Tag: Book tag

Posted in Book Tags

Medieval Queens Book Tag

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“Guilt is a hunter.”

First line in Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

It’s time for a tag and it’s the Medieval Queens Book Tag. I was tagged by Jess from Jessticulates who is also the creator of this tag. Please, go check out her blog. She writes some very interesting posts! But let’s start the tag.

Empress Matilda (1102-1167)

After her father, Henry I, died naming her his heir, Matilda’s cousin, Stephen, subsequently took the throne for himself. Matilda never stopped fighting for what was rightfully hers. Though she would never be named Queen of England in her own right, she was able to convince Stephen to name her son, the future Henry II, his successor over his own children.
Choose a book with a protagonist who stands their ground.

I have to choose Vasya from the Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden. She lives in a world where women are meant to either marry and have children or go live in a monastery. No other option exists, but Vasya continuously demands her right to go on adventures and be free no matter how many people tell her that she shouldn’t.

Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204)

Before she married Henry II and became Queen of England in 1152, Eleanor was Queen of France as the wife of Louis VII. She sought an annulment from her marriage to Louis and he eventually agreed because 15 years of marriage had produced no sons, only for Eleanor to go on to have eight children with Henry—five of whom were sons. Ouch!
Choose a book or series in which the heroine has more than one romantic relationship.

In The Broken Earth by N. K. Jemisin we follow the woman Essun throughout a large part of her life so it’s not surprising that we see her in more than one relationship. It’s been a while since I’ve read it so I can’t remember the exact number of relationships but I believe we see about 3 or 4 that are all very distinct and mean different things to Essun.

Eleanor of Castile (1241-1290)

A keen patron of literature and a successful businesswoman in her own right, Eleanor was Edward I’s first wife. He was so heartbroken when she died that he erected the Eleanor Crosses, 12 stone crosses marking the places where her body rested over night on its journey from Lincolnshire, where she died, to her burial place in London. Three of the crosses still survive today.
Choose a bittersweet book.

Most World War II books would probably fit this prompt, but I think Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys is especially fitting. Mainly because of its ending so I’m, of course, not going into too many details. It manages to be both sad and uplifting.

Isabella of France (1295-1358)

Often known as the ‘She-Wolf of France’, Isabella was Edward II’s wife. Unfortunately for Edward he wasn’t particularly good at being king, and Isabella soon grew tired of his (possibly homosexual) relationship with his favourite, Hugh Despenser. After she began an affair with English nobleman Roger Mortimer while on a diplomatic mission to France, the pair returned to England with an army and she deposed Edward and acted as regent until their son, the future Edward III, came of age.
Choose a book where the romance overtook the plot.

I guess it could be positive for the romance to overtake the plot, but I’ve picked an answer where the romance ruined the book for me. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken is an example of a book in which the first half was so exciting. I was completely invested. Then the two main characters meet and fall in love very quickly, and the last half of the book was such a struggle for me to get through. All the interesting personality traits of those two characters went out the window, and everything was just about how much the two loved each other. I didn’t care.

Philippa of Hainault (1310/15-1369)

Queen of England as the wife of Edward III, Philippa was beloved by the English people for her compassion and kindness. The Queen’s College, Oxford, founded in 1341, is named in her honour.
Choose a book set at a university.

I’m only cheating a tiny bit by going with The Magicians by Lev Grossman because it’s not set at just any university. It’s set at a magic university, which is, naturally, so much better. This is a fantasy blog after all.

Joan of Navarre (1368-1437)

Joan was Henry IV’s second wife. Six years after his death, Joan was accused of attempting to poison her stepson, Henry V, through witchcraft and was imprisoned for four years until he ordered her release, just six weeks before he suddenly died.
Choose a book about witches.

Apparently, I don’t read very many books about witches, but one of my favorite series ever is the Half Bad trilogy by Sally Green. The witches here are a little different from what you would typically think of as a witch as they have different abilities, almost like superpowers. They’re supposedly also born either good or evil, which is an aspect the books explore quite a lot.

Those were my answers for this very educational book tag. Who knew there were so many bad-ass English Queens. The people I’m tagging are:

And anyone else who feels inclined to do it, of course. Happy reading!

Posted in Book Tags

Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag

Posted on by Line

“There is a pirate in the basement.”

First line in The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Hi, guys. It’s time to freak out because it’s the middle of the year, although I do seem to have been in a permanent state of “freak out” for the entire year. Can 2020 please end?

Nevertheless, the Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag is a great way to sum up the first six months of the year. I have read a lot of books if I compare to my normal standards. So far I’m on 35 and might even be able to read more books than I ever have before in a year. My current best is 65 so I think it can be done. But let’s move on to the questions!

What is the best book that you’ve read so far in 2020?

Or rather the best book I’ve read that doens’t fit any other question in this tag. That means that I’m choosing The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. This one opened my eyes to how much I actually love books about books. Mix that with a fairy tale-like story and Morgensterns immersive writing and it simply has to become one of my favorite books of the year.

