One of my goals this year is to post a little more on this silly blog that I have, so here’s a book tag that I did recently, just for fun. No one’s tagged me or anything, I just wanted to find something seasonally suited and interesting.
The original book tag: https://wordsaboutwords.com/2019/03/16/booktag-the-march-madness-booktag-original/
Selection Sunday: an upcoming release that you are looking forward to
Oh, I’ve got a liiiiist. I have had an unwavering eye on all of the upcoming books I want.
Unrivaled by Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James – it’s out, but I’m third in line for a book that I asked the library to buy. I’m dying here, give it to me. (I didn’t even want it that much until I couldn’t have it.)
Also, Scoreless Game by Anna Zaboo and LA Witt, is out but I don’t currently have KU so this is on the list for later this year when I get Kindle Unlimited again.
Other than those, I only have two books that I’m still waiting to be released at this time: Foolish Puckboy by Eden Finley and Saxon James and Yellowface by RF Kuang. I still haven’t finished Babel, so I’m more excited for the Puckboy sequel but I’m looking forward to both of them.
Sweet 16: a teen protagonist that you love
I don’t read many books with teenagers anymore, but from my recent reads I’m going to go with
Nevermind, I totally forgot that I read Fence by CS Pacat and Johanna the Mad this year and I love these characters. They’re all in high school, so they totally count, but I’m going to go specifically with Harvard and Aiden, especially in the spin-off books by Sarah Rees Brennan. I love those idiots so much.
Final 4: any top four books you think of. Top four you have read recently? Top four you have bought and are eager to get to? Top four books on your TBR? Top four books on your shelf? Be creative!
For no particular reason, I’m going to pick the top four prettiest covers I’ve read this year:
This is absolutely not representative of the quality of the books, but yeah. The prettiest covers I’ve read (or am reading). It’s kind of shocking how poor my choices were, but perhaps it says something good that I’m not judging my books by their covers? Haha.
It’s also kind of interesting that books that “feel” pretty in my memory have so un-representative covers. I’m specifically thinking of the Captive Prince series, The Night Circus, and the Fence spin-off novels.
Championship Game: a book that has a competition or duel
I am a sucker for a good, competitive book. Looking at only my 2023 reads so far, I’ve got:
- Gravity (NHL hockey)
- Fence (high school fencing)
- The Sultan’s Daughter (fantasy war)
- The Captive Prince (athletic performances, fantasy war)
- Check, Please! (university hockey)
- The Night Circus (fantasy duel)
- The Rest of the Story (NHL hockey)
- Spy x Family (school admissions)
- Role Model (NHL hockey)
16 Seed: an underrated book/series that deserves love
I really have not read very many “under-rated” books yet this year. My first two months were absolutely stacked with both indie- and trad-published powerhouses. The closest answer I have for this is Pretty Girls Make Graves by Steffanie Holmes, which is not unheard of (about 700 GR reviews) but I think under-appreciated. It’s insane and stupid, but doesn’t take itself seriously and is very fun.
The Top #1 Seed: a good (but over-hyped) book
Now this I’ve read quite a lot of this year. I really started my year with all the best books I hadn’t gotten to in 2022, but I think some that are both over-hyped and also good are:
- Fence by CS Pacat and Johanna the Mad
- Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
- Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano
- Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
- Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo
Buzzer Beater: a book that surprised you (in a good or bad way)
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness was supposed to be amazing. It sounded amazing, it was sort of dark academia, it was highly recommended by multiple people, and the first third of the book was so engrossing and then it fell off a cliff, lit itself on fire, and drowned in an ocean of its own desperation to be Christian propaganda and a Twilight retelling. I was heartbroken that it was so, so bad.
In the other direction, though, I was so pleasantly surprised that Gravity by Tal Bauer was so good! Kindle Unlimited just kept recommending it to me and the summary was okay but nothing stunning, but the book was so well-written, so emotional, had amazing characters, and had a really high percentage of hockey-time which was great! Also, Captive Prince being an actually, truly, earth-shatteringly good series was mind-blowing to me. I remembered so much of the drama a few years ago and I went into this book braced for messiness, but instead I got some amazing world-building, deep and consistent characters, a super-complicated and slow-burn romance, and some laugh-out-loud funny scenes.
Favorite Team: your favorite squad in a book
I enjoy a good ensemble cast, so I’m going to nominate both the classmates and teammates from Fence as well as the Mulvaney extended family from Necessary Evils. Both squads are 10/10 in their own ways.
Mascot: favorite animal sidekick
I actually only have two options for this category, because I don’t read much younger fantasy and the animal-sidekick trope just doesn’t pop up as often in adult fantasy.
Our competitors are: the fellcats from Prince and Assassin and Bond from Spy x Family. Having just discovered that I read Prince and Assassin in 2022, however, that leaves Bond as the winner! (And to be honest, he probably would have won anyways…)
Bracket Buster: a book that hurt you
I hate books that make me cry, but I think the only one I teared up in was The Rest of the Story by Tal Bauer. I definitely got a bit choked up with the melodrama of Aiden/Harvard in Fence, but not properly cried.
As for “this hurt me to read,” though, I’m going to nominate Dracula and The Sultan’s Daughter for being nearly unreadable and painful to push through. Sorry not sorry.
Sports Bar: a book with a great setting
My first thought was Captive Prince, but it’s actually really hard to decide between that world and the equally captivating fantasy worlds of A Taste of Gold and Iron and Sorcery of Thorns. I’m sort of leaning towards Sorcery of Thorns thought because magic books, you know?