gilmore girls book tag

Hey everyone!! Okay, so since the Gilmore Girls reunion *just* came out on netflix (I haven't watched it yet, so NO spoilers y'all) I figured I would do a Gilmore Girls booktag to celebrate! I saw this one over at Pretty Deadly Reviews, so this text is from there, as are some of the gifs :) Hope you guys enjoy!

I JUST GOT HIT BY A DEER – character having the worst day ever

for this one, I would have to say Kady and Ezra from Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. They're just going about their lives and all of a sudden, their planet is being bombed and their lives are thrown into a complete and utter shit show. 

 

STARS HOLLOW – wildly eccentric cast

I'm going to point to This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills. You've got a social media star, a party connoisseur, a dad who writes romance novels, a 22 year old stepmom, and a friend group that would kill and be killed for each other. I loved the quirky little things about all of these characters! 

 

COFFEE – a book you’re addicted to/a character w/ an addiction

I am definitely addicted to the Captive Prince trilogy by C.S. Pacat!! I am constantly thinking about how much I love that series. I am planning on rereading it as my first read of 2017! It just has everything that I love about high fantasy, but with some truly original twists that just made me love it even more. Captivating characters, good plot twists, amazing worldbuilding.

SOMEONE DEVIL EGGED BY CAR?! – great act of revenge 

The whole of Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo centers, at its core, around Kaz Brekker getting revenge on the man who ruined his life. I absolutely loved that plotline! I don't feel like I read a lot about revenge, but that was a really great one. 

MR. MEDINA – an illicit affair

I just went through so many books, and I could not think of an illicit affair that I really liked except Frankie and Marco from The Lovely Reckless by Kami Garcia, which I liked, but was not my absolute favorite. 

KIM’S ANTIQUES – a world you’d be afraid to enter

I feel that this is kind of a cop-out, because it is so very obvious, but I have serious fear of it, so The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I am terrified of that world! 

HARVARD VS. YALE – character who needs to make a life-changing decision

Shazi from The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh! Will she kill the man who is responsible for the death of her best friend? Will she follow where her heart is leading? Either way, her life is forever changed. 

LUKE’S DINER – a comfort read

The Goose Girl or Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. Both of these books have super strong connections with my childhood, because I think they are the books that truly got me into reading by myself, when I was around nine or ten. Before that, I would read for school and with my parents, but they really turned me into a voracious reader. 

AM I CRYING OR LAUGHING? – a book that messed with your emotions

KINGS RISING BY C.S. PACAT! OKAY??? SO MANY EMOTIONS SO LITTLE TIME. 

EMILY – the HBIC (Head Bitch in Charge)

Obviously Aelin Ashryver Galathynius from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas. She is the character that I aspire to be. I aspire to possess her sense of style, her flair for the dramatic, her toughness, and her fight. 

 

LORELAI AND RORY – favorite family dynamic

 The Edwards family from Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson, aka the best and most beautifully heartbreaking family you will ever read! 

I PUSHED HIM IN THE LAKE! – a book you’d throw in a lake

probably Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck... I just cannot take the cringey-ness in it. I honestly think the premise is super interesting, but the execution is definitely not my favorite. 

1000 YELLOW DAISIES – favorite romance

Where to even begin?? Damen and Laurent from Captive Prince, Jamie and Wes from Him, Aelin and Rowan from the Throne of Glass series, Jesper and Wylan from Six of Crows, Will and Tessa from Clockwork Princess, Max and Paige from The Start of Me and You, Andie and Clark from The Unexpected Everything 

 

JESS – an unpopular opinion

I don't know how unpopular this one is, but I actually enjoyed The Heir and The Crown more than the original three Selection novels! 

FIRST SNOW – snowy or holiday read

I am partial to Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn myself! I first read it probably more than five years ago, and it is just one of my favorite books to get me in the mood for Christmas and everything that comes with it. 

HEP ALIEN – book centered around music

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord focuses on a Taylor Swift-esque country star who goes on tour with her best friend for the summer! One of my absolute favorite contemporary reads from one of my absolute favorite authors.

HE’D BETTER HAVE A MOTORCYCLE! – your book crush

I have a great many book crushes, but my number one right now would have to be Daniel from The Sun is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon. 

IT’S REPETITIVE AND REDUNDANT – a book that could have been shorter

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare. I felt like she could've gotten the point across in WAY less pages! 

KIRK – the weirdest book you’ve ever read

Devil and the Bluebird by Jennifer Mason Black! I definitely didn't think that this book was bad in any way, it was just a lot weirder than I was expecting going into it! 

IT’S A LIFESTYLE. IT’S A RELIGION – that one book that means more to you than any other 

         

Oh god... the ultimate question! It probably comes down to a few. All of Emery Lord's books, the Throne of Glass series, the Six of Crows duology, The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, and Harry Potter.        

throne of glass booktag!