What has been your favourite sequel of the first half of the year?

I hate this question because I’ve actually read a total of four 5-star sequels so far this year. I’m picking Chainbreaker by Tara Sim because this series needs more attention. It’s a diverse historical fantasy/steampunk series that manages to stay highly relevant and educational. It has the most wholesome characters, too. I really loved the second one for how it just took everything to the next level and expanded on both the world and the story.

Is there a new release that you haven’t read yet but you’re really excited to?

Well, there are a few. Echo Cycle by Patrick Edwards. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune. The Fascinators by Andrew Eliopulos.

What is your most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab, of course.

What is your biggest disappointment so far?

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth. This follows a group of ‘chosen ones’ 10 years after they defeated the bad guy and really seemed like it was going to dive deep into their PTSD. It didn’t exactly and I’m so disappointed. The story had so much potential. Instead of following all of the chosen ones, we only follow one and the plot itself could have been more relevant to their PTSD.

What is your biggest surprise so far?

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson. A hyped YA fantasy book is something everyone needs to be wary of, but I hadn’t needed to with this one. Rogerson’s writing really makes this story come off the pages so I couldn’t help but be invested. Then you have the characters and their banter and their friendships and their romance. Oh, and the plot is centered around books that come alive!

What is your favourite new to you or debut author?

A. J. Hackwith, the author of The Library of the Unwritten.

What is your favourite fictional crush from this year?

I’ve already mentioned this book, but I really love Nathaniel from Sorcery of Thorns so I guess that’s my answer.

Who is your new favourite character?

Rune Saint John from The Tarot Sequence series by K. D. Edwards. He is such a layered character. He has a big heart and cares deeply about the people around him. He’ll protect them at all costs and is very self-sacrificing in that regard. No character deserves as much love as he does.

A book that made you cry?

Only one book has made me cry this year and that is The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne. This one follows the life of Cyril Avery as he grows up and tries to live his life to the fullest as a gay man in Ireland. As any other life-story, his has its ups and downs, and there was one moment in particular that touched my heart and made me tear up. Amazing book!

A book that made you happy?

I don’t really read ‘happy books’ so this was kind of hard. I’m going with the first and only graphic novel I’ve ever read which is Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell. A very sweet Halloween story about friendship that was really uplifting to read.

Your favourite book to movie/tv show that you’ve seen so far?

I can never remember what I’ve watched. I guess I’m going with 13 Reasons Why because the fourth season came out in June and I watched all 10 episodes in a day. It’s based on the book Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, which I have not read. Most people seem to hate the show but I really love it for tackling difficult topics and not being afraid of being controversial. I’m so sad it’s over.

What is your favourite post that you’ve written so far this year?

The two posts I’ve written about the Danish translations of Harry Potter (book 1 and book 2) where I really allowed myself to be a language nerd. Those were so much fun to make and looking forward to writing the rest of the series.
I’m also pretty proud of my discussion post about embracing the nuances of the fantasy genre.

What is the most beautiful book that you have bought?

I bought the US paperback editions of the entire Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden. I love looking at them on my shelf.

What are some books you need to read by the end of the year?

I did a post recently about my reading goals for 2020 and what books I still needed to read. Just to mention some other books I need to read:

  • Harry Potter (book 3-7, reread)
  • King of Crows by Libba Bray
  • Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
  • Burn by Patrick Ness

That was it for my mid year check in. Was it the best book you’ve read so far in 2020?

Posted in Book Tags

The Birthday Book Tag

Posted on by Line

“One summer night I fell asleep, hoping the world would be different when I woke.”

First line in Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Hi, guys. Sooo… it’s my birthday today. I’m officially 27. I’m not someone who cares very much about my birthday. That’s why The Birthday Book Tag is perfect. Instead of talking about myself, I get to talk about books. Way more fun. This tag was originally created by Antonia. Let’s jump into the questions!

Birthday Cake – A book with a plot that seems cliché but you adore it anyway

The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima. I mean, it has all the clichés and all the tropes you would expect from a YA fantasy series. But it works for some reason. There’s action and political intrigue and I just really loved reading it.

Party Guests – Your most anticipated book release this year

I’m going to assume they just forgot to add an ‘s’ on release because you can’t expect me to only mention one. I have a standalone and continuations of two of my favorite series coming in the Fall. The standalone is, of course, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab.

Then we have The Archive of the Forgotten by A. J. Hackwith, sequel to The Library of the Unwritten.

Last one is Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, the last and long awaited sixth book in The Queen’s Thief series.

It might be a conspiracy but all of these books have the exact same publication date (as I’m writing this): October 6th.

Somebody must hate me.

Birthday Presents – A book that surprised you with how much you loved it

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson. This one was very popular when it came out but it seemed to get mixed reviews so I’d actually decided I wasn’t going to read it. Experience had told me that those kinds of books rarely hit home for me. Then it fit an O.W.L.s prompt and here we are. The characters, the banter, the romance, the friendships, the library setting. I mean, this book just turned out to have all the right ingredients for me to love it.

