The Bookish Scenarios Tag #amreading

November 23, 2016November 23, 2016 / Eve Messenger / 24 Comments

Hello, fellow book junkies! I won’t lie; it was super challenging to narrow down each of these categories to just one book (you know how it is, right, when you love so, so many books?). Everyone should try this book tag, though–it’s a fun one, so I hereby tag all of you! Thanks to Jess @ Blogging Everything Beautiful for telling me about it. 🙂

[1.] You have to get rid of all your books and you can only keep one from each of these genres – contemporary, fantasy, non-fiction and one other genre of your choosing. What books do you keep?

Contemporary: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Fantasy: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Non-Fiction: The Gypsies by Jan Yoors

Fantasy/Speculative: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

[2.] You’re at the bookstore and you hear a teenager telling their mom they don’t like to read, but their mom insists they pick something. You walk over and recommend a book you think is great for people who aren’t big on reading – what book is it?

I’d say, “Start easy with this amazingly awesome comic book, reluctant reader, and work your way up.”
Captain Marvel, vol. 1. by DeConnick and Lopez

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[3.] You’re not feeling yourself and need a pick me up. Which book do you read to put yourself in a great mood?

Uprooted by Naomi Novik. As scary as this novel gets at times, the main character Agnieszka is so full of love, there are great friendships, and the homespun (but very powerful) magic is a joy to read about.

[4.] You go back in time for a day to your childhood years. What book would you most likely have caught yourself reading?

I’d have to go with Fairy Tales from Around the World. It was a very old series I found in the far corner of our small-town school library. I haven’t run across it since, but in third grade I couldn’t get enough of it.

[5.] Your friend surprises you with a 4-day trip and you have 1 hour to pack. Which book do you bring to read on the way?

I’d pack my Kindle so I could choose from several books already loaded onto it: How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather, Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Geir, and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.

[6.] Your house has been robbed! Don’t worry – everyone is safe, but your bookshelf has been raided. What’s the book you really hope is safe?

A Darker Shade of Magic, signed by V.E. Schwab at my very first book signing.

[7.] Your friend borrows a book and returns it in awful condition. Do you a) Just pretend you haven’t noticed b) Ask them to repurchase it or c) Secretly do the same to something of theirs?

or d) Wonder what the heck happened to me that I would go back on a promise to myself–after many, many unreturned books–to never loan out books unless I’m okay with giving them as a gift.

–Eve Messenger

August Reads–End of Month Wrap-Up #amreading

September 1, 2016September 4, 2016 / Eve Messenger / 14 Comments

Hello, fellow book junkies! Well, August was filled with lots of good books (including one 5-star read) and, apparently, many yellow book covers (see picture above).

“Girl” Books

Yes, I am a sucker for any book with “girl” in the title. Here are two more.

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey This adult, zombie horror/sci-fi story was a thrilling and unsettling ride. The little girl is. . . unlike any character I’ve ever read. Warning: this is no shiny-happy book. Highlight: Unconventional, strong-willed, kind-hearted Miss Justineau is now one of my all-time favorite characters. 4.5/5 stars

Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes YA contemporary. As a young girl, protagonist Maguire escaped unscathed from a car accident that killed her brother, dad, and uncle, so she now believes she’s a jinx. If you’re in the mood for a very sweet romance, this is the book for you. It wasn’t quite what I expected, but it’s solidly written with a lot of heart. 3.5/5 stars

Netgalley ARCs

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedotti Main character Hawthorn Creely comes across as a bored, annoyed, teenage Amelia Bedelia, with a first person POV that didn’t quite work for me. Hawthorn believes popular girl, Lizzie Lovett, disappeared because she turned into a werewolf. Or maybe Hawthorn doesn’t believe that. Or maybe that whole story line falls by the wayside. Highlight: Hawthorn’s mom’s old hippy friends decide to camp out in her backyard. 3/5 stars

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia– Honestly, it took a few chapters for me to get into it, but by chapter 14 I didn’t want to leave this well-written, well-researched YA paranormal set in near-future Mexico City. Though I’m not into vampires (I’m more of a witches gal), Moreno’s clever take on vampires is so compelling. The Revenant vampire was UNFORGETTABLE. 4.5/5 stars

Hype-Worthy Books I Finally(!) Read

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater At last, I am not the only YA book lover in the world who hasn’t read The Raven Boys. The rating I give it is (*drum roll, please*). . . FIVE STARS. Yes! Fully realized characters, friendship, magic, an Old Virginia setting that’s a character in itself, eccentric fortune tellers/witches–I just loved everything about this book and cannot wait to read the rest of the series. 5/5 stars

