else. I didn't end up finishing the film adaptations as I got about thirty minutes into Insurgent and turned it off. The books were pretty good. 

16- A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

One of the most beloved books in the book community. I too was swept up in the ACOMAF fever in 2016. I actually have a signed and personalised copy from America as a good friend of my dad's works in one of the big bookshops over there and kindly sent me my own copy when I told my dad I was a fan of the books. I know these books have their problems and following ACOWAR, I stopped reading the series. Yet this one just swept me away. It's a beast of a book and I read it in three days, which was unheard of for little 16 year old me. I haven't been swept up in the hype of a book quite like it since this one. It was a great experience. 

17- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 

I have been meaning to reread The Night Circus for a while as I call it one of my favourite books and yet I've only read it once. I loved the story. I was still in college while reading it and we actually ended up studying an extract of it which was a section I hadn't read. I sacrificed my reading for my education. Erin Morgenstern is an incredible writer, she has such a beautiful writing style. I can't wait to reread her books at some point as they are works of art.  

18- Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

I realised that I haven't mentioned many, if any LGBT books and as that is something that became quite important to me in 2018, it felt fitting to have this book here. I bought and read this very quickly. It was a sweet romance, if a tiny bit predictable. This book opened my eyes to the world of LGBT literature, which is something I now actively seek out. Autoboyography has survived many unhauls because of the fond memories I have of reading it and how it introduced me to this whole world LGBT books. 

19- Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin 

I may go as far to say that this is my favourite series. I've now read this book three times and each time it reaches a point where I become so absorbed that I forget the real world exists. Yes, this book has it's flaws and I can see why people don't like it. But I love the characters, Lou is a favourite of mine and I would love to be friends with her in real life. The magic system is unique. They're fun and silly, yet they handle the darker tone well. I'm currently rereading the series in preparation for the final book and I can't wait to see what happens. Shelby Mahurin has an exciting writing career ahead. 

20- The Confession by Jessie Burton 

Part of the reason this book is on this list was because it was the first time in my life that I had read about a character with the same name as me and the other reason why was because I couldn't stop reading this book. Jessie Burton is one of my favourite authors, I really enjoyed The Muse (The Miniturist not so much sadly). She has a way of creating these mysteries with interesting timelines. You're always trying to piece together the mystery from fragments. They're the type of book that you don't want to stop reading. I look forward to reading what ever she publishes next.

21- If We Were Villains by M.L Rio

Despite the fact that 2021 isn't over, I have a feeling that this book will make it onto my favourite list for the year. This is about a group of theatre students at a competitive theatre school and what happens when one of them dies. I was blown away by this book. I loved the characters, the story, the writing. Everything about it. It was just an incredible book. I've become quite interested in dark academia this year, specifically the books within this genre, so this was right up my ally. Not sure if I've read anything that will top this yet.  

So those were some books that have shaped me into the person I am today. Some honourable mentions that didn't make it onto this list are Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and anything Alice Oseman writes. 

Luca Film Review (Contains Spoilers)| Carenza Bramwell

Taken from Google Images

Title- Luca

Creators- Enrico Casarosa, Andrea Warren

Cast- Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Maya Rudolph, Emma Berman plus ensemble cast

Genre- action, animation, family friendly 

Length- 2 hours

Platform- Disney+

Rating- 4/5 stars  

Plot

Set in a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera, Disney and Pixar’s original feature film “Luca” is a coming-of-age story about one young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer filled with gelato, pasta and endless scooter rides. Luca (voice of Jacob Tremblay) shares these adventures with his newfound best friend, Alberto (voice of Jack Dylan Grazer), but all the fun is threatened by a deeply-held secret: they are sea monsters from another world just below the water’s surface. “Luca” is directed by Academy Award® nominee Enrico Casarosa (“La Luna”) and produced by Andrea Warren (“Lava,” “Cars 3”).

Taken from the Disney website.

Opinions

A friend of mine kept on telling me to watch Luca after they had enjoyed it. It was on my to watch list while we currently have Disney+ and you can never go wrong with a Disney/Pixar movie. After watching Raya and the Last Dragon, which I enjoyed but wasn't wowed by, I set my bar a bit low for this film and ended up being pleasantly surprised. 