Yes, you guessed it. I am here and I am doing ANOTHER BOOKTAG!!! As many of you will know, I am completely in love with Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass series, and when I saw this tag on Polished Page Turners, I knew I had to participate. This was originally created by Alexa and Hannah, and I am so excited to complete it. If you love this series too, I tag you to do this tag, and leave links to your posts so I can see what your answers are!

Lysandra | A book with a cover change you loved | 

I absolutely love the UK cover of Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson. I like the US cover fine, but I think this one captures the whimsical quality that the book has. I just love the way that it looks like scenes from an animated movie :) 

Abraxos | A book that's better on the inside than it looks on the outside |

 

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord. I was skeptical of this book at first, because the cover just makes it look really cheesy and romance novel-y, which I'm not a huge fan of. But I had heard such amazing things about this book, so I went ahead and read it anyways, and I'm so happy that I did. The cover does not do the story justice at all! It is about so much more than just romance, and I can think of a million other options for a cover. 

 

Erilea | A series with great world-building |

I'm going to go with The Winner's Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski. Not only does she do a great job of building our setting in the first novel, she goes ahead and makes the next two installments take place in different locations, which allows her to fully characterize more of the world and make it feel super real. I like how the political machinations serve to show the reader what this world is like. Super highly rated setting in these, for me. 

 

Rifthold | A book that combines genres | 

Vicious by V.E. Schwab has a little bit of everything in it. It's a superhero book with a more villains than heroes, a bit of a thriller, a bit paranormal. It also is action-packed but also introspective. I can't quite pin down what I actually think this is. Mystery, action, urban fantasy: it is all of these things and more, and its complexity is what makes it so fascinating. 

 

Damaris | A book based on/inspired by a myth/legend |'

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh is inspired by the story of 1001 Nights, and I absolutely love what this novel does with that well known tale. It takes the bare bones of 1001 Nights and makes it richer, with more backstories, twists, and magic. 

 

Kaltain Rompier | A book with an unexpected twist | 

Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke was one of the twistiest books that I've read all year. It makes you think one thing through the entire novel, then completely turns that on its head in the end. (or does it?) This book definitely made me think, and the twist was something that I would have never saw coming! 

Assassin’s Keep | A book with an unreliable narrator | 

The narrator of the Mara Dyer series by Michelle Hodkin is Mara Dyer herself, a girl who is, debatedly, insane. There will be whole scenes in these books where you aren't sure if what is happening is real or not, and that is part of the psychological thrill of reading these books. I definitely am not a fan of unreliable narrators all the time, but when they're done right, I think they're useful, and Mara is excellent as an unreliable source of information. 

 

Asterin Blackbeak | A book that’s got SQUAD GOALS |

What can the answer to this question be but Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo? I think the reason that these characters are so popular is because they get their own POVs, which could be confusing, but instead just makes them all so real. I absolutely adored this book, and every single one of our six main characters. I cannot wait for Crooked Kingdom to come out, so I can see what will become of my children in Ketterdam.

 

Terrasen | A book that feels like home |

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale is one of my favorite books that I have ever read in my life, and I have been rereading it every year since I was about ten. Whenever I read this book, a sense of total calm washes over me, like nothing too bad can happen as long as something like this book exists. It is like an instant pick-me-up, and it always makes me happy.

 

Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | A book with the power to destroy you |

The Loose Ends List by Carrie Firestone. This might be a little unfair, since this book isn't out yet, but this is the most recent book that absolutely destroyed me, emotionally. I was bawling my eyes out, trying not to cry too loud so I wouldn't wake up my roommates, for the last 70ish pages of this one. This book is about loving and losing the people that are important to you, about finding yourself, about first love, and about grief, and it is PERFECT and will make you cry a lot. 

Manon Blackbeak | A book that intimidated you |

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff is enormous, something like six hundred pages, and I knew going in that it was a heavy sci-fi book, which I am usually not a huge fan of. However, I had heard so many amazing things about this book, so I decided to read it despite become completely afraid of it, and I am so glad that I did, because the pages absolutely flew by and I finished this in about two days. 

 

Rowan Whitethorn | A book that makes you swoon |

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz is a book that is so melancholy and sweet, and the ending of it just makes me positively giddy. The first time I read it, I shed tears of happiness, because I didn't think that the ending was going to be as amazing as it is. Definitely some swooning going on at the end of this one. 

 

Chaol Westfall | A book that challenged you to see things differently |   

Crash and Burn by Michael Hassan definitely made me think about the difference between a good person and a person who does bad things. If two people are brought up in similar situations, what is it that separates a would-be mass shooter from the person who saves people? I liked the ambiguity of those roles in this book. 

 
Fleetfoot | A book that you received as a gift |

I got the Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman as a Christmas present from my family last year, and I was so happy because this book is absolutely gorgeous, both the writing and the illustrations. 

