Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson Book Review (Contains Spoilers)|CarenzaOnBooks

Title- Open Water

Author- Caleb Azumah Nelson

Series- N/A

Published- 2021

Page Count- 163 pages

Publishing House- Penguin

Genre- literary fiction, modern fiction

Rating- 4/5 stars

About the Author

Caleb Azumah Nelson is a British-Ghanaian writer and photographer. His debut novel, Open Water, won the Costa Book Award for First Novel.

Taken from Wikipedia.

Plot

In a crowded London pub, two young people meet. Both are Black British, both won scholarships to private schools where they struggled to belong, both are now artists--he a photographer, she a dancer--and both are trying to make their mark in a world that by turns celebrates and rejects them. Tentatively, tenderly, they fall in love. But two people who seem destined to be together can still be torn apart by fear and violence, and over the course of a year they find their relationship tested by forces beyond their control.

Narrated with deep intimacy, Open Water is at once an achingly beautiful love story and a potent insight into race and masculinity that asks what it means to be a person in a world that sees you only as a Black body; to be vulnerable when you are only respected for strength; to find safety in love, only to lose it. With gorgeous, soulful intensity, and blistering emotional intelligence, Caleb Azumah Nelson gives a profoundly sensitive portrait of romantic love in all its feverish waves and comforting beauty.

This is one of the most essential debut novels of recent years, heralding the arrival of a stellar and prodigious young talent.

Taken from Goodreads

Opinions   

Open Water is currently the fiction book of the month at work and one I had wanted to read for a while. I had heard a lot of good things about it and rightly so. This book has some of the most beautiful writing I have ever read. I've recently started underlining/annotating my books and I highlighted so many great lines in this book. To think that Caleb Azumah Nelzon is only in his twenties and the potential he has ahead of him is insane. This book won the Costa First Novel Award and was shortlisted for the Waterstones Book of the Year, which it deserved. If the only thing that you take away from this review, is that it has beautiful writing, then I'm okay with that. 

The story was a very interesting one. It was a lot of small threads being pulled together to form this overall story. I'd say the main one was the love story between the main characters, whose names you never actually learn. Then what it's like to be a young, Black artist is another important theme discussed. There's also a lot of racism and how Black people are treated in the UK. For a book that's only 163 pages, it packs a lot in. It very rarely feels like there's too much happening and the story moves at the right pace. 

Speaking of the story, the reason I gave it 4/5 stars was because it was predictable that they would break up. It always seems to happen and it would have been nice to see them stay together as a couple. They clearly cared for each other and could have supported him after his traumatic experience with the police. I also wanted to get to the relationship a tiny bit quicker as I'm impatient and that stage of a book is always interesting.

At the end of the version I had, it included the short story Pray, which Caleb Azumah Nelson wrote for the BBC Young Writer's competition. You could really see the growth in his writing from Pray to Open Water. I actually struggled with Pray because the writing style was so different. I can't wait to see what he writes next as he is such a talented young writer. I imagine this will be one of my favourite books of the year. 

What did you think of Open Water??  

What I've Learned Working as a Bookseller| CarenzaOnBooks

Today's post is one I've had the idea for since I started working as a temporary bookseller at my local Waterstones in November. Over three months later, it's safe to say I've learned a lot and I wanted to share some of the things I've learnt while working in a dream job for me. This is mostly going to be about me and my experience in relationship to books, rather than the demands of the job. I think this is the best way for me to talk about it. So let's get into what I've learnt about being a bookseller. 

The kid's picture book section after I spent the day tidying it

My "Speciality" Within Books

One day I was having a conversation with someone visiting our branch from a different branch and they asked, if I could become a specialist or senior bookseller, what area would I like to focus on. I genuinely didn't have an answer because I don't know. I thought maybe I could pass as a fantasy/sci-fi bookseller or teen/YA, but even then I would have felt out of my depth. Before I started this job, I would have said I knew a lot of titles in these sections. However, the ones I've been exposed to are the ones I see on Bookstagram. This actually leads me on nicely to my next point...

I Don't Know As Much As I Thought I Did

I realised pretty quickly that my knowledge of books was actually way smaller than I thought it was. I thought that being a part of the online book community meant my knowledge of books was good, but it's actually very limited. I only knew about the big titles, the ones I saw everywhere. It's made me want to make more of an effort to track down some smaller/less talked about books. I've been picking up books that I haven't seen online in order to expand my horizons. There's just so many books and I've only read a small fraction of what we sell. It's definitely something I want to work on expanding and has given me a new spark in my love for books. 

Seeing New Books

Before working at my local Waterstones, I would have only checked out the sections I already read books from, such as new fiction, fiction, YA/Teen and fantasy. Now, I have worked all over the shop. I have seen books that I would have never imagined existed. There really is a book for everyone out there. There's probably more than I can ever imagine. We get so many requests for books off the beaten track. It really has opened my eyes to books I wouldn't have had the opportunity to learn about. For example, there are some really interesting non-fiction books out there that I'd love to read. All of this has been making my TBR very long!

There's More to Bookselling Than Meets the Eye

I don't know what I imagined booksellers did all day, but there really are a lot of different roles within the shop. My main ones do seem to be working the till or shelving. But there's also pricing our non-book related products, sorting out customer orders and cleaning. There are times when there isn't much to do, but we're often always wandering around doing something. I think my favourite things to do are to shelve books and to price items. I find it very therapeutic using the pricing gun and getting the job done, but that's probably just a me thing.    

