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

How to Bookworm #1- An introduction| It'sCarenzaB

Hey guys!
How are you?

Welcome to the first post in my "How to Bookworm" series. For a while I have wanted to do a series on how to bookworm and address things that I wish I had had answers to when I joined the book community in January. In this short post, I am going to be talking about the types of posts I am going to post and how often. Like it says in the title, this is an introduction post. If you have any ideas, please let me know in the comments.

What types of posts?

I have posts planned talking about the 6 following things:

1) An introduction (this post)

2) Time management

3) Inspiration

4) Participation

5) Bookstagram

6) Book Blogs

Each post will go into detail about their topics and give tips and advice to those who need it. They will be based around my personal experience and they'll be my personal tips. You may find that some of the tips won't work for you, but it's all about experimenting and trying something new.

How often?

There will be a post up once a month, typically in the middle of the month (15th-20th). However this may change if you guys would like these posts to be more frequent. I will be creating a tab at the top of my blog where you will find all the posts in this series linked in order.

I hope you guys are excited for my new series, I'm super excited to get writing them. Let me know if there are any topics I haven't mentioned that you would like blog posts on.

Love,

Carenza x

Book Review Monday- Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan| It'sCarenzaB

Hey guys!
How are you?

Today I am going to be reviewing the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. I recently read this and I really enjoyed it. I will confess that I had owned the first book for around 2 years before I picked up the series. I will be doing a review for the whole series rather than reviewing each book as individuals, but if you would like me to review the books as individuals, let me know.
The layout out of this is going to be the same as my other reviews: Non-spoiler thoughts, cover review, plot overview, character chat and opinions.

Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan- Contains Spoilers

Non-Spoiler Thoughts

I really enjoyed this series! I know I say this in every review I do, but I wouldn't post something on here I didn't like unless I wanted to discuss it with other people. Even though this series is defiantly aimed at younger people than myself, I really liked it. I actually learned quite a bit about Greek mythology from reading it and it has sparked an interest in discovering more about Greek mythology. I found myself relating to the characters in their every day lives (once they had grown up, this series takes place over 5 years). I had heard pretty much nothing but good stuff about this series and thought it was high time I picked it up. Although I had been spoiled about some characters, I still found myself being shocked by some things.

Cover Review

From left to right:
Lightning Thief,
Sea of Monsters,
Titan's Curse,
Battle of the Labyrinth,
Last Olympian 

  I am personally not a fan of these editions of Percy Jackson. I think they look a bit cheesy and generic. I do plan on getting the box set were the spine make up a picture to replace these at some point as I love that box set so much!

Plot Overview

The plot of the series is that there is a boy called Percy Jackson, who around his 12th birthday discovers he is the son of the Greek God Poseidon. He then spends his summers at Camp Half Blood, a safe place for Demigods. He goes on quests with his friends Annabeth and Grover and more often than not ends up in some sort of trouble on the way. As the series progresses, we see our beloved characters grow up and mature. We see their relationships change and the world they live in become more and more dangerous as they are threatened by monsters and fellow Demigods. 

I'm going to do a quick breakdown of each book now:

Book 1- Percy discovers he's a demigod, he's accused of stealing Zeus' master bolt and has to go on a quest to return it. It turns out that fellow camper Luke, a son of Hermes, has the bolt and wants a war between the Gods. In this book, Percy is 12 years old.

Book 2- Percy goes on a quest to save Grover, who has been captured by a Cyclops but is pretending to be its bride. Percy and Annabeth travel to save Grover, discovering that Percy has a half cyclops brother called Tyson. On the way they discover that Luke is trying to resurrect Kronos. They find the Golden Fleece and save Grover. They take it back to camp and use it to heal the tree that guards them, the tree turns into Zeus' daughter, Thalia. In this book, Percy is 13 years old.

Book 3- Percy's friend Annabeth has been captured by a Titan, a long with the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis. Percy, the Hunters of Artemis and Grover travel to save Annabeth. They find some new Demigods, Bianca becomes a Hunter and dies, Nico is too young to travel but becomes angry when he learns of his sisters' death. They save Annabeth and Artemis, but the Hunter Zoe dies, Luke also falls to his death. In this book, Percy is 14 years old.

