hello, lovelies!
It’s Halloween season!! And I’m taking part in Bookending Autumn, a blogging event and blog hop hosted by Sam @ Bookending Sam. I’m quite excited to be taking part this year, and have already outlined some fun prompts!
I’m actually not following the challenge for today, #rebel, but I saw this Halloweentown Book Tag, and I had to participate!
There I was… blithely scrolling on Twitter, waiting for something to catch my eye when I saw @coffee_bookish‘s twitter post about the Halloweentown book tag… I had to participate!! Of course! Thank you to the original creator Jackie @ Bookish Coffee Blog for this fantastic and fun idea!
I watch the Halloweentown movies – all four – religiously, every single year. Marnie Piper and the gang are my Halloween friends, and I can’t possibly go through the autumn season without seeing their friendly faces AT LEAST ONCE, maybe twice.
Halloween gives kids ideas about there being magic
Name a book that is full of magic
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater: Now when I saw this prompt, I went through a whole list of books that included magic. Like Six of Crows, Poison Study, Burn for Me, etc. Literally so many. But I stuck on The Raven Boys because of the quote that came with it – “Halloween gives kids ideas about there being magic.” Most of the books that immediately sprang to mind were, indeed, fantasy or urban fantasy books where magic was expected.
But what makes The Raven Boys so perfect for this was its amazing overall atmospheric feel. Even though this one was subtly soaked in magic, you were still suspicious about whether it was real or not, and the magic in this one really took the reader on a bit of a journey with the characters. (Goodreads | Amazon)
Halloween is cool!
Name one book from your October TBR
Penmort Castle by Kristen Ashley: I’m writing this one at the end of October, so this won’t do me much good. Most of the books I’m reading now are in preparation for November’s blog content, unfortunately. But one book I always make sure to read is Penmort Castle by Kristen Ashley, who is one of my favorite authors. This is by no means her strongest series, but they’re basically contemporary romances with a spice of fun supernatural-ness thrown in. It’s just one of those books I always snuggle up and read next to a window with some hot apple cider, a yearly tradition I don’t plan to give up soon. (My Review)
Nobody really appreciates my taste in weird stuff
Name your favorite underrated book
Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews: I was really resisting throwing this one in here… but look. Here we are. Somehow, this book makes it into almost every single one of my lists that I make, especially when it comes to book tags. That may be because it’s one of my favorite reads of all time, but I digress. Burn for Me often gets written off and a heavily sexualized fantasy book, rather than the amazingly intricate urban fantasy with astounding world-building that it houses.
Not to mention the characters! Mr. and Mrs. Andrews are always touted for having amazing skills when it comes to writing characters with depth that can just walk off the page, and that’s certainly applicable here. I can’t recommend this one enough! It’s the most perfect slow burn for the season, I promise! (Goodreads | Amazon)
The Cromwells are powerful witches, and it took the power of all of them to defeat the evil
Name a powerful fictional family
The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima: If you’ve read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, the Seven Realms is that… but the YA version with a slow-burn, friends-to-lovers, forbidden romance. The first two books (The Demon King and The Exiled Queen) are both stunning…but it’s Gray Wolf Throne (book three) that really hits the breaking point and rockets from stunning to exquisite! Is there a word better than exquisite? It’s that. Hands down. Oh, and it’s definitely a powerful family. Raisa’s a freaking Crown Princess, and Han has some mysterious heritage going on, too!
With political intrigue a fierce, sassy, utterly ruthless plot and white-hot romance, what’s not to love? Chima’s writing ability is absolutely flawless! I mean… oh, I could go on about this series for days. No matter how many times I read her books, Cinda knocks me off my feet. I got ARCs for the sister series (where the family gets even more powerful), and I literally cried both times. (Goodreads | Amazon)
Halloweentown was written about in a book, so maybe it’s real, maybe it’s not
Name your favorite non-fiction or historical fiction book
Mayor Kalabar wants revenge
Name a book that you thought you would enjoy but ended up not
Love in Due Time by LB Dunbar: I really hate to do this… but I would have to say Love in Due Time by LB Dunbar. I received it as an ARC this month, as I did the rest of the series, but this one seemed to be the odd one out. The characters seemed so flat, and even though he was a single dad, the kids had little-to-no impact on the events of the book, and only made an appearance two, maybe three times? There were many things I didn’t enjoy about this one, but I’m glad the rest of the books were thoroughly enjoyable. (My Review)
Instant Witch’s Brew: Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t
Name your favorite or least favorite book under 200 pages
The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill: Oh this one, for sure! This is quite literally the most wholesome book I’ve read in awhile. It’s only 60-some pages. But it’s super cute :) And the illustrations are adorable! They were my favorite part, to be honest. If you haven’t heard of The Tea Dragon Society, it’s a children’s graphic *novel* (I use that word lightly) following the main character as she learns the care and keeping of forgotten arts: blacksmithing, so she can making things for people so they can retain pleasant memories and the care of tea dragons. Tea dragons are these cute little creatures that are very fragile and delicate, and they grow tea leaves or tea flowers on their heads.