Those are just a few things that I've learned from my time as a bookseller. Yes, there are some not so great aspects about being a bookseller, but overall I love it. If you want to learn more about being a bookseller, I recently The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell, which I enjoyed and would recommend. It had a lot of experiences in that I could relate to. 

The Hatmakers by Tamzin Merchant Mini Monday Review (Spoiler Free Book Review)| CarenzaOnBooks

Welcome to the first in a new series on my blog, called Mini Monday Reviews! In essence, these are going to be small reviews, focusing on the things I liked and didn't like, in either a book, film or TV show. They aren't going to be as detailed as my normal reviews, but a chance to highlight some of the things I've been reading and watching that I wouldn't get a chance to review normally. Without further a do, let's get into the first Mini Monday Review! 

Plot

Cordelia Hatmaker's father is lost at sea and she is determined to find him. Along the way, she learns of the King's madness and how the other Maker families have all had precious items stolen from them. Together, this leads Cordelia on an epic adventure across an alternative version of Georgian London, filled with magic, madness and a little bit of mayhem. 

For more information on The Hatmakers, you can read the Goodreads page, by clicking here. 

What I Liked

This was our Children's Book of the Month at work (I work as a bookseller at my local Waterstones) and I forgot to bring my book to work one day, so on my break I started this. I was hooked. I hadn't read much kids/middle grade before and this is definitely the type of book I'd like to read more of. It had exactly the type of adventure I like, which is something goes missing and our characters have to hunt for clues. I thought Cordelia was a great character. She was fierce and determined, but also capable of showing her sadness after her father went missing and when she fell out with her friend. I thought the world of the Maker families was quite unique alongside the typical tension between rivals. It left enough room to be intrigued for a sequel, which comes out later this month. It was just a really good adventure story with solid characters and a story that kept you wanting more at just the right pace. 

What I Didn't Like

I feel like the blurb was a bit misleading as it seemed that the focus would be about Cordelia's father being missing, where as this quickly became a smaller plot line. The main plot line was about the missing Maker's items, which was a good plot line, but not what I expected. I also guessed who the villain was as it was fairly predictable. Overall, I have very few complaints about this book as I really enjoyed it and it's sparked an interest in reading more books like this.

What did you think of The Hatmakers by Tamzin Merchant?? Are you excited for the sequel?? 

The Witcher Series Two TV Show Review (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Taken from Google Images

Title- The Witcher

Creators- Lauren Schmidt Hissrich 

Cast- Henry Cavill, Freya Allan, Anya Chalotra, Joey Batey, MyAnna Buring, Eamon Farren and ensemble cast

Genre- fantasy, drama  

Length- 8 episodes

Platform- Netflix

Rating- 4.5/5 stars 

Plot

The story begins with Geralt of Rivia, Crown Princess Ciri of Cintra, and the sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg at different points of time, exploring formative events that shape their characters throughout first season, before eventually merging into a single timeline.

Geralt and Ciri are linked by destiny since before she was born when he unknowingly demanded her as a reward for his services by invoking "the Law of Surprise". After the two finally meet, the witcher becomes the princess's protector and must help her and fight against her various pursuers to prevent her Elder Blood and powerful magic from being used for malevolent purposes and keep Ciri and their world safe.

Taken from Wikipedia 

Opinions  

I was swept up in The Witcher hype at the beginning of 2020, having never read the books or played the games. I really enjoyed it and went out and bought the first three books. I even rewatched it a few months after I had first watched, while we were plunged into lockdown. It became a favourite and a show I was excited for the second series. After a very long wait because of the pandemic, it finally arrived. I was only able to get to it in mid-January, a month after it released because I was so busy and tired with work. I wanted to savour it and enjoy it. I ended up watching it over three days and I bloody loved it. 

Taken from Google Images

This series had a much stronger overarching plot. It felt established and like it new what it was doing. While I liked the jumping around and different timelines in series one, I found myself engaging with this one more. This is odd because when I was reading the books I loved The Last Wish (which provided the stories/inspiration for series one) but really struggled with Blood of Elves (which was the inspiration for series two). I had a lot of expectations for series two and it didn't fail to meet them. I really liked when Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer finally all met together. It has a lot of potential for series three, for them being a little family unit. They're clearly meant to be and are connected to each other. 

Taken from Google Images

If you follow me on Twitter, then you might know that Jaskier is a favourite character of mine and I was beyond excited to see his return in series two. I wish he could have been introduced a bit earlier, as I was almost watching just to find out what happened to him and not the other characters. His introduction as the Sandpiper was great. Speaking of great, they had some more incredible songs in series two. They had a very difficult job of topping series one, but they did it. Burn, Butcher, Burn lives in my head. I've found a playlist on Spotify with all of his songs and I listen to it on repeat. I felt we got to explore a bit more of Jaskier this series. He wasn't just the comic relief. He went through a fairly traumatic time and his directness with Gerlat was really good. I hope they include Jaskier in the family dynamic in series three as he is an integral part of that family. 