Book 4- Percy is battling his old enemy Luke and his army of demigods, who have been entering Camp Half Blood through Daedalus' labyrinth. Percy and Annabeth must find him before Luke does. On the way, Annabeth angers Hera and Percy and Annabeth are separated from Tyson and Grover. They discover that Nico is trying to make an army of the dead to avenge his sisters death. They find Daedalus and he helps them fight Luke, who has merged with Kronos. Daedalus sacrifices himself, giving his laptop to Annabeth so she can build his inventions. A Titan who has been locked away in a mountain breaks free. Also in this book, Percy makes himself able to survive being hurt like Achilles. In this book, Percy is 15 years old.

Book 5- Percy battles Luke/Kronos. Many of the Demigods die in the battle. Meanwhile, the Gods fight the escaped Titan. Kronos casts a spell on New York to make everyone sleep. They fight the battle and Percy nearly dies. Annabeth is wounded, but survives. It is Annabeth who saves the day by imploring to the bit of Luke left in Kronos and Luke/Kronos dies. The demigods celebrate their win but mourn the loss of their friends. Percy and Annabeth realise they have feelings for each other and become a couple. In this book, Percy is 16 years old.

       

Character Chat

In this section I am going to talk about 2characters; Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase

Percy Jackson

Percy is our protagonist in the series. He starts of as a normal boy. Percy often demonstrates his lack of knowledge of the world he lives in as he knows very little about Greek mythology. He does often use references from pop culture, which is something I really liked about him. He was very loyal to his friends, which is his fatal flaw. We also see that Percy often does stuff without thinking and his decisions are very rash. He is lucky to have amazing friends.

Annabeth Chase

Annabeth is our main female character and probably my favourite character in the series. I would defiantly compare her to Hermione from Harry Potter. I love how Annabeth has to fight against the stereotype of being blond, it's something I feel a lot of people can relate to. I love her and Percy's relationship, they call each other cute nicknames. I just love her being an intelligent character and showing young people it's okay to be smart.

Opinions

Like I said at the start of my review, I really enjoyed this series. I loved learning about Greek mythology in a fun way. The first half of the series was quite slow and it took me a while to get into, but by the second half of the series I was in love. It was nice getting to meet so many diverse characters and getting to experience this fun world that Rick Riordan has created. I'm half way through the Heroes of Olympus series and plan on finishing it by the end of the year. I hope that soon I can read all of Rick Riordan's work as I'm really looking forward to reading his Norse mythology series. 

So that was my review of the Percy Jackson series, I hope you guys liked it. Let me know what you thought of Percy Jackson and if you liked my review. Next week on here, starting on the 24th, it is spooky week and I will be posting a post everyday in the lead up to Halloween.

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

How I discovered the Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?

I have a different kind of post and it's all about my love for Shadowhunters (the books, not the TV series- I haven't seen it). If you saw my Top 10 Favourite Authors, then you will know I put Cassandra Clare second (under Queen JK). You can read that post here.

This is my story of how I discovered these books and how it influenced me and my life decisions (in a good way)

Bookmarks from an etsy store called Happy Hello Art

I discovered the Shadowhunters through the City of Bones movie in September 2013. I had seen a trailer for the movie and thought that it would be something I would enjoy. I'm pretty sure I bought the book before I bought the movie, but I remember watching the movie first. I fell in love straight away. I remember watching the movie on repeat over the Easter Holidays of 2014. So straight after watching the movie, I read the book. I spotted the differences between the book and the movie straight away, but it didn't bother me. I loved the movie. I actually went through a phase of trying to dress like a Shadowhunter and I dyed my hair dark red like Clary.

So I remember being in London and going to a Watertsones and looking for the next book in the series. I bought up to book 3 in The Mortal Instruments and all of The Infernal Devices just because it had Cassandra Clare's name on it. I marathoned (?) the series and started The Infernal Devices as I didn't have access to a book shop that sold book 5. One of my friends was also reading the series at the same time and she bought me book 5 from the Works as she had seen it in their on sale. We read it at the same time and spent our days fangirling over it. 

