September Favourites 2017| CarenzaOnBooks

Yet again, it is time to reflect on the previous month and the things I enjoyed most in that month. September was a very quiet month for me, I was snowed under with work and got ill towards the end of the month. But, despite that, I still enjoyed lots of things and wanted to share them with you.

Books

My favourite book of the month was Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. My review is coming very soon, but I loved this book and am currently reading the second book. I gave it 5/5 stars and I can finally understand why everyone has been raving about this series.

Culture

I have one cultural favourite and that it the soundtrack to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I received this for my birthday and have been listening to it a lot. I've been finding it very calming as I've been so busy lately.

Bits'n'Bobs

My bits'n'bobs favourite has been Pop Funkos, specifically Harry Potter ones. I acquired 3 Harry Potter ones in September, but my favourite has to be this. This is one of the Summer Convention exclusives. I bought it on eBay, but I know you can get it on Tesco Direct.









So that concludes my September favourites, I know it's shorter than usual but September was a crazy, hectic month filled with lots of deadlines and flu, so I didn't really enjoy it as much as I usually would.
Carenza x 

Spooky Week 2016| September Fairyloot Review| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?
Welcome to day 5 of Spooky Week! Today's post is probably the least spooky as today I an going to be reviewing the contents of the September Fairyloot box. The theme for September was Magic and Mayhem! This post will contain spoilers for this box, so if you don't want to be spoiled I'd advise you don't read.

So this is an overview of the contents. This box was jam packed full of goodies themed around Russian Folklore, the Grisha Trilogy and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.

 This is what the box looks like from the outside. I love how simple and minimalistic it is.

This is what the box looks like when you open it. It is filled with purple paper worms and has this beautiful quote from Neil Gaiman on the front. The quote is from his book Coraline.

Each box comes with a beautifully designed card which has to do with the theme of the box. On the back of the card, it has all the details about what is in the box.

 The book for the September box was Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter, you can read my review here.

This gorgeous book plate was designed by Sarah Porter and she signed it. It adds a bit more magic to this already magical book.

You probably can't see this very well, but Fairyloot emboss their books with their logo. I think it's a really nice touch.

The first item in the box was this Grisha inspired notebook designed exclusively for Fairyloot by litemporium. I have been eyeing up notebooks from their store for a while and I am so glad I finally got my hands on one.

Next we have this exclusive Castle of Fables (a candle etsy store run by the owner of Fairyloot). Again, this is inspired by the Grisha trilogy and I got Materialki, it smells like banana nut bread and I will never burn this as I can't repurchase it.

Then we have this Felix Felicis sticker exclusively designed by Book Otter for this Fairyloot box. I don't think I'll ever be able to decide where to stick it, so I've stuck it up with bluetac on my wardrobe.

Then we have this amazing Second Army print designed by Good Night Kittens. I love this so much and it has definetly started me on my book themed print collection.

Also in the September box we have these exclusive A Darker Shade of Magic badges. They are also designed by Book Otter.

 Next we have this Vassa in the Night bookmark from Behind the Pages. This is also exclusive to this Fairyloot box. I have been dying to get my hands on things from her store but have never got round to it.

This is the other side of the bookmark.

Finally we have this super cute Russian Doll necklace designed by Pastel Clouds Jewelry and is exclusive to Fairyloot. I love this type of necklace and will definitely be getting more like it.

These cool Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom postcards were included as a bonus.

 Fairyloot have upped their game and their books now come wrapped in this cute draw string bags. I now use mine to protect whatever book I am reading while I am travelling and am so glad Fairyloot included these as I was planning on buying a studio pouch.

 Also new to Fairyloot is their Fairyscoop.

 Inside Fairyscoop, their is an exclusive interview with the author. It also has some book recommendations and fun activities on the back.

Also in the box we have this letter, written by Sarah Porter. I personally had trouble reading this as I struggle to read cursive fonts.

Then we have this themed card, if you've read the book then you'll understand what this is.

 Finally we have this little card which tells you about your unique hashtag. It helps you find your reading buddy.

My unique hashtag was #fairyloot2275. I didn't find my reading buddy *insert sad violin music*

So that concludes my September Fairyloot review. I was blown away by the quality and thought that was put into this box. Next month I will be doing a joint review of the October and November boxes.