Taken from Google Images

Let's talk about the ending. I audibly gasped when it was revealed that Dunny was the White Flame as I thought he was dead. That was a really good reveal. The end with Ciri being possessed made for a good battle, with Yennefer's sacrifice and getting her magic back feeling like a satisfying ending. It wasn't quite as dramatic a cliffhanger as series one. I found the plot line with the Elves somewhat predictable. I knew that something bad was going to happen to the baby Elf. I didn't see Francesca going on a baby killing spree, that was kinda haunting. There's a lot of room for great things to come in series three, but I'm not as desperate for it as I was for series two. 

The production felt a lot tighter this series. I thought the sets, the costumes and the overall design of the show was beautiful. The stories and directing were great. I could talk for days about the music because I'm a sucker for a good soundtrack. It felt like a step up from series one, with even better things on the horizon for series three.

Overall, I really enjoyed this series. I'm glad I waited until I was in the right mindset to watch it as I think I enjoyed it more. Naturally, I am very excited for series three and I'm even tempted to dive back into the books, despite some of the problems I have. In the meantime, I'm going to impatiently wait for my Jaskier Pop Funko to arrive, while listening to my Jaskier playlist repeat. 

What did you think of the Witcher series two??

My Reading Goals for 2022| CarenzaOnBooks

I'm aware that it's very late to be posting something like this, but I wanted to share my reading goals for 2022. Compared to previous years, I want to set some goals I can actually stick to. I've picked three goals that I want to try and complete in 2022. These are things that are important to me and will help me have a great reading year this year. 

Read More Diversely

Reading diverse has been something I've been doing since about 2017, however I've noticed I haven't been reading as diverse as I thought I had. I use CAWPILE to track my reading and one of the features is for how many POC authors you read. I was shocked that mine was only eighteen out of eighty-four. That's not even a quarter. I also read from forty-four American authors, making over half my authors from the US. This year I want to read from more POC authors and from more non-American authors. Translated fiction is going to be a way of tackling that as it's something I would like to read more of. Basically, I want to move away from white American writers and explore more varied voices in my writing. 

Tackle My TBR

As of writing this, I have 220 books on my TBR. 150 of these books are ones I own in my main collection, three are for reviews, thirty-five fall under the "odds'n'sods" category and the remaining thirty-three are ones I'm going to borrow from my parents. I roughly read 85 books a year, so it's going to take me 2.5 years to read all these books. That's without getting more books. So, I'm on a book buying ban. As I work at Waterstones, I can still receive books from publishers and if there are exclusive editions or books in series I'm already reading, I can get those. But, I'm pretty much on a book buying ban until my birthday in August. I am going to tackle this ridiculous pile of books I have to read. I have so many that I want to read and it's time that I finally get to them. 

Read at Your Own Pace

Last year, I set myself a monthly goal of reading one book a week. I didn't always meet that with how busy I was at various points in the year and it would make me sad as I wasn't reading as much as I wanted to. This year I want to read at my own pace. My average is 6 books a month, with some being a lot better and some being a lot worse. I'm going to read at my own pace so I can enjoy the books I pick. At the end of the day, that's all that matters. That I enjoy my book and not how much I'm reading.   

Those are my three reading goals for this year. What are your reading goals for 2022??

What I've Been Reading Recently- Christmas 2021 Edition| CarenzaOnBooks

I know this post is a bit late, but I wanted to share the books I read in the final months of 2021. I didn't read as much as I wanted and that was because I started my first graduate job as a Christmas Bookseller at my local Waterstones. I'm still working there, which is why I haven't been as active on here and why I wasn't able to read as much as I like. I read 6 books in November and in December, making my total read for 2021 84 books. Let's get into the books I read over Christmas last year! 

November

no one is talking about this by Patricia Lockwood

The reason I read this book is because everyone seems to be talking about it. It was nominated for the Booker and Women's Fiction prize in 2021. I can see what this book was trying to do, it just didn't quite do it for me. I do think it highlighted how we view the internet and online culture. It's been a couple of months since I read it and it didn't really leave an impact on me. I gave it 3/5 stars.

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

I enjoyed Detransition, Baby much more than no one it talking about this. The themes of what it means to be a woman today and how they are so varied were very powerful. The characters felt real, they were all over the place and were the type of characters I like to read about. I personally felt the ending was a bit rushed, which is why I ended up giving it 3.5/5 stars. I also have a full, spoiler filled review, which you can read here. 

Loki: Agent of Asgard by Al Ewing

I had dabbled with comics before this, but after receiving this as a birthday present, I am very interested in reading more comics. I really enjoyed the Loki TV show and I really enjoyed the source material. It was funny, and had a great story. There are so many comics that I'd love to read after reading this. I gave it 4/5 stars.  

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

This was my audiobook listen for November and I would really recommend the audiobook version of this available through Apple Books for free. It's narrated by Karen Gillan, who does an amazing job of narrating this story. For the actual story, I didn't care for it that much. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more as a child as it's a children's classic, but as an adult, I didn't connect with it as much. For the audiobook alone, I gave it 3/5 stars. 

Once Upon a Winter by H.L Macfarlane and others

Taken from Twitter

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an eARC to read before publication and to review. I enjoyed some stories a lot more than others in this collection. I think the idea was strong, but the execution didn't quite work for me. I found the collection a bit too all over the place. I have a full spoiler filled review, which you can read here. I gave it 3/5 stars. 

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

A reread for my book club. I read this book back in 2017 and adored it. However, I've changed a lot as a reader in the last four years. I did enjoy it this time, but nowhere near as much as I did in 2017. I can see why it's problematic. I think the saving grace is the relationship between Lou and Will as they have such strong chemistry. I gave it 4/5 stars. 