Taken from Google Images

The friendships in this film are what keep this story moving. Luca and Alberto have such a genuine friendship, with a lot of respect and fun. As the older friend, Alberto could have easily been a bully or condescending friend, he made Luca feel welcome and taught him the ways of the human world. This friendship did have it's rocky moments, with the big story moment before the final act being Luca and Alberto falling out. It had a genuine apology. I really liked this friendship. They also made an excellent trio with Gulia. I wish there could be more friendships like this in Disney/Pixar films. Not once was romance mentioned. It was just a purely platonic friendship. Very sweet.

Taken from Google Images

The setting of the Italian Riviera has made me so desperate to travel, more than I already was after such a long time of being stuck inside. Italy is on my to travel list. If COVID-19 and the pandemic hadn't happened, I would have gone inter-railing in 2020 and my plan was to spend a week or so in Italy. Now more than ever do I want to explore these tiny seaside towns with their beautiful landscapes. The animation captured the beauty of location. I've noticed that animation has come a long way since I've been watching Pixar films. The quality is stunning and makes for something truly beautiful to look at. These are pieces of art. 

My only complaint, which isn't really a complaint, is that the story didn't entirely blow me away. I felt it took a bit too long to get to the central plot, which was the race around the town. I did enjoy learning about the under the sea life, but wanted to see more about Luca and Alberto's time on land. We got to see some of that in the credits, which were some of the most wonderful credits I've ever seen and make me wish that my artistic talents went further than being able to draw stickmen and badly drawn cats. Honestly, these credits were gorgeous. 

Taken from Google Images

Lastly, I just want to say that the grumpy cat character was iconic and I would like to see a whole mini story about this cat as I loved it that much. That might be because I really like cats and will always gravitate towards a cat character. It was just the grumpiest icon ever. I will hear nothing against this cat.  

What did you think of Luca?

5 Books I Want to Read By The End of the Year| Carenza Bramwell

Every year I make a post like this. Every year I only read one or two books off this list. I've decided this is the year that changes. Recently I put all my unread books onto my Goodreads account and I have 152 unread books. That's a lot of books. So from now on, I'm going to make it my priority to get my TBR in check. Here are five books I want ,and am going to try very hard to read, by the end of the year. 

1) Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton

I read Rebel of the Sands back in 2016 and really enjoyed it. So much so that when the other two books were released, I had them on preorder. Have I continued this series? I have not. I don't know why as I really enjoyed it. Maybe it was the increase in length as Rebel of the Sands was a much smaller book than the other two. As it's been five years since I read Rebel of the Sands, it is going to require a reread first. But I'm excited to finally find out what happens in this series. 

2) Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin

Similar to Traitor to the Throne, I adored Wolf by Wolf back in 2016. And for some reason I never finished the series. I think in 2016-17, I was discovering my reading tastes and so I bounced from book to book a lot. Books I had been excited for got pushed aside for newer, shinier models. Sorry books that have been on my TBR for like five years. You are loved. So I'll reread Wolf by Wolf and then dive into Blood for Blood to find out how this series ends. 

3) Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

This is a beast of a book. A family friend bought this for me after learning I was a fan of Hamilton. I have had this on my TBR for about four years. 2021 is the year I'm going to read it. I wasn't the biggest fan of non-fiction, but I've begun reading it more this year. I want to add this to the pile of non-fiction books I've read. I may listen to it on audiobook if I can find it on Scribd (which is the platform I'm currently using). 

4) The Dragon Republic by R.F Kuang 

The newest edition to this list. I bought this earlier this year after reading and adoring The Poppy War. I'm planning on spacing out the series as it is very heavy and the final book isn't out in paperback yet. I've heard that The Dragon Republic is a bit heavier than The Poppy War so I'm now very worried for these characters. I've been moving more towards books aimed at adults rather than YA, so this is my first foray into adult fantasy. I need to know that these characters are okay and am going to be putting it on my TBR soon.