Love,

Carenza x

September Update 2016| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?

I haven't posted one of these in a while, so I thought it was time I updated you on how my New Years Resolutions are going and how things are generally in my life.

1) Be more organised i.e more tidy
I think that this was the one I was the most successful at in September. As it was the start of the new school year, I found that I needed to manage my time better to keep on top of my school work. I started bullet journaling in April and it has really helped me keep on track of things I need to do. If you guys want, I will do a post on my bullet journal as I don't do it the way most people do it. Mine is no where near as pretty as most you'll see, mine is more for being practical but once I have finished my current journal I plan on  buying a bigger one and making it more pretty as well as being practical.

2) Be more confident
I'm not sure how I did with this. I started a new school in September and I found that I had to be confident and go up to people to talk to them so that I would have friends to talk to. It was very daunting starting a new school, especially as I didn't know anyone their and I felt very lonely. Now I do have friends, I'm enjoying myself a lot more. So I feel as though being confident helped me to gain friends.

3) To get fit and feel happy with my body i.e drink more water
This one failed this month. I did next to no exercise as I found I didn't have time to. Although I walk to school everyday, I don't count that as exercise, I count it as part of my daily routine. I have been drinking water quite regularly though, I try to drink a 500 ml bottle every day.

4) Study more often
I feel as though this one started to get better in September. I had had the summer off from studying as I had had exams from May to June and felt as though I deserved a break. So when it came to studying again, I found it hard to get back into my routine.

5) Do more of what makes me HAPPY
I feel as though this one got a lot of attention in September as I did quite a lot of things that made me happy. I did lots of reading and I got to spend my time with my new friends. I also got to do some exploring in the area I live in, which was quite nice. I was glad to be able to balance this with my school work as it is healthy to have a balance of fun and work.

6) Write and read more
I definitely did do lots of reading this month, I'll link my Wrap Up and TBR post here.  I didn't do that much writing in September that was for pleasure. But with NaNoWriMo coming up, I think I'll challenge myself to start writing again. There was a story I started last year and I still haven't finished it. While I won't be taking part in NaNoWriMo officially, I will be doing lots of writing in my own time.

So that was my September update, let me know if you like these posts as I will be continuing them into 2017! Also, next week on here I am posting every day doing Halloween themed posts. These posts will start on Monday 24th and finish on Sunday 30th. There will be no blog post on the 31st
Love,
Carenza x

September Favourites| Its'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?

It's that time of the month when I discuss my favourites from the past month. As per usual, they will be split into three categories: Beauty, Books and Bits'n'Bobs. September was quite a hectic month for me as I moved house and started college, but I have been able to try some new things and do some exciting things.

Beauty

My first favourite in this category has been the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. I picked up this huge 500ml bottle and it has hardly gone down. It cools the skin down on a hot day (we're having a very hot Autumn here) and it feels like it is doing something good to the skin. It also removes make-up really easy and doesn't irritate my slightly sensitive skin. I would highly recommend this to you guys as I have been using it most days and I have noticed a difference in my skin.

My next favourite has been my Cherry Me Baby Lips from Maybelline. I bought this almost two years ago and I have used it on off quite regularly. Not only does it nourish the lips and make them feel soft, it smells of cherry and leaves a slight pink tint on the lips which I really like. I'm not a confident lipstick wearer so tinted lip balms have helped me feel a bit more confident when I wear lipstick. I also have the peach scented one which I like when I just want something a bit shinny.

My final favourite in this category are my Body Shop mists. I have been using my mango one quite a lot as it lasts almost all day without top ups. They have very strong scents, but my only fault with these is that the bottles are made out of glass which means they aren't easy to transport in bags (i.e a school bag filled with folders, notebooks and textbooks)

Books

My favourite book that I read in the month of September was On The Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher, which I will link here. I was lucky enough to meet Carrie at one of her tour stops and get my copy signed. Carrie was a really sweet person and complemented me on my name. I highly recommend you read On The Other Side as it will move you to tears and evoke a whole load of feels.

My other favourite books that I finished was the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, my review of this series will be going up on Wednesday (October 17th). These were super fun books were I learnt lots about Greek mythology, which is something I have been interested in. I am planning the new box-set were the spines make a picture in December as one of those self Christmas presents we all buy ourselves.

