Top 10 Books I Want to Read This Summer| Carenza Bramwell

We are now officially in the summer months, and as September is starting to loom in the distance, it's got me thinking. I want to make the most of the remaining two months I have "off" from university and what I can do to fill the time. In today's post I will be talking about the top ten books that I want to read by the end of summer. This list will be made up of books that I already own, rather than books that are coming out in the next few months.

Days of Blood and Starlight & Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

I had read the first book in this series about two years ago and really enjoyed it. I don't know why I didn't decide to continue with it. I then read and adored the Strange the Dreamer duology by Laini. I am determined to finish the books of hers that I own as she is an incredible writer. I will have to read a recap of book one, but I know this will be another series that I adore. 

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

The only contemporary book I have unread on my TBR at the time of writing this post. I bought this many years ago and I did try to read it but I stopped for some reason. I remember loving Fangirl when I read that and this is the story that was featured in Fangirl. I've heard good things about it so I'm hoping that I enjoy it. I desperately need more contemporary books in my life. 

The Winners Curse by Marie Rutoski 

Again, another book I've had on my TBR for a while. This was supposed to be a good political YA Dystopian novel. I'm really passionate about politics so I'd like to see how it plays out in YA book. I only have the first book which might be a problem if I end up loving it. I also want to see if I like Marie's writing style as I know she's released a book recently which has LGBT elements in and I want to see if that book would be for me. 

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

As a cat lover, I have quite a few fiction books about cats. My mum and I picked this up a few years ago but for some reason I've never read it. It is on my TBR for this month as I always need more cat related things in my life. 

Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery 

I remember reading about half of this as a child and enjoying it, but then I just stopped it. This seems to be a common theme with me and books. It's a classic that I've had on my shelves for about ten years, so I figured it is finally time to read it. I've been trying to tackle more of my classics and modern lit books as it's one of the genres I neglect the most. I need to break my habit of just reading fantasy and contemporary books. 

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 

Surprise suprise, another classic I need to read. I enjoyed Jane Eyre when I was younger so in my mid teens, I thought I should try books from the other Bronte sisters. I even own a very fancy edition that I bought for my 16th birthday. I hope I like this as much as I enjoyed Jane Eyre. 

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh 

A YA Classic. I'm a bit apprehensive about reading this one as I read Renee's most recent release and I didn't enjoy it that much. I've been making my way through the back list of popular YA books, so this is another one I need to get to. I know it's inspired by A Thousand and One Arabian Nights. The Classic YA books are a bit hit and miss with me. I think a lot of them I would have loved when I was younger, but now I find they're not for me.

Illumina and Gemina by Aimee Kaufman and Jay Kristoff 

The last set of books on my list. I actually won my copies in a Twitter giveaway hosted by Fairyloot. These are also books considered to be YA Classics. I know that they're told in a unsual format so I'm looking forward to reading them. Sci-fi isn't a genre I often read, but I'm trying to read books outside my comfort zone. 

So these are some books I'm planning on reading over the summer months. What are you planning on reading?
Carenza :) x

The Beautiful by Renee Adhieh Book Review (Contains Spoilers)| Carenza Bramwell

Title- The Beautiful
Author- Renee Adhieh
Series - The Beautiful Duology
Published - 2019
Page Count- 448
Publishing House-  G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Rating- 3.5/5 

About the Author

"I live in North Carolina (Go Heels!) with my husband Victor and our dog Mushu. In my spare time, I like to cook, mess with makeup, and wreak havoc on the lives of my characters." 

Taken from Renee's website

Plot

In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she's forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city's glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group's leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien's guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.

When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.

At once a sultry romance and a thrilling murder mystery, master storyteller Renée Ahdieh embarks on her most potent fantasy series yet: The Beautiful.

Taken from Goodreads

Opinions

After reading Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare, I was in the mood for another historical urban fantasy novel. I had seen that The Beautiful was supposed to be the novel that was going to bring back the Vampire trend to YA. It was set in 1872 New Orleans, it had a badass female protagonist and it had supernatural elements. I was certain I was going to love it. I had never read a book by Renee before, but I knew she was a good author, having written some well known YA books such as The Wrath and The Dawn, which I bought when I was getting into YA and still haven't read. I decided to read it as it sounded right up my alley.