5) Heroes by Stephen Fry

Like The Dragon Republic, this is a newer edition to my TBR as I bought it using a book voucher I got for Christmas 2020. I read Mythos last November and was surprised by it. I think Stephen Fry is an incredible human and just as incredible a writer. He makes these stories funny and informative. It's a very strong contender for my November TBR.

Those are five books I'd like to knock off my TBR by the end of the year. How many books do you have on your TBR??  

  

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo Book Review (Contains Spoilers)| Carenza Bramwell

Title- Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

Author- Cho Nam-Joo

Series- N/A

Published- 2021

Page Count- 163 pages

Publishing House- Simon&Schuster 

Genre- translated fiction (South Korea), feminist fiction, modern literature

Rating- 4/5 stars

About the Author

Cho Nam-joo is a former television scriptwriter. In the writing of Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 she drew partly on her own experience as a woman who quit her job to stay at home after giving birth to a child.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 is her third novel. It has had a profound impact on gender inequality and discrimination in Korean society, and has been translated into 18 languages.

Taken from Goodreads.

Plot

Kim Jiyoung is a girl born to a mother whose in-laws wanted a boy. Kim Jiyoung is a sister made to share a room while her brother gets one of his own.

Kim Jiyoung is a female preyed upon by male teachers at school. Kim Jiyoung is a daughter whose father blames her when she is harassed late at night.

Kim Jiyoung is a good student who doesn't get put forward for internships. Kim Jiyoung is a model employee but gets overlooked for promotion. Kim Jiyoung is a wife who gives up her career and independence for a life of domesticity.

Kim Jiyoung has started acting strangely. Kim Jiyoung is depressed. Kim Jiyoung is mad. Kim Jiyoung is her own woman. Kim Jiyoung is every woman.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 is the life story of one young woman born at the end of the twentieth century and raises questions about endemic misogyny and institutional oppression that are relevant to us all. Riveting, original and uncompromising, this is the most important book to have emerged from South Korea since Han Kang's The Vegetarian.

Taken from Goodreads

Opinions 

I had seen this book a few times on bookstagram, with it getting a lot of praise. It seemed that a lot of people suddenly started talking about this book. I did a bit of research into it and decided it was something I was interested in reading. I took it on holiday with me when I went to Exeter in July. It was a very good holiday read.

Maybe because I was so busy doing things every day while I was on holiday, but I felt that this had a bit of a rocky start. I found it hard to engage with the first couple of chapters, particularly the second one. I couldn't keep a track of who was who as we were introduced to all of Kim Jiyoung's family. We met her grandmother and mother, which made me a bit confused as to what was happening. However, as we moved through the book I worked out what was going on and who was who.

The middle section right up until the final chapter were incredible. I didn't want to put this book down. I went from not being very invested and thinking this was going to be a three star book to being obsessed and knowing this was going to be a four star read. Kim Jiyoung was an interesting character. I think the middle section of this book was my favourite as it made me feel a lot of things, which I'll talk about in the next section. I particularly liked how it moved through her life from her birth, which is why we had the backstory about her family and I got confused, to her experience as a mother. It captured all the layers of her life, weaving in these important themes and messages. 

This books message was incredibly powerful. It made me feel angry because these are things I had heard, especially with the author backing it up with statistics. I think this is a book that everyone needs to read as the messages are so important. These sadly are still things that are thought about women. That we should have good careers and be perfect wives/mothers. That often experiences will go to men simply because they are men. Some women are pressured to having children and their in-laws want a certain gender for their grandchildren. Even though attitudes have changed, we still experience things like this. Like I said, this book made me angry at times but that was because in some way or other, I have had similar experiences to Kim Jiyoung. 

I'll be honest, I didn't like the ending. I really enjoyed going through Kim Jiyoung's life and then suddenly we were with some male American therapist. It just felt a bit random and took away from the powerful message of this book. I didn't want some male's opinion on these issues and then to learn about his own life. It didn't sit right with me.     

What did you think of Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982?

A Day in the Life of a Creative Writing Graduate| Carenza Bramwell

When I was still a student, I would make posts about my daily activities and what I got up to as a student. Now that I have graduated (which even two months later feels very weird to say), I thought I would share a day in the life of a creative writing graduate. This is what a typical day in my life looks like now.

