Meeting Cassandra Clare and Holly Black| CarenzaOnBooks

On August 19th 2017, I had the pleasure of meeting Cassandra Clare and Holly Black at their Edinburgh signing. I had seen that they were doing a UK tour and knew that I had to get tickets. I missed out on London tickets (which in hindsight I'm happy about as I would have had to stay in a hotel), so I got tickets to their Edinburgh event instead. My family lives a reasonable train journey away, so after a 5 and a quarter hour car journey home the previous day (arriving home at 12:30 am) it became real to me that I was going to meet them.

Cassandra Clare's books have had a huge impact on my life. Aside from Harry Potter, they are what got me into reading. I have been a loyal fan since 2013 and to finally met her four years later was a dream come true. I took Lord of Shadows (my tabbed copy), City of Bones (movie -tie in edition, this is how I discovered the books) and Clockwork Angel and purchased The Darkest Part of the Forest at the event.

We arrived in Edinburgh nice and early as there were some other things we wanted to do before the event. Walking around Edinburgh reminded me how much I love this city. It's somewhere I would love to live in the future. Exploring the city reminded me off a holiday I had their a few years ago where we just explored the city. Going to Edinburgh during the festival period is one of my favourite periods to visit. There is just so much to see and something for everyone.

We joined the queue for the event at after 3 o'clock, meaning we were nice and early. It was good we got their so early as there was already a impressive queue. We got good seats in the venue, four rows back and right in front of the panel. Asides from times where I thought the tent was literally going to blow away in Wizard of Oz fashion and Cassie's mic failing, the panel went off without a hitch. I had no idea it was going to be a Q+A style panel and really enjoyed listening to everyone's questions, and Cassie's and Holly's responses. Me being me, I didn't pluck up the courage to ask a question. I regret that in hindsight, but being in the same room as these amazing women was enough for me.

Then came the signing. Cassie signed one book and stamped two others, whereas Holly signed anything you had. It must have gotten very overwhelming in the tent as Holly began running up and down the line signing books. Thank God for post it notes as it meant I didn't have to try and spell my awkward name (which I love, but no one ever knows how to spell it). Holly and Cassie where both very complimentary of my name, which always makes me smile as there are days where I'm self-conscious of how unusual it is.

I think I had to wait for about a hour to meet Cassie, but the queue moved very quickly, which was surprising because of how many people there were. This is probably the biggest signing I've been to to date. As I had taken my tabbed copy of Lord of Shadows (review is still in the works, it's a beast of a review and I want it to be as near to perfect before I post it) I got lots of questions about the tabs on my way in.

Meeting Cassie was a dream come true. She took her time with each person and listened to everything they had to say. My mum and dad (who I am very thankful to for taking me there) took photos and I have an amazing photo of Cassie having a WTF moment over my tabs in Lord of Shadows. She asked me to explain them and I managed to in a mostly coherent way. There are a thousand things I wish I had said to her and hopefully I'll get to in the future. It made my heart sing when she took a genuine interest in my little blog.

We were given a exclusive UK Lord of Shadows poster and sampler of The Cruel Prince as we left and then we had to hurry off to the train station to go home.

Thank you to Holly and Cassie for making the day as special as it was. It's a day I will cherish for the rest of my life and I hope I get to meet both of you in the future. I am still in awe that I met you only a few days ago.

I'm going to finish this with a few of my favourite photos my parents took of me meeting Holly and Cassie.
 

July 2017 Fairyloot Unboxing and Review| CarenzaOnBooks

Two Fairyloot unboxings in one week? I couldn't wait any longer to share the contents of this amazing box. July is my second to last box from Fairyloot and it didn't disappoint. There will be spoilers from this point on, so continue with caution if you're still waiting for your box.

The theme for July was Tricksters and Fairyloot now have a new artist for their cards, Tartjah, who designed the Dorian/ Manon print in February's box. I love these graphic cards so much!

The first item was this exclusive Sherlock enamel tin mug designed by Fictiontea Designs. The name Fictiontea might be familiar as Lauren who runs Fictiontea is a rep for Fairyloot. I love this mug so much, it's beautiful and I finally have a tin mug. I love Sherlock so much and am happy to have some Sherlock merch.

The next item is this exclusive Loki Lotion from Geeky Clean. It smells of Dragon's Blood and is vegan. I love Geeky Clean's products and am happy to be adding to my collection.

Then there are these Officially Licensed Harry Potter Playing Cards. It just occured to me the other day that a lot of my Harry Potter collection is unofficial merchandise and it makes me happy to add something I would have picked up myself to my collection.

Instead of having the tradition clubs, aces, spades and diamonds, they have the Hogwarts houses!

This is something I have never seen a company  send out and it is a oven glove. It is a exclusive Fortune Telling Oven Glove designed by Fairyloot. It's so cool, though I am scared the gold will begin to fade, so it will be a while before I use it.

Something non-book themed is this exclusive print from Miss Phi based on Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad. I'm not a huge fan of the DC world, I'm much more invested in Marvel and didn't particularly enjoy Suicide Squad. This print fits the Harley Quinn Suicide Squad vibes nicely and I'm sure fans of the film will like it.

The final item before the book was this Six of Crows inspired bookmark from Lexy Olivia (not exclusive). I haven't read anything from Leigh Bardugo yet and the amount of times there have been Grisha or Six of Crows merch sent out, I think it's time I do.

The book of the month was Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody. I have to pick this one up asap as I've been sent it for review, so I'm grateful to have a physical copy to read for my review.

As always there is a letter and signed bookplate from the author, both of which I've stuck in my copy.

And finally, there is Fairyscoop and the reading buddy hashtag.