Bits'n'Bobs

This is probably the largest Bits'n'Bobs section I have done all year! I have 8 Bits'n'Bobs favourites to tell you about!

My first favourite is my new phone, the iPhone 6S which I got for my birthday. My old phone which I had had since April 2014 wasn't working for me as sometimes I wouldn't get texts or it wouldn't tell me when someone had rung me. So I decided to ask for a new phone for my birthday and my Grandma kindly bought me one. I have given my old phone to my dad and he loves it, so it's a win-win situation.

My next favourite are my Pop Funkos that I got my birthday from my parents. I was lucky enough to get the Hogwarts Express set and I love it so much! It's super detailed and the characters come in the outfits we first see them in which I think is a really nice touch.

Next I am going to talk about Tsum Tsums, my collection post linked here, but I am not going to be talking about the fabric Tsums. I am going to be talking about the Squishy Tsums which I discovered at my local Tesco. They come in sealed white plastic-foil bags so you can't pick which one you get. I have 3 now and they are really cute. They are £2 each, so if you are not interested in the fabric Tsums I would recommend these instead.

My TV favourite of the month has been Poldark series 2. Poldark is based of books of the same name by Winston Graham and were written in the 1940s (don't take me up on that). They follow the life of a man called Ross Poldark who has returned from war in America to find out that his father has died and his cousin is marrying his sweetheart. Series 1 premiered in 2014 and series 2 started on September 4th. I have also been reading the books and recently purchased the official Poldark colouring book.

I have two food favourites, both of which are from different foreign countries. The first are called Bin Bins and are from Thailand. I found these in my local Tescos near the Indian food. They are peanut flavored rice crackers. You get two in each little packet and they make the perfect after school snack when paired with my next favourite.

My next food favourite are Polish Sweets. Again, I found these at my local Tescos in the world food section. There are two types; the first are gummy sweets with dark chocolate coating. They come in 4 flavors: Orange, Lime, Raspberry and Pineapple! My favourite ones are the pineapple ones as I've never had pineapple flavored sweets before. The other types are also gummy sweets but they have slightly gooey centers. I don't know what flavors these come in. They're both really tasty and make the perfect snack.

I have a music favourite and that is Bastille's new album, Wild World. I have been listening to Bastille's music since 2013 and they are my favourite band. Their new album has a slightly different sound and style to their first album. I would recommend that you listen to it, my favourite songs are Good Grief, Warmth, Glory and Send Them Off!

My final favourite for the month of September is the Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children Movie. I was lucky enough to see a preview of the movie on September 29th as part of a charitable event for the National Film Institute. I will link my review here . I gave the movie 4/5 stars and my review explains why.

So that concludes my very long September favourites, please comment your favourites from September in the comments.
Love,
Carenza x

September Wrap Up and October TBR| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?

It's that time of the month were I talk about what books I read last month and what books I want to read this month. In September I read a total of 8 books, which I am really proud of as I think it is the most amount of books I have read in a month. I read 2 books for school and 6 for pleasure.
Warning- if you are subscribed to Fairyloot and have not received your box, I would advise you don't read the TBR section of this post as it spoils what the book is.

September Wrap Up

The first book I read in September was Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian by Rick Riordan. This is the last book in the Percy Jackson series, I read the rest in August. I gave this book 5/5 stars. I won't go into detail as to why I like it as I don't want to spoil the story for you. I really liked how the series was tied up and getting to say goodbye to my favourite characters in a nice way.

The next book I read was Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth. I read this for school and I really enjoyed it. I gave it 5/5 stars. I'm not going to explain it myself but I am going to use a quote from the back of the book:

On St George's Day, the morning of the local country fair, Johnny "Rooster" Byron, local waster and modern-day Pied Piper, is a wanted man. The council officials want to serve him an eviction notice, his son wants to be taken to the fair, a father wants to give him a serious kicking, and a motley crew of mates want his ample supply of drugs and alcohol.

The next book I read was Carrie Hope Fletcher's debut fiction novel On The Other Side. This was my favourite book I read in September. I had the pleasure of meeting Carrie at one of her signings and I really enjoyed myself. She was so sweet. I gave this book 5/5 stars. I'm not going to go into too much detail as my review of this is going up on Monday (10/10/16). This book tugged at all the heart strings and made you feel every emotion under the sun. I would love a sequel or a spin off novel to this as I need more from this world.

