Book Tag Archives - Page 12 of 15

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2020 | Book Tag

Jun 14, 2020

I haven’t done a book tag in a while and I thought it was time to do one. And just in time for the mid-year book freakout tag. This tag was created by Ely and Chami. Most of the time this tag is more seen on youtube, but I thought I would bring it over here and share my year in books so far.

As from today, I’ve read 152 books. That is a lot for me for this time of year. I read just under 200 last year and I imagine that I’m going to go over that this year. I’ve read a mix of books this year, but most of them have been romance. And I don’t think that will change too much. Anyway, let’s get into this.

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2020

I can’t pick just one book here, but I do have a top three. This is How We Change the Ending by Vikki Wakefield, The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune and Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1) by Cassandra Clare. I loved every one of these. They are just fantastic. This is How We Change The Ending and The House in the Cerulean Sea are stand-alone – so if you don’t like series, then pick these ones up.

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2020

Again there are two books that I had to pick for this one. Chasing Cassandra (The Ravenels #6) by Lisa Kleypas was such a fantastic final book. I loved the romance in this one so much, it just made me smile so much. And After the Fall (The Fallen Men #4) by Giana Darling. This book was so intense, holy crap. So much happened in this one and gosh it ruined me, but it was also fantastic.

3. New release you haven’t read yet but want to

So many! But I still need to read Check, Please!, Book 2: Sticks & Scones by Ngozi Ukazu, I have my copy and I just haven’t picked it up yet. But I think I will get to it this month. I’m also still waiting for my copy of Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo. I’ve only heard amazing things about it so far, and I want my copy now.

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year:

I’m so excited for Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett, this was supposed to be mid-year but it got pushed back to November and I can’t wait! I love Jenn Bennett and this one sounds like it’s exactly my type of book. I also cannot wait for Blood & Honey (Serpent & Dove #2) by Shelby Mahurin. Serpent & Dove was one of my favourite books last year and I cannot wait to get back into this world.

5. Biggest disappointment

This has to be Fix Her Up (Hot & Hammered #1) by Tessa Bailey. I was so angry and disappointed with this book I can’t even explain. You can read more about my thoughts in a discussion I had with Ely. But I was just so upset with a lot of this book.

6. Biggest surprise

The books for this up are some of my recent reads. I just finished Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes and it was fantastic! I’m so angry that it took me so long to pick this one up. But thanks to my Best Friends picks my TBR challenge I’m doing. I had to. And then I also have to mention Rebel (Women Who Dare #1) by Beverly Jenkins. I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. You can check out my review now!

7. Favourite new author. (Debut or new to you)

This has to be Nic Stone. I got Dear Martin last year when I was in the US, and only picked it up recently, and gosh it was fantastic. It was beautifully written and I cannot wait to read more from Nic. I’m excited for Dear Justyce which is coming out in September.

8. Newest fictional crush.

This one is hard, come on. I love falling in love with characters in books. But I love Teddy Taualai from Making Friends with Alice Dyson by Poppy Nwosu, Jordy from Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes and Camden Daniels from Great and Precious Things by Rebecca Yarros. They are all so different but I love them all so much.

9. Newest favourite character.

Ohh another hard one for me. But all the main characters from Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1) by Cassandra Clare. I think they might be some of my favourite group of characters from Clare. I just love them all so much. I love their banter and everything else. I cannot wait to see more of them in the coming books.

10. Books that made you cry.

I cry at everything people! I just do. I’m a mess all the time. But the ones that ruined me are How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox, Great and Precious Things by Rebecca Yarros and Dear Martin by Nic Stone. All these books made me cry in different ways. But they all got me good.

11. A Book that made you happy.

While I do cry a lot in books, there are so many that just make me so happy reading them. So far this year The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune has taken the cake. I smiled so much through this book. If I was reading this in public, people would have thought I was strange. But this book gave me so much feels, you can check out my full review and see why.

12. The most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)

I brought this beautiful box set from the 10th anniversary of Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan. I love this box set so much! It’s just so stunning. And they look so nice together as well!

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

All of them? I have so many books that I want to read, but by the end of the year, I want to read The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil #1) by Soman Chainani – Because my little sister has warned me that my books will start to disappear. I also want to read Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, I’m waiting for my copy to come into work, but I want to read this one, as well as The Duke and I (Bridgertons #1) by Julia Quinn

14. Favourite Book Community Member

There are so many people that I can mention here, so many. But I will try and keep it smallest. Firstly if you don’t follow Ely, my best friend. The person that gets me through most days. And she is also on booktube! Ashley from Bookish Realm is an gem! If you don’t follow Jean Bookishthought I don’t know what you are doing with your life. She is fantastic. Francina Simone videos are fantastic and so well thought out. They are something to watch. And I have been following Nick from The Infinite Limits Of Love and if you love your romance books so do you.