It was around this time that I began to like The Infernal Devices a bit more. I really like stories set in Victorian times so this was right up my alley. It was also around this time that I discovered that this boy I knew really liked the series too and we became really close over it. When I say obsessed, I mean that I was full on obsessed. It was all I talked about and all I thought about. It actually was what got me really into reading.

I had always been a big reader but it was The Mortal Instruments that really sparked my interest. I also discovered that there were YouTube channels all about books. I found Sasha from Abookutopia's channel and I felt like I had found someone who understood why I was so obsessed. I would google how to do my hair like Clary's and look up where to get certain props from the movie. 

I don't know how I found out there was a 6th book coming out, but I couldn't wait for it to be released. It was in May 2014 and I went into a Waterstones and I asked if they had it. They said no and the date I had been given was the American release date. I went back the next day and bought it. I spent the rest of the day reading it. At first I didn't like it, I just didn't like the idea that this series was actually over.

I remember when I got my copy of the Shadowhunters Codex in April 2014. I made my parents buy it for me as I had to go to the dentist and get two baby teeth removed and I have a very bad phobia of needles. So they bought it for me in advance to my appointment and my dad brought it with us and gave it to me straight after my appointment. I wrote all over my copy to make it look like I was a Shadowhunter as my surname is very close to a Shadowhunter compound name. 

Over the next  6 months, I read the books and watched the movie while I waited for my pre-order of the Bane Chronicles to arrive in November. I was so excited when I got my copy and read it in a couple of days as I was so happy to be back in this world.

My obsession subsided in 2015. I didn't have any new books to read and I wanted to discover new books. Again, I don't know how I heard about Lady Midnight being released but I was so excited. In February 2016 I discovered JessetheReader's channel and became re-immersed in the world of books and TMI/TID. March 8th 2016 was a good and bad day for me. I couldn't wait to get home and read my copy of Lady Midnight. So I get home and my copy isn't there. I'm not lying here when I say I had a tantrum. But it turns out having a tantrum helps as the doorbell rung and the postman was there with my copy.

I read it in a week. I love it so much. I discovered Emmabooks channel through this as well as her videos on Shadowhunters (the TV show). Every single Cassandra Clare themed video of her's, I can guarantee there's a comment of mine on it. I then discovered I had missed out on a Limited Edition copy of Lady Midnight and I was so gutted. I also discovered that there were Shadowhunter Tarot cards and a book called An Illustrated History of Notable Shadowhunters and Denizens of Downworld. But they were only available in America, which was a shame.

In August 2016, I found a copy of the Limited Edition of Lady Midnight on eBay for £10- it was one that you had to bid for. I was determined to get it, but I had set myself a limit of £15. I was winning until the last 10 seconds when someone came in and bought it for £25 plus postage. I actually cried because I was so desperate to get it.

This year I have bought new box sets of the Mortal Instruments and the Infernal Devices in the new covers because they were so pretty. I bought TID individually and saved some money using World Book day tokens as my friends had given me all of theirs. I bought TMI as a box set of eBay for £18 plus £1 postage. At the moment, they are selling the TMI box set in the Works for £12.

With two new books coming out this year, my excitement grows. We have An Illustrated History of Notable Shadowhunters and Denizens of Downworld on November 3rd (here in the UK) and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy on  November 15th. You can bet that there will be reviews for them coming up on here soon after their release. 

I hope you enjoyed this story post, I plan on doing one for Harry Potter at some point. If you have any questions, just comment them down below.

Love,

Carenza x   

Book Review Monday- On the Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?

In this Book Review Monday I am going to be reviewing the wonderful On the Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher. I was lucky enough to get to meet Carrie at one of her book events this year. I was so glad I did as it meant reading this book was so much more special. Like my last review, there will be specific structure which is: Non-Spoiler section, cover review, plot overview, character chat and opinions.