Morning

I use my mornings for content creation. While I am job hunting, I have made the decision to go full time with my content creation on my various platforms. So a morning for me could look like writing blog posts, writing tweets, planning content or taking bookstagram photos. Basically writing, planning or a photography session. 

I try to work from around 9:30 until I have lunch at 12. I do take a little break if I start to feel a bit tired or like I need to change up what I'm doing. I really like my morning routine as it gets some of my key tasks done and makes me feel quite productive. 

Afternoon

After having lunch with my family, my afternoons are for two things- job hunting and teaching myself about social media marketing. Now that I've finished my degree, the next stage in my life is to get a job. So far, it's a slow process of lots of applications and rejections. I tend to work on applications for max two hours as I do find it emotionally draining. 

Once I've had enough of scrolling through jobs and looking for ones to apply for, I do some work on teaching myself about social media marketing. This is to help me improve my own social media platforms and to help me develop key skills for the types of jobs I'm applying for. I have a social media marketing book for dummies that I'm slowly making my way through. I'll read and make notes on things I believe are relevant as I go. I do miss learning so this is one way for me to keep that side of me going. 

Evening 

I tend to finish my tasks for the day at around 4pm. My evening consists of reading, doing my daily Duolingo, household tasks and watching something. I like to get about an hour or so of reading done before I have tea with my family. I'm trying to be a bit stricter with it as sometimes I can get sucked down a YouTube wormhole. Before finishing my degree, I was just taking French on Duolingo but now I've started learning Italian and Japanese as they are languages I've wanted to learn for a while. I only do about 10 minutes a day, but I really enjoy it. 

I then help with whatever household tasks require me before going back to reading or watching something. Sometimes my parents and I will go for a walk before we do our evening routines, which I do like. I find it hard sometimes to fit a walk into my day with wanting to get so much done, so I like going for walks with them.

And that concludes a typical day in my life. I miss having a routine so I'm trying to build one up for myself now that I'm a graduate as it could be quite a while before I get a job. I hope you liked this post. 

Loki TV Show Review (Contains Spoilers)| Carenza Bramwell

Taken from Google Images

Title- Loki

Creators- Michael Waldron, Kate Herron

Cast- Tom Hiddleston, Sophia Di Martino, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw 

Genre- Marvel, superhero, sci-fi, drama

Length- 6 episodes

Platform- Disney+

Rating- 4/5 stars

Plot

The mercurial villain Loki resumes his role as the God of Mischief in a new series that takes place after the events of “Avengers: Endgame.”

Taken from IMDb

Opinions

I would consider myself to be a big Marvel fan. Since March of this year, my family and I have been watching all the Marvel films in release order every Monday. We decided to do this after watching WandaVision and being a bit confused because it had been so long since we had watched the films. We've had to take a few breaks for when I've been away, but as of this going live we have two films left (that are currently out on DVD). We enjoyed WandaVision, have only watched two episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but were very excited for Loki.

Taken from Google Images

I am very happy that I managed to avoid too many major spoilers for the show as Twitter was filled with them. Loki has been a favourite character of mine since Thor came out. I even have a little Lego Loki keyring on my keys. Before watching the show, I saw that Loki had been confirmed to be gender fluid and bisexual. It's hard to believe that we're only just getting our first openly LGBT+ Marvel character (main character) in 2021. But, a very short summary is that I think Loki is a great character, which made me very excited for this show. 

Taken from Google Images

As this show is all about Loki variants, of course I add Sylvie to my favourite MCU characters list. While it was clear that she was a Loki, she was her own character. She had sass and was a badass. We deserve and need more Sylvie content. I felt that she and Loki had great chemistry, that felt very real. The banter between them in episode three was top quality. I'm trying to make this a series review, but instead I feel like I'm just fangirling about how much I love these characters. They really made the show. Plus Sylvie is played by a Northern actress, and as a Northerner myself, she automatically becomes a favourite of mine. Sophia Di Martino did an incredible job with this role. 