And that is it for this post! How has your reading been going so far this year? What have been your favourites? What has disappointed you? Do we share anything that is the same? Let’s chat!

Six: The Musical | Book Tag

Dec 3, 2019

Angel Reads is back! I had a little scare there for the past 24 hours. But we are back online and ready to get back into the action.

When I saw this book tag floating around, I knew that I needed to do it. The Six Book Tag was created by the fabulous Wilde Book Garden and Snow White Reader, over on YouTube. So go check them out.

I don’t speak about this often but I am a massive musical theatre fan. It’s something that I’ve always loved going to, and this year I made it my mission to try and see what I wanted. But I’m already thinking about next year. And guess what is coming to Melbourne!! That’s right Six!

And Six brings together two of my favourite things; Musicals and History. Six, the musical follows Henry VIII’s six wives as they finally get to tell their story. Each wife tells us about their lives both before and with Henry VIII. And it’s all done through, pop and RnB music. It’s all a concert. If you haven’t checked it out yet please do! Anyway enough of this, here we go!

#1 Ex-Wives: A female-centered retelling or reimagining: This one was easy for me. ‘The Conqueror’s Saga’ by Kiersten White has to be one of my favourite trilogies of all time. And one of the main reasons why I loved these books was it was a female Vlad the Impaler. I have so much praise for this series and it has everything that I love. Intense characters, a strong female protagonist and all the court intrigue. If you haven’t had the chance to pick this series up please do, because it’s fantastic.

#2 No Way: A character with strong convictions whom you admire: This one has to go to Beatrix Hathaway from Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas. From the start of the series she always stood out. I loved that she didn’t really care what people thought of her. She loved animals and her way of thinking and she doesn’t let the time she lives stop her from doing things she loves. And this is highlighted in her book Love in the Afternoon. She is this free-spirit that just wants to be who she wants to be and doesn’t let anything, even love stop her.

#3 Don’t Lose Ur Head: A character who makes terrible choices but you can’t help loving them or sympathizing with them: This one has to go to Emelina Flores from Ruined by Amy Tintera. While everything that she does has some sort of reasons. She makes a lot of terrible choices that not only affect her but so many others around her. Emelina thinks that she is doing the right thing most of the time, it just doesn’t always work out that way. But what I love is that it doesn’t stop her. She doesn’t let her bad choices stop her from saving her people and fighting the people she loves.

#4 Heart of Stone: A non-canon OTP or a canon one that didn’t get enough page time: This one was really hard for me, as I tend to gravitate towards books with a romance it in. But one that came to mind for me was Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley. I adore these two together, but this is mainly to do with fanfiction. They had very little time together on the page as a couple. And I get there was a lot going on, but I do wish there was more.

#5 Haus of Holbein: A female-authored work you read in translation: Sadly, I couldn’t think of anything of this. I’ve read a couple of male-written translations, but I can think of a female one. So the plan for 2020 is to read more books by female authors that have translated.

#6 Get Down: A character you’d like to get down with…interpret how you will! Date, be friends with, party with, etc: This one was difficult for me to pick where I was going with it. But in the end, I went around the friend’s route. I would love to be friends with the gang from Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. I don’t think I need to say too much about them, but gosh it would be a ride. You can check out my discussion with Ely and see how much I adored this book and being friends with Alex, Henry and the rest of the gang would be pretty damn amazing.

#7 All You Wanna Do: A book that would have been much better without the romance OR a female character you feel was unfairly defined by her romantic relationships: As I said before, I love reading books with a romance. It’s something that always catches my attention in a book. So I found this one really hard, but I think that Ella Harper form The Royals series by Erin Watt is defined by the romance in every way. I don’t love this series – really at all. And one of those reasons was because I felt that Ella had no backbone. She did what everyone told her and lets her romantic feelings get in the way of everything that happens in the novel.

#8 I Don’t Need Your Love: Share a seriously underrated female author: There are many authors that I could have put on this list, so many. But one of the first authors that came to mind is Ellie Marney. Ellie is a local Australia author who I have been reading for years and if you haven’t picked her up please do. She writes YA crime and romance. And they are just fantastic. There are many more things that I could say but just read her books.