On the Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher- Contains spoilers

Non-Spoiler Thoughts

I rated On the Other Side 5/5 stars. My opinion of this book is probably a bit biased as did meet Carrie and I think that made this book a bit more special for me. Usually, I am not a big fan of love stories as they are usually all the same, but this was something that I hadn't read before. I would recommend you read it even if you don't watch Carrie's videos.

Cover Review

I really  liked the cover as the images on it had something to do with the book. I loved the use of purple foil which made these images pop. It is one of the prettiest books I own and I know we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but this cover is too pretty not to judge. I also love how the tree looks like a heart which ties in nicely with the tag line for this book, a love story like no other.

Plot Overview

I've decided for this review that I'm not going to go into details about the plot and that I'm going to take a quote from Goodreads. I'm not sure if I like doing these parts of my reviews and I'm debating not doing them in future reviews. Let me know what you think.

A love story like no other, this is the debut novel from Carrie Hope Fletcher, author of the Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller All I Know Now.

Evie Snow is eighty-two when she quietly passes away in her sleep, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. It's the way most people wish to leave the world but when Evie reaches the door of her own private heaven, she finds that she's become her twenty-seven-year-old self and the door won't open.

Evie's soul must be light enough to pass through so she needs to get rid of whatever is making her soul heavy. For Evie, this means unburdening herself of the three secrets that have weighed her down for over fifty years, so she must find a way to reveal them before it's too late. As Evie begins the journey of a lifetime, she learns more about life and love than she ever thought possible, and somehow , some way, she may also find her way back to her long lost love . . .

On the Other Side will transport you to a world that is impossible to forget. Powerful, magical and utterly romantic, this is a love story like no other from everyone's favourite 'big sister', Carrie Hope Fletcher.

Character Chat

I am going to talk about 3 characters from the book and they are Evie Snow, Vincent Winters and Jim Summer.

Evie Snow- Evie was the protagonist in this book and I have to say that I really liked her. There were defiantly a lot of similarities between Carrie and Evie, but Carrie said that was because she wanted a character she could relate to a lot in physical appearances and personality traits. Evie was a very family orientated character, she would do anything for her brother Eddie which was something I admired about her.  She was also very independent, going against what her mother wants her to and making her own decisions. I thought that Evie was a brave and very selfless character as her decision to marry Jim to protect her brother over her own love for Vincent showed she really loved her brother. It broke my heart reading this as I wanted Evie to be happy and she chose to protect someone over her own feelings. I also loved how she stood up to the people she worked with as they were very sexist and she defied there wants.

Vincent Winters- Vincent was one of two love interests in Evie's life. I loved how he was talented at an unusual instrument like the violin. He was such a sweet character and you could really tell that he loved Evie. It was very obvious how Vincent was based on Pete (Carrie's boyfriend) and I thought that this was a really nice touch. I felt so sorry for Vincent when Evie chose Jim instead, like my heart broke. But I loved how understanding he was. I was so grateful that he didn't lash out at Evie about her decision and he was just so accepting. I really liked how he got to meat Evie in the after life.

Jim Summer- Jim was the other love interest in Evie's life, but unlike Vincent, Evie didn't love him back at first. I wasn't sure if I liked Jim, but he did grow on me. I liked how he was a childhood friend of Evie's.  I was so happy that Jim stood up to Evie's mother and told her what she was doing was wrong. That was what made me like him. I was happy that he supported Evie's decision.

Opinions    

I really enjoyed this book. It was a nice and fun book to read. I love the representation of LGBT in this book. We have 3 characters who have connections to the LGBT community, we have a gay character, a bi character and a pan-sexual character. I've never read a book with a pan-sexual character in it before.

One thing that I wasn't too keen on/ I didn't really notice it, was the magical elements in the story. Whenever one of these moments happened, it washed over me and I would have to go back an re-read it. Also, these moments only happened to Evie. I wish they had happened to more characters to make the magic seem more balanced and not just added as a special effect.

Overall I really enjoyed On the Other Side and I can't wait to read more books by Carrie and see what style she tries next.

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

Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children Movie Review| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?

