Best Books of 2020| Carenza Bramwell

As 2020 is officially over (hurrah!), it is time to reflect on the best books of the year. I read 75 books in 2020, which is something I am proud of as I was in a bit of a reading slump for most of 2020. I will admit that there are very few books I loved, so most of the entries on this list are books I enjoyed and really stood out to me.  

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

It will come as no surprise that one of the only five star reads on this list is Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare. Cassie is an auto-buy author for me. I have loved her books for almost eight years now. Being brutally honest, this wasn't my favourite one I've read, but I'll reserve judgement until I've read the whole series. I have a full review, which you can read here. I throughly enjoyed being back in this world and will always be excited for the next Cassie Clare book.  

The Diviners by Libba Bray 

This might be a new favourite series, but I read the entire Diviners series in 2020. My favourite though, without a shadow of a doubt, was the first book. It had everything I wanted in it. There were moments when I was genuinely scared. Evie, Sam and Henry (and the remaining Diviners) are some of my favourite characters. Again, this is another one I gave five stars to and have a review for, which you can read here. If you are looking for a YA historical paranormal book set in the 1920s, then this is the book for you. 

You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson 

The only YA contemporary to make it onto this list. I'm not usually a fan of gush romance, but this was an LGBTQIA+ black girl romance. It was sweet and funny, yet it also tackled some serious issues such as racism and homophobia. It was the perfect summer contemporary. I know Leah has another book coming out this year, which I will be reading as soon as it's released. I gave it 4/5 stars.  

The Confession by Jessie Burton 

I was debating which of Jessie's books to put on this list as I adored both The Muse and The Confession, but this one had to win. I read it in about two days, which for me at the moment, is very impressive. Jessie writes very strong feminist books, with historical mysteries at there core. I couldn't put this book down, I wanted to know what happened next. I hope she has another book coming out soon as I can't wait to dive into it. I gave it 4/5 stars. 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab

This is the book that restored my faith in VE Schwab and has convinced me to give her books another go. I loved it. I am so buzzed for the film adaptation that Schwab herself is working on. I have been a big fan of faustian retellings for a while, but this one was amazing. Spread over three hundred years, you can see the passion and dedication that went into it. I have a review of it, which you can read here. If you are looking for an epic historical urban fantasy, then look no further. 

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

I was unsure if I wanted to put this book on this list, but I knew I had to as I haven't read anything like it. It tackles a relationship between a fifteen year old girl and her teacher. Set when the victim is 15 and in her thirties, it asks if victims really consider themselves victims. It was a dense read, with times when I had to put it down as it was so dark. As it tackles sensitive subjects such as sexual abuse and death, I would read it, but only if you feel mentally up to it. I have a review of it, which you can read here. 

That concludes my best books of 2020. What were some of your best books of the year?

Carenza :) x

Chain of Gold Fairyloot Collectors Box Review| Carenza Bramwell

It's been many years since I did a Fairyloot review, but when Fairyloot announced they were doing a Chain of Gold special edition box, I just had to get one. It was an impulse purchase when they released the second batch. 

What is Fairyloot?

Fairyloot is a UK YA book box that sends out monthly boxes with new YA releases and a bunch of bookish goodies. In the past year, they have branched out into special edition boxes for certain releases. For more information, click here.

How Much Did This Box Cost?

This box cost £35 plus postage and taxes. A normal Fairyloot box costs £26 plus postage and taxes. I will say that collectors boxes are much bigger than normal boxes.

The Box

The first item in the box was a replica of the Mortal Cup made by Team Fairyloot. This is something that crops up in every single Shadowhunter book. The quality is good, although in a few places the paint job is a bit battered. It's a sturdy replica and looks great on my shelf, so much more so than the one I made myself many years ago.

Next was an item that made my jaw drop when I saw it and that is this James and Cordelia Tapestry designed by monolimeart. At first I thought it was a blanket but it is a tapestry and looks amazing hanging by my bed. It features James and Cordelia from their romantic scene in the library. 

A staple of bookish boxes is the beloved bookmark. The bookmark featured in this box was a wooden one, with art on both sides. The illustration of our beloved Cordelia is by niru.sky and the quote is from stellabookishart. I love both sides and have put in my mug of bookmarks as it is too beautiful to use. 

Something I have always wanted but never bought is a book sleeve to protect my books, so when Fairyloot included one in this box I was over the moon. It is very well padded and even has a zip at the top to make sure nothing gets in with your precious book. The side with James on it is designed by one of my favourite bookish artists, Taratjah, and the quote side was designed by noverantale. 