The Happy Birthday Song – A book that certainly deserved all the hype it got

A lot of books deserve all their hype but since it’s June and Pride Month, I’m going with an old favorite: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Univers by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Such a beautiful story about identity and the importance of family.

Happy Music – A book with some very beautiful and truly memorable quotes

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne. There were so many options for this question but just to proove that this one is a great choice, here are some quotes:

“I remember a friend of mine once telling me that we hate what we fear in ourselves,”

“It’s as if she understood completely the condition of loneliness and how it undermines us all, forcing us to make choices that we know are wrong for us.”

“Maybe there were no villains in my mother’s story at all. Just men and women, trying to do their best by each other. And failing.”

But also this:

“You look like a Greek God sent down by the immortal Zeus from Mount Olympus to taunt the rest of us inferior beings with your astonishing beauty, I said, which somehow in translation came out as “you look fine, why?”

Getting Older – A book that you read a long time ago, but you think that you would appreciate it more if you read as a more mature reader

It was much easier to find the opposite of this – books I probably won’t like as much anymore – but my answer is probably A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin which I read when I was about 16 or 17. The thing is that I really liked it back then but I’m sure I would appreciate it a lot more now and pick up on a lot more. Back then, I wasn’t reading adult fantasy and also didn’t know much about the differences between YA and adult. Now that I’m a more experienced adult fantasy reader and I also know the ending of the series, it would be fun to read the first book again.

Sweet Birthday Memories – A book that kept you incredibly happy during a sad or demanding period of your life

I was really trying to be original but there’s only one answer for this: Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling. I’ve been lonely for a large part of my life, especially in my early teens, but these books gave me an escape so I didn’t have to be sad all the time. Being a part of the fandom also helped me make friends (online of course), and one of them is still my best friend.

These books are also still helping me. During my latest reread of the second book, I was reminded that the bravest thing you can do is ask for help when you need it. It was just the thing I needed to hear to realize that I needed to seek help with my anxiety.

Yeah, it’s not like I’m going to tag anyone lol. It’s a fun tag so I’ll probably do it again next year. Happy reading!

Posted in Book Tags

Get to Know the Fantasy Reader Tag (Wyrd and Wonder)

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“It was late winter in northern Rus’, the air sullen with wet that was neither rain nor snow.”

First line in The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Hi, guys. It’s time for a tag. I picked Get to Know the Fantasy Reader Book Tag because this is my first time participating in Wyrd and Wonder so it felt appropriate to make a sort of introduction. This tag was originally created by The Book Pusher on YouTube and is a modifiction of another tag called Get to Know the Romance Reader. There are 10 questions so let’s get to it.

1. What is your fantasy origin story? (How you came to read your first fantasy novel)

I’m not sure but I believe the first book I read outside of school was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when I was about 9 or 10. I had gotten the first two books in the series for 2 Christmases in a row when I was 6 and 7. Otherwise known as ages where you’re not able to read yet. My mom didn’t seem to care about that so she kept buying them for me, and books are just not the most exciting present when you’re 6 years old. I tried reading the first one with my grandmother but we didn’t even get through chapter 1. Starting the series from the POV of Vernon Dursley was actually a risky move on Rowling’s part.
So yeah, the books sat on my shelf for a few years until one day when I was bored out of my mind and I thought “I might as well give it a go.”. Proving that old saying that it’s good for you to be bored sometimes.

2. If you could be the hero/heroine in a fantasy novel, who would be the author and what’s one trope you’d insist be in the story?

I love this question. The author would be Katherine Arden. She has written my favorite heroine in fantasy (Vasya) so I would trust her to make me look great and improve the things that need improvement. The one trope I would insist on is the exsistence of a magical library. Preferably for me to live in it.

Now I really want Arden to write a book about a magical library. Any kind really. I just want her words describing it.

3. What is a fantasy you’ve read this year, that you want more people to read?

Talking about magical libraries, The Library of the Unwritten by A. J. Hackwith isn’t being read by enough people. It’s about a library in Hell which holds all the books that have yet to be written and the ones that never will be. What’s really cool is that characters from these books may materialize to search for their authors. It also has the best group of flawed characters that are so easy to latch onto.

4. What is your favorite fantasy subgenre? What subgenre have you not read much from?

It might not be my absolute favorite subgenre but I want to mention historical fantasy as something I really enjoy. I’m just very picky about it and therefore haven’t read much from it. In my experience, these books tend to very romance heavy and that’s not really what I want. I just want the fantasy in a historical setting. Some of my favorites are The Binding by Bridget Collins and Winternight Trilogy by Kathering Arden. If you know of any similar books, please share.

The subgenres I’ve read the least from would probably be steampunk or paranormal fantasy. Not really something I have an interest in either.