Taken from Twitter

I would like to take a moment to praise the aesthetic of this show. Let's start with the direction. Kate Herron did an amazing job with this show. I didn't realise while watching, but Kate Herron also directed four episodes of Sex Education (which is one of my favourite shows). Kate Herron might be my new favourite director. She is an icon. On the very slim chance that Kate Herron is reading this, then I would like it to be known that I think you're great and you've done amazing. Iconic. Now let's talk about the cinematography. This took my breath away. There's this shot (which I've included above this section and I found from this tweet), which is one of the most beautiful shots I have ever seen. I've seen a few comments about how this show is all about the female gaze and I have to agree. The shot setups, the lightning. Just everything is beautiful. I love the music! I am a big fan of soundtracks to films and TV shows, this one has now been added to the ones I listen to regularly. I could go on and on about how much I love the individual creative choices that went into making this show, such as the costumes and set designs, so instead of me rambling about this, I'd recommend the making of documentary called Assembled (there's one for WandaVision and TFATWS too). Disney+ has some great behind the scenes documentaries for their shows. 

Okay now that I've waffled about how much I love the aesthetic of this show, I will get to my one complaint. I wasn't wowed with the plot/premise of this show. I feel that it was a much more character driven show. Compared to WandaVision, which had an excellent premise and felt very unique, this wasn't as great as everyone was making it out to be. I really think that the plot was the only let down. Nevertheless, I still really enjoyed myself, I was just expecting something a bit more for some reason. That being said, I can see it having a much stronger plot in series two, which brings me nicely to my final point.

I am so excited for series two. I need to know what happens to Loki and Sylvie, as well as the other characters, such as Mobius (who was also very cool). I'd like to see more Croki and Fror (Frog Thor). I think I'll be rewatching this show soon so I can go and see all the cool Easter Eggs. A very solid show.     

Let's Get Reacquainted- Meet the Book Blogger| Carenza Bramwell

I've been creating content on here since June 2015. In those 6 years, my blog has morphed from a beauty/lifestyle site into a bookish/culture place. When I started, I was still doing my GCSEs and now I have a degree, so it's safe to say a lot has changed. In today's post, I thought I would share some interesting facts about myself in order for you to get reacquainted with me. 

Meet the Book Blogger

Shout out to my dad for helping me take this photo!

I'm Carenza, a twenty something year old based in the UK. I write about books, films, TV shows and my experiences as a Creative and Professional Writing graduate. I completed my degree in Creative and Professional Writing in 2021, before which I would write about my student experience. Currently I am looking to start my career as a professional writer and am filling that time by working full time on my various social media platforms. 

I have a pet cat called Mac (his full name is McKenzie) who features frequently on my Instagram account (@carenzaonbooks). We adopted him in 2008 after I begged my parents for a pet when I realised I was the only person in my class without one. He was already named when we got him, which is probably for the best as I gave him the unofficial middle name of Merlin as it was the same year the show began airing. He is thirteen year old tabby cat and we love him very much. Mac's favourite things are sleeping, eating, trying to escape and coming for cuddles. I am very biased but I do believe he is the best cat and I won't hear otherwise. Just look at him!

My favourite genre is fantasy. I've always been a reader but since the age of thirteen, I really got into book. I became a part of the book community in 2016 after discovering bookstagram and I haven't looked back since. I have 6 shelves of fantasy books out of eighteen shelves total. Some of my favourite fantasy books are Serpent&Dove, anything Cassandra Clare writes and Strange the Dreamer. 

I have 5 ways of tracking my reading. I actually have a whole blog post about this, which you can read here. It started as just one, with Goodreads being the main way I tracked my reading. Then in 2020, I began keeping a handwritten list as I really like handwriting things. Then in 2021, it expanded. I have a twitter and Instagram thread of all the books I've read. In April, I discovered the CAWPILE method created by BooksRoast and was converted to using it. Having this many methods does take up a lot of time and I probably will cut back on some of them in 2022, but we will see. 

My degree specialty is in scriptwriting. For my final year and dissertation, I wrote an original screenplay. It was a TV Pilot and something I was incredibly proud of. One day, I'd like to write the rest of the series. At this moment in time, I am leaning more towards a career as a fiction writer, but I wouldn't rule out a return to script writing. Since finishing my degree in June 2021, I have taken a break from writing (except for blog posts etc) as I found studying during the pandemic hard and need to give my brain a bit of a break. I'm planning on starting working on a new project this September!  