As some of you may know, the Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children movie came out on September 30th. It's safe to say it is being talked about in the book community a lot. Some people all ready have their reviews out as they were invited to previews of the movie. Although I wasn't invited to see the movie early, I was lucky enough to go to a preview screening at my local cinema as part of a charitable event late on September 29th. It was one of the best decisions I have made. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and am 100% going to see it again. I have never reviewed a movie before but I thought that this would be a good place to start. The layout will be similar to my Book Reviews: non-spoiler thoughts,poster review, plot, character chat, differences from the book and opinions. If you want to read my Book Review of Miss Peregrines, click here.

Disclaimer

Just a quick disclaimer- in no way, shape or form am I saying that I know better than the people who made this movie. I am talking about as a book-movie adaptation, I am not trying to critique the cast and crew and say I know better because I don't.
Also this review contains spoilers for the books as well as the movie so if you haven't read the books I would advise you don't read this review.

Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children Movie Review- Contains Spoilers 

Non-Spoiler Thoughts

I gave Miss Peregrines 4/5 stars as a movie and for accuracy I gave it 3.5/5 stars. There were a lot of changes from the book, some of which enhanced the story, others which made no sense and didn't add to the story. I went into this movie with high expectations and left feeling that most of my expectations had been met.

When I heard this was going to be a movie, TBH I thought here we go again, another failed book-movie adaptation. However once I heard that Tim Burton was going to be directing it, I immediately changed my opinion. I knew that this story was the perfect story for Tim Burton to turn into a movie. Then I saw who the cast were and I got thoroughly excited. We had the perfect director and cast for this fantastically spooky story.

Poster Review

I really like the poster as it shows you all of the peculiar children and Miss Peregrine protecting them. I think it links really nicely to the theme of the story. 

Plot

The first three quarters of the movie follow the plot of the book so I am going to explain the last quarter of the film as I am assuming most people who have seen the movie have read the books. 

So in the last quarter of the movie, the Peculiar children and Jacob have had to leave their loop in 1943 and are escaping to a loop in 2016 via a new loop. They arrive at Blackpool in 1943 and go through an abandoned ghost train ride on the pier. They are then transported to 2016 Blackpool in January. Jacob, Emma and the rest of the Peculiar children head over to were the Baron and the rest of the Hollows are keeping Miss Peregrine captive. They threaten the Baron and start a fight, which takes place on the pier. Enoch has brought back all the dead skeletons on the ship they used to travel from Wales and are now using them as an army. This is the scene where we see Tim Burton's cameo. Somehow the Peculiar children win and kill all the full blown Hollows. They then have to defeat the Hollows that look like people. We have a scene were chaos rains and Olive gets frozen. Emma uses her power to hold back the Baron but runs out of air, while this is happening Jacob is trying to free Miss Peregrine and the rest of the captured carers. The Baron slips in and transforms into Jacob. Emma and Enoch burst in and have to confront to Jacobs. They only find out that the Baron is Jacob when he reacts to being picked up by another Hollow and having his eyes eaten. Jacob frees Miss Peregrine but she is injured. The Peculiars head back to 1943 while Jacob stays in 2016. He travels back to Florida and finds his grandfather alive, who then persuades Jacob to go and find the Peculiar children. After some travelling he finds them. When he meets Emma, he tells her his story but she stops him and kisses him. From Blackpool Tower Miss Peregrine watches as they sail of on their adventures.   

Character Chat

I am going to talk about 4 characters from the movie and they are Jacob "Jake" Portman, Emma Bloom, Miss Peregrine and The Baron.

Jacob "Jake" Portman 

 

Asa Butterfield portrayed Jake in the movie. I think that he was the perfect person to play Jacob as this is what I imagined Jacob would look like when I read the books. I feel like in the movie we got to see more of Jacob's excitement about discovering the world of the peculiar's. I  felt like I could relate to Jacob a bit more in movie than in the book as the movie was set in 2016. There were lots of moments when you could tell that Jacob was an outsider and Asa did these scenes perfectly. I also loved how protective Jacob was of the children and you could tell that Asa had put a lot of effort into these scenes. I was very happy with his performance as Jacob and I really loved his on screen relationship with his dad. Chris O'Dowd (who played Jacob's father) and Asa's scenes were so funny, especially the scene were they see Miss Peregrine and Jacob starts shouting to her. I also loved his on screen relationship with his grandfather and Emma, they were very realistic scenes. 

