Two Candle Thieves

So if you are a fan of our blog, not only are you the bee's knees but you also may have been wondering where we've been. Well, Becky and I (pretty much on a whim) decided to start up our own bookish candle business! Yes, there are quite a few out there but we are still building up our name and hoping to distinguish ourselves from the others out there (who are amazing because we now know how much work goes into it!!) During a conversation in which we both realised we hadn't seen a bookish candle dedicated to Inej from the Six of Crows duology, Two Candle Thieves was born. I had made candles in the past myself and Becky is good at the ol' Photoshop so it was us against the world of wax. Despite only having our shop since February this year, it has received so much praise, support and sales that we are overwhelmed every single day. We only use natural products (vegan-friendly) and at the moment, our candles come in 190ml jars! We also use our own photos for our labels. So without further ado, here are some photos of our current products and links to where you can find us.

Our Welcome to Weep candle inspired by Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. This has scents of bergamot, green tea, lemon, raspberry and more. Found here.

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Our Blood Shrike candle inspired by Helene Aquilla from The Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. This has scents of amber, vanilla and cloves. Found here.

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Our True Story candle dedicated to Karou from A Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. This has scents of fresh roses, cedar wood and cinnamon. Found here.

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Our Stars Eternal/Night Triumphant candles are sold as a pair and limited stock. Dedicated to Feyre and Rhysand from A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas. Stars has scents of jasmine, pine and amber. Night has scents of sea breeze, citrus and lavender. 

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Our High Lady & High Lord of the Night Court candle inspired by A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas has hints of lilac, jasmine and sea breeze which will transport you straight to Velaris. Found here.

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Our Thief at Sea candle inspired by Lila Bard from the Shades of Magic trilogy by V.E. Schwab. This has scents of freshly cut roses, sea breeze and gunpowder to transport you alongside our favourite cross-dressing pirate. Found here.

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Our White Wolf candle inspired by Adelina from the Young Elites trilogy by Marie Lu. As well as having scents of dark fruits, jasmine and sea breeze, this candle's label also features a photo of my husky, Jayden! Found here. 

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The candle that started it all! The Wraith is inspired by Inej Ghafa from the Six of Crows duology. It has scents of warm cinnamon, burning amber and fresh breeze. Found here.

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Our Liesl & the Goblin Grove candle is inspired by Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones. It has scents of pine, snow and citrusy Goblin fruits. Found here.

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And that is our shop! We have a lot more candles planned for the future, including one inspired by the Lara Jean trilogy and the women of A Song of Ice and Fire! If you go to our shop, you will also see that our newest venture is vinyl stickers which are only £1! So once again, thank you all so much for the support and we hope you love our candles as much as we do! 

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Love,

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

“You’re a storyteller. Dream up something wild and improbable," she pleaded. "Something beautiful and full of monsters."

“Beautiful and full of monsters?"

“All the best stories are.” 

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I've been a huge fan of Laini Taylor ever since reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone all those years ago, so Strange the Dreamer was such a highly anticipated read for me. I'm so happy to say that it didn't disappoint.

I've taken my time writing this review but, for those of you who haven't read this book yet, I'll be avoiding spoilers throughout this post!

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So, as always, Laini's writing was absolutely magical; Strange the Dreamer truly felt like a fairytale, and I could almost taste and sense the beautiful descriptions being weaved throughout this story. I didn't think it was possible, but I think Laini's writing has improved so much since DOSAB - despite that being such a beautifully written trilogy, she's somehow managed to grow within her writing and surpass it.

Although the story is fairly slow paced, the world building and character development means that this isn't an issue in any way. I have to admit that Lazlo Strange is definitely one of my fictional crushes now - the gentle giant trope, his love of books, and just the general fact that overall, he is a dreamer - he was a perfect main character, and that's coming from someone who often struggles to read novels with male main characters. Besides Lazlo, I adored all of the characters, and immediately fell in love with Sarai and her story. The way in which each characters path intertwines to connect each thread of the story together worked in the most perfect way, and although there weren't necessarily any huge plot twists or surprises in my opinion, Strange the Dreamer had such a wonderfully woven plot and left me craving the sequel. 

Without giving away too much, I also loved how easily Strange the Dreamer could be linked to the world of DOSAB, in terms of its mythical and magical aspects, especially within the world building (although I'm not sure if this was purposeful). irregardless, I enjoyed forming the connections between the two stories.

Overall, Strange the Dreamer is a story of gods and monsters, of an orphaned librarian and a half-human girl with dreams that they can't escape, of lost cities and lost histories, of long-standing prejudices spanning centuries, and of a dreamer who just wants to be the hero of the story, despite believing that he has no skill to ever achieve that goal. It brings together a strong social commentary on how grudges can be held against a group of people based purely on the actions of their predecessors and a simple overarching message to never give up your dream. If, deep down, you have a storytellers mind and a dreamer's soul, this is the book for you.

love Becky @