It’s such a precious book. (Amazon | Goodreads)
Time works differently in Halloweentown
Name a book that was so good it made time stop
The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic: Oh my god. I can’t even put into words how much I adored this series. To put it into perspective, I’ve read this series three times since I first read it in April. THREE TIMES. And, not gonna lie, I’m feeling a reread here very soon. The first book is free on Kindle, and the last two books $0.99. It has all the trigger warnings, so tread carefully, but there are no characters you’ll love more than these precious babies. I can’t say anything else, because that would be spoilery, but it’s. so. good. Cannot promote enough! (Goodreads | Amazon | Best of 2019)
Mortals see mortals do
Name a book featuring non-human characters interacting with human characters
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews: This series is utterly magical!! Kate Daniels is a mercenary of a kind, someone who cleans up the magical problems of the world for those who can’t do it themselves. But one particular case sends her in deep with the changelings (and especially their sexy Beast Lord, Curran), among others. This series is everything! Mr. and Mrs. Andrews’ world-building skills are unmatched and I thoroughly enjoy this one, but a true gift for characters. (My Review)
Luke helps save the day
Name a character who you thought was bad
but ended up having redeeming qualities
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi: Ahhh this is hard because it’s spoilery. But I think the cat’s out of the bag on this one because Warner is one of my favorites. I’m not keeping up with the extension of this series, because I wasn’t really a fan of the events that went on there. But the original trilogy, the OG, still makes my heart warm. Warner was so great! Ah, talk about misunderstood *pouts* (Goodreads | Amazon)
An evil force is at work in Halloweentown. We have to put Merlin’s Talisman in the giant pumpkin to save everybody
Name your favorite fictional villain and hero
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: I’m going to produce a two-in-one here. Someone wrote a blog post a while back (so sorry, I don’t remember who), about books that were secretly written by villains, and this was one of them. And… I don’t disagree. I absolutely adore this band of villainous misfits. Like, are we kidding? Kaz himself is tragic, terrifying, and a total genius mastermind. He can be as evil as can but, but also cannot talk to his crush and suffers panic attacks because of #anxiety. (Goodreads | Amazon)
Halloweentown is saved!
Name a book with a really satisfying ending
Love Lessons by Heidi Cullinan: I read this one in one complete sitting (twice!) and sacrificed so much sleep and love for this book. It is the perfect encapsulation for being in college, with first love, with so much feeling and emotion and so realistic. The emotions just pour out the book. Oh, I can’t. Just reading about this is making me hanker for a reread. It’s the best kind of boy-meets-boy, and I just melted. And did I mention? They were roommates! (Goodreads | Amazon | Best of 2019)
Another post you may enjoy…
OMG a HALLOWEENTOWN TAG?!?!?!? This is amazing!!!
RIGHT??! Pretty much my reaction, I was so excited! You should do it!
Yes! Your answers were so great, and of course, I loved the pumpkins! The Tea Dragon Society is honestly one of my favorite reads this year. The illustrations were my favorite part as well, I want a tea dragon so bad! I have also been hearing a lot about The Foxhole Court, and I am curious about it! I might have to pick it up soon.
Thank you so much for participating in my tag!
Oh my gosh The Tea Dragon Society pictures were so good! So wholesome. Thank you for the pumpkins compliment ? They’re my favorite part of the blog right now, not gonna lie. I can go on about the Foxhole Court for AGES. Oh my gosh, so absolutely good. I read all three books in two days (no sleep, of course) and then reread them again immediately after. And I’ve already reread it again! Oh my gosh, the characters just gobble you up. Please let me know what you think of the Foxhole Court if you get a chance to read it! I really want to write a review but you know how it is. Sometimes wish your favorite books … you just can’t. Also, many spoilers! Thank you for making the tag!! ?✨