Ella Purnell portrayed Emma Bloom in the movie. I had never heard of Ella Purnell before the movie so I was looking forward to seeing her performance. Most of you will know that Emma and Olive's powers were swapped, which is something I go into more detail later. I felt as though Emma in the movie didn't care when Abe died, but in the book she gets very upset. I also imagined Emma to be this fiery character and in the movie I felt as though she was too nice. Maybe this was something to do with the power swap, but I didn't like Emma as much in the movie as I did in the books. I still think that Ella was a fantastic Emma and I loved her on screen relationship with Asa as Jake.     

Eva Green portrayed Miss Peregrine in the movie. I know that Eva and Tim have worked together before and was really happy when I heard she had been cast as Miss Peregrine. She was fantastic as Miss Peregrine, defiantly more bad-ass than in the books but it's something I preferred. I also loved how she made her movements bird-like, I felt like this was a really nice and subtle touch to the character. Miss Peregrine in the movie was defiantly more in control of situations and almost dominated the scenes she was in. You could sense that her character really cared about the children she had to look after. I loved the scene when the Baron invaded the home and she was like "no you listen to me" and totally bossed Baron around. 

Samuel L Jackson portrayed The Baron in the movie. I was surprised when I heard they had cast Samuel as The Baron as in the books I felt as though he was a bit of a push over, I was never really scared of him. However, once I saw the movie my opinion changed. The costume and special effects/ costume and make up made The Baron look really scary. I really didn't like the white eyes as they freaked me out a bit. I loved how sassy Samuel made The Baron, I never imagined him as a sassy character but it really worked. 

Differences from the book

Obviously when we get a book to movie adaptation, there are bound to be changes. Some changes are for the better and enhance the story, others not so much. Here are some changes from the book to the movie and my opinions. This is in no particular order.

The Hollows eating children's eyes

I thought that this was a good change as it made the Hollows seem more scary. Also the way they ate the eyeballs was horrible. I liked the idea that if you ate enough eyeballs you became more "human"

Emma and Olive's power swap

I personally felt as though this swap was unnecessary. Emma and Olive are two great individuals, why did they need each others powers? Also when I imagined Olive I always saw her as a little girl rather than a teenager. The swap didn't add anything to the story.

Jacob's grandfather never dying

Again, I felt as though this was an odd decision. Abe plays a part in this story but his part is to introduce Jacob to the Peculiars. I felt as though him never dying was a bit of a paradox as if he hadn't died Jacob wouldn't have gone to the island and prevented his death.

Blackpool

This was a new addition to the story in which the last quarter of the movie in which Jacob and the Peculiars fought the hollows and one. I personally really liked this scene as it allowed us to see a lot of the Peculiars in a battle type situation. They got to show off their powers which was quite cool. Also Tim Burton had a cameo here, which was a nice touch.

Miss Peregrine's Recovery

At the end of the movie we see that the Peculiars have got Miss Peregrine back. This is a big inconsistency with the story of the next book as they spend most of the next book trying to get Miss Peregrine back. I would be interested to see where they take the Hollow City story line from here.

Opinions

As I said at the start of my review, I gave Miss Peregrines 4/5 stars as a movie and 3.5/5 stars for accuracy. I have to say that this was one of the best book-movie adaptations I have seen. It kept the main essence of the story which drew fans in while adding some new things. I couldn't have been happier with the cast as they portrayed the characters wonderfully. Yes some of the people they cast weren't the way I pictured them myself but I was still happy with them. I was so happy that Tim Burton directed this movie as he added his Gothic, crazy touches to this amazing story. I loved the humor in this film. There were moments when I laughed out loud which was something I didn't do while reading the book. Like I already mentioned, I especially loved the scene were Jacob and his father arrive in Wales and they see a Peregrine and Jacob starts shouting at it saying "Don't crap on us!". I will be honest, I am interested to see how they go into a second film if they make a second film as I feel like it would be hard to start the Hollow City story with where they left it. Overall I am very happy with this adaptation and I will definitely try and see it again in the cinema, I've also bought the companion book that goes along with the movie and tells you how they made the movie.      