The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski – The Winner’s Curse is a winner! It’s got everything–flawless writing, strong world-building, and the ultimate in star-crossed lovers. 4.5/5 stars

Audiobook

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – Highly entertaining and action-packed, I had so much fun reading this book. The world building is fantastic and main character Wade/Perzival is really likable. James Halliday is a futuristic Willie Wonka who promises his $2 billion fortune to the first gamer to finds the Easter egg in Halliday’s virtual reality world. Narrated by Wil Wheaton (“Wesley” from Star Trek Voyager). 4.5/5

Others

Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future by A.S. King. How could I resist reading a book with this amazing title? King’s excellent writing style did not disappoint. The plot wasn’t always strong, but this book paid off big-time by the end–such thought-provoking ideas! Overall, I preferred her book Reality Boy but am addicted to King’s writing and will absolutely keep reading her books. 3.5/5

Summer Days and Summer Nights– In this entertaining and varied short story collection edited by Stephanie Perkins, YA writers–including big names like Leigh Bardugo, Libba Bray, and Cassandra Clare–contributed stories with a summer love theme. The story that blew me away was Nina Lacour’s The End of Love . It was flawless and made me definitely want to check out Lacour’s other work. (I think I’ll start with Hold Still.) 4/5 stars

Happy reading, everyone!

Eve Messenger

The TBR Tag

July 20, 2016July 22, 2016 / Eve Messenger / 20 Comments

TBR Tag pic

Hello, fellow book junkies! Today I’d like to discuss that three-letter acronym so often bandied about in the reading world, the “To Be Read” (TBR) list. Specifically, my TBR list. 😀 I first noticed this tag on Irena @ Book Dust Magic ‘s blog and believe it was originally created by Rachel from A Perfection Called Books and Dana from Dana Square. Thanks for the great tag, ladies!

How do you keep track of your TBR pile?

Like a lot of people, I track books on Goodreads, but my main TBR list is on my home computer. I have probably way more fun than I should marking books as “read” and shuffling around promising upcoming reads.

Is your TBR mostly print or e-books?

Interesting question. A year ago I would have answered without hesitation, print books. But ebooks are growing on me. Currently, my TBR is approximately 60% print, 30% Ebooks, and 10% audiobooks.

How do you determine which book from your TBR to read next?

Most of my reading choices are based purely on mood–and that’s how I like it. If reading started to feel like a chore, I’d be doomed. Sure, my TBR has gotten heavy with “required” reads like Netgalley ARCS, beta reads for writer friends, and the occasional buddy read, but after my kid-in-a-candy-shop introduction to Netgalley (“I’ll take that one, and that one, and that one. . . “) I’ve learned to keep ARCs and other “obligatory” reads down to 3 or 4 a month.

A book that’s been on your TBR list the longest?

Moby-Dick.

A book you recently added to your TBR pile?

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo — I couldn’t believe it wasn’t already on the list, especially after how much I enjoyed Bardugo’s amazing world building and characters Inej and Nina in Six of Crows.

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A book on your TBR strictly because of its beautiful cover?

I appreciate beautiful covers, but books don’t make it onto my TBR purely for that reason.

A book on your TBR that you NEVER plan on actually reading?

Moby-Dick. (Probably.)

But seriously, I’m pretty honest with myself about my TBR. I remove an average of 2-3 books from my TBR every month.

An unpublished book on your TBR that you’re excited for?

I’m dying to read A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab , the final installment of the Shades of Magic trilogy. I think there will be a HUGE revelation about Lila Bard. Also, Schwab has hinted she’ll be killing off many characters in book three. Hence, I’ll be reading with one eye closed–and one eye very open–to see who those fatalities might be.

A book on your TBR that everyone recommends to you?

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. I own a copy but still haven’t read it. The reason? Most likely Fear of Hype syndrome.

A book on your TBR that everyone has read except you?

The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A book on your TBR that you’re dying to read?

Sooooo many!

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
The Raven Boys
The Winner’s Curse
Anything by A.S. King
The Making of Gabriel Davenport by Beverley Lee.
The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland, #1) by Catherynne M. Valente

The Number of Books on your Goodreads TBR shelf?

208.

Hmm, that last question was a bit anticlimactic, wasn’t it? Well, thanks for reading my post about one of my favorite subjects, my beloved TBR list. It’s a pretty fun tag, so if you’d like to give it a try. . .

