Totally Should've Book Tag| CarenzaOnBooks

I know I've already done a book tag this month, but I was in the mood to do another one and after searching through BookTube I found the "Totally Should've" book tag, created by EmmaBooks. I've wanted to do this tag for a while and so I thought why not do it today?

1)Totally should've gotten a sequel

Last year I read Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu and I loved it. I would love to read more books from that world. It was such an empowering read and I wish there were more books like it.

2)Totally should've had a spin-off series

The obvious answer here is the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. I think that myself and the rest of the Harry Potter fandom would love as many spin-offs as possible. I would particularly love a series about the Marauders- I need more Lupin and Sirius in my life.

3)An author who totally should write more books

Hands down, Angie Thomas. I loved The Hate U Give so much and I can't wait to see the movie adaptation. I know she has another book coming out next year, but I would happily read anything she publishes.

4)A character who totally should've ended up with someone else

The only one I can think of is from the Harry Potter universe and that is that I would have loved Luna and Neville to end up together. They did it beautifully in the films, but I would have loved them together as a little pair of adorable oddballs. Also from the Harry Potter universe, I would have loved from Albus and Scorpius to end up together. They were so cute and clearly meant to be. 

5)Totally should've ended differently

I think quite a few people will agree with me on this, but I didn't like the ending of Allegiant by Veronica Roth. Without spoiling it, a certain character shouldn't have died. 

6)Totally should've had a movie franchise

Any book Adam Silvera writes should become a movie. I would love to see all of his current releases (and any future ones) on the big screen. 

7)Totally should've had a TV show

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern would make an incredible TV show. I would love to see someone turn it into a TV show at some point in the near future. 

8)Totally should've had one point of view

Allegiant again. The multiple perspectives made it obvious that that one character was going to die at the end. Also, the two voices were far too similar, half the time I didn't know which was which. 

9)Totally should have a cover change

I genuinely can't think of any books where I would change the cover. I love all the covers I have and none of them needs changing in my opinion. 

10)Totally should've kept the original covers

The Wrath and the Dawn duology by Renee Adieh. I loved the original covers, but the new ones, in my opinion, aren't great. 

11)Totally should've stopped at book one

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. I've read the first two books, and probably won't be continuing with the rest as I really didn't like the series.

Carenza x

A Very Potter Day- December 2017| CarenzaOnBooks

This is a post I've wanted to write for a while but never got around to until now. Back in December of last year, my mother and I went to London for the day to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (part one only) and subsequently, made a day trip out of it. We did so many amazing things and I really wanted a way of remembering this day, besides the photos I took and the merch I obviously bought.

We started the day with two exhibitions; one at the Courtauld Gallery and one at the National Gallery. Although I can't remember the specifics of the exhibitions, I knew I really enjoyed them. We had to go them fairly quickly as we wanted to get to the Palace theatre for about 1 pm (an hour before the show started).

We ended up at the theatre an hour and a half early, thankfully ending up under the sheltered part as it was raining on and off. At the time, I didn't know that the House of MinaLima was around the corner and as a part of a promotion, they were handing out leaflets for it. Mum and I decided that we would head there after the show.

Once we had been let inside, my first point of call was the shop. I had been saving this money since my birthday in August and I planned to spend it. I have a whole video about it on my YouTube channel, which documents what I got. But to put it simply, I bought almost everything I had had my eye on.

The interior of the theatre was beautiful. We were sat at the very top of the theatre and my fear of heights definitely kicked in as the seats were very sloped. The performance was incredible and I can't wait to go again in August. I've been going to the theatre since I was six years old, but some of the tricks they used to make it look like magic left me with my mouth wide open.

Once the show had finished, we did a final bit of shopping in the theatre and then we went to the House of MinaLima. I'd never been before as I thought it had closed down for some reason. If you are a Harry Potter fan, then I highly recommend going. It's free to go in and has an amazing gift shop. It's so interesting learning about how they designed all the props for the Harry Potter movies. I bought three postcard packs and a badge. I plan on going back in August as it was wonderful.

Our final shopping destination was Tottenham Court Road Primark. I'd walked past it on several occasions, but had never been in. I managed to get some of the items, such as the Potion Bottle fairy lights and the house bunting, that I had been wanting for ages. Primark is a great place for getting cheap merch and their homeware section (my fave) is amazing.

