Book Review- Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Title- Serpent&Dove
Author- Shelby Mahurin
Series- Serpent&Dove Duology
Published- 2019
Page Count-519
Publishing House- HarperTeen 
Genre- YA Fantasy  
Rating- 5/5 stars 

About the Author

Shelby Mahurin grew up on a small farm in rural Indiana, where sticks became wands and cows became dragons. Her rampant imagination didn't fade with age, so she continues to play make-believe every day—with words now instead of cows. When not writing, Shelby watches the Office and obsesses over her Twitter feed. She still lives near that childhood farm with her very tall husband, semi-feral toddlers, two dogs, and one cat. Shelby's favorite books include A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and, of course, Harry Potter. Her debut novel, Serpent & Dove, will release from Harper Teen in Fall 2019, with a sequel to come the following year. She is represented by Sarah Landis of Sterling Lord Literistic. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram. 

Taken from Shelby's Website

Plot 

Bound as one to love, honor, or burn.
Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.
Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.
The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.
And love makes fools of us all.
Taken from Goodreads

Opinions

I should probably start this review with a warning by saying it is going to be a pure gush fest because I adore this book so much. It might not be the most critical and in depth review because I just need to say how much I love this book then I can move on with my life. 

Firstly, let's start with how great the characters are. Lou and Reid are amazing characters. As individuals, they shine and come to life on the page. I can easily see them and their personalities were great. We need more sarcastic people in books. As a couple, they transcended the page. They complimented each other so well. From the beginning they were two peas in a pod. You could tell you were in safe hands from the beginning. I cannot wait to see what they get up to in future books.   

Next, the setting is incredible. To me, it was a fantasy version of Paris. As Paris is one of my favourite places, I was already enjoying the book even before I opened it. The world felt incredibly real to me and like Lour and Reid, it came to life on the pages. I can't describe what I feel about this setting as it's unlike anything I've read before. 

As you've probably already gathered, I am so excited for the sequel that I physically cannot contain my excitement. The first book was so good, I know the second book is going to be just as good. At the moment the release date is the day after my birthday, so just skip that and give me this book. Also, I've seen a lot of people saying that the sequel may be from a different characters perspective. I really hope it isn't as I love Lou and Reid. I need more of my sarcastic, amazing, loveable beans.

Normally, I am not a huge fan of romance, but the romance in this book was one of the best I've read. Yes, it was a cliched enemies to lovers, but it was done so well that I melted. The fact that Reid was a virgin and Lou wasn't was really refreshing to me. It was also one of the most realistic sex scenes I've read in YA. The other characters and their love stories were just as great. Also, Reid is the best husband ever as he does love her and is protective in a good way. 

I don't remember the last time I felt this way about it a book. It's been a good few years since I felt like this about a book. I cannot wait for the sequel and I will probably have to read it again as it was just so good. This may be the most useless review I've ever written but I just needed to share my fan girl ways before I exploded. 

Carenza x 

Book Review- Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Title- Eliza and Her Monsters
Author- Francesca Zappia
Series- N/A
Published- 2017
Page Count- 432
Publishing House- Greenwillow Books
Genre- YA Contemporary
Rating- 4/5 stars

About the Author

Francesca Zappia is the award-winning author of Made You Up, Eliza and Her Monsters, and the serialized novel The Children of Hypnos. She is represented by Louise Fury of the Bent Agency. She graduated from the University of Indianapolis with a degree in Computer Science and Mathematics, and currently lives in Indiana. She spends her free time drawing, playing video games, and baking.

She looks mean, but she's actually a ball of floof on the inside.

You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @ChessieZappia, on Goodreads, and on Pinterest. She also sells her artwork at her Society6 shop.

Taken from Francesca's website

Plot

“A love letter to fandom, friendship, and the stories that shape us, Eliza and Her Monsters is absolutely magical.”—Marieke Nijkamp, New York Times–bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends

Eighteen-year-old Eliza Mirk is the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea, but when a new boy at school tempts her to live a life offline, everything she’s worked for begins to crumble.

Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl meets Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona in this acclaimed novel about art, fandom, and finding the courage to be yourself. “A must-have.”—School Library Journal

In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, Eliza is LadyConstellation, anonymous creator of a popular webcomic called Monstrous Sea. With millions of followers and fans throughout the world, Eliza’s persona is popular. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves her digital community.

Then Wallace Warland transfers to her school and Eliza begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile. But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.

With pages from Eliza’s webcomic, as well as screenshots from Eliza’s online forums, this uniquely formatted book will appeal to fans of Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona and Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl. The paperback edition includes bonus material and never-before-seen art from the author.

Taken from Goodreads

Opinions

I had been meaning to pick up Eliza and Her Monsters for some time after hearing everyone raving about it. I finally picked up as I had heard nothing but good things about it. I found it to be an engaging read that was also really quick. I think I read it in a couple of days. On the whole, I enjoyed it, but I had a few issues with it. I would recommend it to others and am interested in reading her other book, Made You Up. 

To me, it felt that it handled some of the more darker themes really well. Eliza throughout the course of the book is diagnosed with anxiety and is clearly struggling with it throughout. Wallace is a mute boy who also has some traumatic experiences in his past and clearly struggles due to them. I felt that the way Zappia handled Eliza's anxiety was an accurate portrayal and Wallace's dad's suicide was also handled with care. The book had a very dark tone, but it was still really enjoyable. With the themes of fandoms and friendship weaved throughout, it felt like a very relatable book. In places, it wasn't realistic, such as Eliza having enough money to go to college and her parents not knowing. I think the way that Zappia handled these themes was one of the most enjoyable elements of the book.

   

This might just be me, but at times Eliza was and wasn't a likeable character. I could relate to her in certain ways, but in others, I found her irritating. I understand that she had mental health problems, but she could be cruel towards her brothers and how little she knew about their lives. I also felt that she was cruel to her parents a lot of time and treated them like they were idiots. She kept them out of the loop and it blew up in her face, which wasn't surprising. I have mixed feelings about what I feel about Eliza. I think it might just be me as I haven't seen anyone else say anything on the reviews I've read.   

From the get-go, I knew that Eliza's secret would be revealed and that it would blow up in her face. It was very predictable in that way. I think the way Zappia revealed Eliza's secret was clever, but that didn't mean that it was any less shocking. I knew it was going to happen and when it did, I was like "oh, okay, what's next?". I feel like it could have been a huge moment but it fell a bit flat for me. It was also predictable that her secret was going to ruin her relationship with Wallace, but that they would inevitably make it up. As soon as you learnt he was a part of the fandom, it lost its shock value. This didn't make the novel any less enjoyable, I just feel it could have been done slightly better for the effect she was going for. 

Over the years, I have come to the conclusion that I am not a fan of the fixed by love mental health trope and sadly this book had this trope. It would have been so much more powerful if Eliza and Wallace's relationship was platonic and it was two friends just spending time with each other. I think it's cliched that two people would fall in love and magically no longer have any mental health problems. This was the one big issue I had with the book and if it hadn't had this trope, I would have (maybe) given it five stars, not four. 

Book Review- Radio Silence by Alice Oseman (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Title- Radio Silence
Author- Alice Oseman
Series- N/A
Published- 2016
Page Count- 416
Publishing House- Harper Collins
Genre- YA Contemporary
Rating- 5/5 stars

About the Author

Alice Oseman was born in 1994 in Kent, England. She completed a degree in English at Durham University in 2016 and is currently a full-time writer and illustrator. Alice can usually be found staring aimlessly at computer screens, questioning the meaninglessness of existence, or doing anything and everything to avoid getting an office job.

Alice's first book, SOLITAIRE, was published when she was nineteen. Her second, RADIO SILENCE, was released in early 2016, and her third, I WAS BORN FOR THIS, in 2018.

(Taken from Alice's Website)

Plot

What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong? Frances is been a study machine with one goal. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside. Then Frances meets Aled, and for the first time she's unafraid to be herself. So when the fragile trust between them is broken, Frances is caught between who she was and who she longs to be. Now Frances knows that she has to confront her past. To confess why Carys disappeared... Frances is going to need every bit of courage she has. Engaging with themes of identity, diversity and the freedom to choose, Radio Silence is a tor de force by the most exciting writer of her generation.