I loved this box so much and my favourite item has to be the mug. I'm looking forward to August's box and then it will be a while before unboxings return.
Carenza x








 

A Very Belated June 2017 Fairyloot Unboxing and Review| CarenzaOnBooks

Due to the fact that I took a break from blogging and social media last month, I never got around to posting my June Fairyloot unboxing. Because it's been so long and I'm sure no one will be waiting for this box, I don't feel that I need to put a spoiler warning on my unboxing.

Here is an overview of the June boxes content. It  had a very nice colour pallet and made me happy that everything went together.

The theme for Junes box was Elementalists and as always Fairyloot have these amazing graphic cards.

The first item was a candle from Witchwood Remedies. There were five Stormheart candles and they were based on the storms in the book. They're all exclusive to this months box.

I got Twister and I have to say that this is my least favourite candle I've received from Fairyloot. There's a pepper scent in and I really don't like pepper. If I can find someone who likes it, I'll give it to them, but it is very pretty with all the things sprinkled on it.

Next there was this Avatar: The Last Airbender lip balm from Geeky Clean. This is exclusive to Fairyloot. I got Water Bender, which I think smells of Vanilla. I am interested to see what the other elements smell like.

 Fairyloot hasn't included any jewelry for a while and in June we got this exclusive Hamsa Hand bracelet from In The Moment. I'm not the biggest jewelry person, so again this will probably be a item I give to someone.

Receiving bath products does make me happy and then I remember I don't have a bath at my dad's house and it will be months before I can properly use it. This Clairvoyance Soap was made exclusively by Ascent Bath and Body. It smells really nice and fresh.

These cute potion bottle sticky notes were made by Fairyloot and are exclusive to this box. They each have a different meaning. Purple is for health, blue is for magic and yellow is for stamina. I'm going to have to find a way of using these, probably in my school work to spice it up a bit.

The final item before the book is probably my favourite item and that is this Stephen King inspired exclusive pillow case from Miss Phi. It says "Books are a uniquely portable magic". I love the design and how it's not linked to a specific fandom. I need to get pillow fillers for my 3 bookish pillows and display them because they are beautiful.

The book was Roar by Cora Carmack. As always it came with a letter and a signed bookplate. I don't know much about it, but I am looking forward to reading it in the near future.

As always, Fairyloot included Fairyscoop, the matching bookmark and reading buddy service. In all truthfulness, I've given up trying to find mine each month as I never find them.

There was a promo postcard for Fireblood by Elly Blake, which comes out later this year.

I do love receiving samplers in subscription boxes and in this months box we received The Waking Lands by Callie Bates.












Overall, this was my least favourite Fairyloot box I've received and this month (August) is the last box I will recieve for a while as I'm stopping my subscription. I've had 11 boxes and the excitement has worn off. I still love Fairyloot and will continue to support it, but I need to save my pennies.
Carenza x

July Favourites 2017| CarenzaOnBooks

Now that we're safely in August, I can talk about all the things I loved in July. July flew by and it's hard to imagine that we're now in August. I have a favourite book, as well as some favourite cultural things that happened in July to share with you all.

Books

My favourite book of the month was Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu. I read this in one day, it's one of my top reads of 2017. If you are looking for some YA feminism, then this is the book for you. It's not out in the UK yet, but you can buy it from WH Smiths as it's part of the Zoella Book Club. I will be writing a review on it very soon and I need to find more people who've read it to fangirl with.

Culture

If you've been following my blog for a while, then you will know I fell in love with a play called Snow in Midsummer that was on at the RSC. Well, I may have found something I love even more. I saw Angels in America (performed at the National Theater, London, but via a NT Live broadcast to cinemas) and I am obsessed. It is a fantastic play, the production was beautiful and the actors in it are exceptionally talented. It's told in two parts and I saw it over two weeks. If it gets broadcast again, I will 100% go and see it again. I've ordered the script and need to get a programme and basically spend the rest of my life talking about how much I love this play.

Something else I did that was pretty cool in July was go to a practice race for Formula One when it came to the UK. It was a amazing experience and something I would do again. The atmosphere was tangible and every time Lewis Hamilton drove past the audience would clap.  

One of my most anticipated TV shows came back this July and I am very happy to be watching it live for the first time. I only recently (end of last year) joined the Game of Thrones fandom, and I'm here to stay. Every week it's exciting to see who lives and who dies (don't worry, this is a spoiler free zone). I can't wait to see how this ends and have to wait a whole year for more Thrones.

A TV show that deserves a honorable mention is Poldark. I love Poldark, I can't believe the final episode of this series is this Sunday. Yet another TV show I'll have to await the return of.

Bits'n'Bobs

I only have one bits'n'bobs favourite and that is that I got some new bedding. I know it's not the most exciting thing in the world, but I'm happy with it. It was from Asda and it's gray with cranes and cherry blossoms on it. I really like and will be looking for simple bedding like it in the future. 

So that concludes my July Favourites, I really enjoy writing these posts as it allows me to reflect back on the month.

Carenza x 

July Wrap Up| CarenzaOnBooks

It's crazy to think we're now 3/4 of the way through the year! Where has 2017 gone? Before getting into this post, I want to apologies for my absence from social media since my last post. In all truthfulness, I didn't feel like posting. I felt that the amount I was posting was too much, so I decided to have a bit of a social detox and I am happy that I did it. I was feeling very stressed and down because I was putting so much pressure on myself to post frequently.

But enough of that, July was a decent reading month. I managed to read five books in July and I'm proud of that. I recently changed my Goodreads reading challenge from 75 to 60 books because I know I'm not going to get to read 75 books because I'm so busy. I read a wide range of books in July and loved almost all of them.