December

The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper

Historical, feminist fiction is very popular at the moment and with books like The Wolf Den out there, rightly so. I had been wanting to read this for a while and so I finally got around to it in December. This book is brutal, it does not shy away from how awful these women's lives were. But it also shows them coming together and supporting each other in difficult times. I cannot wait for the sequel to come out later this year. I have a full, spoiler filled review, which you can check out here. I gave it 4/5 stars. 

Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R Tolkien

I wish I was as talented as J.R.R Tolkien as this collection was beautiful. The stories in the letters, the artwork that went alongside them. Just everything about these letters was amazing. Even if you aren't a Lord of the Rings fan, I would recommend reading this book. You get to see the letters alongside a typed out version of what was in them. I gave it 4/5 stars

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed it. It was fin and escapist. It was an easy read. On the other hand, it was very poorly written and crafted. There were good and bad things about it. It did hit the spot of a Christmas murder mystery I have a full, spoiler filled review of my thoughts on this book, which you can read here. I gave it 3/5 stars.  

Sex Education: The Road Trip by Katy Birchall

If you are a long time reader of my blog, then you will know I adore Sex Education on Netflix and was very happy when they announced a book to go alongside it. I finally read it in December and sadly I was disappointed. I think the story would have worked better as a one off, longer episode. I also found the writing style very inconsistent, with it randomly switching POVs for one paragraph, before returning to our main POV, which was Maeve. It was a fun and easy read, but I was expecting a bit more from this. I gave it 3/5 stars. 

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa

This was exactly what it said on the tin. It had a cat saving books. And I loved it. It highlighted what it meant to be a reader and the joy we get from books. It's a translated fiction that's been so popular at work. I adored every second of reading this book. The cat was a great character and I would love to read more from this author. I gave it 4/5 stars. 

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

My final book of 2021 ended up being a bit of a let down. I bought this for my birthday because it looked cool and I had seen a BookTuber I like recommend it. However, I was so confused about what was happening. There was just a bit too much world building and it went over my head a lot of the time. It might be that I picked this up at the wrong time as I wanted something easy to read to finish off my reading for the year. I might give this another chance in the future. But for now, it gets 3/5 stars from me.

What books did you read in November and December??  

The Key in the Lock by Beth Underdown Book Review (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Google Images

Title- The Key in the Lock

Author- Beth Underdown

Series- N/A

Published- 2022

Page Count- 304

Publishing House- Penguin

Genre- Historical fiction, gothic, mystery

Rating- 3/5 stars

Note- thank you to Penguin for sending me an eARC via NetGalley to review. 

About the Author

Beth Underdown was born in Rochdale in 1987. She studied at the University of York and then the University of Manchester, where she is now a Lecturer in Creative Writing.

The Witchfinder’s Sister, her debut novel, was published by Viking in the UK and Ballantine in the US in 2017, was a Richard and Judy bestseller and won the HWA Goldsboro Crown Debut Award. The Key in the Lock, her second novel, is out now with Viking.

Taken from Beth's website.

Plot 

I still dream, every night, of Polneath on fire. Smoke unfurling out of an upper window and a hectic orange light cascading across the terrace.

By day, Ivy Boscawen mourns the loss of her son Tim in the Great War. But by night she mourns another boy - one whose death decades ago haunts her still.

For Ivy is sure that there is more to what happened all those years ago: the fire at the Great House, and the terrible events that came after. A truth she must uncover, if she is ever to be free.

Brimming with secrets, this lyrical haunting historical thriller is perfect for fans of Elizabeth Macneal, Sarah Waters and Diane Setterfield.

Taken from Goodreads

Opinions

I'd like to start this review by thanking the publishers for sending me an eARC to review via NetGalley. I received a copy in exchange for a review. Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres to read and one I find myself gravitating towards more. When I joined NetGalley, this was one of the first books I saw and thought that sounded interesting. I feel very lucky to have received an early copy to read.  

Before I get into my actual review, I want to quickly talk about the format of the book. So I was sent a digital copy to review and while I'm grateful, I think this format attributed to some of my problems with the book. I've seen quite a few people on Twitter talk about the format of these documents and how it makes them difficult to read. I have to agree. The layout is really odd, with sentences being randomly broken. It isn't always clear when there's a new chapter. I think there's a way to fix it, but I personally don't know. I just wanted to add that to my review as that's part of the reason why I gave it 3 stars.

Now, let's get into the review. The first thing I want to say is that I found it difficult to get into. This is a dual narrative story, with one half being in 1918 as Ivy grieves for her son, and the other half in 1888, the events of Polneath fire. In the 1918 sections, I noticed the author would have quite lengthy flashbacks to 1888, which I found confusing. I couldn't always work out which time section I was reading about. For example, in the 1888 section, Ivy's future husband was referred to as Boscawen until the last few chapters. While in the 1918 sections, he was Richard. I think to ease confusion, it would have made more sense to keep him with the same name. I understand why the author did it as it led to a big reveal that they had gotten married, but they felt like two different characters. 