We had tea at GBK and then headed to the train station via Waterstones as we're both huge bookworms and had time to kill. I think we ended up buying six books between us. We didn't get home till quite late, but it was such a magical day.
Carenza x

The Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag| CarenzaOnBooks

As we are already over halfway through the year, I thought it would be interesting to look back at my reading year so far. This year has been the best reading year I've had in a while as I've been pushing myself to read more. I've seen this tag floating around the book community and thought that I would do it myself.

1) Best Book You've Read So Far

I'd have to go with Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman. There was so much hype around this book with the movie coming out and so I decided to read it. I read it in one day because it was so beautiful and I was engaged in the story so much. I really want to watch the movie so badly to see how accurate it is.

2) A New Release You Haven't Read, But You Want To

I've been really strick with my book buying this as I've been trying to be responsible with my money (trying being the key word), but a new release I was really excited about but haven't bought is Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. I've heard so many good things about this book and I think I'll really enjoy it.

3) Most Anticipated Release For The Second Half Of The Year

Obviously, it has to go to Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare. I've already pre-ordered two copies and am probably going to get another two. I have been waiting for this book ever since I finished Lord of Shadows. I'm dying to read it!

4) Biggest Disappointment Of The Year

I know this book is a bit like marmite; you either love it or hate it and for me, I fall into the latter. I was very excited for Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsey Cummings, but oh boy did this book fall flat. I gave it 1.5 stars. I really did not like it and will 100% not be continuing with it. To be nice to it would be to say it was dull. There were very few redeeming qualities to this book (the only one I can think of is the ending).

 

5) Biggest Surprise Of The Year So Far

Hands down, the biggest surprise of the year was Let Me Tell You About A Man I Knew by Susan Fletcher. This book was beautiful. The only reason it wasn't my favourite of the year so far was that I didn't like the ending. But, her writing is beautifully poetic and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

 

6) New Favourite Author

I struggled with this as I've read a lot of new authors this year, but I wouldn't call any of them my favourite. But if I was to choose, I would say Neal Shusterman. I picked up the Scythe series and have read both the books that are out. I really enjoyed this series and was pleasantly surprised by finding a good dystopian novel.

 

7) Your Newest Favourite Character

Honestly, I find it very hard to pick favourite characters as I tend not to get too attached to them. But Simon Spier does hold a special place in my heart. I've yet to see the movie, but I flew through Simon Vs the Homosapiens Agenda in one day. He's a good egg, in my opinion.

8) A Book That Made You Cry

The only book I have cried it is a reread of Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. I don't cry that easily at books, but there's one scene that gets me every time. It might have also been because I read this scene at about 3am when I couldn't sleep.

9) A Book That Made You Happy

I would say that reading The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed made me happy. This book was so inspiring due to its feminist content. I would love to read more books by Amy Reed as The Nowhere Girls was fantastic.

10) The Most Beautiful Book So Far

Cover wise, I would say The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert (I didn't like the actual book though), content wise, I read A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway and that book is good. I love the 1920s and so reading about so many great authors in Paris makes my heart sing. I really want to go back to Paris now I've read this book.

May and June Favourites| CarenzaOnBooks

Once again, I've fallen behind on posting on here. Exams were life-consuming and I've been slowly adjusting to not being in college. I'm hoping to get better at posting on here, but I won't make any promises as I don't know what the future has in store. But as I've missed posting on here, I thought I'd come back with a favourites post as I love favourites. I'm going to combine May and June as I haven't posted a favourite post for either.

Books

My favourite books I read in the months of May/June were the Poldark books by Winston Graham. I've only read books 1-5, but I'm loving them. It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of the TV show, so I decided to give the books a go. I'm currently taking a break from them as books 6-7 cover the most recent series and I want to watch the series before I read the books. 

Culture

I finished my rewatch of Merlin in June and it was amazing. I cried at the final episode and I know at some point I'll rewatch it. I still can't believe that the first series came out ten years ago. 

I also continued watching Mad Men and I'm definitely more invested in the storyline now. Series 3-4 have been my favourite so far, but I am loving the direction the series is going in. I'm hoping to finish it before I go to university in September.  