The first book I read was a audio book of Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. I got the audio book through the Overdrive app and listened to it over several days. I gave it 4/5 stars. It was really interesting reading a book set in World War Two that had real influences from the war. I'm yet to delve into the world of Historical Fiction and this was a nice introduction. I loved that it was told from four different perspectives and each character had their own narrator, making it easier to know which character you were listening. The only reason I docked a star was because the beginning was a bit slow and it took me a while to make the connections between the characters.

I then read Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu. I got a finished early copy from the Zoella Book Club in WH Smiths. I gave it 5/5 stars. I loved this book so much, so much so that I am contemplating giving it a higher rating on my 2017 favourites over Lord of Shadows. It was so nice to read a YA book about feminism and reading it made me feel so empowered. I am going to write a full review at some point soon, so keep an eye out for that. It isn't out in the UK till September, but you can get it in WH Smith before then.

Next I read a book for my local Waterstones book club and that was Days Without End by Sebastian Barry. I gave this 2/5 stars. In all truthfulness, I have absolutely no clue what happens in this book. I found it very hard to follow the narrative and the writing style made it impossible for me to understand who was speaking. It was interesting learning about the American Civil War, but apart from that, I did not enjoy this book.

I read The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury in one day. I gave it 4/5 stars as it was a super quick read and it was just a fun book. I don't think I've taken anything profound away from it and I've read similar books before, but it was nice reading a book so quickly that was just for fun. I'll pick up the next two books eventually, but for now I am happy that I've finally read The Sin Eater's Daughter.

The final book I read in July is a part of a reread I'm starting and that is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I have listened to the Harry Potter books on audio book (the Stephen Fry version) so many times, I could quote them in my sleep. But I can't remember the last time I picked them up in physical format. I read it in two days, I obviously gave it 5/5 stars. I actually finished it on July 31st. As this post goes up, I'm currently reading Goblet of Fire.

So that concludes my wrap up for July, I can already tell August is going to be a good reading month as I've already read two books. I still have loads of books I want to finish before I go back to college though.
Carenza x

Writing for the sake of Writing| CarenzaOnBooks

Over the past few months, I have been writing blog posts for the sake of getting something up on time on with my crazy upload schedule. I have been forcing myself to write half-arsed, rushed posts just so I can say "I wrote a blog post today". While that may be the way some people approach it, it doesn't work for me. I want to make content I am proud of and comfortable to share with strangers on the internet. At the moment I am not happy with the content I am posting.

Blogging is a hobby. I started blogging because I wanted something to do in my spare time and here I am two years later. I love blogging, it allows me to be creative and start conversations with people who have similar interests to me. Blogging, for me, was never about how many page counts I could get or how many followers I have. It was about finding a creative outlet that worked for me.

I pride myself on being a creative individual. Throughout my life, I have tried many different creative mediums including dance, acting (whether this be traditional acting or musical theater), art and crafts and now social media. It is rare for me to stick at something for an extended period, I am forever wanting to try new things (activity wise) and so blogging was a huge decision for me to make.

I was and am still in full time education. I have to prioritize my education, but lately social media has taken over my life to a unhealthy degree. I would get stressed and occasionally depressed if I didn't put out a new post that day. I let it take over my life and this is me, reminding me that blogging is a hobby. Maybe one day, in the near distant future, blogging could be my job, but right now, I don't gain any revenue from making these posts. I do it because I want to. But want turned into have to and that is never how you should feel about a hobby or something you enjoy.

The same thing has happened with reading. I am reading books because I have to so I can complete my GoodReads challenge. Reading is something I should do for fun, but now it something I do because I feel I have to. I want to go back to the days were I can sit down and read a book because I want to. The pressure of putting high quality reviews out frequently is very stressful. It's why I stopped doing Book Review Monday. They were low quality posts that I am not proud of.

I am a full time student, studying three separate courses that require 15 hours contact time per subject and 15 hours independent study (overall) a week. I live between two houses, meaning I don't get to see part of my family that often and when I do I want to make that time good quality. I am volunteering at two places to gain credentials on my CV. I want to make good memories and do things I'll enjoy and yet with all this pressure I'm putting on myself, all I spend my time doing is watching YouTube because I'm afraid of how much I have to do. I have been off college for three weeks now (it finished for the academic year, I'm not ill) and it doesn't feel like I am off college because I am spending so much time working, whether that be on college work or blogging.

This month (July) is Camp NaNoWriMo and because I want to be a writer in the future, I thought it would be a smart idea to challenge myself to writing 50000 words this month. I may be enjoying it, but finding time to fit everything else in has become chaotic.

The point of this rambly post is that I put too much pressure on myself with my commitments. From now on, I am only going to post when I feel like it and not stick to a crazy upload schedule. I could post one really good post and then not post something for a couple of weeks and that it okay. Blogging is still a relatively new career option and competition is scary, yet exciting. I am so happy to be a part of this community, but I need to remember that by forcing myself to create content I am not making content I am proud of and as a creator, I am failing my audience and myself. Today the pressure lifts ever so slightly and I remind myself that this is something I do for fun, not for a job.
Carenza x      

How to Survive the Edinburgh Fringe| CarenzaOnBooks

As someone who has visited the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 3 years in a row, I have learnt a lot about how to "survive" the festival. I personally only went for a day each time, meaning there was some travelling involved. But, if you are planning on going to the festival this year, then here are some tips I have learnt over my 3 years of visiting.

1) Sensible Footwear

A slightly obvious tip is to wear sensible shoes. The festival is spread across the entirety of Edinburgh (which is very hilly) and there will be times when your events are quite far apart. I have fond memories of running across Edinburgh and my feet killing the next day. I would not recommend wearing sandals, but I have survived by wearing shoes I find very comfy. 