Out of the two storylines, I preferred the 1888 one. The mystery around William's death and the creepy things that kept on happening at the house were much more intriguing to me. I also found Ivy a much more likeable character in the 1888 storyline. She felt more human, more compassionate. There was a focus on what was happening in the moment, rather than drifting between the two storylines. It was also a fairly compact story, with the events taking place over a week, rather than a year. The 1800s is a time period I gravitate towards reading anyway, so the 1900s one threw me a bit. This is entirely a personal preference. 

I have mixed feelings about Ivy as a protagonist. At times, I found her compelling. In the 1888 storyline, she grew on me. She was intelligent, kind and fierce. In the 1918 one, she was very selfish. She didn't seem to care for Richard or the people that worked on her house. She was all over the place. Her connection with Edward felt really unhealthy. He was significantly older than her and took advantage of her. I think at around the halfway mark, Ivy became a more likeable character, but that was because it took me almost half the book to get into the book. 

The reveal at the end that Edward was actually the villain rather than his father wasn't the most exciting twist. To me, it undermined the whole plot, which was about finding out why Tim had died and what had actually happened in 1888. I didn't really like Edward, he felt a bit off to me. He just wanted different women to sleep with and was not a very nice person. We learn quite early on that Ivy was involved in Old Man Tremain's (Edward's father) death. However, all she did was cover for Edward. I was expecting a bit more, that she had been partially responsible for the fire. It wasn't the best ending.

Overall, after a rocky start, this did grow on me. I think I enjoyed the last half more, apart from the ending. I can see why people liked this, but it wasn't entirely for me in the end. The Key in the Lock comes out today and I've included a link here where you can purchase a copy from Waterstones. 

What did you think of The Key in the Lock??

My Favourite Books of 2021| CarenzaOnBooks

2021 is officially over. It was another strange, scary and unusual year. I wanted to mark my first post of 2022 by sharing the books I loved in 2021. In total, I read 84 books. I'm really happy as my reading was all over the place, with various life things. I cannot wait to see what books I'll read in 2022, but for now, it's time to share my favourites from last year. 

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

I finally read The Secret History in 2021 and I can see why it is so well loved. These characters were insufferable and awful, yet I wanted to know what happened next. I was so invested in their lives that I read this massive book in a week, with almost the final half being read in one day. This book does have it's problems in that it's very white and doesn't really feature any characters of colour. I've also heard mixed things about her other books, but The Secret History marked a good start to my reading year. You can read my full review here. 

The Poppy War by R.F Kuang

I am so annoyed at myself for not continuing this series sooner as I really enjoyed The Poppy War. Rin is one of my new favourite characters as she had a no nonsense attitude and felt very realistic. I now have the other two books in this series and I will be reading them this year. I also cannot wait for Babel by R.F Kuang to come out. This was my first time reading "adult high fantasy" rather than YA. 

If We Were Villains by M.L Rio 

This was easily my favourite book of the year. I think I've realised that I like messy characters in intense academic settings because this book blew me away. I read it in three days because I was hooked. I love the theatre backdrop and it was incredible. If M.L Rio writes another book I would run out and buy it immediately. I have two copies of this now, the normal edition and the beautiful special edition. Just fantastic. You can read my review here. 

The Familiars by Stacey Halls

Coming in close as my second favourite book of the year, The Familiars was equally impressive. I am slightly biased as this is a story close to my heart, as it tells the tale of the Pendle Witches and my family is from Lancashire. I found the issues being discussed really important, really liked the characters and the gothic backdrop was beautiful. I wasn't the biggest fan of The Foundlings, but am interested to see what I think of Mrs England, Stacey's third novel. She has become an autobuy author for me. You can read my review here. 

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy 

I read this book in one sitting and it made me feel so happy from reading it. This was easily the most wholesome book I read this year, if not the most wholesome book I've ever read. I think it's a book for everyone and one that needs to be read more. Just so sweet. I hope Charlie Mackesy writes another book as this one had such an important message. 

The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper

My final favourite of the year is a very hard hitting book. I love historical fiction and I love feminist books. This was a combination of both. It was brutal and gripping, yet whenever I sat down to read it, I found myself flying through it. The first book in a trilogy and I don't know how I'm going to wait until the second one comes out in paperback as that's a very long time away. You can read my full review here. 

Honourable Mentions

I always like to do an honourable mentions section as these are some books I really enjoyed this year, but not quite as much as the ones above. I would recommend all the books on this list. Here are some quick reviews of my four honourable mentions: 

• Flake by Matthew Dooley- a graphic novel about an ice cream seller in the North-West of England. Heartwarming and funny, made me laugh out loud and I really liked the art style.
• Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell- very popular book about the lives of the people around William Shakespeare. Beautiful writing and I cannot wait to dive into Maggie O'Farrell's back catalogue of books. 
• Gods and Monsters by Shelby Mahurin- very satisfying conclusion to the Serpent&Dove trilogy, one of my favourite series of all time. Flew through this and can't believe their stories are over. 
• Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia- some of the most beautiful writing I have ever read. I wish I was that talented. Historical, fantasy. It ticked all the boxes for me.

Those conclude my favourite books of 2021. What books did you enjoy last year??

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict Book Review (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Title- The Christmas Murder Game

Author- Alexandra Benedict

Series- N/A

Published- 2021

Page Count- 353 pages

Publishing House- Bonnier Books

Genre- murder mystery, Christmas 

Rating- 3/5 stars

About the Author

A K Benedict read English at Cambridge and Creative Writing at the University of Sussex. She writes in a room filled with mannequins, clowns and teapots.