I am currently learning three languages. I love learning. I always have. As my degree was more creative than academic, I really missed the academic side of things. When we went into lockdown in March 2020, I decided to pick up French. I had spent five years learning it at school and was a part of a bilingual class where we took some of other lessons in French as well. Sadly, I didn't continue after those five years and forgot a lot of what I had learned. So, ever since March 2020, I have been doing French on Duolingo. I'm now nearly 500 days into my streak. Since June 2021, I have also started learning Italian and Japanese as they are languages I have wanted to learn for a while. I love learning these languages and can't wait to be able to understand them better. 

Those were some facts about me in a meet the book blogger post. I hoped you guys enjoyed this!  
 

The Familiars by Stacey Halls Book Review (Contains Spoilers)| Carenza Bramwell

Title- The Familiars

Author- Stacey Halls

Series- N/A

Published- 2019

Page Count- 448 pages

Publishing House- Zaffre Publishing 

Genre- historical fiction, gothic, feminist

Rating- 4/5 stars

About the Author

Stacey Halls was born in 1989 and grew up in Rossendale, Lancashire. She studied journalism at the University of Central Lancashire and has written for publications including the Guardian, Stylist, Psychologies, The Independent, The Sun and Fabulous. 

Her first book The Familiars was the bestselling debut novel of 2019. The Foundling is her second novel.

Taken from Stacey's website.

Plot

Young Fleetwood Shuttleworth, a noblewoman, is with child again. None of her previous pregnancies have borne fruit, and her husband, Richard, is anxious for an heir. Then Fleetwood discovers a hidden doctor’s letter that carries a dire prediction: she will not survive another birth. By chance she meets a midwife named Alice Grey, who promises to help her deliver a healthy baby. But Alice soon stands accused of witchcraft.

Is there more to Alice than meets the eye? Fleetwood must risk everything to prove her innocence. As the two women’s lives become intertwined, the Witch Trials of 1612 loom. Time is running out; both their lives are at stake. Only they know the truth. Only they can save each other.

Rich and compelling, set against the frenzy of the real Pendle Hill Witch Trials, this novel explores the rights of 17th-century women and raises the question: Was witch-hunting really women-hunting? Fleetwood Shuttleworth, Alice Grey and the other characters are actual historical figures. King James I was obsessed with asserting power over the lawless countryside (even woodland creatures, or “familiars,” were suspected of dark magic) by capturing “witches”—in reality mostly poor and illiterate women.

Taken from Goodreads.

Opinions 

My reason for picking up this book is because Lancashire is my home county. Despite that, I have never visited Pendle. I know a lot about the witch trials and how they are some of the most famous in the UK. I remember watching a documentary on it when I was about 10-11 years old. So, when in November 2020, I stumbled across a book all about this real event that took place in the county I grew up in, I had to get it. And it's written by a local author! I'm annoyed it took me this long to read it.

Before I get into the specifics, I just want to say that I loved this book. I zoomed through it in four days. There's a part of me that wishes I had now read this in October as despite it being set in March-August 1612, the gothic vibes would be perfect for the Halloween season. I found the story engaging, the writing engaging. Basically, I loved it. I know I gave it 4 stars, but I would still consider this one of my favourite books of the year (so far). If you take one thing away from this blog post, it would be that I love this book and that you should read it. 

One of the things I found so compelling was the relationship between Fleetwood (who has an excellent name) and Alice. It felt very real and honest. Despite the fact that they were from different social classes, they both were fierce women in a time when it wasn't really allowed to be one. They had power and were just great. Although we follow from Fleetwood's POV, in a first person POV which isn't my favourite, I did find Alice the more compelling character. The mystery surrounding her at the end was so good. I would love to read more stories where the women are equal and feel real. This has really set the bar for what I like and look for in female relationships in books now. Go Fleetwood and Alice!

