Liebster Award

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We’ve been nominated for the Liebster Award by Demi @ Books Traveller. You should check out her blog! It’s great! She does some really nice bookish posts, and her memes and tags are great too!

This is the first award that we’ve ever been nominated for, so this is quite a big thing for us, and we’re really excited! 🙂

There’s a lot of Liebster Award posts out there, all with different sets of rules and formats, so we’re just going to do what Demi did in her post.


The Rules:

– Thank the one(s) who nominated you
– Answer 11 questions the blogger gives you
– Give 11 12 random facts about yourself
– Nominate 11 bloggers that you think deserve this award too
– Give them 11 questions to answer
– Let the bloggers know you nominated them


Demi’s Questions

1. What is your favourite animal and why?

V: I don’t have one particular favourite, just many likes. I love elephants, especially the cute baby ones! I also think zebras and giraffes are pretty cute. Recently I discovered the existence of pangolins, and I just think they are the most adorable little animals! I don’t have a pet, but if I did, I’d probably like a ferret, or a snake, or some sort of lizard.

M: ooh, this is already so hard! I love all animals! I have two dogs who are adorable, and I really want a pet pig. But penguins are also so cute! I think overall I’d say pigs though……

L: I love all animals too, but I would have to say cats and red pandas just because they are adorable. I also love tigers too because they’re also really cute. 

2. What’s your favourite book and why?

V: The hardest question you could ask any bookworm. It’s like choosing your favourite children. Ummm I think either Carry On by Rainbow Rowell or Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (by JK Rowling of course).

M: Tough one. This changes practically every week, but at the moment I’d say it’s probably Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare. It’s such a good book- so funny and also so dramatic!

L: This is almost impossible. Sorry for being annoying but I honestly don’t have any favourite books. There are so many unique and wonderful books out there that I could never compare with each other, so I really don’t know. 

3. What’s your favourite movie?

V: I’m not really a movie person, but I have to say I loved the movie for Scorch Trials. I also really like Jurassic World, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. The movie for Paper Towns was amazing. I went to see it with two of my friends, and we cracked up when they suddenly burst into song, singing the Pokemon theme. Oh, and also, *spoilers for movie*, the cameo. Oh my god, when Augustus Waters came on as the petrol dude, I swear in that moment, the whole cinema was willing to scream and fangirl. Actually, there were three girls behind us, who literally started freaking out.

M: As I have a younger sister (aged 8) most of the films I watch can be quite dull- PG’s and U’s. But when I have the chance (e.g. when she’s at a friends house/fine to bed early) then I can watch a more grown up film. However, that happens quite rarely so I haven’t seen many films. I’m going to say either The Fault In Our Stars (I cried and cried) or The Scorch Trials. I also really want to see Paper Towns.

L: Okay sorry for being like this again but I also have no favourite movie. I’ve watched too many (just like I’ve read so many books) to really decide. I don’t even have a few favourite movies, I just love too many. 

4. What’s the most recent happy event in your life?

V: Well I can definitely say that exams finishing was a happy event :). Although we’ll have to wait an see if it really was a happy event, when the results come in…

M: I had a big party recently which was amazing! All my friends and relatives were there and it was the best day of my life.

L: Well if you know me, you’ll know I’m an otaku. So going to Japan in April was absolutely amazing! I had so much fun there, and experienced what Japan was really like, plus there was a lot of anime stuff as well. 

5. Pepsi or Coca Cola?

V: Am I allowed to say neither? I don’t really like any fizzy drinks, if I’m honest…also I can’t taste between the two drinks so I’ll just say both!

M: I am proud to say that I have never tried either. My parents are kinda big on avoiding fizzy drinks and juice after my cousin had to get 4 fillings at the age of 6. He lived on Ribena. So, can I answer Sprite? That’s my exception to my “stick with water and milkshakes” rule- I love Sprite.

L: Coca Cola. I don’t like pepsi or Coke much (I know, I’m weird) but I would have to say Coke tastes a bit nicer. 