Poldark series four started in June and so far I'm loving it. It's not my favourite series of the Poldark franchise, but any excuse to watch Poldark is good for me. I'm looking forward to seeing how it ends. 

I saw The Happy Prince in June and I really enjoyed it. Oscar Wilde is someone I'm interested in, but I know very little about his life. It was a beautiful film and if you are interested in Oscar Wilde, then I would highly recommend it. 

Bits'n'Bobs 

It will probably come as no surprise that I have got new Pop Funkos on this list. I'm always adding new Pops to my collection and with the newest wave being announced, it will continue to expand. I don't know what I'll do when I go to university as I'm not sure if I'll be able to afford them.

shop

While in Liverpool, I bought some new earings for the first time in ages. I'm allergic to anything but gold or silver, which makes getting earings expensive. Thankfully, these were about £13, which for one pair is still expensive. Nevertheless, I think they're beautiful and they were a bit outside of my comfort zone fashion-wise.

So that concludes my belated favourites posts. I'm slowly trying to get on top of my posting schedule again, but it may take some time for me to get back to posting once a week on here.

Carenza x  

Why I Love Reading| CarenzaOnBooks

Reading has been a part of my life for as long as I could remember. As a child, my parents would have to prize books out of my hand to get me to sleep and once they had left the room, I would go and find them again. Reading was something I enjoyed and, growing up just as social media was beginning to expand, reading was the only way I had to entertain myself as a child.

I've always had a bookshelf in my room. As a child, it held all the Beatrix Potter books I owned and I would read the ones I enjoyed the most over and over. When I got my first CD player, I would fall asleep to the sounds of audiobooks. I've lost count of how many times I listened to Juliet Stevenson read me Jane Eyre. If the CD finished, I would climb down from my bunk bed and put the next CD on.

Coming from a family of readers, you could say that reading was in my blood. Some of my fondest memories of my childhood are reading the Harry Potter books with my family and listening to them on road trips to various holiday destinations across the country. When I would stay at my Gran's house, I would demand that she read me a book before I'd go to sleep.

Books have been something I've gravitated towards more and more in recent years. With the recent book to movie adaptations of The Hunger Games, Divergent and City of Bones, my eyes were opened to the world of YA. For my 15th and 16th birthday, I went book shopping and picked up so many books I want to read...let's ignore the fact that half of them are still unread.

While YA is the main age range I read, I have started to read more modern fiction such as the Poldark series. I've also started to love reading scripts as a part of my passion for the theatre. The last two years, I've only read 60 books a year. But now, I've read almost 40 and we're not even halfway through the year.

To answer the title of this post, why I love reading, simply, there is nothing quite like it. Books will be there on days when I feel like no one is and I can travel to far away places from the safety of my bed. As Stephen King says "books are a uniquely portable magic".
Carenza x

April Favourites| CarenzaOnBooks

Another month has come and gone, which means once again it's time for a favourites post. April, to me, seemed to vanish in a blink of an eye. I feel like I spent the majority of it revising as my exams slowly but surely creep up on me. As far as favourites go, there wasn't that much new things in my life, so a lot of these will have featured in past favourites posts. I also have a confession- there will be no book favourite for the month as I had an awful reading month and didn't particularly enjoy any of the books I read. 

Culture

I went to London on my first solo trip to see The Kiss of the Spiderwoman- a new adaptation of a play that was once a book, but then it was a film and briefly a musical. It stared Samuel Barnett, who played Dirk Gently in the Netflix adaptation. I knew very little about it before going, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sadly, it was only on for a short amount of time and is no longer being performed. 

Even though I saw it on the very last day of April, I've decided to include it in my April favourites and that is Avengers: Infinity War. I'm not as invested in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but this film was one of the best ones and definitely didn't end how I thought it would. I am looking forward to the films to come.   

Bits'n'Bobs

I'm not really a clothes/fashion person, but in April I picked up two new clothing items that I love. The first is a black denim jacket from the Men's section at New Look. As we are transitioning towards the warmer months in the UK, I needed a lightweight jacket for those days when it was still on the cold side. I love it to pieces and it's become a staple piece of clothing in my wardrobe.

The next item was something out of my comfort zone- a mustard yellow jumper. I wasn't sure if yellow was a colour that looked good on me, but I've come to love it and for once it adds a bit of colour to my wardrobe (I'm a monochrome kind of gal). But the reason I picked it up was because it says Avid Reader's Club on it. I had been looking for something that expressed my love of books and this was the perfect thing.   