I will say that I did really enjoy the first half of this book. I loved Celine as a character. I'm all for a feisty female character, and Celine certainly fit the bill. I loved the inserts from the "vampires" perspective. I felt absorbed into this world. But, then the second half ended up being really anti-climatic. I had quite a few problems with it, mainly that the vampire element ended up being very minimal. I was here for vampires and they hardly featured. 

Something else I had a problem was why it was set in 1872. To me, it seemed as though it had no reason to be a historical fiction, other than it was an interesting backdrop. I was really interested in reading about New Orleans in the 1800s and it just fell a bit flat for me. Compared to similar novels (TID and Chain of Gold), both use their historical settings really well and it adds layers to the story. However, The Beautiful, barely acknowledged the historical setting. I loved that Celine was a strong, female character, however she felt too modern at times. It just ended up being really disappointing that the setting ended up providing such little to the story overall. 

Another thing that I ended up not liking as much was the romance between Celine and Bastien. It felt as though it came out of nowhere and I just didn't see them being a couple. To me, it came across very early 2010s YA romance. I really didn't care for them being a couple. Normally, I am all for a good YA couple, but I had no interest in them at all.

Overall, I loved the first half of this novel but ended up being severely let down by the second half. I am aware that the sequel is coming out this June, and am somewhat interested in continuing, but if it is anything like the first book, I know that I will walk away wishing I hadn't read it.  

What did you think of The Beautiful?

Carenza :) x 

May Fairyloot Review| It'sCarenzaB

Another month, another Fairyloot unboxing. Every month Fairyloot just keeps on upping the game and I'm so proud of how far they've come as a company. Every single box has been a delight to open and I can't wait to see how they grow. But, in May the theme was Warriors and Legends. I'm pretty sure as soon as Fairyloot announced this theme, everyone knew what the book was, but it was still exciting.

The first item in the box was this exclusive Warriors and Legends Tea from The Tea Leaf Company. I'm not the biggest fan of tea, but this one smells great so I may end up liking it. Unfortunately, I don't have a tea strainer at my Dad's house (where I spend most of my time) so I'll have to wait to go to my Mum's to drink this.

Fairyloot is the best at sending out candles and of the 8 boxes I've had, only 1 didn't have a candle in it. This is Mist made exclusively by In The Wick of Time and it smells of Warm Stone and Woodsmoke. I do like this scent, but having seen what the other candle smells of, I wish I had got that one.

There were two books in this months box, the first being World Mythology In Bite Sized Chunks by Mark Daniels. I love reading about mythology, so this book is perfect as you can dip in and out of it. 

For the first time ever, I received some socks in a subscription box. I have no idea why this makes me ridiculously excited. These were designed exclusively by Fairyloot and they are inspired by Celtic warriors and patterns.

My favourite item in the box was this wooden Lord of the Rings bookmark made exclusively by Ink and Wonder Designs. I have been drooling over their designs for ages and having a Lord of the Rings inspired one fills me with lots of excitement.

Probably my least favourite item in the box was this Metallic Feather Pen sent out by Flora's Wonder Emporium. I can see the appeal of it, but it is a bit tacky (but in a good way).

I have never received a chapter sampler before, so I am very excited to have this in my collection. It is for a book called Naondel, which is already out. I'm looking forward to reading it.

The book in May's box was Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh. I have heard mostly good things about this book and am really looking forward to reading as it is set in Japan.

Fairyloot has some of the best info/ spoiler card out there. I love pinning these up in my room. Since April, Fairyloot have started sending out matching bookmarks with the same design for subscribers to collect.

As always, there was a signed book plate, letter and there was a cool Flame in the Mist inspired bookmark.

I do love reading each month's Fairyscoop, though I do miss the back page being something from someone in the book community. My hashtag for May was #FairyLoot05858










And that concludes my review of May's box. It makes me so happy to see how Fairyloot keeps getting better each month and I'm very excited for this months box.
Love,
Carenza x