2) Plan Ahead

In my very first trip, my family and I didn't plan anything before we arrived. We just walked up and down the Royal Mile collecting leaflets (which is a really good place to find out if anything is on). Get the catalogue and see what is on when you are there. I would also recommend printing a map of Edinburgh if you are not familiar with it. Another thing I would recommend is writing a list of what you are going to see with times and venue numbers down so then you don't have to haul the catalogue with you.

3) Travel Light

If you are only going for a day, then I would advise you to travel light. Running around Edinburgh is tiring. When I go, my family takes 1 rucksack between us. All we pack is food for lunch and a big bottle of water. We take a rucksack because usually we get something from the Fringe pop up store and we almost always go to Forbidden Planet (but that's just us). It's also good to take a rucksack because if it's hot, then you have somewhere to store your coat which means it will be easier to run across Edinburgh. 

4) Take a Coat

Scotland is famous for being a little bit on the rainy side and as someone who has visited Scotland before and grew up in the North-West of England, I know how much it can rain. You don't need to take a big rain coat, you can just take one of this little ones that curl up into a pod to be travel efficient. There is nothing worse than being caught out in the rain and spending your time being grumpy and soggy. Trust me, I have had to stand outside venues waiting to be let in while it is bucketing it down, it's not a nice feeling.

5) Have Fun    

And finally, have fun! The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is an amazing experience and I have thoroughly enjoyed each of my trips. There is such a lovely atmosphere at the festival, you get to meet lots of people who are interested in culture. There is something for everyone at the festival and the tickets aren't that expensive. You get a good value for money. I have met people from all over the world because of the festival. People travel from all corner's of the globe to come to this festival and rightly so. 

I am unbelievably excited to go back this August. I'm actually going twice this year, once for the Book Festival part (which I have never been to before) and once for the Fringe itself. I am going to make posts about both of those trips and I can't wait to share them with you.

Carenza    

June Favourites 2017| CarenzaOnBooks

Another month over means another favourites post. June went so unbelievably fast that I don't know if the favourites I have for this month (June) are actually for June.

Books

My favourite book for June is obviously Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. My review is still in the making (I know I've said that in the last few posts, but it is taking me a while to write it). I have Lord of Shadows 5/5 stars. I can't believe that we have to wait till 2019 for the next book. Also, can we appreciate how gorgeous this Waterstones exclusive edition is? Cassie has been blessed by the cover gods.

 Culture

I have quite a few TV show favourites for June. The first being Versailles series 2. I wasn't the biggest fan of series 1, but I loved series 2 so much and am very excited for series 3. If you interested in learning about the building of the Palace of Versailles as well as the King who built it, then you will love this. It brings back all the memories of my trip to Versailles in 2011 and I would love to go again.

Another TV show that returned was Poldark. I love Poldark so much and I'm so happy to be back in this world. I'm pretty sure it's already been commissioned for a fourth series, which would take them up to book 8. I love the music, the cinematography, the actors and the plots. It makes me very happy when Sunday's roll around and I get a new episode.

I began re-watching the Legend of Korra for what must be the fourth time since 2014. I love this show so much and it makes me happy every time I watch it. The episodes are only 20 minutes long, which means you can get through quite a few at a time. I need to get it on box set, but for now I am  very happy watching it on Prime.

Bits'n'Bobs 

I'm not sure if I got any new bits'n'bobs in June, but I did reorganise my candle shelf in my bedroom which made me very happy. They had been very cluttered, but now they look beautiful. I probably have more candles than I need, but they make great props for Bookstagram photos and they smell great.

I'm very excited for what July brings at I have a few trips planned as well as it being Camp NaNoWriMo and Game of Thrones coming back. It also means that next month is my birthday month, which I am a bit too excited for.
Carenza x

June Wrap Up| CarenzaOnBooks

Now that it's officially July, I can share my June Wrap Up. Compared to May, I had a very good reading month. I haven't been in a reading mood since April for some reason, which is very frustrating when your main passion revolves around reading. On a complete tangent, I feel that my reading has simply become to complete my reading challenge on Goodreads and so I have books to review on here. I want to go back to the time when reading was something I did for fun and didn't feel like a chore. But, in June I read 6 books, which I'm proud of. I have reviews up for some of them and reviews coming for others.

The first book I read was City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. This was actually a reread and I think I started reading it in April as well. I gave it 5/5 stars, but if you read my review, then you'll know I only gave it 5/5 stars because of sentimental reasons. I do plan on continuing my reread of the Shadowhunter Chronicles then at some point in the future, I'll have reviews for all the books in all the series.

At the end of May, I discovered Anime and with the discovery of Anime has come the discovery of Manga. I read my first Manga and it was Attack on Titan Volume 1 by Hajime Isayama. I have a review of the Anime, which you can read here. I also gave this 5/5 stars as it was so beautifully drawn. It was a challenge getting used to reading from left to right, but I will be reading more Manga in the future.

I then read my most anticipated release of the year, which was Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. My review is coming together very slowly as it is taking me a while to write (this is because I want it to be the most detailed review I've written to date). I obviously gave Lord of Shadows 5/5 stars. I loved it so much and am now beginning my patient 2 year wait for Queen of Air and Darkness. I'm actually meeting Cassandra Clare in August at her Edinburgh event and I am beyond excited.

I finally finished The War of the Worlds by H.G Wells, which I started way back in February. I gave it 3/5 stars and that's because it wasn't for me. I really struggle reading sci-fi books, which is odd as I love sci-fi tv/films. I can appreciate that this is a good piece of literature and I understand why so many people like it, it's just not for me.  