Note: all pictures in this post are taken from Google and I do not own them/ take credit for them.

Book Review Monday- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by JK Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany| It'sCarenzaB

Hey guys!
How are you?

Firstly (again) I want to apologies for not posting in a while. I recently moved house and I've only just got wifi after a month without it. Secondly, some of you might have seen in August that I accidentally published an unfinished review but this is my official review.

So if you've read one of my reviews before you will know that there is a certain layout to them, which goes like this: cover review, plot overview, character chat and opinions. But I've now decided to add a non-spoiler section so that people who haven't read the book can still read my review.

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child Review- Contains Spoilers

Non-Spoiler Thoughts

When HP+TCC was published there was lots of controversy around it. Many of the fans were upset and didn't like the book as it wasn't written by JK Rowling. Lots of fans weren't happy that it was written in script format and that you don't get the same experience if you don't see the play.

I personally really enjoyed it, yes it was very different to the other 7 books in the Harry Potter world, but at least we finally got our questions answered. I was so happy to be able to reemerge myself in this world with something new. I enjoyed seeing our favourite characters all grown up and meeting new characters. I also enjoyed reading it in a different format and with help from other people (not just JK). There were moments that made you laugh and moments that made you cry, it brought back all the emotions from the Harry Potter books.

Cover Review

A photo taken from my Instagram

So this is the cover for HP+TCC. I really like it, it ties in the symbol above the theater in London (which I have a picture of and will put bellow)

I really like the gold foil on the cover as it makes it seem more special and magical. It also shows that this edition is the rehearsal script edition and that later on there will be a final version.

Plot Overview

What does Goodreads say?

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.
It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.
While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places. 

Average rating on Goodreads; 3.86/5 (this statistic is taken from 190782 ratings and 35901 reviews)

HP+TCC starts where Deathly Hallows ended, at Platform 9 and 3/4. We now see Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny as adults with their children now attending Hogwarts. I really enjoyed how we had the dialogue from Deathly Hallows, it really linked HP+TCC to the rest of the Harry Potter world. We have our first dilemma that Albus is worried that he'll be sorted into Slytherin and Harry reassures him that it doesn't matter. We soon see that Albus has been sorted into Slytherin (no surprise, TBH) and is now friends with Scorpius Malfoy. We quickly skip through the first few years at Hogwarts. Meanwhile, Harry works at the Ministry and has been having funny dreams about Voldemort. We also see that Harry has been having lots of visits from Amos Diggory and his niece Delphi, as he is now an old man and wants some closure about his son's death. This is when we learn about a time turner that has escaped destruction. Albus and Harry argue about being related and end the argue saying they wish they weren't related to each other. This is when Albus teams up with Delphi and they decide to steal the time turner, which Hermione has hidden in a bookcase. We then go through a series of alternate time lines- Cedric Diggory loses the Triwizard tournament, Cedric becomes a Death Eater, Voldemort wins the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry dies, Albus doesn't exist, Ron and Hermione don't get married etc. Meanwhile Harry and Draco are panicking about were there children are. We have a really nice moment here were Draco opens up to Harry about his wife's death and his jealousy of Harry. We also have a scene were Harry confronts Dumbledore's portrait and says how angry he was that Dumbledore never told him anything and expected so much more from Harry. The news then gets leaked about the time turner and some how the boys get back to their parents. We also learn that Delphi is Bellatrix and Voldemort's daughter and she wants to meet her father. We then travel back to the night were Harry's parents die and they prevent Delphi meeting Voldemort and Harry is forced to watch his parents death's which is a very emotional scene. The final scene is were Albus and Harry make up.

That is my very quick summary of the plot for HP+TCC, if I missed anything out please let me know!    

Character Chat

I am only going to talk about 5 characters in this section and they are: Harry Potter, Albus Severus Potter, Scorpius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy and Delphi Diggory.