(Taken from Goodreads)

Opinions

I want to preface this blog by saying that this year, I have only read 7 5 star books. To put this into context, I have read 65 books at the time of writing this. I used to hand out 5 stars all the time, but now I have become very reluctant to give them out. To me, a 5-star book should be truly phenomenal and blow your mind. It should be one of your favourite books of the year. I would happily say that at the time of writing this and publishing it, that Radio Silence meets these criteria. 

I had wanted to read Alice Oseman's novels for a while, especially after picking up the first two volumes in the Heartstopper series (both of which I gave 5 stars and am waiting for the final two volumes to be published next year). My wonderful best friend got me all of her current novels published for my birthday at the end of August and I have since read them all. Radio Silence quickly established itself as my favourite. 

I have a feeling this is something I have mentioned on here before, but in case you are new to my blog or have just stumbled across it, I really don't like the first-person perspective. Despite the fact that every sentence begins with "I", "my" or "me", I find it hard to connect with the character telling the story. I find it oddly off-putting for some reason. This is one of the few first-person perspectives I have actually liked. I found that, in a way, I was able to connect to the main character in the story. I found her relatable and if I had picked this up a year ago, I would have found it spookily relatable.

Frances is a study machine, academia is her life and she doesn't really have much time for anything else. Except for Universe City, a YouTube podcast that she is obsessed with. At school, she is a goody-two-shoes, head girl and has a reputation for being a study machine. But at home, she is different and is more comfortable with being herself. There were definitely elements of her story that I related to. When I was in secondary school, I was known for being very hardworking and was always expected to get the top grades. I'll cut to the chase and let you know that I very rarely got the top grades, and when people found this out, people would say to my face "but I thought you were smart". On an almost spiritual level, I related to Frances because it's hard when people only see you as a study machine or smart kid. I loved the journey that Frances went on from wanting to go to Cambridge to realising there is more to life than education. It's a similar journey to myself (though I never even thought of applying to Oxbridge because there was no way I was getting into those schools). I've reached a point in my life where I am happy with what I'm doing and grades don't mean everything to me, though it has taken me a very long time to get to this point in my life. 

The supporting cast was great too. Aled was a wonderful addition to this book and it was refreshing to see a boy-girl friendship that didn't evolve into a relationship. I wish there were more books like this. It also had a fantastic amount of LGBTQ+ representation (as do all of Alice Oseman's books). Frances was bisexual, Aled was a demisexual asexual, Daniel was gay and I believe Raine and Carys end up in a relationship. It also tackled some very heavy themes such as academic stress and mental health, as well as abusive parents. Aled and Carey's mother was abusive towards them, to the point of pushing them away forever. The abuse included forcing them to dress and look a certain way, burning their possessions, taking important things away from them, forcing Aled to close down his podcast, killing the family dog (via putting it down) and pressuring them academically. It made me uncomfortable that it was only the "kids" in this book that challenged the mother and that none of the adults did anything about it. To knowingly let someone be abused is unacceptable and I have spotted that in Alice's books parents are great at being parents (which not every parent is, but they are all suspiciously absent-minded).  

The reveal that Aled was the creator of Frances favourite podcast was almost a shock except from the fact as soon as she heard his voice it should have been obvious. Frances listens to this podcast religiously, yet it took her a while to work out it was Aled. It was still a cute moment and moved the story forward nicely. Although I gave this book five stars, I will say that the big reveal about Carys was a bit disappointing. When you read the blurb, you expect this epic mystery about why she disappeared off the face of the earth. I genuinely expected her to be found dead or it to be very dramatic. It was revealed that she left of her own volition due to her mothers' abuse, which is a valid reason to leave, but it felt as though it was building to something a bit bigger. She was also very easily convinced to return to her home life. I personally would have liked a bit more from this reveal.

Radio Silence was a moving story about friendship, negotiating teenage life and deciding what to do with your life. Alice Oseman is exceptionally good at making her teenage characters feel realistic and capturing what it's like to be a teenager in this day and age. I look forward to reading her next book, LOVELESS (coming out in 2020)