6. Do you like to travel?

V: Yes! Although I hate the actual process of ~travelling~, i.e being stuck in an aeroplane for hours on end, feeling sick and bored. It’s not like I could read, or I’d probably throw up, and although there are some really good movies, I’m still too short (I know I said I was tall in the A-Z Book Tag, but I mainly have long legs, which isn’t of much use if you’re sitting…), so images look really dark and weird. Also, sometime in my life, I’d like to go on a road trip around America with my friends, on one of those Volksvagen camper vans. 🙂

M: Yes yes yes!!!!! I love airplanes, I love going to new places, I love everything about travelling. When I’m older, in my gap year, I’m going to travel the world, like my parents did. I want to go to Tokyo, the penguin A&E in South Africa (and yes, that is a real thing, it’s in Cape Town) and everywhere else! 

L: I love going to places but I hate the actual travelling (like Vibha). Planes sort of scare me, and sitting in them for too long is kind of uncomfortable. I also hate being in cars for too long because that’s also really uncomfortable. But I love going around and seeing the world, because every country is so special and interesting! 

7. How many languages can you speak?

V: Fluently, only English. However in school I’m learning  French and Spanish, which I’m pretty OK at. I also lived in India for the first 6 years of my life, so I can understand Tamil and Hindi, although I’m not the greatest speaker. 

M: Just English for me. I’m learning French and Spanish at school, but I just flunked both tests so let’s not mention them. I’m also learning Latin, but I don’t think that really counts! So just English for me!

L: English and Mandarin (Chinese). At school I’m learning Spanish and German (I decided not to take French like my friends because I don’t like it) and I’m also doing Latin. I’m also secretly learning Japanese at home when I have time.

8. What is one aspect of yourself that you occasionally get complimented on?

V: I genuinely do not know…I don’t really have any hobbies other than reading and writing and I’m pretty untalented as such…I’m such a failure 😂😂

M: Um, definitely not my looks! People often mention my hair, but I don’t think that’s a compliment! Maybe my music? I like playing my instruments (oboe and piano if you didn’t read my A-Z about me) and that’s usually what people mention, if they say anything nice about me at all!

L: My appearance. No I’m joking, that doesn’t happen unless if I’m in China for some reason where everyone seems to call me a ‘pretty little girl.’ Mostly it’s my art that gets complimented though, drawing is one of my favourite hobbies!

9. What is your dream job?

V: I’d like to be an author – that sounds super fun. If not that, I don’t mind any other jobs which include professional reading or writing, such as an editor, say. Other than that I’m only 13…I don’t really know which of my school subjects which I like could lead into jobs which I’m interested in…

M: 2 years ago this would have been an easy answer. I was going to marry a farmer, run a child-minding business and write stories in my free time. I was going to be the next Jaqueline Wilson (I was a naive child). Now, it’s not so simple. My parents want me to be a musician, but as nice as that would be I think it’s not really my thing- I’ll keep music as a hobby. I’d still love to work with kids and I’d adore to be an author, but I’m starting to consider acting as a future career. I’d love to be an actress. I think my dream job would be to write plays and then act in them (and have lots of kids too!).

L: Well whenever people ask me I always just say I don’t know, but honestly I would love to be a manga artist. I love writing and drawing, and I also love anime and manga, so I think it would be a great job for me! I would love to spend my life in Japan as a successful manga artist (although the successful part may not be true) and one of my close friends said she would accompany me and help me out, which would be awesome.

10. What would you recommend me to watch or read next?

V: Hm…if you haven’t already, then I’d definitely read Cassandra Clare and Rick Riordan books. I also really enjoyed City of Halves by Lucy Inglis, All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven and The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak. Oh, and Rainbow Rowell is pretty awesome too!

M: Cassandra Clare, Rick Riordan and Rainbow Rowell are all amazing! Also, if you haven’t read John Green’s books, they’re all amazing, even the less well known ones. Filmwise, The Scorch Trials is amazing, as is The Maze Runner, though be warned- The Scorch Trials doesn’t follow the book. It’s still amazing though! I also recommend The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which I think is a book. I’ve just seen the first half of the film, but it’s brilliant and really funny.

L: Othee than the suggestions my friends made above, I would recommend The Lunar Chronicles (I have actually only read two of the books but they’re already really good and apparently get better) and I also recommend The Lie Tree (which I read recently and is really good). As of books I’ve read recently, I think I’m just going to recommend these. If you watch anime I would recommend many anime series too, but if you don’t then it may be pointless so I’m going to leave that.

