The Inheritance Cycle

The Spooky Books Tag

As blogtober draws to a close, it’s time for one more seasonal tag! The Spooky Book Tag was created by Shelby Masako and I’m going to do my best to not repeat any of my answers from previous tags I’ve done this month.

What goes bump in the night?: Name a book that has legitimately scared you while reading it.
I know I’ve mentioned Lirael in a previous tag for this kind of question but it’s still relevant. Maybe Safe as Houses by Simone van der Vlugt also deserves a mention as that was a different type of scary as it’s about a home invasion.

Jack O’ Lanterns and Classic Costumes: A book you always reach for during Halloween time.
I don’t have a spooky/horror book that I always pick up at this time of year. In fact, I cant remember the last time I reread a book (must be at least four years ago) and that’s something I’d like to rectify soon.

Black Cats and Magic Mirrors: A book you love that is laced with superstition and/or magic.
Again, I think I might’ve mentioned this series in a previous tag but I don’t care – The Magician’s House Quartet by William Corlett. There’s magic and secrets in the house and talking animals and an evil Magician’s assistant.

Witch’s Brew: Favourite witch character in any book/series
It’s easy to say Hermione Granger from Harry Potter but really, I think my favourite witch is Angela from the Inheritance Cycle. My first thought was Hermione because Angela is more than a witch, she’s a healer and maybe a seer and there’s so many layers to her that witch almost seems like a too simple term.

Ghouls and Ghosts: A book that still haunts you to this day (good or bad).
Allegiant by Veronica Roth. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Divergent trilogy but the ending of Allegiant sticks with me, mainly because I think it’s an incredibly ballsy move from the author and I kinda liked how things went down – even though I know a lot of people weren’t.

Haunted Graveyard: You’re all alone in a haunted graveyard, you get ONE book to give you comfort, which is it?
Hawkeye vs. Deadpool by Gerry Duggan and Matteo Lolli. The vast majority of comics featuring Hawkeye (especially the Clint Barton Hawkeye) bring me comfort but Hawkeye vs. Deadpool was just so much fun, it’d hard to be scared when revisiting that book.

The Undead: Favourite supernatural creatures to read about (i.e. vamps, zombies, werewolves, etc).
I don’t often read about supernatural creatures – the Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman has a lot of them in there though. I think my favourites though are vampires, I think they’re the creature that authors can really put their own spin on.

In the dead of night: Pick a book with a black cover.
I feel like I’ve mentioned this book so much on my blog over the past few months, but I’ve got to pick The Sisters Grimm by Menna van Praag. It has a stunning cover and it’s just the sort of book I should be reading at this time of year as I think there’s magic and witches and mysteries, but I haven’t picked it up yet.

The Joy of Christmas Book Tag

‘Tis the season for another festive book tag! Aka it’s getting near the end of blogmas and I’m running out of ideas! The Joy of Christmas Book Tag was created by Sam’s Nonsense on YouTube.

1) Anticipation: The Christmas excitement is real, what book release(s) are you most anticipating?
I recently listed my top 5 most anticipated 2019 releases but I somehow managed to forget about The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm: Tales from Alagaësia Volume 1 by Christopher Paolini which is definitely my most anticipated book of 2019. Eragon was such a formative influence for me and I can’t wait to return to that world with a new book.

2) Christmas Songs & Carols: What book or author can you not help but sing its praises?
A recent read that I absolutely loved was Multitudes by Lucy Caldwell. It’s such an affecting short story collection and I want to check out more of her work soon.

3) Gingerbread Houses: What book or series has wonderful world building?
While I didn’t particularly like the majority of the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness (mainly because I couldn’t stand Todd) I did think the world building in the series was brilliant.

4) A Christmas Carol: Favourite classic or one that you want to read
I don’t really read enough classics to have a favourite, but a recent classic I read that I enjoyed a lot is The Three Musketeers by Alexadre Dumas.

5) Christmas Sweets: What book would you love to receive for Christmas
I think I really need to get my hands on a copy of Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. I’ve heard nothing but good things so that’d be a nice Christmas surprise.

6) Candles in the Window: What book gives you that warm fuzzy feeling
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon. I rarely read contemporary YA but every now and then I make the exception and When Dimple Met Rishi was a wonderfully quick, light-hearted and sweet read.

7) Christmas Trees & Decorations: What are some of your favourite book covers?
I’m a sucker for buying a book because of a pretty cover. Here’s some of my favourite covers (I could’ve listed way more) though I can’t comment as to what’s inside them as I’ve yet to read these books.

8) Christmas Joy: What are some of your favourite things about Christmas And/Or some of your favourite Christmas memories?
My favourite thing about Christmas is having a lot of free time. Especially now I’m in a 9-5 weekday job, having the free time to see friends and family, watch films or catch up on reading is much appreciated.