I was sent a copy of When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon via NetGalley and I flew through it. I gave it 4/5 stars because while I enjoyed it, I did have some issues which I go into detail about in my review. I am going to purchase a physical at some point and I am looking forward to her next book.

The final book I read in June was Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh. I had to read this for one of my classes in college. I gave it 3/5 stars. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't life changing. It's a book that is very much of its time and some of the things in it are quite shocking. It's rare for me to say this, but I did enjoy the TV series to the book.

I hope I have as good a reading month this month, but I do have a lot of things planned which may mean reading will have to take a backseat again.
Carenza x

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon Review (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Taken from Google

Title- When Dimple Met Rishi
Author- Sandhya Menon
Series- N/A
Published- May 30th 2017 (Hardcover in US), July 13th 2017 (Paperback)
Page Count- 380 (Hardcover), 384 (Paperback)
Publishing House- Simon Pulse (US), Hodder&Stoughton (UK)
Rating- 4/5 Stars
Note- Thank you to Hodder&Stoughton via NetGalley for sending me an eBook ARC of this book.

About the Author

My name is Sandhya Menon, and I’m a New York Times and national Indie bestselling author. I write books for teens (and those who still feel like teens inside!). I currently live in Colorado, where I’m on a mission to (gently) coerce my husband, son, and daughter to watch all 3,221 Bollywood movies I claim as my favorite. Also, I love my pets a little too much, as you can probably tell.

(Taken from Sandhya's website)

Plot

A New York Times bestseller.

The rom-com that everyone’s talking about! Eleanor & Park meets Bollywood in this hilarious and heartfelt novel about two Indian-American teens whose parents conspire to arrange their marriage.

Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.

The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?

Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to proves itself in the most unexpected ways. 

(Taken from Goodreads, my Goodreads review)

Opinions

Once again, thank you to Hodder&Stoughton for sending me an eBook ARC of this book. I have to state that I am not being paid to promote this book. I also want to state that even though I was sent this book for review, this review is 100% my honest opinion. No matter if I am sent something, my reviews will always be my 100% honest opinion. Final thing I want to state is that I am experimenting with my review style, so this review will be in a slightly different format to my usual reviews. I will start with positives and then move to negatives rather than bouncing between the two.

I had been hearing great things about When Dimple Met Rishi since ARCs were being sent out, so I was very excited when I saw it was on NetGalley. I have been in a bit of a reading slump following reading Lord of Shadows and this book got me out of my slump. It was the cute, summer contemporary that I had been looking for and I am now in the mood for more contemporary books.

Dimple was a really strong character and I loved the fact that she was a feminist. It was established early on in the book in a conversation between Dimple and her mother. What I liked was that it was refreshing to see a character standing up for their beliefs for the entire book. I also saw it in the relationship between Celia and Dimple. Dimple tried to make Celia see that what Harri and Evan were asking her to do at the talent show was degrading. 

Usually in contemporary books, it's the girl that has to change everything for the boy, but it was Rishi that learned to change through his relationship with Dimple. Rishi began to understand that, while tradition is important, it isn't everything in life. He also decided that he wanted to become an artist through Dimple pushing him in the right direction. It was nice seeing a relationship where the people involved where looking out for the other and trying to help them grow as a person.

As someone who knows nothing about Indian culture, it was very interesting learning about the Indian culture through this book. It was especially interesting seeing different generations perspective on tradition and culture. Rishi and Dimple's parents both believed in tradition, but they were willing to let their children do what made them happy rather than force them into a traditional arranged marriage.      

Now that I've finished gushing about the things I like, I have to talk about the things I didn't like. My main issue with this book is that it felt very much like it was "insta-love". From the title and the dual perspective, you could tell that Dimple and Rishi were going to end up together. So, when they did start dating, it wasn't a shock. It also followed the very traditional style of a cute, summer love story of boy and girl meet, they hate each other, they fall in love with each other, they do something behind the other's back which ends in a break up, they realize how much they love each other and they decided to remain together. The second Dimple sent Rishi's drawings to Leo, I could see that that would cause an argument between them. It was understandable for Rishi to get annoyed at Dimple for going behind his back. 

At the very beginning of the book, I didn't like Dimple that much. She was very violent towards Rishi, and it wasn't in a play fighting way, it was verging on being abusive. She tried to force him to leave when they became partners (which didn't come as a surprise) and she was just rude to him. I understand that their first meeting went horrifically wrong, but that is no reason to be outwardly rude to him. It wasn't until Dimple softened to Rishi, that I began to like her.

From the beginning, before the competition even started, I knew that Dimple and Rishi weren't going to win. It's just not how these stories go. It was surprising that Evan, Harri and Isabelle won. It felt to me as though Dimple and Rishi needed to lose the competition in order to enter the "argument" stage of the book. I've seen it in other books like When Dimple Met Rishi, were the main character was really determined to win but they don't and they fall into a depression.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and I'm glad I've read it. I'll definitely pick up Sandhya's next book, From Twinkle, With Love (coming out summer 2018). When Dimple Met Rishi got me out of a slump and has got me into the mood for contemporaries. 

Carenza x 

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare Review (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Taken from Google

Title- City of Bones
Author- Cassandra Clare
Series- The Mortal Instruments
Published- March 27th 2007 (according to Google)
Page Count- 506 (UK Movie Tie-In Edition)
Publishing House- Walker Books Ltd (UK Movie Tie-In Edition)
Rating- 5/5 Stars
Note- This was a reread in preparation for Lord of Shadows (review coming soon)

About the Author

Cassandra Clare was born to American parents in Teheran, Iran and spent much of her childhood travelling the world with her family, including one trek through the Himalayas as a toddler where she spent a month living in her father’s backpack. She lived in France, England and Switzerland before she was ten years old.