11. Do you think Donald Trump should become the president of the United States?

V: God, no. And although I don’t live in America, I’m going to quote my friend – ‘If Donald Trump becomes President of America, god forbid, the whole world is doomed.’

M: No way. Never. Anyone but him. My dog would be a better president. My friend from America said that if Donald Trump becomes president she’s revoking her American citizenship because she doesn’t want to be part of a country with him as his leader, and to be honest, I agree.

L: No. Who would? I doubt the whole world is going to become a disaster, but let’s say that some bad things are bound to happen if Trump becomes President. 


12 Random Facts About Us

(We did 12 instead of 11 facts so it’s an even 3 way split – we each get 4 facts. You’d probably get a little bored reading 33 facts :). )

Vibha’s facts:

  1. My entire family’s names mean ‘light’. My mum’s, my dad’s and my name just coincidentally happened to mean ‘light’, but we chose my little sister’s name on purpose.
  2. I have lived in 5 different houses, gone to around 6 different schools and lived in 2 countries.
  3. When I was younger I (stupidly) decided that it would be cool to have a nose piercing. I had a few beads in my pocket, so I stuffed one up my nostril, thinking that’s how nose piercings worked. As you can imagine, that didn’t end too well….
  4. Another story from when I was younger – I wanted to drink ink, so I drank down at least half the ink in a biro cartridge. It stained my tongue blue for a couple of days…my mum found me in front of the bathroom sink desperately rubbing at my tongue with some soap, and she burst out laughing 🙂

Mia’s facts

  1. I have ridden on an elephant when I went to South Africa! I also saw giraffes, penguins (yep- really), wilderbeast, grape vines (we went to the wine tasting region) and beaded animals. It was a great holiday! On the downside I threw up from eating too much red meat, but you can’t have everything!
  2. I’m allergic to cats, but I’ve decided that when I’m older I’m going to be a batty cat lady. I’ll go shopping in my dressing gown and slippers and buy nothing but cat food, and I’ll have one of those really slow electric wheelchair things (I can’t think what they’re called) and drive along in the middle of the road so no one can get passed me! It’s gonna be a lot of fun!
  3. When I was younger, my best friend was called Mia as well, though to be honest that was the only reason we were friends!
  4. I had a boyfriend when I was in nursery. It was serious. We kissed and everything! My childminder has thousands of embarrassing pics of the two of us!

Lynette’s facts:

  1. I spent a year in China studying, and I lived with my aunts and uncles instead of my parents, as they needed to stay at home to work and carry on taking my brothers to school. It was a great experience, but I did miss home quite a lot.
  2. My dream job as a child was to spend my life climbing trees. I didn’t realise how stupid this was until I was 8, but even then I thought of becoming an animal rescuer so I could incorporate the climbing trees part. 
  3. My Chinese name in Japanese is Ayako, which was coincidentally one of my favourite names before I ever knew that it was my Chinese name as Japanese. I even used to write stories about characters called Ayako, and I had never even known it was my name.
  4. This fact isn’t that interesting but I’ve never broken any bones before. I’m super clumsy (as my friends know) and I tend to trip a lot and stumble, and I often walk into walls or random other things like that, so it’s a wonder how I’ve never managed to break a single bone before, but thank goodness for that.

Our Questions For You Are…

  1. What would be your favourite fictional world to live in?
  2. What fictional character would you want as your best friend?
  3. If you didn’t blog about what you currently do, what do you think your blog would be based on?
  4. If you could own any pet in the world (including mythical creatures) what would it be and why?
  5. In which country is it your dream to live in?
  6. What is your favourite celebration (eg. Christmas, New Year, Birthday etc) and why?
  7. What’s the most precious/sentimental book on your shelf?
  8. Who was your first fictional crush?
  9. What’s your favourite genre of music and why?
  10. Harry Potter or Twilight?
  11. What song describes you/your life?