 

Eye of Elena | A book you found right when you needed it |

I read City of Bones when it first came out, and I was in middle school. I was bored of most of the middle grade books that I'd been reading for years, but didn't know what to do next. Without this book, I might never have gotten into YA like I have, and who knows if I'd even still love reading the same way. This series and this book in particular put me on the path that I'm on today, and I will love it forever for this reason.

Hope you liked this tag! I would love to see what some of you would choose for these questions. 

Until next time!

xx

Caroline 

HAMILTON booktag

Umm, so basically, like just about everyone else in the world right now, I'm obsessed with Hamilton. If you've been living under a rock and haven't heard about it, it is a hip-hop Broadway musical about the life of Alexander Hamilton. It's one of the most amazing things to ever exist in the world, and its creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, is one of my favorite people ever, and the creator of another popular show, In The Heights. When I saw that Krystianna did this tag over on her wonderful blog, Downright Dystopian, I knew that I had to do this one as well! So thank you Krystianna for the tag and also for the images of the song titles, which I am borrowing here! Here is the link to the OP of this tag.  Here we go!

I would love to be a Shadowhunter. Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices series were some of the first books that I read that really got me into the online book community. They remain some of my favorites, and I love the idea that, in this world, the fantastic is just right under everyone's noses. I would want to be a Shadowhunter for sure, but just seeing vampires and werewolves and seelies and warlocks would be incredible for me. Or, taking it even further, going back to Victorian London and being a Shadowhunter there would be just as amazing.

Louis Lane from Gwenda Bond's incredible series! I read the first book over the summer, and the second one is supposed to be coming out later this year. I don't hear nearly enough praise for this book, because I think that it is wonderful, and Lois is an incredible character. She's a precocious loudmouth who can't keep her nose where it belongs, which is useful, because it gets her into all kinds of scrapes that are both exciting and rather funny. I love the idea that Lois Lane has always been incredible, and she doesn't need Clark Kent to make her so. Love this book, can't wait for the next one.

Of course, I'm going with Delilah Bard from The Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab. The second novel is out next week (!!!!) so there's still time to hop on this incredible bangwagon. Lila a swashbuckling fiend who dreams of getting out of the gray doldrums of London, where she is trapped in a man's world. When she runs across Kell, a magical traveler, she sees it as her opportunity to become something more than the hand she's been dealt, and follows him into the unknown, hoping for adventure and, just maybe, a ship to fuel her escape into the unknown.

What else can I choose but the relationship in the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth??? No spoilers here, if you haven't already had your heart ripped mercilessly out of your chest, but this is one of the saddest endings to a book or series that I have ever run across. I think I cried just as much the first time I read TFIOS as I did when I finished Allegiant, and that is saying something, for sure. I swear, this was the most unnecessary plot twist in the entire world, and I still can't quite wrap my head around the fact that it actually happened.

Besides King George himself, who I would pick if I could, I am going to go with basically everyone from Vicious by V.E. Schwab (her second appearance on this list, woohoo) There is a lot of gray area over who is evil and who is not, and I'm not sure there is ever even a clear answer about who we are supposed to root for, but the one thing that I do know is that everyone in this book has their sassy moments, for sure.

I thought that I saw the plot twist coming in the end of Crown of Midnight, the second book in Sarah J Maas' Throne of Glass series, but it turns out I was MISTAKEN. It took me totally by surprised, the direction that Mass took the character of Celaena, and she continued with that amazing arc through the third and fourth books. Queen of Shadows had about 15 plot twists that I totally didn't see coming, and I loved every single second of it. From the reveal moment in the second book, these books have not taken their foot off the gas.

When the fourth book came out last summer, I marathoned all of The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer. I think that these lend themselves really well to marathoning. They are middle grade, which makes them super quick and fun reads, and the world is so fun to slip into, you won't realize that you've read through two books before you reach for the third one. I would definitely recommend this series to fairy tale and MG fantasy lovers. The characters and the plot events are just wildly entertaining.

I am a huge fan of multiple POVs. I absolutely love reading from many different character's perspectives, especially if it is done right. The most recent book that I loved with multiple POVs was Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. There are six main characters in this novel, and all of them have such a distinct voice. Bardugo manages to juggle them expertly, giving them all screen time without detracting from the depth of their characters. Love love love this novel, so sad that it is only going to be a duet.

Um, duh. 

(This is spoilery, obviously)

Basically, the end of The Book Thief destroyed me, and I wish that I could go in there and make the bomb not fall, saving everyone close to Liesel, but especially Rudy. I swear to God, when Rudy died, I wanted to rip out my own hair and just cry forever, which I basically did. This book is so beautiful and heartbreaking, especially in the end, and I love it for that and also in spite of it.

If you love Hamilton and want to do this tag, please do and comment a link to your post!! I would love to see what you guys come up with! 

xx

Sunny