Category: Book Meme

Happy Christmas Eve Eve! I’ve seen a few Christmas/holiday-related book tags floating around and wanted to squeeze at least one in before Christmas. I first saw this on Chris’s blog, Biblio Nerd Reflections, but it was created by Lizzie Loves Books. This was super fun to do! But, like Chris mentioned, it’s hard to do if your goal is to avoid repeats. I tag anyone who’s interested! So, let’s jump to it, shall we?

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: A partridge in a pear tree.
The partridge stood alone in the pear tree. What is your favorite stand alone this year?

I haven’t had a chance to write my review for this yet, but I loved this book. The first lines grip your attention and the writing is wonderful. I loved the female perspective of this classic retelling of Arthurian legend. It was like reading a Greek tragedy, but much better. I really don’t understand why its Goodreads rating is under 4 stars. It’s absolutely a 5 star read for me. I highly recommend reading this if you haven’t done so already.

On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: Two turtle doves.
Love is in the air! Who is your one true pairing this year?

Ahem. I don’t mind being predictable here. Spoilers ahead if you haven’t read the A Court of Thorns and Roses series!! Feyre and Rhysand from A Court of Mist and Fury are my OTP this year. And maybe even forever unless I find another fictional book couple that can dethrone their place in my heart. I had such a massive book hangover after reading ACoMaF. This book inspired me to start my book blog because I literally had no one to talk to about this book.

On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: Three french hens.
In the spirit of threes, what is the best trilogy you have read this year?

I only read two trilogies this year and I felt equally about both of them: The Folk of the Air and Shadow and Bone. I suppose Holly Black’s The Folk of the Air series ekes out S&B a little bit for me. This trilogy is comprised of The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King, and The Queen of Nothing. I appreciated the more complex politics in this trilogy during which a few turns of events left me surprised. I also like how Holly Black portrays the mischievousness and cruelty of the fae.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: Four calling birds.
Since series usually consist of four or more books, what is your favorite series this year?

I only read one series this year, which was the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. I was in a bit of a slump when I found a deal for the first book on Kindle back in February 2021. It knocked me out of that slump and even kick started my love of reading again. I had only just started getting back into reading in 2020 (pandemic silver lining?); this series punted me back into the game.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: Five golden rings.
One ring to rule them all! Who is your favorite Villain/Antagonist this year?

If you haven’t read For the Wolf, then beware of spoilers ahead! I though the priestess, Kiri, was intimidating as hell. She’s crafty and manipulative, particularly of those who are emotionally vulnerable. And she knows how to harness power to achieve her end goals. I’m really looking forward to the next book.

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: Six geese a laying.
Creation is a beautiful thing. What is your favorite world/world-building this year?

I think I’ll have to choose The Bone Ships for this one. It’s so different from the rest of the fantasy genre books I read this year. We know fantasy authors typically dream up new cultures for their stories. RJ Barker really excelled at that with this book. My review isn’t up yet, but stay tuned for it on December 26!

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: Seven swans a swimming.
Who needs seven swans when all it takes is one good animal sidekick? Who’s your favorite animal sidekick this year?

There are only two books I read that have some true animal sidekick action. Both are in The Drowning Empire trilogy by Andrea Stewart. I choose the first book, The Bone Shard Daughter. The animal sidekick in these books is arguably my favorite character.

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: Eight maids a milking.
Milk is so 18th century. Which book or series takes beverages/food to a whole new level?

Hmm. I didn’t read anything this year where food is a big component of the book. I suppose if I have to pick one it’d be milk and honey by Rupi Kaur, which is a book of poetry. I didn’t write a review for this one.

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: Nine ladies dancing.
Dancing is just one skill of a Lady! Who is your favorite kickass female lead this year?

I choose James Juniper from Alix E. Harrow’s The Once and Future Witches. This is a great book about sisterhood and women’s rights in fantasy form.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: Ten lords a leaping.
How about your favorite leading lad this year?

This is hard. I’m going to have to repeat a book here considering most of the books I read have leading ladies. So, let’s hear it for Rhysand again from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: Eleven pipes piping.
What is your favorite book or bookish thing with musical influence? (It can be about music, reference music a lot etc.)