Our Nominees Are…

  1. Kitkatdallibooks
  2. Hannah @ The Book Llama
  3. Michelle @ A Halfblood Fangirl
  4. Captain’s Quarters
  5. Katie @ City of Fiction
  6. Lisa @ Lisa’s Home for Books and More
  7. Shayney @ Shayney’s Review
  8. Teen Book Reviews
  9. Eleanor @ Real Tasty Pages
  10. Darla Mae @ The Bookish Warrior
  11. Jas @ Pageturning

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed that post! 🙂

A – Z About Me Tag (Lynette)

Hello! It’s Lynette here! So I’m here to do this tag because it looks fun. I think from reading this you’ll get what the tag is, if you haven’t heard of it before.

A – Age: 13. Yes I’m also pretty young, like my friends.

B – Book I’m currently reading: Crown of Midnight, which is part of the Throne of Glass series. I’ve pretty much only started so I don’t know what to think of it yet.

C – Chore you hate: Tidying up? It takes so long and is the most boring thing in the world.

D – Dessert you love: Um. Apple pie. Banoffee pie. Apple strudel. Butterscotch tart. (No I’m not deliberately doing A,B,A,B) Crumble and cream. Cake. Any cake. Especially cream cake. Ice cream. Everything else. I love desserts in general. 

E – Essential start your day item: Duh, phone. I wake up, go on my phone and check all my social media apps and stuff. That’s my favourite way to start the day anyway. 

F – Favourite Author/Book: Honestly I don’t have one. Authors have such different and unique writing styles it’s hard to compare them. Same with books. They’re too different to compare.

G – Gold or Silver: That’s actually kind of hard. I like both, although in the end I think I’m going to go for silver. 

H – Height: About 1.6m – ish, I’m not too sure, I haven’t checked for ages. Keep in mind the fact that I’m 13, so I’m not some tiny 18 year old. I’m pretty much slightly taller than average for my age.

I – Instruments I play: Piano. Viola. I’ve played the drums before but I didn’t like them much, although at the time I thought they would be cool. I’ve played the piano for longest and started viola about a couple years ago.

J – Job title: Student?

K – Kids: 100, and they’re all named after me :). No I’m only 13, I’d be slightly worried if I already had kids.

L – Living arrangements: I live in my family house. 

M – Most overused word/phrase in my vocabulary: For a time being it was ‘if you insist’ but right now I don’t really know. I love saying ‘mkay’ recently though.

N – Nicknames: Linny, or on some occasions, Lyn (although I really only have one friend who sometimes calls me Lyn). Sometimes my friends refer to me as stuff like ‘idiot’ but that’s what friends do, and it’s not really a nickname so I’m not going to take it in a bad way.

O – Overnight hospital stay other than birth: None.

P – Pet peeve: People jiggling their legs (I’m looking at you, Vibha) and also people who chew loudly in public. They annoy me so much.

Q – Quotes I like: Too many to name.

R – Right or left handed: Right-handed. I’m training myself to become ambidextrous though, although I don’t know if it’s possible to teach myself to be able to use both hands. It would be a lot easier if I could use both hands though. 

S – Siblings: Two brothers. One is older and annoying and hits me a lot, whilst my younger one is a computer-addicted, also annoying, little kid.

T – Time I woke up today: About 9. But that’s because I was going out today, otherwise I probably would have only gotten up at 12pm.

U – Unique thing about me: I wish I could say I have one, but I can’t think of anything that unique about me right now (although I’m not a boring person I promise) Uh maybe because I’m just who I am, as each person is unique in themselves?? (If that makes sense) I’m sorry I can’t think of anything right now. 

V – Vegetable I love: ….. is that even possible to have one?

W – Worst habit: Doing homework in bed. Sitting in bed on my phone in positions really bad for my neck (I have a terrible neck as well.) Procrastinating. 

X – X-Rays I’ve had: Probably a few when I was younger but I can only remember one which was for my neck last year. 

Y – Yummy food I make: EVERYTHING. No I don’t know how to cook much yet, although my family loves my sausage rolls? I tried Danish pastries once but they failed drastically, although they still tasted kinda good.