I TAG YOU.

Happy reading!

— Eve Messenger

Don’t Judge this Book by the Title

July 14, 2016July 16, 2016 / Eve Messenger / 19 Comments

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If you like a good story

Read.

This.

Book.

If someone had told me a week ago I would even pick up a book called Ice Massacre I would have laughed. Hard. But I am here now to say I loved this book and that its only weakness was the title.

The plot line, on the other hand, got my attention. In this modern day YA fantasy, the people of the island of Eriana Kwai are in trouble. Merpeople have waged war on them and are starving them out. Warrior mermaids–who morph into (seriously) terrifying sea demons–send fish away from the island and brutally murder fishermen. Like sirens, the mermaids can also cast hypnotic spells over men. So what do the people of Eriana Kwai do? They send a band of trained, 18-year-old women out to battle at sea.

Ice Massacre kept me on the edge of my seat. The writing is strong, the characters believable, the mermaids so, so scary. Worthy of mentioning is that the book also features diverse characters. A good plot twist also lends depth to the story; as a young girl, the main character Meela befriends an injured mermaid. When she grows up, Meela opts to defend her people and battle the mermaids but must keep her cross-species friendship a secret.

This might be one of those books that hit me at a time when I was exactly in the right mood for it. Who knows? Bottom line: it was a blast to read. 5/5 stars.

–Eve Messenger

What’s Your Favorite Kind of Bookmark? #amreading

July 10, 2016 / Eve Messenger / 30 Comments

Hello, fellow book junkies! I popped into my blog today to spark a bit of discussion about bookmarks.

One of my favorite types of bookmarks are the homemade kind. A friend of mine drew an amazing bookmark for herself. It’s folded into four panels. On each panel is a Pegasus representing each of the four elements so, for instance, the Pegasus of fire has flames rising from its wings, etc. I covet that bookmark so much. I’ve dropped hints but. . .

If I were a better artist, I’d probably make myself a four-fold bookmark of Kell from ADSOM wearing each of four different coats.

Then again, I lose bookmarks like cuh-razy, so I’m probably better off not investing too much time and money into them. Still, it’s fun to have pretty and unique bookmarks to choose from. Lately the bookmarks I use the most include:

the bookmark I bought from a local museum–I would show you a picture of it but, I kid you not, I can’t find it right now. That’s how bookmarks and I roll.
whatever slips of paper are randomly lying around when I decide to close my book.

What kinds of bookmarks do you like to use? Do you receive lots of bookmarks as gifts? Are you one of those people who never needs a bookmark because you can always remember what page you left off on?

Best Reads from the First Half of 2016 #amreading

July 2, 2016July 3, 2016 / Eve Messenger / 31 Comments

Hello, fellow book junkies! Well, we’re midway through the year(?!), a fine time to reflect on all the literary delights that have come along so far in 2016. On Lila @ The Bookkeeper’s Secrets blog I saw this “Midyear Freakout” book tag and had to give it a try. Why? Because talking about books makes reading a thousand times more fun! 🙂

The Best Book You’ve Read So Far In 2016

I’ve read so many excellent books this year, and the best one was A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. I can’t say enough good things about it–the characters, the world building, and best of all, the writing.

The Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far

Lair of Dreams, book two of The Diviners series by Libba Bray, has the perfect YA paranormal setting: New York City in the Roaring Twenties. All the characters established in book 1 stay true to their natures and continue to grow in Lair of Dreams. A great new character is also added, and the plot thickens.

A New Release You Haven’t Read Yet (But You Want To)

I’ve heard Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes is upbeat, thoughtful, and very well written.

Most Anticipated Release For Second Half Of 2016

The Reader by Traci Chee is a YA fantasy set in a lush world where reading is forbidden–and it has a pretty cover. Sign me up! (Expected pub date: 9/13/16.)

Biggest Disappointment

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han. It’s sweet, well written, with tons of fans, but I just wasn’t in the mood. DNF.

Biggest Surprise

Totally on a whim I picked up Pivot Point by Kasie West and ended up really liking it. When faced with an important choice, main character Addison can look into the future and see both outcomes. Author Kasie West turns this intriguing concept into a heart-pumping story with a masterfully executed plot.

Favorite New Author

Victoria V.E. Schwab is talented, versatile, gracious, and hardworking. I am such a big, big fan of her work.