So that concludes my rather short April favourites, I can't promise that May will be a better month, but once my exams are over, everything should go back to normal (ish).

Carenza x

City of Glass Review (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Title- City of Glass
Author- Cassandra Clare
Series- The Mortal Instruments
Published- 2009
Page Count- 492 pages (UK Paperback)
Publishing House- Walker Books
Rating- 5/5 stars 

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 humour 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

To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters - never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City - whatever the cost?

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the third instalment of the New York Times bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.

(Taken from Goodreads)

Opinions

This reread for me was a bit of a slow start as it took me a while to get into it. Usually, I fly through City of Glass, but it took me a while to get into it. I think it's because I'm a very different reader from when I first picked up the series back in 2013.  

The deaths in this book are so sad. When I first read City of Glass, I cried when Max died. It's one of the most brutal deaths I have read about in YA. The deaths in this book really tug on the heartstrings. I also felt really sad when Hodge died, even though he had betrayed the Shadowhunters, he hadn't done anything that warranted death.  For me, the relationships in this book are really well developed. There's the contrast in Jace and Clary's relationship from the beginning to the end of the book. Some of the things Jace did to protect Clary in this book actually made things worse. I also felt like there was a change in Clary and Isabelle's relationship as they were starting to act more like friends in this book. Simon and Jace's relationship was another one I enjoyed reading about.

But, by far the best relationship in this book was Magnus and Alec. I love them as a couple so much and I love that there is a prominent gay character in this series. They are adorable and it makes me so happy every time I read Alec overcoming his fear of coming out to his parents.  

In all truthfulness, I don't feel as though I have as much to say about City of Glass. Maybe it's because it's been a while since I read it, but I feel as though City of Glass is a make or break book for me, and this time round, my reread was somewhere in the middle. Carenza x

Belated March Favourites| CarenzaOnBooks

I know it's nearly the end of April, but it just dawned on me that I hadn't posted my March Favourites. For me, life is a bit hectic at the moment with my exams creeping ever nearer. I'm trying to get back on top of blogging content, but there will be times when there are gaps, unfortunately. As far as I can remember, March was a very good month for me. I saw lots of amazing films and got back into my love for TV series. 

Books

My favourite book of March was Sycthe by Neal Shusterman. The sequel is already out, but it doesn't come out until May 3rd in the UK. I haven't enjoyed a dystopian style novel in a long time, so when I picked this up and flew through it, I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't want to put it down. I had a really good reading month in March, but ironically, I'm having a terrible reading month in April. 

Culture

I saw Lady Bird in March and I flipping loved it. I actually wrote a whole blog post about it, so if you want to read it then click here. At this point in my life, it is very relevant. I am going through the process of applying to university and deciding what I want to do with my future. The acting is phenomenal and the soundtrack is incredible. 

I'm pretty sure I saw Black Panther in March, but it might have been February, but as I didn't include it in my February favourites, I thought I'd talk about it now. I thought it was a great addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's not my personal favourite, but I did really enjoy it.

I have a lot of favourite TV series for March. Starting with Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency on Netflix. Again, this is a series I have a blog post all about, so click here to read it. I'm already on my third rewatch. I love it so much. It is quite possibly my favourite TV series of all time. I could watch it on repeat like an upturned turtle. I am very sad that they cancelled it. 

I have been watching Mad Men and I feel like I've finally got into it. I wasn't the biggest fan of series one and two, but I loved series three and four. I feel fully invested in the characters and I'm excited to see where it goes for the final three seasons.

I mentioned this in my February favourites, but I am still loving Merlin. I'm about to start the final series and I really don't want my rewatch to be over. I think it's an incredible show and it reminds me so much of being a child and watching it on the weekends as each new episode was released. 

Bits'n'Bobs

My new favourite bits'n'bobs have to be the two newest editions to my Pop Funko family; Ron and Ginny on broomsticks. I am going to be posting some Harry Potter inspired photos on my instagram (@carenzaonbooks) as I'm in the biggest Harry Potter mood. I think these are great editions to the collection and I just can't wait to keep on growing my collection. 