Harry Potter 

I really loved seeing Harry as an adult. We got to see him outside of Hogwarts and in a completely different light. It was nice getting to see him as a father and a husband. We get the sense that Harry had to grow up quickly and that the Battle of Hogwarts has effected him massively. We also get to see him as a tired Ministry employee and how he copes with his "fame". I really loved his and Albus' relationship by the end of the book as we can see that they have gone through so much and they now appreciate each other a tiny bit more. 

Albus Severus Potter

Albus is a character we saw very briefly at the end of Deathly Hallows and was a character I came to love. At first, I didn't like him because he was just so mean to Harry. I really didn't like the scene were he mocked Harry about his past with the Dursley's and his parents dying. I know that Harry's reaction was unacceptable, but he says to Albus that he knows how to get under his skin. I loved his relationship with Scorpius, you could see that they were "made for each other" and were really good friends. They would do anything for each other and that is what matters in a friendship.

Scorpius Malfoy

Scorpius was a new character that we only got a tiny mention in Deathly Hallows and was my favourite character in HP+TCC. He was so funny and nerdy, the perfect character in my opinion. He was the perfect friend for Albus. I felt so sorry for him as there were all the rumors that he was Voldemort's son and then his mum died and I could have cried! I just wanted to cuddle him in every scene and let him know that he was loved. I got the feeling that him and Draco weren't close, which we saw in one of the alternate worlds.

Draco Malfoy

I loved Draco as an adult. I personally always liked Draco as I felt he was a misinterpreted character. He does all of the terrible things he does to save his family and prove himself to them. I think he would have turned out better if he hadn't been rejected by Harry. The scene were he admitted he was jealous of the Golden Trio (Harry, Ron and Hermione) was so heart breaking. It made me wish that we had got to see Draco differently in the books. I loved how he worked with Harry to find their sons. 

Delphi Diggory

Again, Delphi is a new character that we only have in HP+TCC. Immediately I got the sense that Delphi wasn't to be trusted by some of her actions and things she says. I didn't like the fact that she was Bellatrix and Voldemort's daughter. I kinda felt that her character was a bit unnecessary.   

Opinions

I personally really enjoyed HP+TCC. I was so happy to be back in this world that has been a huge part of my life. It was amazing to be able to see our favourite characters all grown up. Yes this book had its flaws, but so does every book. You have to remember that this is a play not a book. I think that at lot of people didn't like it because we hadn't seen these characters between the books so it was hard to accept them the way they were.

I was so happy that Harry's childhood traumas were addressed and that he finally admitted he was traumatized. It's something that I wished we had more of in the series. I also loved Albus and Scorpius's relationship! They were so sweet and genuinely cared for each other. Also, Scorpius is so sweet and such a big nerd! I love him as a character and want to know more about it. Some lines in the book were lines I could see JK writing, for example the scene were Harry and Draco are dueling at Harry's house and Draco says "keep up old man!" and Harry replies "Draco, we're the same age" and Draco says" yes, but I wear it better!" Those were some classic Draco-Harry lines. There was also a lot of humor from Ron, my favourite line of his "Nothing scares me. Apart from mum", again we have another classic example of a Ron line. I loved seeing the alternate worlds if certain things happened, I found that very interesting. My favourite part was a flashback were Hagrid goes and takes Harry from his parents house and says "Hello, my name is Hagrid and I'm going to be your best friend now" That honestly made my heart melt and I want to give Hagrid a hug because he is so cute. 

Some things I wasn't happy with was the idea that Bellatrix and Voldemort had a child together. I just always assumed that Voldemort was too proud to have a child. I also didn't like the scene were Albus mocks Harry for his past, yes I get it that Albus feels ashamed to have a famous father but Harry NEVER asked to be famous and that scene was so hard to read as it made me quite upset. There were also a lot of plot holes and things from the Harry Potter universe that had been changed for the play, which annoyed me slightly but they were things I could overlook.

Overall I gave Harry Potter and The Cursed Child 4/5 stars and I hope one day I can go see the play as I am quite interested to see how they did some of the special effects.

Love,

Carenza x