Newest Favorite Character

Neither of these characters is new, but they are to me. As for my favorite, it’s a tie between Day from Marie Lu’s Legend and Agnieszka from Uprooted by Naomi Novik. These two characters’ literary worlds are as different as can be–Day lives in a dystopic urban future and Agnieszka lives in a magical sylvan past– but both are kindhearted, strong-willed and very, very talented. I adore them both.

A Book That Made You Cry

There’s a scene in The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner that hit me hard and definitely made me cry. Yep, that one.

A Book That Made You Happy

Captain Marvel Further, Faster vol. 1-6 by DeConnick & Lopez. Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel is everything, the story is fresh and stereotype-free, and best of all is the vibrant artwork by David Lopez.

Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought So Far This Year

I’ve officially decided the book with the most beautiful YA cover of all time is A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray, not only for its colors and gorgeous watercolor art by Craig Shields, but also because the reflection features an entirely different world! Here’s an interesting article about the design process behind this amazing cover.

Favorite Adaptation So Far This Year

Cheating Alert! I’ve seen very few movies lately, so even though the film was released last year I’m gonna go with The Martian. It’s a smart, solid, well-acted film that I hope was true to the book (which I haven’t read yet.)

What Books Do You Need To Read Before The End Of This Year?

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stievfater – Book number FOUR of the series just came out and I haven’t even started book one yet.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente – This gorgeously written book with the deliciously long title cannot be ignored.
Wonder by R. J. Palacio – I’ve only ever seen rave reviews of this book.
Red Rising by Pierce Brown – All my go-to book bloggers love this one.
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh – Can’t wait to experience this YA literary phenomenon for myself.
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson – 2014 National Book Award Winner, you will soon be mine.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami – Murakami’s brilliant A Wild Sheep Chase was unlike anything ever read before. Must have more!
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen – By all accounts, this is an engrossing read, and it’s written by Sarah Dessen so. . .
Illuminae by Amy Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – I’m dying to catch up on this unique, massively popular YA novel.

Whew, what a fun trip that was down memory lane. I’m sending this book tag out to anyone else who’d like to try it.

–Eve Messenger

ARC Review: The Light Fantastic by Sarah Combs

June 25, 2016June 27, 2016 / Eve Messenger / 10 Comments

Light Fantastic by Sarah Combs

Hello, fellow book junkies! I’ve been reading, writing and working a lot, plus I came down with a terrible stomach bug this week, so blogging and social media had to take a back seat. I’m back now! Isn’t it such a great feeling when, after you’ve been terribly sick, you finally feel better?

I wanted to share with you about an ARC I recently read. The Light Fantastic by Sarah Combs is slated to be published in September of this year, and it had some of the finest writing I’ve ever read in YA. The topic it explores is one I typically avoid: high school mass shootings. I freely admit that when it comes to fiction I tend to stick my head in the sand and not read about issues that already feel so upsetting in the real world. However, I’m glad I decided to read this book.

Here’s my review:

THE LIGHT FANTASTIC by Sarah Combs – YA Contemporary, 320 pp.

Sarah Combs’ writing style has a poetic, stream of consciousness feel to it, like a river flowing through the minds of one character to the next, building an atmospheric exploration of what moves teens to engage in mass violence. The topic is terrifying, but this is not a blood and guts story. The story swirls around the collective human heart.

The writing is pretty much brilliant throughout. Some examples:

“The sky! How huge it is, how opposite a thing from the narrowing that has become her life.”

“She loves to laugh at her own First World problems even as she is wallowing in them.”

The Light Fantastic also masterfully touches on the close, even psychic, connection sisters can have.

The story’s weakness is in the looseness of the plot. At times, the narrative dwells too long inside a POV character’s head and begs to be stepped up to the next level through action or dialogue. The main character April has hyperthymesia, meaning she can recall in perfect detail every event connected with her life. As intriguing a trait as this is, April’s gift/curse quickly becomes an excuse to overload the plot with backstory.

Nonetheless, The Light Fantastic is a powerful story. For myriad reasons—cruelty from peers, mental illness, dropping into the rabbit hole of the internet—a person can lose touch with their humanity to the point where they think it is acceptable, even necessary, to engage in mass murder. This book serves as a reminder to us all to connect with other people IN REAL LIFE, to be the one to say something genuine and kind to acknowledge another person as a living, breathing, feeling human being. You never know what difference your words might make, not only in that person’s life but in the lives of others who, perhaps, that person might not decide to kill.