So that concludes my March favourites, I am going to try and get back on top of my posting schedule, especially with my Shadowhunter Chronicles reviews. 

Carenza x    

City of Ashes Review (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Title- City of Ashes
Author- Cassandra Clare
Series- The Mortal Instruments
Published- March 2008
Page Count- 453 (UK paperback)
Publishing House- Magaret K McElderry Books
Rating- 5/5 stars

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 humour 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

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? Clary would love to spend more time with her best friend, Simon. But the Shadowhunters won't let her go--especially her handsome, infuriating newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil--and also her father. When the second of the Mortal Instruments is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor suspects Jace. Could Jace really be willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

(Taken from Goodreads)

Opinions 

City of Ashes is usually one of my least favourite books in The Mortal Instruments, but this time around I loved it. I'm usually hit with the second book slump at this point, but for the first time since I started reading TMI, I really enjoyed City of Ashes. I think it's because I've changed as a reader and I didn't enjoy City of Bones as much this time around.

Like City of Bones, I flew through it this time. I'm really enjoying flying through the books this reread. I haven't done a full read through in years, so I'm really enjoying it this time around. I'm finding details I don't remember from my original read. 

To me, you can see the development between City of Bones and City of Ashes. I think that City of Ashes has a slightly more sophisticated tone to it, it's definitely darker than City of Bones. You can see it in particular in the character development. It just goes to show how Cassie is an adaptable writer and just keeps on getting better with each book she publishes. 

  

I loved the new characters introduced in this book. Maia is a really great addition to the Shadowhunter gang, but it's only just struck me how much younger she is. I think she's about 14, whereas the others are 16-17. I really like how sassy she is. As much as I hate Imogen Herondale, I loved her character in this book as it was something we hadn't seen before in the series. I also really loved Max and the rest of the Lightwoods. You really get a sense of Alec and Izzy's upbringing before the books started.  

My favourite character in City of Ashes has to be Simon. Poor Simon! He deserves so much better than he gets. I'm still unsure of how I feel about Simon and Clary dating. I'm glad that it makes them happy, but I'm just unsure of how I feel about it. He then gets turned into a vampire and his whole world gets turned upside down. I just love Simon and he deserves so much better than he gets in this book. 

As with any of Cassie's books, they are very humorous. I found myself laughing to myself quite a few times. I do love Cassie's use of humour. I feel that she has the right balance between humour and seriousness. 

So that concludes my review of City of Ashes, like I mentioned in my last post, I will be continuing with these reviews until I have reviewed all the books released to-date.

Carenza x 

City of Bones Review- 2018 Edition (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

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- 4/5 Stars
Note- This was a reread as a part of The Dregs Society read-a-long being hosted by the lovely Emmmabooks.

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 humour 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

I think it comes as no surprise to anyone who has been following me on here for a while, that I am a huge fan of Cassandra Clare's work. This year, a YouTuber I admire is hosting a year-long read-a-long and of course, I knew I was going to take part in it. City of Bones was the book that introduced me to this magical world and the magical world of reading. A part of me will always love these books as they hold such a sentimental place in my heart. 

That being said, I did really enjoy it. It felt like I was reading it for the first time again and subsequently falling in love with this series again. There were a few moments were I wasn't enjoying it as much as I used to, but overall, City of Bones is a great first book in a series. It has all the things I personally look for in a first book in a series and does a really good job at establishing a fairly complex magic system. 

While I do love it, my opinions have changed since I first read it back in 2013. I was a very different reader back then and now I understand more about the reading world. One of the things I don't particularly like about CoB is how information-based it is (but I'll talk more about that in a later paragraph). As the novel is now around 11 years old, you can see how it reflects the vibes of the early 2000s. It definitely fits the trends of novels being released at the time of a person not knowing how they form a supernatural race of some sort. The characters to me feel a bit underdeveloped and there are times when I almost hate Clary and Jace because of how whiny and wingey they are. My favourite characters in this book are Simon and Magnus as to me, they have more layers to them than the others. 

   

At the time of picking this up, I was a bit under the weather and as, for once, I had the time to sit down and read, I flew through this book. I think I read it in 2 or 3 days, but you'll have to check my Goodreads to find out (I've been posting reviews for all the books I've been reading in 2018). I love that I was able to fly through it and also that it was so easy to fly through it. 