5. Who is one of your auto-buy fantasy authors?

I don’t exactly have one but Leigh Bardugo is probably the closest. I own 4 of her books and at least consider buying anything she puts out. Victoria Schwab is a close second.

6. How do you typically find fantasy recommendations? (Goodreads, Youtube, Podcasts, Instagram..)

Mainly on YouTube or other blogs.

7. What is an upcoming fantasy release you’re excited for?

There’s a lot of course so I’m going for something I haven’t seen talked about much. The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix which is out September 22nd 2020. I mean that is the best title I’ve ever heard so that alone makes me excited.

8. What is one misconception about fantasy you would like to lay to rest?

I think some people have the misconception of fantasy as it being only epic battles, epic quests and epic political scheaming. You know… epic. Especially when talking about adult fantasy. There are so many other facets to the genre. I mean, Circe by Madeline Miller and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern are also adult fantasy just to mention a few. I’ve actually been working on a dicussion post about this which will be up very soon.

9. If someone had never read a fantasy before and asked you to recommend the first 3 books that come to mind as places to start, what would those recommendations be?

Jesus.. Well, first I would have to conduct a 30-minute interview to get to know their taste. In this hypothetical scenario I guess I’ll just throw in 3 great starting points.

10. Who is the most recent fantasy reading content creator you came across that you’d like to shoutout?

Becca and Her Books is a BookTube channel I recently starting following. She reads both fantasy and romance and is a huge Sarah J. Maas fan. Even though I don’t read Maas, I still like watching Becca’s videos. She creates her TBR around a game of bookopoly every month and for some reason that is so satisfying to watch.

Now you know a little bit more about me as a fantasy reader. Feel free to do the tag yourself. I thought it was some really interesting questions and would love to see other people’s answers. You can also just write some of your answers in the comment section. Happy reading!

Posted in Book Tags

The Reader Problems Book Tag

Posted on by Line

“The way I figure it, everyone gets a miracle.”

First line in Paper Towns by John Green

Hi, guys. I wanted to do a get-to-know-me kind of tag and had seen this one being done quite often. It was originally created by the BookTube channel About To Read a long time ago but it’s still a great tag if you ask me. So let’s just jump into the questions so that I can tell you how I deal with typical reader problems.

1. You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How in the world do you decide what to read next?

First of all, I’m pretty good at keeping my TBR fairly short (currently at 88) so I can easily go through it and pick whatever peaks my interest at the time. Second of all, I read a lot of series. That means there’s always a sequel I need to read and I usual jump to another series after reading just one book in a series. I like to switch it up.

2. You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

I can’t quit on a book, and I hate myself for not being able to. But for some reason I can’t help but think “What if the ending is so good, it changes what I thought about the beginning?” I must admit that right now I can’t think of a book where that actually happened. It’s more common for me to not like the first book in a series but then loving the sequels. Then I’m glad I ended up pushing through that first one.

3. The end of the year is coming and you’re so close, but so far away on your Goodreads reading challenge. Do you try to catch up and how?

I’ve never not met my Goodreads goal because I always set it to something I know I can manage. Maybe that defeats the purpose of it being a goal but I like that satisfying feeling of Goodreads telling me that I’m ahead of schedule. Don’t judge me. So in the case that I for some reason can’t reach my goal… then I’ll just lower it. I don’t want to stress about it.

4. The covers of a series you love do. not. match. How do you cope?

I haven’t encountered this problem as I don’t buy very many books and once I do, they are often completed series that I know I love. Then I can just buy the covers that match because that does matter to me for some reason. Not enough though that I would go out and buy several copies of the same book just to get the covers to match.

5. Every one and their mother loves a book you really don’t like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?

…No one. I don’t have any friends who read the kind of books that I do or the amount of books I read. I feel like that’s quite common for people here in the online book community. We’re here because we don’t have anyone else to talk to. So I guess I’ll talk to whatever book blogger or BookTuber I can find who shares my unpopular opinion which is just as great!

6. You’re reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

I do a lot of reading in public as a I have a long commute to work so this is a very relevant question. I very rarely cry when reading and when I do, it’s often a book I know will make me cry. So I just don’t read that one on the bus. My problem in public is that I can sometimes react in other ways than crying when I’m reading. It is no less embarrasing but I try to be as subtle as possible. If I can’t then too bad. I’m not too worried about something like that.

7. A sequel of a book you loved just came out, but you’ve forgotten a lot from the prior novel. Will you re-read the book?

Occasionally, I will reread the previous book. Mainly if it was one that I really, really loved and would reread in the future anyway. Normally I skip the reread because it’s just too time consuming and sequels tend to recap the important stuff anyway.

8. You do not want anyone. ANYONE. borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope when they ask?

Nobody has ever wanted to borrow my books, so if anybody ever asked I would likely answer with a “YES, please take them!”. Just so I can get more people to read my favorite books. The only exception would be my Harry Potter books. They are old and have great sentimental value so I’m expecting people to be understanding.