I tag anyone who fancies doing this tag!

The Festive Christmas Book Tag

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Book Tag but as it’s blogmas and I’m looking for blog posts, here’s a seasonal appropriate one. This tag was created by Girl Reading on YouTube and I came across it via Bookables video.

1. A fictional family you would like to spend Christmas dinner with?
Is it cliché to say the Weasley’s? Because they are the first family I thought of and I can’t think of a better fictional family to spend Christmas dinner with.

2) A bookish item you would like to receive as a gift?
If we’re talking about items from a book, could I get a Time Turner? That’d be very handy. Or bookish items in the real world, I’m a big fan of book sleeves. I love there’s so many designs and companies out there. I have two from BookBuddle which I love, and I received a Black Panther one in a subscription box which is very relevant to my interests.

3) A fictional character you think would make a perfect Christmas elf?
Samwise Gamgee. He’s so kind, helpful and thoughtful that he’d make a great Christmas elf! Plus he’s resourceful so if there was any mishaps, he could sort it out quickly.

4) Match a book to its perfect Christmas song.
I find this kind of thing really difficult but after a lot of thinking I came up with Step Into Christmas by Elton John to be paired with The Martian by Andy Weir. My thinking is, it’s just the kind of song that Mark Watney would be stuck listening to months on end.

5) Bah Humbug. A book or fictional character you’ve been disappointed in and should be put on the naughty list?
I read the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness this year and was so annoyed by Todd through the entirety of the first two books, and then through a good chunk of the third book too. He disappointed and frustrated me with his naivety so he’d be on the naughty list.

6) A book or a fictional character you think deserves more love and appreciation and deserve to be put on the nice list?
The Murdstone Trilogy by Mal Peet. It’s a completely bonkers fusion of fantasy and real life and when the line blurs between fiction and reality it’s a lot of fun. I don’t know anyone else who has ever read this book so it definitely needs more love – or at least, I need to find people who have read it to talk about it.

7) Red, Gold and Green. A book cover that has a wonderfully Christmassy feel to it.
Now this one I found really difficult and I thought I was going to skip it as I didn’t think I had any books with Christmassy covers (mainly because I don’t tend to read books set at christmas time) but then I remembered by copy of The Awakening by Kate Chopin. I haven’t read this book yet (it’s been on my shelves for years though) and while it might not be exactly Christmassy, it’s definitely wintery with all the snow and mountains.

8) A book or series you love so much, you want everyone to find under their Christmas tree this year, so they can read it and love it too?
As the spin-off is coming in the New Year and I’m so excited, I’m going to have to say the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. I think Eragon, and The Lord of the Rings films, was my gateway into fantasy. I’ve reread the Inheritance Cycle a few times over the years and I still love it.

I tag whoever wants to do this tag!

TOP TEN TUESDAY: My Top Ten Villains

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature run by BrokeAndBookish each week. This week it’s all about villains and I’ve chosen to write about the most memorable villains I’ve ever come across, whether that’s because they really are despicably evil or for some other reason. So without further ado, here’s some great villains.

Professor Dolores Umbridge – Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
While Voldemort might be the main bad guy in Harry Potter, Umbridge is almost more terrifying because she’s so normal and the way she inflicts pain and restrictions is all within the rules of the law. She uses the system to her advantage and is a bigot who always believes she is right.

Nils Bjurman – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
This man is evil and manipulative who preys on people who he sees as weaker than him and who are dependent on him. He’s a rapist and a sadist and just really, really horrible.

Cruella de Vil – The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
I read The Hundred and One Dalmatians when I was about thirteen and I’d seen both the animated and live action films many times, but Cruella de Vil in the book was still super scary. (more…)

A is for Angela

Angela is a total badass but she’s also mysterious as hell. Angela goes by many names throughout the Inheritance Cycle, she’s an herbalist and is often called a witch and seems to know more than she should. She’s wise, skilled with magic but she’s also got a sense of humour and has a way with words that means that she won’t tell anyone more than she wants to.

Angela can fight, she is right there in these epic battles even though she might not look like she can look after herself – with Angela it’s definitely a case of looks can be deceiving. One of my favourite things about Angela is that she can get along with people from all different races, as well as being an ally to the Varden which is mostly composed of humans, she’s been allowed to visit the Elves, she knows the dwarfs and even the fearsome Urgal and Kull respect her.

Angela is one of those characters who you never really know much about and you want to learn more about her but at the same time, the fact that you know next to nothing about her is what makes her so great. I love the subtle hints you get to her past, or what you as the reader think could be reference to her past, as you read the series. It’s like with every book you learn something new about her but with every new thing you learn, you have ten more questions.