The final item in this box is a stunning art print of the Chain of Gold boys, designed by merwildandco. I adore this print and am searching for where I can display so I can always look at their beautiful faces.

Finally, we have the book in the box. It is in this stunning black edition, which I've been told is very similar to the Waterstones edition. It has sprayed edges with swords on them. It has been completely redesigned for this box and I'm so glad to have this exclusive version from this box. 

Was It Worth It?

I would have to say that it 100% was worth it. The items are unique and ones that I'll actually use. The edition is stunning and it was an affordable price. They have a collectors box for the sequel to Serpent and Dove, Blood and Honey and I am so going to be getting it after the success of this box.

Carenza :) x 

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

Title- Chain of Gold
Author- Cassandra Clare
Series- The Last Hours (Shadowhunter Chronicles)
Published- 2020
Page Count- 624 (UK Collectors Edition)
Publishing House- Simon&Schuster
Rating- 5/5 stars (obviously)

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 

Chain of Gold is the first novel in a new trilogy that stars the Shadowhunters of Edwardian London.

Welcome to Edwardian London, a time of electric lights and long shadows, the celebration of artistic beauty and the wild pursuit of pleasure, with demons waiting in the dark. For years there has been peace in the Shadowhunter world. James and Lucie Herondale, children of the famous Will and Tessa, have grown up in an idyll with their loving friends and family, listening to stories of good defeating evil and love conquering all. But everything changes when the Blackthorn and Carstairs families come to London…and so does a remorseless and inescapable plague.

James Herondale longs for a great love, and thinks he has found it in the beautiful, mysterious Grace Blackthorn. Cordelia Carstairs is desperate to become a hero, save her family from ruin, and keep her secret love for James hidden. When disaster strikes the Shadowhunters, James, Cordelia and their friends are plunged into a wild adventure which will reveal dark and incredible powers, and the true cruel price of being a hero…and falling in love.

Taken from Goodreads. 

My notes for Chain of Gold

Opinions

It comes as no surprise to long time followers of my blog, but I am a massive fan of Cassie's work and I adored Chain of Gold. I flew through it in three days, which I regret now as I still want to be absorbed in this world. It was so nice to be back in this world that I know and love. The Infernal Devices is my favourite Shadowhunters series, so a series about their children with them still in it, it's all I could have hoped for. 

One of the things I really loved about this book was the flashes between past and present. The most we have learned about these characters is through short stories from the companion novels, so these little extracts into their lives really helped to get to know them as characters. I also loved that the cast of characters we got to meet in this novel. I was worried that they were going to be their parents in miniture, but they are fully fleshed characters. James and Cordelia are fantastic additions to the Shadowhunter world and I cannot wait to follow them in the next two books. 

As always with Cassie's novels, there is an amazing amount of diversity, especially LGBT rep. There were so many great characters that are in the LGBT community. Anna Lightwood and Matthew Fairchild are LGBT icons and I adore them. I was also shocked when it was revealed that Alastair Carstairs was revealed to be attracted to both Thomas Lightwood and Charles Fairchild, I did not see that coming at all. 

I will say that Chain of Gold felt like a slow burn novel. It took almost half of the book to get to the central action. I also felt that while we learnt a lot from this book, not a lot happened at the same time. I feel that maybe when I reread it in preparation for the next book coming out, they're might be more to it than at first glance. This might be because I read it so fast because it was quite easy to digest. The writing style was a lot different from the most recent Shadowhunter trilogy. 

It didn't surprise me that there were lots of love elements with in this book, as that is a common and classic feature of a Cassie Clare novel. I was torn between who I wanted to end up with who throughout most of the book. I really love James and Cordelia as a couple, but the bracelet clearly did something to James which meant he loved Grace. I really hope there isn't some variation of a love triangle as we've seen that Cassie can write a great, if not the best love triangle of all time, and we don't need another one. Personally, I didn't vibe with Matthew being in love with Lucie. I saw them as having a brother-sister relationship. 

It goes without saying but I am very excited for the next instalment in this series and any future Cassie Clare novel. I was disheartened for a while as I hadn't been the biggest fan of her last three publications, but this book has fully restored my faith in her. It's also making me want to reread the Infernal Devices as those are some of my all time favourite books. What did you think of Chain of Gold?

Carenza :) x