9. Reading ADD. You’ve picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump?

Luckily, I rarely get hit very hard by reading slumps. I very much appreciate my time on the bus to and from work in that regard because that really helps. Like when your options are reading or looking out the window for 45 minutes, you might as well read. I manage to get through the less good books that way and get to the amazing ones that often are the cure to a reading slump.

10. There are so many new books coming out that you’re dying to read! How many do you actually buy?

Extremely few. I only buy new books it’s a book I’m sure I’ll love. That often means that I have to know the author and/or it’s a sequel to an all-time favorite of mine that I can’t wait for library version of. I might also buy some of them later on if it turns out that my library won’t get them.

11. After you’ve bought the new books you can’t wait to get to, how long do they sit on your shelf before you get to them?

The few times I do buy the new books, they don’t even hit my shelf before I start them. Sometimes, I will even start reading them on the bus on the way home from the bookstore.

That was The Reader Problems Book Tag. Let me know if you find my answers weird or you somehow relate to some of them. Otherwise, happy reading!

Posted in Book Tags

The Netflix Book Tag

Posted on by Line

“The dungeon was a miserable place.”

First line in The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer

Hi, guy. Today we’re doing a book tag because it’s been a while and it’s going to be The Netflix Book Tag. It was originally created by BookTuber A Darker Shade of Whitney.

I wasn’t tagged or anything but I’m doing it anyway. Let’s go.

Recently Watched: The last book you finished reading

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. The most beautiful book I’ve ever read. Both inside and out. Please, don’t let it be another 8 years before she writes another book.

Top Picks: A book/books that have been recommended to you based on a book you have previously read

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. This book was compared to A Little Life by Hanya Hanagihara and I honestly didn’t need to know more before adding it to my TBR. Even though the story sounds like it’s quite different, I’m still looking forward to reading it to hopefully get that feeling of A Little Life again.

Recently Added: The last book you bought

I don’t buy books very often so the last book I bought was in October and that was Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell.

Popular on Netflix: Books that everyone knows about (2 you’ve read and 2 you haven’t or have no interest in reading)

For the 2 that I’ve read, I picked The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Radio Silence by Alice Oseman. Both are very important books but in their own way.

Then I picked 2 popular books I have no interest in reading:

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Despite its popularity, I know I will hate so many things about it, so it’s not worth my time.

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff. I don’t like reading about assassins and I’m also put off by the school setting. Then it doesn’t seem like there’s much left of the book for me to like.

Comedies: A funny book

Not actually comedy but Carry On by Rainbow Rowell will always make me laugh. Mainly because Simon is so bad at being the hero that it’s comedic.

Drama: A character who is a drama queen/king

At first, I couldn’t really think of a character that fit this description. Then I found the perfect answer…Kvothe from The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. The man who claims it takes 3 whole days to tell his life story and then creates the most dramatic story that builds tension all the way through. Oh, and of course makes himself look like the perfect hero of the story.

Animated: A book with cartoons on the cover

I’m going with The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer which is a Middle Grade so of course there are cartoons on it.

Watch Again: A book/book series you want to reread

I want to reread the Shades of Magic trilogy by V. E. Schwab. I planned to do it this year but I might wait until the second trilogy in the universe gets a release date. Then I would want to reread it closer to that.

Documentaries: A non-fiction book you’d recommend to everyone

I don’t exactly read non-fiction. Going through my Goodreads shelf, I found one so I guess we’re going with that. Feminsts Don’t Wear Pink (And Other Lies) which is a collection of essays from 52 women about feminism. Not all the essays are particularly good but I highly recommend the one from Kat Dennings. That one is still making me laugh.

Action and Adventure: An action packed book

The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare. A book in the Shadowhunter universe about Alec Lightwood and Magnus Bane who go on a relaxing vacation together. They are interrupted a lot which means a lot of action scenes. All the time.

New Releases: A book that just came out or will be coming out soon that you can’t wait to read

It’s going to be a while before this one is out but I can’t wait to read Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth. It follows a group of chosen ones 10 years after they did their thing which I think is so cool. As someone whose favorite trope is the chosen one, I can’t think of a better premise for a book.

That was The Netflix Book Tag. Since I wasn’t tagged myself, I feel weird tagging others but feel free to do it if you want. I think it’s a great tag so I’d love to see other people’s answers to these questions. Have a great day!

Posted in Book Tags

Quick Fire Fantasy Book Tag

Posted on by Line

“My father was a king and the son of kings.”

First line in The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Hi, guys. I wanted to do a tag and happened to stumble upon this Quick Fire Fantasy Book Tag. It’s all about fantasy books so of course I’m doing it.

Rules:

  • Thank the person who tagged you and link back to their post
  • Link to the creator’s blog (The Bookworm Dreamer) in your post
  • Answer the prompts below – all fantasy books!
  • Tag 5 others to take part
  • Enjoy!