TOP 5 WEDNESDAY: Biggest Book Hangovers

Top 5 Wednesday is a great feature created by GingerReadsLainey. To find out more about Top 5 Wednesday and the upcoming topics, check out its Goodreads page. This week it’s all about book hangovers, you know when you finish a book and you just don’t know how to feel because it was so good and it takes you a while to read anything else – that’s a book hangover.

So without further ado, here are five books that gave me the biggest book hangovers.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
This was like the end of an era for me when I finished Deathly Hallows. I had all the emotions when reading it, I was gripped, I laughed and I cried – a lot! I felt emotionally drained at the end of it and it’s still one of the best endings to a series I’ve ever read.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
I went into this book thinking it wasn’t for me but I was sorely mistaken. I was surprised by how much I adored the Monsters stories, how they made me think and feel. A Monster Calls stayed with me for days after I finished reading it.

Abhorsen by Garth Nix
I think the reason this book gave me a book hangover was because it was the first book that made me cry. I had never experienced that before so really wasn’t sure what to do or how to feel about it.

Secret Avengers Vol. 3: God Level by Ales Kot and Michael Walsh
I absolutely loved this series and the third and final volume was well worth the wait. All the threads came together, there was a big showdown and it gave me all the emotions. This comic is one of the few comics to give me a book hangover, I loved everything about it and it took me a while to pick up anything else.

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
This is one of those series I started when I was 10 years old and I grew up with the series so when the final book came out when I was 20 it was a huge part of me. Inheritance gave me a mixture of emotions, on the most part I loved it and how the characters stories ended but there was a bit with Ayra that seemed a little too neat and cliché for me. Still, it was a book that made me feel a lot and I wasn’t sure what to read next once I finished it.

Summertime Madness TAG

I was tagged ages ago by Chelsea at BFTReviews to do the Summertime Madness book tag and now that summer is coming to an end (even though we’ve had more sun these last few days than in the whole of August!) I thought I really should get this tag done quickly!

1. Show a book with a summery cover!

It’s been forever since I’ve read this book but I remember it being one of teenage-me’s favourites.

2. Pick one fictional place that would be the perfect destination for a summer vacation!
Narnia, though obviously when the White Queen has been defeated and it’s sunny and all the animals and creatures are happy. (more…)

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Characters I Wish Would Get Their OWN Book

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature run by BrokeAndBookish each week – I’m thinking I might not take part every week but just see if a week takes my fancy. I love secondary characters, sometimes more than the main character, so this was the perfect Top Ten Tuesday for me as I always want to know more about minor or secondary characters.

Angela – The Inheritance Cycle – Christopher Paolini
I quite like not knowing much about Angela’s past but I think it would be cool to have a story about what she did after Galbatorix is defeated. I’d love to see her go on more adventures and get involved in other rebellions and excitements.

Robin Goodfellow – Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman
Robin Goodfellow is a very old puck so I’d love to read about his adventures before he met Cal and Nico in the twenty-first century.

Murtagh – The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini
Murtagh is such a tragic character. I’d love to have a book from his point of view about when he is captured by Galbatorix and how he came to be bounded with Thorn, his dragon. It wouldn’t be a fun story but I’d like to see what was done to him to make him turn against Eragon, but at the same time what made him stay strong and try to protect Nasuada.

(more…)

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Places Books Have Made Me Want To Visit

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature run by BrokeAndBookish each week – I’m thinking I might not take part every week but just see if a week takes my fancy. Books can take you to many different wonderful places – both fictional and real. Here are ten places that I’ve wanted to visit due to reading.

Narnia from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
I’d like to visit Narnia in any part of its history, when there’s snow everywhere thanks to the White Witch or when everything’s happier during Prince Caspian’s reign.

Hogwarts from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Who isn’t intrigued by Hogwarts?! I’d love to explore where all the stair cases lead and to hang out by the lake and Hagrid’s hut.

New York City thanks to the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot
I like how New York is just a back drop to Mia’s problems when dealing with being a princess. That being said I was always interested in New York and two years ago I did go visit the city and absolutely fell in love with the place – but I really want to go again! (more…)

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Book Characters That Would Be Sitting At My Lunch Table

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature run by BrokeAndBookish each week – I’m thinking I might not take part every week but just see if a week takes my fancy. This is an eclectic mix of characters of various ages so let’s say this school is more of a school/college/university hybrid where age doesn’t really matter. Also this is quite an eclectic mix of characters and personalities which I think is quite true to life as I tend to have eclectic groups of friends who are interested in different things.

Christina (Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth)
Christina would definitely tell it like it is and help keep everyone level-headed and would be there for everyone.

Cal Leandros (Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman)
Cal would be a bit moody and a bit of a loner but he’d soon become one of the gang and would be very loyal to the group and be up for being a sarcastic idiot now and then.