When compared with Cassie's latest novel (at the time of this being published, I'm comparing it to Lord of Shadows), you can see how far she has developed as a writer. Her style isn't as defined or for me, as engaging, I'm definitely a fan of her later works more than I am her earlier works. I always look forward to her new books and I think rereading them in preparation for Queen of Air and Darkness, I am going to be appreciating how much she has developed as a writer. 

As I mentioned earlier, one of the reasons I think I gave this 4/5 stars was because it is very info based. This is because it is establishing a system that is going to be spread across many different series, but to me, there were times when it became bogged down in the details rather than describing that characters feelings. There is a saying that I hear a lot in my Creative Writing classes and that is "show don't tell" and this is very much a show and no tell situation. It's probably my personal reading preferences, but I am not a fan of massive info dumps.

City of Bones used to be one of my favourite books in the series, however, this read I felt that it had probably become my least favourite in the series. I just didn't enjoy myself as much as I remember doing when I first read it. That being said, I still love this series. But, I found it a bit difficult jumping back into this series. 

So, my plan is to post reviews for all the books in this reread even if, like City of Bones, I already have a review up for it. I have a few to catch up on, but I will try and post them sporadically so this doesn't turn into just a Shadowhunters blog.

Carenza x 

Spell Your Name with Fictional Characters Book Tag| CarenzaOnBooks

I was tagged by the lovely Nicole from NewBookCatREADS to do the Spell Your Name with Fictional Characters Book Tag. As I have quite an unusual name, I thought this would be interesting to see what characters I can find for my name. I'm also going to be doing my username as a little bonus challenge. If you want to do this tag, then consider yourself officially tagged!

C- Clary Fray from The Mortal Instruments
A- Aelin from The Throne of Glass Series
R- Ron Weasley from The Harry Potter Series
E- Elrond from The Lord of the Rings
N- Newt Scamander from Fantastic Beasts
Z- Zara Dearborn from The Dark Artifices Series 
A- Alexander Lightwood from The Mortal Instruments

C- Cecily Herondale from The Infernal Devices
A- Aragog from The Harry Potter Series
R- Rowan from Scythe 
E- Evan Hansen from Dear Evan Hansen (the script)
N- Natasha from The Sun is Also a Star
Z- Zoya Nazyalensky from The Shadow and Bone series
A- Asher from Between the Blade and the Heart
O- Otis from Phantom Limbs
N- Neville Longbottom from The Harry Potter Series
B- Bilbo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings
O- Olivander from The Harry Potter Series
O- Oliver Wood from The Harry Potter Series 
K- Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games
S- Simon Spier from Simon Vs the Homosapiens Agenda 

I really enjoyed this tag as it was quite challenging not using characters from the same series (I did overuse the Harry Potter series quite a bit). Finding characters that begin with Z was the most challenging as I only knew one off the top of my head.

Carenza x

For the Outsiders- A Response to Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency| CarenzaOnBooks

I'm not really a TV binger or a Netflix binger for that matter, but I watched all eighteen episodes of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency on Netflix in the space of four days recently. To put it bluntly- I flipping loved it and I am deeply sad they cancelled it. This post, you could say, is a love letter to it. As I'm writing it, I'm listening to the incredible soundtrack on Spotify and thinking, when is it acceptable to rewatch it, because if I could, I'd watch it all tomorrow.   

A reoccurring motif throughout the show is the loneliness Dirk feels and his amazement that Todd and Farah want to become his friends. I think at some point in our lives, we have all felt incredibly lonely.  We have all felt like there was none and it's us against the world. And at one point in our lives, we are all as surprised a Dirk to learn there is somebody out there who cares.

Dirk Gently is a bit of an outsider, something myself identifies as. As I said in my Lady Bird response, I don't fit the norm for people my age. My interests could be classed as either being those of someone much older or much younger, depending on how you look at them. I often feel like an outsider when I'm in college. I spend more time by myself than I do with people. I also am often at a loss for what's popular and what's not.

We live in an age of social media. Everything we want is at our fingertips and yet there are still outsiders. Surely, social media and connectivity have fixed this? I don't know who half the popular people are these days and there seems to be some new celebrity gossip every day. 