Since her family moved around so much she found familiarity in books and went everywhere with a book under her arm. She spent her high school years in Los Angeles where she used to write stories to amuse her classmates, including an epic novel called “The Beautiful Cassandra” based on a Jane Austen short story of the same name (and  which later inspired her current pen name).

After college, Cassie lived in Los Angeles and New York where she worked at various entertainment magazines and even some rather suspect tabloids where she reported on Brad and Angelina’s world travels and Britney Spears’ wardrobe malfunctions. She started working on her YA novel, City of Bones, in 2004, inspired by the urban landscape of Manhattan, her favourite city. She turned to writing fantasy fiction full time in 2006 and hopes never to have to write about Paris Hilton again.

Cassie’s first professional writing sale was a short story called “The Girl’s Guide to Defeating the Dark Lord” in a Baen anthology of humor fantasy. Cassie hates working at home alone because she always gets distracted by reality TV shows and the antics of her two cats, so she usually sets out to write in local coffee shops and restaurants. She likes to work in the company of her friends, who see that she sticks to her deadlines.

(Taken from Cassandra's Website)

Plot

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know... 

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride they never want to end.

(Taken from Goodreads)

Opinions

If you have been following me for a while, then you will know I am a massive Cassandra Clare fan. From 2013 when I first discovered the books to 2015, I have reread the books more time than I can remember. But, I haven't reread the series in a while and as Lord of Shadows was close to being released, I thought I would reread it. I do feel that my nostalgia and love for this series has made my rating higher than I would have given it if I was reading it for the first time.

I have to say that City of Bones is not my favourite in The Mortal Instruments, but without it, I wouldn't have picked up these books. I do like it, it's just not my favourite (as I already stated), but I did enjoy rereading it. I can see that it isn't the perfect book I thought it was when I first picked up and this review isn't going to be me fangirling. I want this to be a critical review.

The world building is very strong in this book. It is established fairly early on that this world (the Shadowhunter World) is similar to our own and coincides with our own. There are definitely times where we get a lot of info-dumping, which is something I hate. I understand that when world building you need to lay down the rules early on so the reader can get to understand them. However, there is an entire chapter that is just info dump in this book (it's Luke's chapter called The Werewolf's Tale). I feel as though we didn't need a whole chapter for this story of Jocelyn, Luke and Valentine's story. I think that this is a personal preference, rather than something that is flawed within the book.

The humour in this is something I love and it's something we still see popping up in Cassie's books today. Although it's not the comedy gold we know and love in her later books (people who've read LoS will know what I'm on about), it still makes me chuckle. I love the scene where Clary slaps Jace and it makes me so sad that they didn't include in the movie (I'm not referencing the TV show as I haven't seen it and most likely won't). I also love how sarcastic Jace is and Magnus is just fabulous (but then he always is). 

I personally found the characters a tad annoying in this book, especially Clary. At times she would do quite stupid things for no reason. It definitely shows how Cassandra Clare has grown as an author as by the end of the series, the characters aren't as annoying. Jace in this book is a total dick, I'm sorry if you're a die-hard Jace fan, but in this book he is rude and very much a narcissist. Thank God, he grows out of it. I do love Magnus and Alec, I've loved them from CoB and I'm so happy they are getting their own series as they deserve it. I also adore Simon, he's definitely one of my fave characters from TMI. 

At times, the plot was a bit predictable. You could tell from the beginning that Simon was in love with Clary and it was frustrating to see how ignorant she was. You could also tell that something was going to hinder Jace and Clary from being together. I still love this book, but now as a more mature reader I can appreciate it has flaws and not support it blindly.

I loved the way Cassandra Clare handled Alec being gay. As I was only little at the time, I can't say this will be 100% accurate, but I feel like this was something that wasn't really talked about in YA at the time and it's only in the past few years that YA has become better at dealing with diverse subject matters. Cassie deals with Alec's sexuality in such a delicate way. It's not included to shock readers, it's simply a part of the book. I've seen interviews with Cassie saying that so many people have found it helpful having Alec be gay as it's helped them to understand their sexuality. Alec is such a well developed character and, although he appears quite rude at the beginning, you do learn to love him.

I still love TMI and all of Cassie's works, but now as a more mature reader, I want to review them in a more mature manner than just saying I love them and that be that. I do plan on continuing these reviews once I carry on with my reread.

Carenza x      

Bookshelf Organization Methods| CarenzaOnBooks

As someone who is constantly running out of space to store books (I'm talking I have books in boxes and cupboards lack of space), I'm always trying different methods of organizing my books. At the moment, they are organized by genre and within the genre, alphabetically by author surname. But over the years, I have tried many methods of organizing my books and I thought I would share them with you. I haven't tried all of these, but at some point I probably will.

Genre

By organizing your books by genre, you have a methodical system which means every book has its home. It means that if you need to assess all your fantasy books, they are all in one place. Here are some photos of my shelves which are organized by genre.

A general overview of my shelves. The top two shelves are organized very strictly by genre, but after that it was like playing a game of tetris. 

Pros: Everything has its place and easy to find books.

Cons: If an author writes in more than one genre, their books will be split up.

Alphabetically

This time last year, my books where organized completely by surname. Regardless of genre. I had it like this for about a year, but soon found it was hard to see which books went where. I still have them organized by surname, but within the genre category.

Pros: Regardless of genre, the authors books will be kept together and it is very logical (it is a good method for people who like libraries).

Cons: Can look quite messy and books are hard to find.

 Height

I once watched a YouTube video about organization methods and they organized their books by height. It looked very satisfying to see the books gradually get smaller and it had some logic to it.

Pros: Very nice to look at and good for shelves that have been mounted to the wall (i.e not your traditional bookshelf).