Left to Right:
The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena

The next 3 books I read were the first 3 books in the Heroes of Olympus series also by Rick Riordan. I still have the last two books to read and when I have read those I will post a series review. I'm so glad I'm getting round to reading Rick Riordan's books. Again I won't go into any detail as these books do spoil things that happen in Percy Jackson. I gave The Lost Hero 5/5 stars, The Son of Neptune 4/5 stars and The Mark of Athena 4/5 stars.

The next book I read was Ross Poldark by Winston Graham. This is the first book in a twelve book series called Poldark. I have had this book on my shelf for over a year and have finally picked it up. I do have the TV tie in edition because I love the TV series so much. I gave it 4/5 stars and plan on reviewing it once I have read the next book. 

The final book I read I don't have a photo of because I forgot I read it and that it Listner by Lemn Sissay. I read this book for school and I gave it 3/5 stars. I'm not a huge fan of poetry and I just didn't enjoy reading this that much. There were some poems I enjoyed but the majority were not for me.  

October TBR

In October I plan on reading 14 books. I am reading 5 for school and 3 of them are short stories. The other 11 books I plan on reading are all for pleasure. 

The first 5 books I am going to talk about are books for school.

The first book I plan on reading in October is the poem The Raven by Edgar Alan Poe. I'm reading this as part of a series of spooky short stories in the run up to Halloween. I have to read these as part of an extra thing I do at school.

The next book I plan on reading is The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens. I'm actually excited to read this as my mum is always banging on about how good this is and now I'm finally reading it.

The next book I plan on reading is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. I have seen the film Sleepy Hollow and am assuming that this is what it is based off. I really liked the film, I remember watching it one Halloween after coming back from holiday.

The next book I have to read is Testing the Echo by David Edgar. This is a script that I have to read for one of my classes. I don't know much about this, so I am going to insert a quote from the book here:

Emma is a dedicated ESOL teacher (English for Speakers of Other Languages), teaching British citizenship to people from Somalia, Serbia, the Congo, India and Egypt. At the same time, Tetyana, Mahmood and Chong have their own, very different reasons for wanting to pass the citizenship test. As the Home Office worries away at the questions in the test, Emma faces a challenge to her deepest-held beliefs.

The final book I have to read for school is 1984 by George Orwell. I know that this was written in 1948 and is about the future.

This section isn't any particular order as I hope I get to all of these books. 

The first book I plan on reading is the Fairyloot September book and that is Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter. I am currently about half way through this book and am really enjoying it so far. It's a modern day retelling of Vassilla the Beautiful. It's set in New York and in the present day. There is a Fairyloot chat taking place on Saturday 15th October at 9pm BST on Twitter, so come join us as we won't be spoiling the book. 

The next books I plan on reading are the last two books in the Heroes of Olympus series: The House of Hades and The Blood of Olympus (which I don't own). I can't wait to finish this series and get started with the Trials of Apollo or maybe the Norse mythology series, I'm torn.

Next I plan on reading This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab/ V.E Schwab. This book came out this year and I managed to pick up a signed copy for my birthday book trip. I can't wait to read this as I have heard nothing but good things about it. 

After This Savage Song I want to read Nevernight by Jay Kristoff. I also picked this up for my birthday. I'm so glad I got the UK hardback as it is so pretty! I don't know much about this but I saw it floating around bookstagram and knew that I wanted to read it.

 The next book I plan on reading is Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs, this is a spin off/ tie in novel from the Miss Peregrines franchise. I'm in a Miss Peregrines mood after seeing the film so I have decided to pick this up. My copy is also signed.

The next book is also by Ransom Riggs and that is Library of Souls. I started this in July and put it down as I wasn't enjoying it, but now I've seen the movie I feel as though I might enjoy it this time. 

The next book I plan on reading is the fifth installment in Throne of Glass series. I really can't wait to get to this as I love this series so much. I've been putting it off as I want to recap the other 4 books as it was almost a year ago since I read them. Also my copy is signed.

 The final book I plan on reading is Demelza by Winston Graham. This is the second book in the Poldark series and I'm really looking forward to reading it.

So that concludes my September Wrap Up and October TBR, leave me a comment about some of the books you want to read this month.

Love,

Carenza x