5 Star Book

A book I didn’t expect to like but ended up giving 5 stars. An Ember in the Ashes takes place in a Roman inspired fantasy world where we follow Laia who’s trying to save her brother from the Empire. To do that she needs help from the Resistance and one of the Empire’s own elite soldiers in training.

Always going to recommend

I’m recommending an author here instead because Madeline Miller only has two books anyway and I couldn’t pick one. The Song of Achilles and Circe are both mythology retellings, but you don’t need to know the original stories before reading these. Miller’s writing is gorgeous, and I would die for every single one of these main characters.

Own it but haven’t read it yet

I’m someone who don’t usually buy books before I’ve read them, so I don’t own any fantasy books that I haven’t read yet. Instead, There Will Come a Darkness is just a book I really want to read. It sounds like it contains an exciting twist to my favorite trope: the chosen one trope. Even though it has gotten some mixed reviews, I still really want to see how it unfolds.

Would read again

There are so many options to choose from for this question, because I’m quite big on rereading. Shades of Magic by V. E. Schwab is a trilogy that I read very quickly, so I would like to reread it to take my time with it. I plan on doing that in 2020.

In another world

Eragon and The Inheritance Cycle in its entirety takes place in Alagaësia. It’s a vast and highly detailed world created by Christopher Paolini.

Back on Earth

Half Bad was once my favorite series and I still think it’s a very good series. It’s all about witches who live in our own world. There’s a war going on between the good and evil witches (and those in between), and it all gets very dark.

That was it for the Quick Fire Fantasy Book Tag, which was quite fun to do. I’m always up for talking about fantasy. I tag you if you want to do it. I’d love to see other people’s answers for these prompts.

Posted in Book Tags

The Unpopular Opinions Book Tag

Posted on by Line

“Neil Josten let his cigarette burn to the filter without taking a drag.”

First line in The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic

Hi fellow readers. It’s time for a tag and I chose one of the popular ones this time. We all love those unpopular opinions and I was in the mood to be controversial. The Unpopular Opinions Book Tag was originally created by the bookTuber, TheBookArcher, so you can go watch that video if you want to. Cue the questions!

A popular book or series that you didn’t like

Starting out with the tough question. Of course, I have more than one answer for this. Firstly, we have Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi which is gave 2 stars. This was SO hyped that it would never have been able to live up to it. However, there were so many things I didn’t like about it. It had very poor writing that was incredibly repetitive and didn’t move the plot along very fast. Also, the insta-love that happened TWICE didn’t connect with me.

(Dis)Honorable mentions for this question include The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire (I don’t hate the series but it wasn’t for me) and Vicious by V. E. Schwab.

A popular book or series that everyone else seems to hate but you love

This question is more fun for me but I have fewer options to choose from. I’m going with a book in a series and that is Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. This final book in The Hunger Games trilogy is probably everyone’s least favorite for a lot of reasons. It’s also my least favorite but only because I love the first two so freaking much. Mockingjay is very close though. I’ll admit that I also hated it when I read it the first time, but I’ve changed my mind about it over time. I ended up loving that there was less action so we got to spend more time in Katniss’ mind and experience her PTSD.

I also appreciate the ending which a lot of people hate. ***SPOILERS*** I always hated Gale so I loved it when it was proved how big of a jerk he was. Also, it was not a happy ending in the slightest and I think that is a very brave decision to make and so refreshing in YA. It would have felt forced and unrealistic to have everything just solve itself be like ‘yay let’s all live happily ever after’. *** END OF SPOILERS***

Honorable mentions for this question include Release by Patrick Ness (rating on Goodreads is 3.73) and Eragon by Christopher Paolini (rating on Goodreads in 3.89). 

A love triangle where the main character ended up with the person you did NOT want them to end up with OR an OTP that you don’t like

Are there still love triangles in books or have I just managed to avoid them? I can’t think of any recent reads that featured love triangles. Also, in the older YA books that had them, I always rooted for the most obvious choice so I was never disappointed.

I can only think of one OTP I didn’t like and that is from Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. I’m not mentioning any names but if you’ve read it, you know. Sanderson apparently can’t write romance. That OTP was just a good friendship and not anything romantic.

A popular book genre that you hardly reach for

I never read horror but I’m not sure how popular that actually is outside of the month of October. Other than that, I also never read thrillers or mysteries. The few people in my life who read, read mysteries so I know that one is very popular and I would never pick one up.

A popular or beloved character that you do not like

I really thought long and hard to try and find an answer to this that wasn’t the first character that popped into my head. Just to try and be a little less controversial but no… so we’re discussing Lila Bard from Shades of Magic by V. E. Schwab.

To be honest, I think Lila is a bad person but more importantly, I also think she’s a badly written character. That hurts to say because I really love Victoria Schwab. Lila has zero character development, and that’s across 3 whole books! And there was just so much room for her to improve that I kept waiting for it. The “personality” I assumed was a front turned out to be real. She actually is that not-like-other-girls character that I despise because she does whatever is in her power to be like a man. It just seemed very fake, and it annoyed me that the other characters just applauded her for it.