–Eve Messenger

Book Review: And I Darken by Kiersten White

June 7, 2016July 30, 2016 / Eve Messenger / 23 Comments

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Kiersten White’s newest book And I Darken, is beautifully written and epic in scope. It is told from the alternating viewpoints of Lada and her younger brother Radu, children of Prince Dragwyla of the kingdom of Wallachia.

Lada is ferocious (“She had a soul. At least, she was fairly certain she did.”) but, contrary to what some reviewers say, she is not psychopathic nor even particularly vicious. While Lada has no qualms about killing people, her logical mind serves as a sort of moral code, holding her back from wanton murder. As she tells Radu, “Why do anything without purpose?”

Considering that the character of Lada is based on Vlad the Impaler (AKA Count Dracula), known for having impaled over 50,000 Turkish soldiers, I predict Lada’s personality will “darken” significantly through the course of this series.

Vlad the Impaler

Radu is an interesting contrast to his older sister Lada. While Lada is warrior-like, sharp-toothed, perpetually disheveled, and could care less about manners and good graces, Radu is watchful, cerebral, and physically beautiful.He is sweet but not as compelling a character as his sister.

One of the biggest misconceptions about And I Darken is that it is a fantasy. It is not. There are no supernatural elements or magic of any kind. It is historical fiction, set in the 1400s, with treaties and border invasions, and people who could commonly speak multiple languages–an interesting setting for a story.

Through chapter eight, And I Darken is a five-star read across the board. It’s very powerful when Lada, after losing her mother, begins to think of her kingdom Wallachia as her true mother. She is committed to her kingdom and will defend it at all costs.

Then the trajectory of the story changes.

Lada and Radu wind up in Edirne, the capital of the Ottoman Turkish empire, and Lada’s devotion to her homeland takes a backseat to the interests of the sultan’s youngest son Mehmed. In essence, Mehmed becomes the center of this story’s universe. Through Act Two, practically everything Lada and Radu do revolves in some way around Mehmed. Political maneuverings also become a big part of the story. Lada continues to train as a warrior, but the fighting spirit she exhibits earlier in the story diminishes.

In addition to Lada(!) and Radu, there are many memorable characters in the story. Some of my favorites were the nanny who raised Lada and Radu, the slave soldiers (called Janissaries), as well as women in the harem who must use wits, feminine wiles, and whatever other resources at their disposal to survive their oppressive situation.

–Eve Messenger

The Sunshine Blogger Award

June 4, 2016June 7, 2016 / Eve Messenger / 12 Comments

Hello, fellow book junkies! Well, I’m enjoying home-cation this weekend while my family’s away, so I’m reading and writing like a nut and now get to answer “Sunshine Blogger Award” questions from one of my favorite bloggers on the planet, Shannon @ Clockwork Bibliophile . Not only does Shannon hail from the #1 place in the world I want to visit (Scotland), she has a very pretty blog with tons of insightful posts about books, and she’s so nice and friendly, too.

Rules

Thank the people/person who nominated you.
Answer the questions from your nominators.
Nominate eleven other bloggers and give them eleven questions.

Shannon’s Questions

What was the very first book you read? (if you can remember)
I totally did not expect this question. Let’s see. . . I’m pretty sure there was a Mother Goose collection of nursery rhymes pretty early on in my childhood. More than anything, I remember carting around an activity book full of mazes, coloring pages, dot-to-dots, etc. I loved those things.
Why is your favorite genre of books your favorite?
Another good question! My favorite genre of books is YA fantasy because I appreciate great imagination so much, especially magic in all its variations, and I enjoy heights of emotion found in YA stories. I also like watching characters grow, making connections, finding themselves.
If you were to write a book, where would it be set? (place, time period etc)
The stories I write are usually set in some blended version of America and Japan, either in the present day or some mythological past. I’ve set stories in suburban neighborhoods, towns, cities, and often in natural settings like mountains or woods.
Have you ever felt connected to a character because they have experienced something you have?
For sure. I’m too shy to specify the book and character, but in a book I read not that long ago I definitely related to the emotional pain the character suffered.
What is your favorite book-to-movie adaptation?
To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s spot on true to the book.
What is your favorite book-to-tv show adaptation?
Though I haven’t read the actual books–and probably won’t–I think Game of Thrones is pretty spectacular.
What was the last book you read and did you enjoy it?
The last book I read was The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North. “Appreciated” might be the most apt word to describe how I felt about reading it. It was a brilliantly written, four-star read. If I’d felt a little more invested in the main character it would have been a five-star book for sure.
What’s your least favorite book that you’ve ever read?
*stall, stall* While I get that he’s a skilled writer, I’m not a big fan of Ernest Hemingway’s minimalist, testosterone-fueled stories.
Who is your favorite blogger and why?
Oh, gosh, there are so many bloggers I adore, for myriad reasons, but I’m going to say Carolyn @ A Hundred Thousand Stories is my favorite blogger because she’s been with me since I first started blogging, she’s taught me so much about YA books, and she makes me laugh.
What’s the prettiest cover on your shelf?
The cover of The Star-Touched Queen catches my eye from across the room all the time.
What is a random fact about you that people might not know?
I speak fluent Japanese.