Her debut novel, The Beauty of Murder (Orion), was shortlisted for an eDunnit award and is in development for an 8-part TV series. Her second novel, Jonathan Dark or The Evidence of Ghosts (Orion), was published in February 2016 and The Stone House, a tie-in novel for Doctor Who spin-off Class, was published by BBC Books in October.

Taken from Alexandra's website. 

Plot

Follow the clues. Find the fortune. Solve the Mystery. This Christmas is to die for. Let the game begin...

'Endgame has kept our secrets for half a century, now it's time for it, and its secrets, to have a new owner.'

When Lily returns home to her aunt's manor house, she discovers that in order to inherit, she and her estranged cousins must stay together over the Christmas week and take part in a family tradition: the annual treasure hunt. But as they are drawn deeper into the game, the clues seem to point not to the deeds to the manor house, but to the key to a twenty-year-old mystery: what really happened to Lily's mother?

As a snowstorm cuts them off from the village, it becomes apparent that the game has turned deadly and that Lily is fighting for more than just an inheritance: she is now fighting for her life. Does she have what it takes to survive? 12 clues, 12 keys and 12 days of Christmas for the heirs of Endgame House to find their inheritance, but how many will die before Twelfth Night?

Taken from Goodreads

Opinions

I bought this on a whim at work because I wanted something festive to read as I really wasn't feeling festive. I had seen this on the shelf and thought it looked interesting. With hindsight, I wish I had read more reviews of it as I probably wouldn't have bought it otherwise. 

I think the best way of summarising how I feel about this book is that I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I enjoyed it. It was easy and fun to read. I read it in a few days when I wasn't feeling well and was having to commute for work, so it was nice to have something to take my mind off everything. There were also some great descriptions, such as "she tutted like a pissed off clock", which really made me chuckle. I thought that was a great description. Without looking too closely at the plot or the writing, this was actually an okay book. I originally gave it 3.5/5 stars, but after some consideration I decided to deduct the half star as it didn't feel right.

Now let's get to the other hand. Let's start with the quality of the writing. It wasn't that good. The author seemed very fond of odd similes that didn't quite work. It was good that they were thinking out of the box with their description, but the similes were really odd and ended up detracting from the point. The plot was also kinda predictable. I figured out quite early on that Tom was the murderer because it's always someone close to the main character. He was just a bit too nice and obsessed with Lily. Then there was the incest between cousins (which I think is a thing), that didn't sit well with me. Lily was also kinda a dull protagonist. She just kept on doing stupid things that put her in danger. 

This book did have good LGBT+ rep, with gay and bisexual rep. It also called out biphobic people, which you don't often see. Overall, while this was a fun and easy read, I had a lot of problems with it and I wanted to write a quick review about it. 

This is my last blog post of 2021, which is crazy to think. But to whoever is reading this, thank you for reading my little blog. I've had a lot of fun creating content this year and can't wait to see what I create in 2022!

What did you think of the Christmas Murder Game??  

tick, tick...BOOM! Film Review (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Taken from Google Images

Title- tick, tick...BOOM!

Creators- Lin-Manuel Miranda and Steven Levenson 

Cast- Andrew Garfield, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexandra Shipp, Robin de Jesús, Joshua Henry and Judith Light with an ensemble cast

Genre- biographical musical drama

Length- 2 hours

Platform- Netflix

Rating- 5/5 stars 

Plot

Tick, Tick... Boom! (also stylized as tick, tick... BOOM!) is a 2021 American biographical musical drama film directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda in his feature directorial debut. Written by Steven Levenson, it is based on the stage musical of the same name by Jonathan Larson. The film stars Andrew Garfield, Robin de Jesús, Alexandra Shipp, Joshua Henry, Judith Light, and Vanessa Hudgens.

Opinions  

tick, tick...BOOM! was a film I have wanted to watch for a while. I'm a big fan of Andrew Garfield, after his work on Angels in America (my favourite play) and I love Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda, so this was a must watch for me. I have watched the trailer more times than I care to admit, already impressed with Andrew Garfield's performance. I watched this shortly after it came out and I was blown away. An easy favourite for the year. 

Taken from Google Images

He's been praised so many times for his performance as Jonathan Larson, but Andrew Garfield was just incredible in the lead role. It was like it was created for him. I have seen Andrew Garfield in a lot of things, but this was easily one of his best performances. His singing was so good, and his acting was up to his usual standards. I believe he deserves some awards for his performance because he really knocked it out of the park. I would love to see him do some musical theatre roles after this as he would excel in them. 

When I say I have been listening to the soundtrack repeatedly after watching this film, I am not joking. In fact, I got the CD of the soundtrack for Christmas and I cannot wait to listen to it all the time. My favourite song would have to be Therapy because it's very clever and kinda manic. The whole cast are incredible. These songs have a way of getting stuck in your head. I have random lyrics rattling around my head. 

You can tell that so much love went into this film. Of course Lin-Manuel Miranda's directorial debut would be a film like this. It was a love letter to theatre and the great Jonathan Larson. I didn't know much about Jon before watching this film, other than he wrote Rent and he died young. This film radiates love from the writing, to the directing, to the performances, to basically everything. The cameo's throughout were amazing. The one from the late Stephen Sondheim was particularly touching. I also enjoyed Lin-Manuel Miranda's cameo, it was very well done. 

