One of the things on my bucket list is to see Hamilton live in New York City, but come this very evening, I’ll get to do the next best thing: watch a recording of the real deal on Disney+ while overindulging in all the snacks and singing along (I’m tone-deaf and don’t even care because HAMILTON) to all my favorite songs. And yes, before you ask, I’m getting Disney+ for the sole purpose of watching this musical (judge me if you want, but I am HYPE!). While there’s nothing like seeing a play in a real theater, let’s celebrate this awesome soon-to-be alternative with a fun book tag!
*Maureen Keavy created this tag, so be sure to head over to her YouTube channel to check her version out!*
I think it would be so much fun to spend some time with Andi and her crew from Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings’ Androma Saga, traveling through the Mirabel galaxy. I already felt like I was on a whirlwind of an adventure while reading it, so actually being there experiencing what the characters were would be pretty cool (err, well, the parts where they were not in harm’s way, that it!).
I could pick so many for this one, but Brienna from Rebecca Ross’s The Queen’s Rising has got to take the cake! She’s so driven and works incredibly hard to achieve what she wants, which for the majority of the book is to study a Passion and learn it well enough to be chosen by a Patron to work alongside. I just find her so likable and relatable, and her tenacity served her well when things didn’t go as planned. I’m hoping more people will be able to see how awesome she is in Book #2, The Queen’s Resistance.
I read the Legend series by Marie Lu years ago (it was one of the first series that got me into reading, actually!), and to this day I don’t think I’ve ever seen another character who is as dedicated to their cause as June was when it came to finding her brother’s killer. At only 15 years old when this series kicks off, June has gone through some pretty tough times, and I can honestly say that she rivals, and, in a lot of ways, surpasses so many of the older protagonists in other books in terms of tenacity and motivation to achieve her goals. Pretty incredible at such a young age, if you ask me!
I guess this depends on your definition on “villain,” but Warner from the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi takes the cake on this one! He’s so snarky, witty, and charming… ughh. Even when you’re hating on him for being a complete JERK, you still can’t help put feel a twinge of love mixed in there as well! He also has some of the most legendary comebacks of all time, and while I shouldn’t have laughed when he was roasting everyone, I just couldn’t help myself!
This one was a hard one for me because I’ve marathoned a lot of great series, but I think the one that’s the most impressive is the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Somehow I managed to read all six books in under a week. To this day, I have no idea how I managed to do it, but I guess that goes to show you how great of a series it is!
I really enjoyed Rhen and Harper’s alternating perspectives in Brigid Kemmerer’s A Curse So Dark and Lonely. It was cool to see what was going on in both of their heads considering the circumstance they met under were less than ideal, and I thought it was really fun seeing what Rhen and Harper thought of each other and how those feelings shifted from each of their perspectives (no spoilers, friends! You’ll have to read it for yourselves!).
I know there are lots of Potterheads out there that probably want to punch me for not choosing Harry Potter for this one, but I wanted to be more original than that (and, well, ya see, I haven’t read Harry Potter….), so I’m going to go with the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan! One of the things that I think makes this series stand out is that even though it’s technically classified as middle grade, readers across the age spectrum continue to have so much fun giving Percy Jackson a read. Plus, Greek mythology will never go out of style, right?
***ATTENTION! SPOILERS FOR QUEEN OF SHADOWS (THRONE OF GLASS #4 BY SARAH J. MAAS) ARE LAYING BEYOND THIS WARNING! MOVE TO NEXT SECTION OR YOU WILL BE SPOILED!***
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*I MEAN IT! PLEASE PROCEED TO NEXT SECTION TO AVOID SPOILERS! FINAL WARNING, MY FRIENDS!*
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While slightly unconventional, I have to go with Lysandra killing Arobynn Hamel in Sarah J. Maas’ Queen of Shadows. I mean sure, she killed him while he was sleeping, but that man NEEDED TO GO, and it was certainly one of the most satisfying moments of the entire Throne of Glass series for me. It was also one of the first times we really see Lysandra start to fight back against those who made her past pretty miserable, so while it may not have been a true, all-out fight on a battlefield, I think the internal wishy-washi-ness faced by the characters involved in plotting and executing Arobynn’s death still satisfies the “fight scene” aspect of this category!
Whenever I need a little pick-me-up, I always reach for any of the books in Miranda Kenneally’s Hundred Oaks series. They’re just so sweet, fluffy, and entertaining, and I don’t have to think really hard about the plot– I can just kick back and enjoy the story!
I don’t usually wish that there were more books in a series, but I do find myself wishing that some standalones had sequels (weird, right?). However, there is one series that I’d really like to see more of, and that is the Matched trilogy by Ally Condie. I still remember reading this WAY BACK in 2014, and I loved every moment of it. I would pay big money to get another book in this series because I’d really like to know what kinds of trouble Cassia, Xander, and Ky are getting up to years after their original stories came to a close!
Most BROTPs consist of just two people, but I can’t resist assigning Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel from A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas to this one. Not only do they make a dynamite team, but they’ve also been through so many dark times together, which have only managed to bring them closer together. Unlike the very serious interactions they have with almost everyone else, these guys are always goofing off and making fun of one another when they’re together (err, when they aren’t busy saving Valaris, that is!).
My answer for this one totally has to be the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. For some reason, I decided to read four or five of her other works before I finally decided to pick this series up, and boy was I kicking myself for waiting so long when I finished it YEARS after it came out because it was SO GOOD!
***SPOILERS FROM KINGDOM OF ASH BY SARAH J. MAAS FOLLOW THIS VERY VERY YELL-Y WARNING!***
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*LEAVE NOW. I MEAN IT.*
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No death hit me harder than that of The Thirteen from the Throne of Glass series. Since (I hope) you’ve read it if you’re reading this, I’m not going to elaborate on what went down and relive this terribly heartbreaking moment for myself or you all, but I really hope I’m not the only one who cried all the ugly tears when reading their death scene!
***SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE ENTIRETY OF THE DARK ELEMENTS SERIES BY JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!***
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*LEAVE NOW, PLEASE! THIS SERIES IS SO GOOD. YOU DON’T WANNA GET SPOILED. TRUST ME!*
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Without a doubt when Roth gets sent back into Hell. I mean, yeah, he comes back and he and Layla get their happily ever after, but my heart FREAKING BROKE in the interim because I was convinced he was gone for good!
One plot twist? How about like a million all thrown in at one time (not to mention all the itty bitty ones scattered throughout the book) that managed to give me miniature heart attacks? Yeah, you guessed it– I’m talking about Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, the second book in the Six of Crows duology! I swear Kaz has to be some evil mastermind with all the tricks he has up his sleeve, but I couldn’t help but love every plot twist that was thrown my way over the course of this book!
bookspirationbysarah.com 