Z – Zodiac Sign: Virgo. I fit some Virgo descriptions, but I’m not a huge clean freak or someone really serious and stuff which some of them say although I am pretty shy. I don’t think people’s personalities or love lives can be determined by when you were born anyway, but zodiac signs are interesting.
I’m probably meant to tag some people but I honestly don’t know who (I don’t really go looking at other people’s blogs often, sorry) so I’m going to have to leave it, but if you feel like doing this then you can!

– L

A-Z About Me (Mia)

Now, you’ve probably seen that Vibha has done this tag, and for some reason she decided not to tag me (grrrr Vibha) so instead of arguing I’m going to be the bigger person (despite the fact that she’s like, double my height) and pretend she did tag me and just do it because it looks fun!

A – Age: 12. And Vibha said she was young😂😂. I’m the same year as her, I’m just a very late birthday.

B – Book I’m currently reading: Well, I’ve literally just finished all my books, so I’m gonna mention The Trials Of Apollo (or LEO VALDEZ’S VICTORY TOUR OF THE WORLD- you’ll get it if you’ve read it) by Rick Riordan, which I’ve just finished and which is amazing!

C – Chore you hate: Can I say chores in general? No? Then making my bed. It really annoys me coz the duvet will never go on straight.

D – Dessert you love: Anything chocolate-y🤓🤓. I am an unhealthy person who likes chocolate too much for her own good.

E – Essential start your day item: Um, a good book? That’s always important. If I don’t start the day with a good read in bed I get cranky, and you don’t wanna see me cranky😂😂

F – Favourite author/book: Hmm, this changes practically every week. At the moment, probably The Mortal Instruments series (and the thousands of add ons) by Cassandra Clare. If it has to be one book, then probably Carry On. I know, Cassandra Clare can be my favourite author, and Carry On can be my favourite book. Sorted.

G – Gold or silver: Hmm, this is an odd question. Um, probably silver? I wear silver more often. Idk……

H – Height: I’m not really sure to be honest. I think I’m about 150cm which is 4 foot 11. I’m quite short. Not ridiculously short, but still pretty short. And don’t I know it.

I – Instruments you play: I play piano and oboe. I used to play recorder because I was too small for the oboe, but when I took up oboe I dropped it😂😂. I sing quite a bit too.

J – Job title: Student. And I do voice over things for TV (it’s not as exciting as it sounds- trust me) but mainly I just go to school and try not to fall asleep.

K – Kids: None. Duh. I did say I’m 12😂😂

L – Living Arrangements: I live with my sister, parents and two dogs.

M – Most overused word/phrase in your vocabulary: I use ‘like’ way too much, and also ‘but anyway’. I start nearly every sentence with ‘but anyway’. It’s weird and really annoying.

N – Nicknames: Um, my friends call me stuff like Vicious Peasant (don’t ask), Mini Villanous Goose (again- don’t ask), Guppy-faced Paperclip (still don’t ask) and Midget (I’m short. Thought the person who calls me that is even shorter than me. Which is quite impressive). My classmates call me MiMi or Mimes (pronounced M-ee-ms in case you were wondering, which you probably weren’t). My dad calls me Moo😂😂.

O – Overnight hospital stay other than birth: I don’t think I’ve stayed overnight. I went a lot when I was young with ear problems, but I don’t think I ever slept over. I’m a healthy child!

P – Pet peeve: Um, I don’t know really. Fake fans probably.

Q – Quotes I Like: OOh, tough one. Hmm. Anything from TMI, TID, TDA, PJO, HOO, TOA etc etc etc. Possibly “Sarcasm is the last resort of the imaginatively bankrupt” from The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, because I use that one a lot.

R – Right or left handed: I’m right handed but I’m trying to teach myself to be ambidextrous for piano reasons. At the moment though, that’s not going too well, so, we’ll stick with right handed.

S – Siblings: I have a little sister and wish I didn’t .

T – Time you woke up today: 6ish probably. I know- I am a very unlucky child.

U – Unique thing about you: Something unique about me. Um. I don’t really know to be honest. There’s some personal mush that makes me special that I’m not gonna share so maybe, my height? Or that I have lots of crushes? Does that even count?

V – Vegetable you love: POTATOES POTATOES POTATOES!!!!!!! I absolutely love potatoes, up to the point where it’s a bit weird (can that be my unique thing about me- I have an obsession with potatoes?). Any type of potato and I’m there to steal it off you.