This film has made me miss live theatre a lot. It's been almost two years since I sat in a theatre and was engrossed in a play/musical. It highlighted everything I loved and a lot of feelings I've been feeling myself. I will be rewatching this over and over. Just a beautiful film. 

What did you think of tick, tick...BOOM!?  

The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper Book Review (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Title- The Wolf Den

Author- Elodie Harper

Series- The Wolf Den trilogy

Published- 2021

Page Count- 451

Publishing House- Head of Zeus 

Genre- historical fiction, feminist

Rating- 4/5 stars 

Trigger warnings- sexual assault, violence and offensive language 

About the Author

Elodie Harper is a journalist and prize-winning short story writer. Her story 'Wild Swimming' won the 2016 Bazaar of Bad Dreams short story competition, which was judged by Stephen King.

She is currently a reporter at ITV News Anglia, and before that worked as a producer for Channel 4 News. Her job as a journalist has seen her join one of the most secretive wings of the Church of Scientology and cover the far right hip hop scene in Berlin, as well as crime reporting in Norfolk where her first two novels were set – The Binding Song and The Death Knock.

Elodie studied Latin poetry both in the original and in translation as part of her English Literature degree at Oxford, instilling a lifelong interest in the ancient world. The Wolf Den is the first in a trilogy of novels about the lives of women in ancient Pompeii.

Taken from Elodie's website.

Plot

Sold by her mother. Enslaved in Pompeii's brothel. Determined to survive. Her name is Amara. Welcome to the Wolf Den...

Amara was once a beloved daughter, until her father's death plunged her family into penury. Now she is a slave in Pompeii's infamous brothel, owned by a man she despises. Sharp, clever and resourceful, Amara is forced to hide her talents. For as a she-wolf, her only value lies in the desire she can stir in others.

But Amara's spirit is far from broken.

By day, she walks the streets with her fellow she-wolves, finding comfort in the laughter and dreams they share. For the streets of Pompeii are alive with opportunity. Out here, even the lowest slave can secure a reversal in fortune. Amara has learnt that everything in this city has its price. But how much is her freedom going to cost her?

Set in Pompeii's lupanar, The Wolf Den reimagines the lives of women who have long been overlooked.

Taken from Goodreads.

Opinions  

I think this came out at the beginning of the year just as we went into Lockdown because I remember seeing it in the windows of bookshops and thinking it looked interesting. I was quite surprised by how quickly this came out in paperback as it can usually take 9-12 months for a book to come out in paperback. I bought a copy in Oxford during my birthday bookshop crawl in August. I am a big fan of historical fiction, I'd say it's one of my favourite genres. I tend to read a lot of Greek inspired historical fiction, so I was excited to read a Roman inspired one. 

At first, I struggled with the cast of characters. I did read this book while I had a bad head cold, so I found concentrating on all the names and remembering who was who a bit challenging. However, these characters grew on me. No one was good or bad. They were just people, trying to survive in the brutal world they found themselves in. The protagonist, Amara, did some questionable things at times, including hurting the people she loved, but it was so she could live to see another day. Felix, the manager of the brothel, was set up to be this horrible person, but when you learnt of his backstory, it was clear that he was just filling the role that had been given to them. Everyone had layers and I enjoyed how realistic they felt. They were a very strong set of characters, wonderfully crafted by Elodie Harper.

One of the things I wasn't the biggest fan of was how Amara seemed to bounce from man to man. It felt like by the end of things, she had too many love interests (which is completely the wrong word, but I can't find the one I'm looking for). It seemed that nearly important man she met fell in love with her. It's a trope that gets used a lot and is personally not a favourite. This was one of the few qualms I had with this book.

I felt that this book captured the brutality of the situation the characters found themselves in. Elodie Harper really didn't shy away from throwing everything she possibly could at her characters. They went through so much. The two character deaths of Cressa and Dido were gut wrenching. Especially as Dido's came so soon after Cressa's. I think saying I liked how brutal this book was is the wrong way of phrasing it, but the honesty and brutality throughout this book kept you hooked. I had to know if the characters were okay. Yes, it did take me ten days to read this book because of how busy I was, but I made time to read it because I cared about these characters.

This is the first book in a trilogy and I am now impatiently waiting for the other two books to come out in paperback so I can inhale them. I love historical fiction with strong female characters, so this ticked all my boxes.  

What did you think of the Wolf Den??

The Outlaws TV Show Review (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Taken from Google

Title- The Outlaws

Creators- Stephen Merchant and Elgin James

Cast- Christopher Walken, Stephen Merchant, Rhianne Barreto, Gamba Cole, Clare Perkins, Darren Boyd and Eleanor Tomlinson with an ensemble cast 

Genre- comedy, crime, thriller

Length- 6 episodes

Platform- BBC iPlayer

Rating- 5/5 stars

Plot

The story follows seven strangers from different walks of life forced together to complete a Community Payback sentence in Bristol. However, their luck changes when they discover a bag full of money, unaware that some dangerous people are looking for it.

Taken from Wikipedia

Opinions

The Outlaws had been on my radar for a while for a number of reasons, but one of the top reasons was that it was set in Bristol, which is where I went to university. After spending most of my final year at home, it was so nice to see Bristol on the screen. Another reason was that I had seen some interviews with show creator Stephen Merchant and it just looked like a good show. I wasn't wrong. This was a funny, entertaining show from beginning till end. That doesn't mean it didn't tackle some series issues, such as racism, family dynamics and societal expectations. The Outlaws was a well rounded show that balanced the comedy and crime/thriller tones brilliantly. 