I remain the outsider in my world and yet, it doesn't phase me. I am content with my lot. Life isn't always about being involved in everyone's moments on Facebook. It's about making your own moments. In conclusion, I am proud to be an outsider, as if I wasn't an outsider, I wouldn't be me.

Carenza x 

Still Growing Up- A Response to Lady Bird| CarenzaOnBooks

A few weeks ago, I saw Lady Bird in the cinema. I had seen the trailer and I thought, here's a film I'm going to enjoy. It's not just another coming of age story, it's a coming of age story we can all relate to and all see ourselves in. It's a coming age story for the people who have no clue what they're doing and the people who are a bit socially awkward. It's the coming of age story for people like me. 

Lady Bird hits harder than any other coming of age story I've seen as at this point in my life, I am going through many of the things she went through. I am in the agonizing process of applying to University. I'm spending my days stressing that I won't be able to get in and if I do get in, how the hell am I going to afford. 

I'm experimenting with what my interests are. I change my main passion all the time because there are so many exciting things happening in the world. One minute, I want to become a best-selling YA author, the next I want to be a Tony award-winning playwright and five minutes later I'm practising an Oscar acceptance speech for a film I've written in my head. Truth is, while I know what field of work I want to work in, I have no clue where it will take me.

Two years ago, I wanted to be the next Cassandra Clare and write urban fantasies, now I want to write plays worthy of Tony Kushner's attention. A few years before that I wanted to be the next Zoella and have a super successful beauty blog. My potential career path has changed more times than I've dyed my hair in the last three years (I've dyed it three times if anyone cares). All these opportunities dance before me and yet pinning them down is the challenge.

Friend-wise, I have a group of phenomenal friends, and yet I find myself content in my own company. I'm not sure where I sit within this friendship group, I'm very much an outsider, and yet they have accepted me as one of their own. Soon, we'll all be leaving and making new friends and going on new, exciting adventures. 

I'm fortunate to have one constant friend, an incredible girl I've been friends with since I was five years old. We've had our ups and downs, as any friendship has had, but we are still friends. We are still there for each other at the end of the day and although we leave many, many miles away from each other, we will always be there. 

I may be nearly an adult and yet I have no clue what I am doing. Some may call my obsession with books and Harry Potter and all things bizarre childish, but they are what make me happy. I wouldn't call my interests conventional- they're niche. They don't quite fit the age range I belong in. 

Truth is, I'm still growing up. And, yes, I am legally an adult in a few months time, but I don't feel like I am nearly an adult. There's still a lot of things I have to experience. First loves. First time leaving home. First car. First job. There are a million firsts before me. I am still growing up, but I'll get there.

Carenza x     

Very Belated February Favourites| CarenzaOnBooks

So, it's been a while since I posted....again. Once again, I owe you guys an apology. Life for me at the moment is hectic and as much as I love blogging, I haven't been able to find the time to write. I think I'm going to make a separate post on all the crazy things that are going on, but for now, I thought I owed you guys a February Favourites. Even though it's nearly the end of March (why is time going so fast? Can it please chill for a second?), February was a good month for favourites.

Books

I had a very good reading month in February (full wrap up coming on my YouTube channel soon), but the standout book for me was Simon Vs the Homo-sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. A book discussion on this book will be coming on my YouTube channel very soon. If you are looking for a cute, contemporary featuring an LGBT love story at the centre. I am very excited for the movie adaptation and it makes me so happy that it is getting so much more love and support. Becky's writing style is really addictive- I read this in one day and I am definitely going to have to get her other books and binge read them.    

Culture

I did see The Shape of Water in February, and while it wasn't my favourite film, I did enjoy it. I think it's so interesting and important to have such a diverse cast and creative team at the centre of this film. I'm really glad it won best picture at the Oscars as I do think it deserved it. Also, the soundtrack is incredible, it's by the same composer who did the last two Harry Potter films. 

A TV show I am currently rewatching is the BBC's Adventures of Merlin (also just known as Merlin). This was one of my favourite shows when I was little and I was feeling reminiscent of the past, so I decided to rewatch it. I'm about to start series four and I just don't want it to be over. 

Music wise, I have been enjoying listening to a lot of soundtracks. In February I listened to a lot of Disney and Harry Potter soundtracks. I just find I work best when listening to them and I can often remember the scenes they are from. If you are like me and aren't really into music, then I would recommend listening to soundtracks.  