Cons: In the UK new paperbacks are taller than when the book goes into reprint, meaning that if you join a series half way through, that series will be separated due to different heights.  

Rainbow

I know that this is a lot of peoples preferred method of organizing books, but personally, it isn't for me. Like the title suggests, the books are organized by the colours of the rainbow and if done with lots of different coloured books, can look truly beautiful. If I have a selection of odd books that don't fit into a certain genre, I may include a rainbow shelf next time I organize my books.

Pros: Exceptionally pretty to look and good for people who can visualize colours.

Cons: Series get separated and can be quite time-consuming for people to organize.

Those are all the methods I know for organizing books, if there are any that I have missed out, then please let me know.

Carenza x

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Turns 20 Years Old| CarenzaOnBooks

Happy 20th Birthday Philosopher's Stone!

A quickly made college, photos can be found on my instagram @CarenzaOnBooks

It's crazy to think that the series that got me into reading has turned 20 years old. Harry Potter has and always will be a huge part of my life. I can't remember a period of my life where Harry Potter wasn't important to me. I am proud to say that I am part of the Harry Potter generation and even though I've grown up and can appreciate these books as an "adult" (I'm no an adult, but I'm more mature than when I first read them), I still love Harry Potter.

Harry Potter introduced me to the magical world of reading. If it wasn't for these books I would probably not have started my book blog (I'd also have more money and more bookshelf space, but let's not read into that). These books gave me friends when I felt like I didn't have any. These books gave me a place to escape to when I was having a bad day. These books made me feel at home when I was reading them.

I have so many fond memories of reading the books and watching the movies. I completed the books by the time I was 9 years old (which some told me was very advanced and I should be proud of) and by then, I had been converted to being a Potterhead. 8 years later, I am still a Potterhead and if anything, I'm more of a Potterhead than I was aged 9. Reading the books was something I did and bonded over with my family.  I have fond memories of being told I wasn't allowed to watch the movies until I read the books, even though my peers were all watching the movies. I can vividly remember, to this day, walking out of a cinema somewhere in Scotland (I believe it was in Glasgow) crying my eyes out at the events of the Half Blood Prince.

Since joining the book community, I have met so many other Potterheads. I am nowhere near as extreme as some who have multiple editions of the complete series, but I am slowly catching up to them. In the past two years, I have had a Potter identity crisis and have no clue which house I belong. I have visited the Studio Tour near London and am visiting it again on my birthday. I'm going to see part 1 of Cursed Child. I'm most likely going to the exhibition at the British Library later this year. This year has been the year of Harry Potter.

Harry Potter will always hold a special place in my heart. From the moment it had an influence on me as a 7 year old to the moment I die. And when I'm 80 and surrounded by my family and still reading these books, I can imagine them asking me "After all this time?", to which I'll reply "Always".
Carenza x

Attack on Titan Anime Discussion (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

With the final episode of Attack on Titan Season 2 being released to the wider public (via Crunchroll which is how I watch Anime) this Saturday, I thought that this was the perfect time to discuss my love for this Anime. Considering I only started watching Anime on May 24th, I have binge watched rather a lot of it. Attack on Titan is definitely one that grabbed my attention from the beginning. If you read my Yuri on Ice Discussion then you'll know I want to start doing some Anime Discussions. I've only completed these two so far and it may be a while before I complete another as I am literally drowning in college work, but let's forget all that and discuss Attack on Titan. This post will contain SPOILERS for both seasons.

Opening Credits

I commented on this in my Yuri on Ice post, but the Anime industry seriously put Western opening and closing credits to shame. They are a work of art. I really don't understand how someone could skip them, they're too beautiful not to look at.

Attack on Titan also has the best closing credits, in particular the first half of Season 1. I loved getting to see my favourite girl Mikassa.

Something that I have spotted with Attack on Titan is that they have changed the song three times. The first is still the best and I do wish they'd bring it back. 

Opinions

Like Yuri on Ice, I adore Attack on Titan. When I first heard about I assumed I would never enjoy it. I hate blood and guts and gore, but because this is animated and you don't directly see how gruesome it can get, it doesn't bother me as much. 

I find it quite odd how something set in such a terrible world cheers me up. My mum is always telling "there is nothing like watching an apocalypse movie to cheer you up". And she's right. Seeing all these characters suffer in such awful ways makes me forget whatever is on my mind and I become entirely invested in the story. 

Levi is my precious little thing and I adore him. There is nothing like a broody captain, bullying everyone to cheer me up. He's so sassy and puts Eren in his place (which that boy needs). I would be very happy with a Anime series about him. 

I fear this is were the fandom will hate me for saying this, but I'm not the hugest fan of Eren. *waits for the fandom to come for me*. Don't get me wrong, I do like him, it's just st times he can be quite annoying and self-centred. I understand that he's been through a lot, but there are times where I want to scream at my phone (that's what I watch it on) and tell Eren to take a chill pill. Thank God he has Mikasa to look after him.

Every single episode ends on a cliffhanger, which makes it really addictive. You just keep on wanting to know what happens. I feel sorry for those that have had to wait for ages between series 1 and 2.

I'm very excited to see how season 2 ends and I hope the wait between season 2 and 3, if we get a 3, won't be too long as I have so many questions. I also need more of Levi in my life as he is my precious little thing.
Carenza x

Yuri on Ice Anime Discussion (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Recently, I fell headfirst down the dark hole that is Anime and I am loving every single second of it. I have been a massive fan of Studio Ghibli since 2012 and I figured it was a crime that I hadn't watched Anime, so once my exams had finished I signed up to a handy-dandy website called Crunchyroll. It's tag line is literally "everything anime" and that is the best way to describe it. If you are looking for a good and reliable Anime streaming platform, then Crunchyroll might before you. I would like to state that I am not being paid to promote Crunchyroll, I just really love their site.