#9 Six: Tell us about one of your favorite bookish Girl Squads or female friendships: This one has to the Wallflowers from the Wallflowers Series by Lisa Kleypas. These girls have my heart and I want to be best friends with all of them. This group of friends is the group that everyone wants to be part of. They are there for each other, help each other, but also push each other. I loved seeing them all grow, find their love and find happiness.

And that is it for this post! I had so much fun doing this tag and it really got me thinking. I’m tagging anyone that wants to do it, and let me know when you do, so I can check it out.

Hocus Pocus Book Tag

Nov 1, 2017

Welcome, welcome. Step right up. It’s Halloween and the one thing that I do at Halloween here in Australia is re-watch Hocus Pocus. It’s one of my favourite movies of all time, and this is a perfect time to watch it again and again and again. Obviously, Hocus Pocus is my favourite Halloween movie, what is yours?

So when I saw the Hocus Pocus book tag created by Katie @ Never Not Reading I knew I had to do my own post. So here it is, the Hocus Pocus Book Tag!

A Great Trilogy: I have a lot of trilogies that I love as I am a series kind of girl. But, one that always sticks out to me is The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. I love these books so much and it’s not just about the world. It’s the time it’s set, the characters, the plot. They all come together, in the Shadowhunter world that I adore and bam! It works so well.

A book with a truly evil female villain: Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling jumps straight into my mind. She is one horrible, horrible female. I remember reading Order of the Pheniox for the first time, and I could not even comprehend how horrible she was. Now after re-reading it a couple times, it’s finally sunk in, but I still don’t get over some of the things that she has done.

A book that uncannily attracts children: The Treehouse series by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton for sure! I work in a bookstore and the number of times I get asked about this series. My youngest sister adores them and I love how many people of the younger generation it’s got reading. I used to read heaps of Andy Griffiths when I was younger, so seeing kids fall in love with his books now – knocks me in the heart.

A book that is just plain silly: I can’t really think of any recent books, but when I was younger Dr Seuss has to take the mark. They are funny and some totally don’t even make sense, but they are such good reads. I remember when I was younger I would read them over and over again. especially the bigger books like If I Ran a Circus.

A book that is trying really hard to be cool, but doesn’t always succeed: Most YA dystopian books – it has been a world wind of books set in a dystopian world since the high of The Hunger Games. And a lot of recent ones have really fallen flat. They try and reach the capacity of The Hunger Games – but it can never reach it.

A book that isn’t afraid to tell it like it is: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas has to take this one. Angie Thomas doesn’t hide away from the horrors that POC live with today. It’s heartbreaking, raw and gosh it tears your heart to pieces. But it’s real. It’s real and true and tells it like it is. It’s a book that everyone should read, and understand. The Hate U Give explores family, friendship and what is right. I wanted to cry, scream and hurt. Full Review.

A book series that just won’t die: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Mass. If you have been following me for a while, then you would know that I am not a fan of Sarah J. Mass’ books. Personally, they just rub me the wrong way and I can’t read them. Obvious people do love them and that is totally fine and I really don’t have much to complain about. But hey.

A book with a character that’s dumb as a rock: I am not sure how I feel about this term, but a character that makes dumb decisions would have to be Bella from Twilight. Bella just lets love take over and doesn’t really think before she acts. She does what she thinks is right.

A book or series you wish you could resurrect: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. Or anything to do with this world. These characters were my teen years. I adored them, I felt with them and I want to see where they are now. Nevertheless, now I want to see their families, their ups and downs. I just want more.

A book that’s not so bad as people make it out to be: The Selection Series by Kiera Cass. While I don’t love these books, they aren’t the worse things in the world. They are a guilty pleasure read for me, but I need that sometimes. I need something that is fun and a little bit ridiculous.

A book with a mind of its own: Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel. HOLY. This book was good! If you haven’t had the change to read it yet – try and pick it up on audiobook cause man it was good and takes the book to another level. This book is intense and you have no idea what is going to happen next. I thought I knew – but nope, not a thing. I cannot wait to dig into Waking Gods!

A book with a cameo: Any Katie McGarry books. I love that she intwines all these characters and her stories. But one of my favourites is how she interviewed two different series. I don’t want to say much and spoiler – but gosh did I love it. It was so smart and worked so well.

And that is it for the Hocus Pocus Book Tag! Did you enjoy it? Do you agree with with picks? Let me know in the comments below. And if you want to do the tag, then go ahead and say that I tagged you.