Rant over but I know a lot of people love her so I’d love to hear why in the comments.

A popular author that you can’t seem to get into

Neil Gaiman. I’ve read 3 books by him and the highest rating has been 3 stars. It’s weird because I actually don’t think I hate his writing style. It’s funny and engaging so no complaints there really. I think my main problem with Gaiman is that I don’t like his stories. I’m very often bored and find myself not caring about the characters.  You can attribute that to me picking the wrong books, so I’ll also point out that I’m not done trying. He’s written so many different things that there simply must be something I like.

A popular book trope that you’re tired of seeing

I actually did a post solely about this topic a short while ago so I’ll be lazy and pick one of the ones mentioned in that. The competition. If a book features some kind of big competition, I’ll seriously be on the fence about picking it up. It sets the structure of the book from the beginning where I prefer the structure to be more unpredictable and surprising. I do like books that feature a competition, but that is typically because I absolutely love something else about it. I just often see readers who will pick up a book purely because of the competition element. I’m not one of them.

A popular series that you have no interest in reading

Funnily enough, I also have a recent post about popular books I don’t want to read. Here, I’m going to pick one that I didn’t think of when making that list: Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. From what I understand, this is incredibly difficult to get into. It’s making me think that there are so many other fantasy series I’d rather read. I’m not seeing myself ever getting to Malazan.

The saying goes “The book is always better than the movie”, but what movie or TV show adaptation do you prefer more than the book?

I’m going to have several answers here because I actually think it happens fairly often that the movie or tv show is better than the book. After all, this is the unpopular opinions tag, right? First one is The Magicians by Lev Grossman, which was turned into a tv show on Syfy. The books and the tv show are very different but I actually think that the tv show managed to take the good parts of the books and just expand them. The books aren’t bad but they’re just not on the same level as the tv show. At least until the middle of season 4. After that there’s no reason to watch it (can you tell I’m pissed?)

My second answer is Twilight. Not that those movies were the best thing ever but they did better than the books. In all the movies they actually added a climatic moment because those didn’t exist in the books. I mean, how can you write 4 books without a single climax? That doesn’t work in movies so I’m glad they added that.

I also have two honorable mentions here which are The Lord of the Rings and Outlander (only read the first book in Outlander though).  

So, there you have some unpopular opinions. I’m not afraid of people disagreeing with me so please feel free to yell at me in the comments. Of course, I’d also appreciate to know if you agree with me. You can yell about that too.

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Posted in Book Tags

The Disney Book Tag

Posted on by Line

“One summer night I fell asleep, hoping the world would be different when I woke up.”

First line in Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

I wanted to do a tag and had come across this one a couple of weeks ago. I really like Disney so that was the only excuse I needed. The Disney Book Tag was originally created by Kat from the booktube channel Katytastic and you can see her video here. Let’s get onto the questions.

Answer: Enne Salta from Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

A character out of their element is a typical thing to come across especially in fantasy books. However, no one is more perfect for this than Enne. She’s spent all her life trying to become a proper lady. You know, she’s polite, knows what all the cutlery is for etc. In the beginning of the book, she arrives at New Reynes which is the complete opposite of what she’s used to. There’s crime, violence and gangs which she then has to navigate to find her mother.

Bonus answer: Eugenides in The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. It’s the third book in the series and therefore too spoilery to talk about but if you’ve read it, you know what I mean.

Answer: Vin from Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

I struggled a bit with this one but decided to go with Vin. I can’t think of anyone else having as much character development as her. She’s a completely different person by the end of book three. Also, she kind of gets the whole Cinderella transformation in the first book so she needs to be my answer here.  

Answer: A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

SO many characters in this one both good, bad and everything in between.

Answer: Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

The third book in The Inheritance Cycle about Eragon who finds a dragon egg. I remember that this quartet was supposed to be a trilogy but Brisingr was added because Paolini couldn’t contain the story to only three books. In my opinion, Brisingr shouldn’t exist. As far as I remember, NOTHING happened in it and I was so bored the entire time. I really like the other three books but this one was just pointless.

Answer: Jude St. Francis from A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Let’s just not talk about that because I’ll just cry again.

Answer: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

I feared this book because so many people love it but the synopsis didn’t sound like something I would like. I don’t normally enjoy that storytelling narrative that this is so heavily based on but I actually ended up enjoying it. The writing kept me hooked because that was just beautiful.

Answer: Lazlo Strange from Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Lazlo almost seemed to obvious to me. His entire character is based upon his wish to find the lost city of Weep and someone happens to show up to take him to it. I definitely think his life improved by getting his wish granted.

Answer: Arya Stark from A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin.

At first, I thought this question would be really difficult but then I remembered Arya. When is she actually Arya Stark in these books? She most often goes by other names (Arry, Weasel), and Martin puts emphasis on how she becomes those names/people. She is even more appropriate for this question in the later books.