I Nominate…

Sabrina Marsi
Nazahet @ Read Diverse Books
Michelle, Books and Movie Addict
Dee @ The Bookish Khaleesi
Stephanie @ Your Daughter’s Bookshelf
Astra @ A Stranger’s Guide to Novels
Cristina @ My Tiny Obsessions

My Questions –

I hope I don’t get into trouble with the Sunshine Blogger police but Shannon’s questions were SO GOOD I’m sending them out again to the next round of Sunshine Bloggers.

What was the very first book you read? (if you can remember)Why is your favorite genre of books your favorite?
Why is your favorite genre of books your favorite?
If you were to write a book, where would it be set? (place, time period etc)
Have you ever felt connected to a character because they have experienced something you have?
What is your favorite book-to-movie adaptation?
What is your favorite book-to-tv show adaptation?
What was the last book you read and did you enjoy it?What’s your least favorite book that you’ve ever read?
Who is your favorite blogger and why?
What’s the prettiest cover on your shelf?
What is a random fact about you that people might not know?

The Book I’m Most Indebted to & The Ultimate Game of Thrones Book Tag

June 1, 2016June 1, 2016 / Eve Messenger / 18 Comments

the ultimate game of thrones tag

Hello, fellow book junkies! It never ceases to amaze me how creative book bloggers keep coming up with all these fun book tags. Here’s a clever one created by our friendly neighborhood book lover, Orang-utan Librarian.

Speaking of Game of Thrones. . . yes, it was tragic, but who thinks the Hodor thing might’ve been a bit on the hokey side? Alrighty, now on to the tag. . .

Rules:

Mention the creator Orang-utan Librarian.
Answer all the questions
Tag people and keep it going!

we do not sow

“We do not sow”- A book you would not be willing to invest in.

I have zero interest in reading Fifty Shades of Grey.

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fire and blood

“Fire and blood”- A book that produced strong emotions in you.

The First Time She Drowned swept me away with beautiful writing then haunted me for days. Strong emotions? Definitely!

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winter is coming

“Winter is coming”- Your favorite winter read

Victorian or Regency era novels by authors like Jane Austen or Charles Dickens are made to be read beside crackling fires on wintry days.

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family duty honour

“Family. Duty. Honour.”- A book about strong family ties

In If I Stay by Gayle Forman, Mia’s family is like a port in the storm. Speaking of If I Stay, have you seen the movie adaptation with Chloe Grace Moritz ? Apparently, it was released in 2014, but I never got a chance to see it.

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growing strong

“Growing strong”- A book you had low expectations of but that grew on you.

This is a tough question to answer because I have high expectations of all the books I read. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t invest the time in reading them. However, if I haaaad to choose a book I had low expectations about but that grew on me, I’d pick Wool by Hugh Howey. I chose this book purely because Howey´s literary agent, Kristin Nelson, is someone I want to query someday, and I wanted to be able to say I read a book by one of her clients. Wool turned out to be a good read!

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ours is the fury

“Ours is the fury”- A book that made you furious.

Usually sadness or fear–not anger–are the negative emotions a book might evoke in me. But, come to think of it, there was a foul, betraying character in V.E. Schwab’s Vicious who made me really angry.

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unbowed unbent unbroken

“Unbowed. Unbent.Unbroken.”- A book you have unwavering devotion to

I have an unwavering devotion to A Darker Shade of Magic because it introduced me to my favorite writer, V.E. Schwab. I have two copies, one for reading and one that’s been signed by the author. *heart flutters*

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hear me roar

“A Lannister always pays his debts”- A book you feel indebted to

Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall is the book that made me fall in love with YA literature. I probably would’ve found my way to YA eventually, but Before I Fall was my “gateway book,”so I owe it a great debt.