I don’t have a favorite book or bookish thing with musical influence. But I did read a book called Musical Chairs this year, so I guess that counts?

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: twelve drummers drumming.
Drum roll please…what is your favorite read of this year?

Right back to a partridge in a pear tree–let’s have it for Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian. I probably would’ve chosen A Court of Mist and Fury again, or maybe even The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (loved the writing style). But this is one of the last books I squeezed in this year and I’m really glad I did.

And now, it’s time for something a little different! Chris from Biblio Nerd Reflections tagged me in a book tag called “The Last 10 Books.” I’m fairly certain I’ve never done a book tag before, so I thought I’d give this fun one a shot. Make sure to pop over to Chris’s site to see his answers, and keep reading to see mine.

Last Book I Bought
For Thanksgiving I visited my husband’s family near Boston. This meant I had an opportunity to stop by Brookline Booksmith, one of the most well known bookstores in the country. I seem to only ever go there on the busiest shopping weekend of the year; this past Friday was no different. They expanded the store since I last visited a few years ago. Even if you’re not a book person (gasp!), there’s plenty of other fun items to peruse (e.g., puzzles, games, kitchen things).

While there I picked up Uprooted by Naomi Novik. I’m kind of on a kick of retold fairy tales, so I look forward to eventually reading this. I have Spinning Silver as well, but I also have yet to read that. I also wanted to buy Jade City by Fonda Lee due to its overwhelming popularity on book Twitter; but unfortunately the first book was out of stock.

Last Book I Re-Read
Honestly, I don’t re-read books much anymore. I used to when I was a kid. I’m pretty sure the last book I re-read was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone just before the COVID-19 pandemic started.

Last Book I Gave Up On

I used to be Team Never DNF. Lately I feel that life is too short to keep reading a book you’re in which you’re not very invested. The last book I gave up on is Fathoms: The World in the Whale by Rebecca Giggs. I like to switch to nonfiction after a few fiction books, but I just couldn’t get into this book. I think I felt this way because I was in the middle of moving house and because it felt like reading an encyclopedia. It’s easy to see the author is passionate about whales. But it was a slog to get through each page because of the high level vocabulary and dense sentence structures.

Last Book I Said I Read But Didn’t
I don’t think I’ve ever done this before, so I have nothing to say here!

Last Book I Wrote in the Margins Of
I don’t do this anymore. But back in high school when the Harry Potter series was still incomplete I got really deep into looking for clues about what might happen next. So I wrote short notes about my theories in the margins. I can’t remember which book(s) I did this to, but likely one of the later books.

Last Book I Lost
Again, I don’t think I’ve ever lost a book? Sorry to be boring, but I can usually keep track of my things, including books!

Last Book That I Had Signed

Midnight in Everwood is the last signed book I received. When I ordered the gold foil ballerina special edition, I didn’t realize it would be signed. (Or maybe I didn’t read the description very well!) So that was a nice surprise. My goal is to read it before Christmas, which means I’ll pause reading my NetGalley approvals.

Last Book I Had to Replace
I thought really hard on this one, and I have another non-answer. I don’t think I’ve ever had to replace a book. I’ve certainly bought multiple editions of the same book. And I’ve bought books after borrowing and reading them from the library. But I don’t recall ever needing to replace a book.

Last Book I Argued Over

I’ve never argued over a book, but I have discussed books with fellow readers. I don’t get to discuss books often since I’m not aware of many of my offline friends reading a lot. But every now and then we read the same books and it’s fun to have someone to talk to about them. I think the closest I’ve come to arguing over a book, and it wasn’t really arguing, was about Tamlin in A Court of Thorns and Roses. If you know, you know.

Last Book You Couldn’t Find

If this means a lost book, then I don’t have an answer. If this means finding out a book is out of stock in a bookstore, then my answer is Jade City by Fonda Lee. As I mentioned in an earlier prompt, it was out of stock. Though, to be honest, I’ll probably end up checking it out of my local library. I’m running out of space on my fiction bookshelf and the books in the series are a bit thicker than I expected!