But with falling headfirst into Anime, the world of Anime discussions have now been opened up. The first Anime I would like to discuss is the first one I fully completed and that is Yuri on Ice. When it was first released last November, Yuri on Ice was huge (and deservedly so). Even someone who had no interest in it (like myself at the time) had heard of Yuri on Ice. 

Now I have completed it and like the rest of the fandom, patiently wait for the feature movie to drop, I would like to discuss Yuri on Ice with those who have finished it. This post will contain spoilers, so STOP READING if you don't want to be spoiled. Yuri on Ice is only 12 25 minute episodes, so you can easily binge watch it and come back to this post. I'm sure you don't need anymore encouragement from me to spend an afternoon binge watching some Anime. 

Opening Credits

Something I have noticed about all the Anime's I have watched so far is that they take opening credits to a whole other level. I honestly don't know how anyone could skip an opening credit for any Anime as they are so beautiful. But aside from Attack on Titan (discussion post coming soon), Yuri on Ice has some of the best opening credits I've seen.

They are seriously a work of art. I love the water colour aspect of them and am planning on getting a phone case inspired by the opening credits.

Opinions

As I just changed my username to be a parody of Yuri on Ice (CarenzaOnBooks is a very subtle tip to how amazing this Anime is), I can safely say I love it. It's short, it's sweet and it hooks you in, which makes it perfect for  first Anime. I have never been someone who is interested in sports, but watching Yuri on Ice makes me want to learn figure skating. It was also surprisingly educational as I don't think the average person knows much about figure skating and figure skating competitions. 

Yuri K is the sweetest character to exist. I adore him. The depiction of someone suffering from anxiety and learning to overcome their fears was one of the best things about this Anime. Yuri K felt so real and like he was someone you could bump into on the street. He also had the perfect reaction when his idol, Victor, became his coach. If you put me in a room with my idol and told me they were going to coach me, I'd flail uncontrollably for about a week.  

I also loved Victor. He was exactly the kind of coach Yuri K needed, someone who was going to push him, but understand how challenging it would be for him. In truth, we all want someone like Victor in our lives. Someone understanding, but helps us to achieve our dreams.

Whilst researching for this post, I read some criticism about the relationship between Victor and Yuri K, saying that in episode 7, they hid a kiss. I read about this on Wikipedia so it may not be true, but watching clips on YouTube, it does suggest that there was a kiss an Victor's arm hid it. If that is the case, then it would be a disappointment as apart from that the curators have been great at depicting the same-sex relationship. A part of me wants Yuri K and Victor to be in a romantic relationship, but part of me also is content with them being friends. It will be interesting to see how they deal with it in the feature film.

Each episode ended on a mini cliffhanger and made you want to watch more. I finished Yuri on Ice in around a week. I am unbelievably excited for the feature film and hope it has all the feels that the Anime had. I would like to see how the other characters (i.e Yuri K's family and the other figure skaters) are doing. I will admit that I hope it focuses on Victor and Yuri K, as I don't care for Yuri P that much.

It made me very happy to see members of different ethnic groups as well as sexual orientations and countries. Of the Anime's I've been watching so far, there is a lack of representation and this filled the whole that was missing.

I've already said I adored Yuri on Ice, but I'll say it again. It wasn't just about figure skating, it was about achieving your dreams and great relationships. I hope the feature film does this beautiful story justice.

Carenza x     

Here's Two Many More Years| CarenzaOnBooks

Today, June 12th 2017, my blog turns two years old (hence the misspelling of two in the title). I started it back in 2015, with no real plan of what I was doing. I thought that I was going to be the next big beauty blogger. But as time passed, I discovered I had no idea what I was talking about and I wasn't enjoying blogging.

So in 2016 I changed to book blogging. I loved book blogging as reading is my one of my greatest passions, so being able to talk about something I loved was great. I continued with this theme into 2017, but as time went on I began to no longer enjoy it. Putting out a certain amount of posts a month became a chore rather than something I did for fun.

Now that my blog has turned two, I feel that it is time to change. I have decided to make several changes. The first being my upload schedule. I am no longer going to upload on Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's. I am going to upload a certain amount of posts a month (i.e 10) and spread them out equally throughout the month. This way, I can spend more time writing them and getting them to the quality I want them to be. This does mean that Book Review Monday will be coming to an end. I want to upload more book reviews, but not be restricted by one upload day.

Another thing that is going to change is my username. For two years I have gone by the name It'sCarenzaB, which for the first year was good username. But now I feel it is time to choose a username that reflects my interests and if you've read the title fully, then you'll know the username I have selected is CarenzaOnBooks. I wanted to keep my name in the username but I wanted it to be a play on a title of something I like. I have been thinking up usernames since April and I finally settled on CarenzaOnBooks which is a play on Yuri On Ice. By the end of the month, I will have changed my username on all my social media accounts to this.

The final big change is the type of posts I am going to be posting. I still want to post about books, but I also want to talk about my other interests such as theater and nerd culture. I want to talk about the theater I am going to see or nerdy things I'm interested in. I want to fangirl about Anime and Disney. I want to talk about things I love.

So a lot of things are going to be changing around here and that may seem scary, but I have always been someone who believes that change can be a good thing if you're no longer happy with the things you are doing.

But finally, I want to say thank you for sticking with me over these past two years. Whether you've been with me from the beginning or just discovered me today, thank you for reading my blog and taking an interest in my little corner of the internet.
Carenza x  

May Fairyloot Review| It'sCarenzaB

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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










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