Bits'n'Bobs

Edited by VSCO cam

My favourite Bits'n'Bobs purchase was my plush Niffler that I bought from Platform 9 3/4. I had been wanting one for ages and I had planned to buy one at the British Library exhibition, but they had sold out. I adore him so much, I've decided that he is named Neville as it is a nice alliteration. He was £35, which is expensive, but he's so darn cute I couldn't leave him in the shop. I also got a personalised Hogwarts letter, but as it has my address on it, I won't be showing it. 

So that concludes my super belated February favourites. I'm going to try my hardest to have something up here at least once a week, but if not, at least once a fortnight.

Carenza x

January Favourites| CarenzaOnBooks

We're officially into the second month of 2018 and it's a bit scary how fast it's going. For me, 2018 is a big year and it's going to be filled with change, so if it could slow down a bit, that would be great. But, with it being a new month, it means I can reflect on all the things I loved in January. January was a good month. I did lots of reading and really got my mojo back.

Books

I read a whopping 10 books in January, but the standout book for me was Turtles All The Way Down by John Green. I picked this up for £1.99 in my local Waterstones and flew through it at the start of the month. I loved it. It was such an incredible representation of anxiety and opened me up to a whole new side of anxiety that I knew nothing about. The relationships between the characters were amazing. I am going to be writing a full review at some point soon. 5/5 stars from me. 

Culture

January was the month I finally saw Hamilton. I had been waiting to see it for almost a year and I finally saw it. It was amazing. It lived up to all my expectations. King George still remains my favourite character. I have some Hamilton merch and am very happy about it.

I also finally went to the Harry Potter exhibition at the British Library. It was phenomenal, but then the exhibitions at the British Library always are. I'm so excited to get to go back and finish the rooms I didn't get a chance to because I had to rush off to Hamilton.

I saw the amazing film that is Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. I really enjoyed it and it definitely has some important issues at heart.  I would highly recommend it.

Bits'n'Bobs 

As I've already touched upon, I saw Hamilton in January and therefore I acquired some Hamilton Merch. I got a programme, as is my custom when I go to the theatre. I also got the King George t-shirt, which I adore. Lastly, I got the poster as I am a poster hoarder.

So, that concludes my January favourites. I think January was a really great month for me and I hope the rest of the year is as well.

Carenza x

Monty and Harry's Story- an original short piece by Carenza Bramwell

In my Creative Writing Class, we were given the task of writing a short story inspired by Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Here is my short piece about Monty and Harry.

It was a wet, winter’s evening. Rain lashed down on the cars flashing past and people ran to shelter themselves from the torrent falling on their heads. Monty slinked through the passers-by, being careful not to bump into them. His black coat was soaked with rain. He wondered when Harry would be home. It had been a long day and he wanted to see Harry. The rain poured even harder and a passing car drove through a puddle and soaked him. He howled at the car, his coat completely drenched. He found shelter under a tree and waited for the rain to subside. Gradually, it began to lessen. Occasionally rain would fall from the leaves, bowing under the weight of the water. Monty hopped around looking for a dry patch. He saw Harry’s car pulling into the driveway and waited. He wanted to be sure it was Harry. When he saw Harry’s head pop out of the car, he ran over and stood by the door, waiting. Harry acknowledged him and opened the door. They both darted in, glad to be out of the rain. Harry embraced Monty and began to make dinner.

Driving home from work, Harry was glad to be inside his car. His windscreen whippers danced back and forward, pushing the water away. He thought of Monty, out in the rain, and felt sad. He knew he should have let him stay inside, but Monty had wanted to go out and who was he to refuse. He imagined him, his black coat soaked with water, huddled by the back door, looking at him with big green eyes. Soon Harry was pulling into his driveway. He had seen Monty under the tree, sheltering himself from the down pour. He waited a few seconds, then got out of the car. Monty appeared, hanging his head and scratching at the door. Harry opened the door and let him in first, as was their custom. Harry picked up Monty and cuddled him. His coat was soaked, but Harry didn’t mind. He put Monty down, and began to make him dinner. By the time Harry had finished, Monty was curled up asleep under the radiator, his stomach rising and falling in a slow rhythm. Harry placed Monty’s food next to him and watched him sleep.