Probably one of my favourite parts of this show as the friendship between Greg (Stephen Merchant) and Gabby (Eleanor Tomlinson). It was one of those unlikely friendships that just worked. They complimented and supported each other so well. I would happily watch a spin off about the two of them going on a holiday or a day trip together as it would be brilliant. They had each other's back when it mattered, even if they did have arguments. We love to see friends that support each other. I hope we get to see more of their relationship in series two. 

Another brilliant thing about this show was how it subverted the stereotypes in the main characters. The main seven characters were incredible, they worked so well together as an unlikely group of characters. Similar to the friendship between Greg and Gabby, John (Darren Boyd) and Myrna (Clare Perkins) had a strong relationship that took time to develop. They clashed for so long and then suddenly they realised that they could be friends. When they stood up to Christian (the real Christian) at the end, it was a very touching moment. I hope they continue to subvert the stereotypes as it was refreshing to see some of the topics and ways they handled it. 

I think it goes without saying that I am very excited for series two. I want to find out what happens to Ben (Gamba Cole) and who this mysterious Dean is, played by Claes Bang. I have a feeling series two might be the last one as if they tried to extend it too much, this show would loose it's charm. I would like to see it go out with a bang and have a great ending. The writing, directing, performances and setting were fantastic. An easy favourite of the year as my family and I flew through it. 

What did you think of The Outlaws?? Are you excited for series two??

 

Once Upon a Winter: A Folk and Fairy Tale Anthology Book Review (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Taken from Asha's twitter

Title- Once Upon a Winter: A Folk and Fairy Tale Anthology

Author- edited by H.L Macfarlane

Series- N/A

Published- 2021

Page Count- 369 pages

Publishing House- Macfarlane Lantern Publishing 

Genre- anthology, short stories 

Rating- 3/5 stars

About the Antholgy

A list of stories and contributors to the anthology:

The Biting Cold by Josie Jaffrey
The Match Girl by Rebecca F. Kenney
Santa Claus is Coming to Town by Bharat Krishnan
A Pea Ever After by Adie Hart
The Snowdrop by H. L. Macfarlane
Silverfoot’s Edge by Ella T. Holmes
The Storm Hags by Caroline Logan
The Boggart of Boggart Hole Clough by Jake Curran-Pipe
Around the Hawthorne Tree by Jenna Smithwick
The Best Girl this Side of Winter by Laila Amado
The Snow Trolls by S. Markem
Lord of the Forest by Katherine Shaw
Queen of the Snows by Joyce Reynolds-Ward
Long Meg and the Sorcerer’s Stones by M. J. Weatherall
The Frost of Mercy by A. J. Van Belle
Wintercast by R. A. Gerritse
You Can’t See Me by Kate Longstone

Taken from Amazon

Plot

Once upon a time stories travelled from place to place on the tongues of merchants and thieves and kings alike. Under the blanket of night they were exchanged between children, and passed on to their children, and their children after them. Details were altered from one generation to the next until thousands of tales existed where once there were few.

In the spirit of these age-old stories comes Once Upon a Winter, a seasonal anthology of folk and fairy tales from 17 authors across the globe. It covers the Gothic, the romantic, the whimsical, the frightening and everything in-between, and features both intriguing twists on classic tales and exciting original stories.

The first of four planned seasonal anthologies from Macfarlane Lantern Publishing, Once Upon a Winter is sure to have a story for just about everyone. Grab your copy in time for Christmas today!

Taken from Amazon

Opinions

I'd like to start this blog post by thanking the team at Story Origin for sending me a digital proof ahead of publication to read. They were a really nice team to work with and it was easy to apply to receive a copy. As a small blogger/content creator, it can be hard to get to this stage with a company, so it was lovely working with them.

I found this anthology through Twitter, after seeing someone I follow rave about it. I don't normally read anthologies or short story collections, but this sounded like something I would enjoy. There was mentions of fantasy and queer characters, which are two things I enjoy reading about. One of the big things going for this collection was the wide range of stories featured in it. From how the authors approached the theme, to the age range of the intended audience, I felt that there was something for everyone. They all felt like very original takes on the fairy tales included. I particularly enjoyed the environmental theme throughout this anthology. It felt very relevant at the moment. 

My favourite story in the collection, without a shadow of a doubt, was A Pea Ever After by Adie Hart. I liked the mythology of the world, the characters and just the story in general. It really stood out to me within the collection.  I would actually like to read more about this particular world as I could see these characters having a lot of fun going off on different adventures. I would also be interested in reading more of Adie's work. It was a fun, light hearted, feminist and queer story. So it ticked all my boxes. 

Personally, I struggled to connect with most of the stories in this collection. There was so much potential, but it often felt rushed or lacking in world building. At 369 pages, this is a very long anthology. I read it during a very busy period of my life, and I thought it would be something I could easily dip in and out off, but it took me almost two weeks to read it. While there was a wide range of stories, I think it could have done with a bit of tailoring as at times it felt like the target audience was adults, then YA and then for children. All the jumping around made it hard to follow. I can see why people have enjoyed it, but I think it just wasn't for me in the end. 

   

What did you think of Once Upon a Winter??