I will say that I did find the ending a bit predictable. As it was told from a first person perspective, I kinda knew that Fleetwood wouldn't die during childbirth. I also knew that her child would survive. I cannot believe that the child had to be called Richard because Richard (the father of the child) was horrible. He had an affair, got another women pregnant and yet was made to look like this great character. Richard was bad and baby Richard deserved better. 

I have already bought Stacey's other book, The Foundlings, and cannot wait to devour that. I have a feeling that she will become an auto-buy author for me as I enjoy her books and she's from my home county, so I've got to support her. This gothic mystery with witchy feminist vibes will have you not wanting to put it down and will make you mad that women were ever (and in some cases, still are) treated that way. I'd highly recommend looking into the Pendle Witches as they were an interesting bunch.  

My Experience Job Hunting as a Creative Writing Graduate (So Far)| Carenza Bramwell

Today's blog post marks the first in a new chapter of my life and content on here. I'm going to be sharing my experience job hunting as a creative writing student. In this post, I'll be giving a quick summary of how I got to this place in my life, the steps I've taken and my experience. I want to make content about this as I feel it needs to be talked about more. There is an expectation that students will get jobs straight away and I haven't seen many, if any, people talking about their experiences. I want to open this discussion up and help people like me to feel less alone in this scary part of life.

Who Am I?

For those stumbling across this post, I thought I'd start with a quick introduction. And no, I'm not 24601 (which is a bad Les Miserables joke). In June/July of this year, I completed my degree in Creative and Professional Writing. My specialism is script writing, however I have two years experience as a student journalist, having worked on the student magazine from 2019-2021 in two different roles. I also have experience working with local companies, providing journalism content and some commissioned copywriting. I have been blogging since 2015, creating content on multiple platforms. While I am unemployed, I am working on my content creation full time. 

What Steps Have I Taken?

I started applying for graduate jobs, internships and apprenticeships in February of this year. So far, I have applied to eleven jobs and have been unsuccessful. My first step following finishing my degree was to update my CV. As someone with writing experience, I decided to include a section at the bottom with links to my published work. This includes my blog, work for the student magazine at uni and other work I have done. It probably goes without saying, but having a good CV is very important. Employers judge on what you look like on paper. So, I spent some time updating my CV, making sure it had relevant information on and reflected who I am. My next step was to update my LinkedIn account. I've had one for a while, but I've never really used it. So like with my CV, I spent some time working on it. I know people have mixed feelings about LinkedIn, some love it, some don't. Like a CV, it's a valuable tool. Once my key documents/sites were updated, it was time to start applying for jobs.

My Experience

I'll be honest, job hunting is hard. It's emotionally draining and time consuming. You never hear about the people that take a while to get a job. You always hear about the "success" stories. Those that get jobs after a month or week out of uni. When this post goes live, it will have been over eight weeks since I finished my degree. It will have been nearly six months since I applied to my first graduate job. I have been rejected by over 10 jobs now, not even being invited for an interview. I won't lie and say that it's okay, that something will come along and that this isn't getting me down, because it is. I am someone who likes to be busy and so having all this free time, which isn't really free, is something I'm struggling with.

Graduating during the pandemic and trying to get a job is a lot more competitive than I imagined. Most of the time when I apply, I know I'm going to be rejected. I don't have enough professional experience to get an interview. There was one job when I was certain I'd get an interview. It was an entry level job, it was something I thought I'd be good at and was interested in. So when I didn't get an interview and learnt that over 100 people had applied for this one role, it was gutting. The creative industry is a difficult one to break into, especially since being hit so hard by the pandemic. 

While I am struggling with rejection and not knowing when or if I'll get a job, that isn't going to stop me from trying. Until I get a job, I am using my time to be able to create content full time. I'm also learning about social media marketing as that's a route I'm interested in going down. I know that it's going to take time. Realistically, I know it could be towards the end of the year or next year that I get a job in the creative industry. I'm trying to keep going, while acknowledging the rejections as upsetting. 

This post may seem very bleak, but I hope it has helped you. We all know that the pandemic has been difficult and that lots of us are struggling to find employment. I want to share my honest experiences and be open about the highs and lows of this chapter of my life. I'll make an update as and when I have something to share.