Answer: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I want to be able to talk to Cath and be a nerd with her. I also just want a guy like Levi to exist in real life because he’s just so sweet.

Answer: Ruin from Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

I feel like I often go with The Mayor from Chaos Walking for this type of question so I wanted to pick someone else. Ruin is almost all-powerful and that is the kind of villains I love. I need to actually fear for the characters and feel like the villain could trick me at any moment.  

I hope you enjoyed this little tag. If you want to do it yourself, consider yourself tagged. Otherwise, happy reading!

Posted in Book Tags

Mid Year Freak Out Tag

Posted on by Line

“Dima heard the barn doors slam before anyone else did.”

First line in King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

Hi, fellow readers. It’s June. It’s summer (although I live in Denmark so not really). It’s time for the popular tag: Mid Year Freak Out Tag. I’ve never done it myself before, so it should be exciting.

I’ve read 30 books so far this year and my Goodreads goal is 55 so it’s going great. 30 books for 15 questions means there are some books I mention twice but I really tried to pick different answers. Here is a list of a few stats to give you an impression of how I’ve been liking the books I’ve been reading:

  • Four 5-star books (although two of those were rereads)
  • One 1-star rating. The book was Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart.
  • My most popular rating was 4 stars (12 books).

That’s it for the stats. Hope you enjoy the tag.

Best book you’ve read so far in 2019

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. I’m really trying to do a post without mentioning this book but what can I do. It’s the best book! It’s a character-driven story that takes place over a period of about 30 years. I loved seeing how the characters developed over such a long time and then it’s just a book that hits you right in the feels.

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2019

I’ve read quite a lot of sequels, so this question was almost impossible to answer but I’m going with Red Seas under Red Skies by Scott Lynch. This sequel is the reason I consider the series to be one of my all-time favorites.

New release you haven’t read yet but want to

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. So much hype is going around this book, but I believe it’s genuine and it sounds awesome. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping my library will get it soon. Otherwise I’ll have to buy because I must read it.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

I need to mention two here. Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell (September 24th) and Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater (November 5th). My expectations for these sequels are way too high but I need them right now. 

Biggest disappointment

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi. This was the book that was supposed to be similar to Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo but it was so far from being that. A critique I often see of this book is that it’s confusing which I 100% agree with. I had no idea what was going on. Also, so many inventions that didn’t make sense but seemed to exist purely because the characters needed an invention like that. The book had potential but didn’t live up to it.

Biggest surprise

I didn’t have an obvious choice here, so I went with Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare. I started reading her books back when The Mortal Instruments was published, and I just can’t stop. I don’t enjoy them as much anymore, but I need to know what happens to the characters. I ended up flying through Queen of Air and Darkness mainly because I really liked all the side-characters. Now I’m almost excited for her next series.

New favorite author (debut or new to you)

There was a contest here. Neal Schusterman won. I’ve read both Scythe and Thunderhead by him this year and I found that I really find his writing style captivating. I’ve decided that I need to read more of his books. If anyone knows where to start, please let me know in the comments.   

Newest fictional crush

Do I have one? Maybe Nikolai Lantsov from the Grisha Verse by Leigh Bardugo because who doesn’t have a crush on him.

Newest favorite character

Locke Lamora from Gentleman Bastard by Scott Lynch. I’ve read the first two books in the series this year, and Locke is just a cool character. He might sound like a stereotypical character that you’ve read about so many times before: thief, bold, smart, sort-of-bad-guy-but-we-love-him type. Lynch has just managed to make him so layered and charismatic that I can’t help but find him fascinating.

Book that made you cry

I’m sorry but the only book that made cry these past six months was A Little Life. It’s the saddest book I’ve ever read.

Book that made you happy

Not quite sure about this one. I haven’t really been reading any “happy books” this year. The closest to it would be Radio Silence by Alice Oseman because it had a sort of feel-good vibe to it that I enjoyed. It put a smile of my face at least.

Favorite book to film adaption you saw this year

How am I supposed to remember this? I saw a Danish adaption of a childhood favorite of mine, The Shamer’s Daughter, but that was truly horrible. I’m going to go favorite book to TV adaption instead and say The Magicians by Lev Grossman. A situation where I actually prefer the TV show because the two are very different and I didn’t care so much for the books.

Favorite review you’ve written this year

As this is a new blog, I’ve only managed to do two reviews at this point. My favorite of those is probably my review for The Binding by Bridget Collins because I felt I had a lot to say about that book.

Most beautiful book you’ve bought this year (or received)

I bought the collector’s edition of Six of Crows and that is just beautiful inside and out. It even has these cool illustrations of the characters at the back.

What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

I’ve started The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski this month, and I would like to finish all seven books before the TV show starts. That’s highly unlikely so I’ll be happy if I just manage to read two more, but we’ll see how it goes.

A lot of answers about my reading these past six months. I hope you were inspired to read some of the books I liked. If you’ve already read them, tell what you thought of them.

Happy reading,

Line