Zodiac Sign Book Tag

“A girl rode a bay horse through a forest late at night.”

First line in The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

Today is my birthday! Yay for getting older. I’m turning 28 and wanted to do something birthday-related for today. I decided to do the Zodiac Sign Book Tag created by KerriTheBookBelle on YouTube since I couldn’t find anything specific about my own sign (Cancer). I don’t know a lot about zodiac signs but I always think it’s funny to see how a sign’s characteristics fit myself and people I know. Like, the main thing I know about my own sign of Cancer is that we cry all the time and… yes. Any strong emotion is usually enough to start the waterworks for me. So I thought this tag looked fun. Let’s get to it.

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Aries
Aries is the warrior of the zodiac. Name your favorite “strong female character.”

For the sake of not mentioning the same character every time I have to answer this question *cough*Vasya*cough*, I’m going with Lucky Meas from The Tide Child series by RJ Barker. She’s as tough as they get which is probably a result of her having to fight for everything in her life. A lot of characters like that would often go for the whole “be as masculine as possible”-thing, but Barker has created a world where women are the most powerful, so his female characters wouldn’t want to replicate men, of course. It really makes his female characters quite unique and fitting for this question.

Taurus
Taurus is known for loving the finer things in life. What food/drink from a book would you like to try?

I never remember stuff like this, so my answer is from a series I’ve recently gotten into: Onyx Court by Marie Brennan. A pair of sisters in there called the Goodemeades apparently make some mead that is rather exquisite. Everybody likes it, and it seems to cure their troubles, at least for a short while. I would love to have a taste of that, and if I could sit and chat with the Goodemeades in the meantime at their inn, I would probably never leave.

Gemini
Geminis value interpersonal communication. Name your favorite character friendship.

I’ve read about a lot of amazing friendships, but I’ve picked one where the friendship really took center-stage instead of just being a side-plot. And that’s the friendship between Merrick and Raphael in The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley. This is the subtle and thoughtful kind of friendship which is greatly contrasted by another friend of Merrick’s. A friend who isn’t necessarily a bad friend, but compared to Raphael, he’s kind of awful. And it’s just strengthens the readers love and appreciation for whatever Merrick and Raphael has.

Cancer
Cancers are the most emotional of the signs. What book have you thrown/wanted to throw across the room?

Is it “in character” of me that this is my own sign and I find myself wanting to do this exact thing very often? And it’s not just when the book is bad, but also when I’m loving a book so much but then the author betrays me by crushing my soul. The book I’ve picked is something in between: Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare. I did like most of it, but the ending made me want to hurl the book out the window in frustration (it was an ebook so I didn’t). I can’t say what it is of course, but it was something that created unnecessary drama and I hated it.

Leo
Leos have a great desire for popularity. Name a character you want more people to love.

Not that this character desires popularity, but Cath from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell seems to be a very polarizing character and I have something to say about that. I, of course, love Cath because of how amazingly she represents social anxiety, and I also feel that she is loved by anyone who suffers from that disorder, no matter in how small a degree. But I also see a lot of hate towards her, people calling her unrealistic, immature and bland. All of their critique is so connected to her disorder that it feels like they are just hating on people with social anxiety. I definitely feel like I need to apologize for existing whenever I come across such a rant, and I really wish people were more aware of why they might not like Cath.

Virgo
Virgo always wants things to be logical. What book confused the heck out of you?

I usually don’t go for the very confusing books, being quite the logic-lover myself even though I’m not a Virgo. So the most confusing book I’ve read is The Betrayals by Bridget Collins. It’s mainly confusing in the beginning but then it’s also to an extreme degree. You really just need to accept that you have zero idea what’s going on.

Libra
Libra is all about right and wrong. What decision by a book character do you wish you could undo?

My choice here is actually a very small, not-at-all-important decision made in Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb. I’m not spoiling anything but there are two characters in that book who decides to get cozy, and I cannot tell you how much I hated it! It added zero value to the book or the characters and only managed to make me furious, so it shouldn’t have happened. And now that I’m writing this, I’m realizing that this could apply to two pairs of characters in that book, and honestly, both could be the answer for this question.

Scorpio
Scorpio is the sign associated with death. What character would you kill if you could?

First of all, poor Scorpios.
Well, I could find a horrible villain for this question but that’s no fun because they usually die at the end of their series anyway. And I really wanted to come up with a different answer because I usually go for the same character for these kinds of question, however the other candidate was part of the answer for the previous question. So Lila Bard from Shades of Magic by V. E. Schwab is still the character is wish dead the most. She embodies a lot of the characteristics that I despise in real life, so it has always bothered me a lot that she’s written as a character you’re meant to look up to.

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Sagittarius
Sagittarius loves freedom and travel. Name a location from a book you’d love to visit (can’t be Hogwarts).

Having reread The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern very recently, there’s no doubt that my answer is the harbor/library from that book. It’s the kind of place where you can just go off exploring and you’ll never find every little story hidden there because there are so many. It’s a magical place for any bookworm.

Capricorn
Capricorns are wise beyond their years. What mentor/teacher from a book do you wish you could learn from?

I really didn’t know who to go with here because I read fantasy and how much do I really want to learn how to become an assassin? So I’m choosing Hagrid from Harry Potter. Not that I’m particularly interested in the animals (except for the niffler, so interested in the niffler), but I’m thinking it’s less dangerous than what other mentors/teachers would teach me. And Hagrid is just nice.

Aquarius
Aquariuses are known for their rebellion. If you had to, what revolution from a book would you join?

My thoughts stayed in a similar vein as for the previous question: where am I least likely to be killed? I’m not sure this one technically is a revolution, but I would want to join whatever it is they have going on in Arc of a Scythe by Neal Shusterman. I don’t have a rebellious streak in any shape or form, so I’m not that valuable, but at least I’ll have a chance of revival when I inevitably die.

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Pisces
Pisces never stop dreaming. What book/series did/do you wish would never end?

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley currently only has two books in its series. I don’t think there’s going to be any more, but I also haven’t heard it 100% confirmed, so a tiny part of me is still hoping. It’s definitely a story where I see many possibilities for short stories, and I’ll honestly take anything I can get.

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This was so much fun to fill out! Since I wasn’t tagged myself, I’m not going to tag others but it’s probably my favorite tag to read, so please do it if you find it interesting. Tell me what your sign is and whether you find it fitting in the comments. What would your answer have been to the corresponding question?