W – Worst habit: My dad gets soooooooo annoyed with my hair fiddling and jiggling. Oh, and my pacing when I’m on the phone. I subconsciously pace round and round the kitchen. Oh and my laugh. My laugh……. Here’s another unique fact about me: I laugh like a maniac, a dolphin, a goose, a seal and a pig rolled into one. Yep, it’s as bad as it sounds. To make matters worse, it’s very loud and I can’t stop it. In fact, two days ago I got sent out of my Latin exam for laughing.

X – X-rays you’ve had: None. Like I said, I’m a healthy child! Oh wait no, not true, I just remembered that I had an X-Ray the first day of half term last year because I went back to my old school and played electric piggie (piggies in the middle but faster) with my old friends and then the ball hit my finger straight on and we thought I had broken it. Luckily I hadn’t, but it still wasn’t a great start to the holiday. Still at A&E waiting 3 hours after you arrived at 10 at night. Great holiday. Also, can I say how boring X-rays are??? It’s actually depressing. I expected at least some flashing lights or something, but I was there waiting for something to happen and it was already over!

Y – Yummy food you make: Ooh, I make cakes a lot. I like cake baking.

Z – Zodiac sign: Oh shoot, I did know this and I’ve forgotten…… CANCER! That was it! (And can I just say that my main celebrity crush is a Taurus, and Taurus and Cancer are great together in relationships, AND OFTEN ARE SOULMATES!!! Yippee! Unfortunately his current girlfriend is also Cancer though *sighs with the pain of shipping him and his girlfriend and also having a crush on him*.) Free cookies (virtual cookies I’m afraid before anyone gets excited) for anyone who can guess who it is! (And no Vibha and Lynette, you two can’t do it coz you know).

I hope you enjoyed that, and please like, comment and follow!!!

-M

TMI vs. TID Tag

Hey guys! Today I’m gonna do a tag I saw on Clockwork Bibliophile‘s blog, called the TMI/TID tag. If you haven’t yet taken a look at Clockwork Bibliophile’s blog, you should – it’s amazing!

The TMI/TID tag was originally created by Samantha’s Books. It’s basically a tag comparing The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices. I love Cassie Clare, she’s one of my favourite authors, and personally, I think that TID is by far the best of her novels, so I’ll probably be a little bit biased in my choices…Anyways, let’s get on with the tag!

Oh, and spoilers for The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices ahead!


Questions

Favourite main character: Clary or Tessa?

Definitely Tessa! Tessa was by far better than Clary, I absolutely loved her character! Not sure about you, but I got the feeling that Clary was slightly arrogant and self-centered (which I guess is alright seeing as she did pretty much save the world) but I never got that from Tessa. Plus Tessa is a badass shapeshifting warlock so…

Favourite Herondale: Jace or Will?

This is a super easy question. I might have mentioned it before, I’m not sure, but I HATE Jace. He is just so, so annoying! I genuinely cannot fathom why everybody is obsessed with him…like why!! People want to meet Jace because they’re in love with him. I wanna meet Jace so I can punch him in the face. Okay, I’m not that violent but come on. Anyone else hate Jace? Or is it just me?

Plus Will is awesome, almost as awesome as Jem. He is sassy and sarcastic and just…well, plain amazing. Mia and Lynette have heard me say this lots, but come on, who DOESN’T love Will Herondale? You can’t read The Infernal Devices and not love Will!

Favourite love triangle: Clary/Simon/Jace or Will/Jem/Tessa?

Easy. Looks like TID scores once again – Herongraystairs it is! Will, Jem and Tessa are the cutest and they actually all accept each other loving Tessa (and one another) whereas with Simon, Jace and Clary it was initially just a jealousy war. Will doesn’t mind Jem loving Tessa (well he did, but he was understanding enough) and Jem doesn’t mind Will loving Tessa.

On the topic of ships, shoutout to Malec, the cutest couple in all of Cassie Clare’s books! Malec are OTP goals.

Better villain: Sebastian or the Magister?

At last! Finally something which I can say The Mortal Instruments is better at! Sebastian was so much more evil that the Magister could ever be – the way he planned all his attacks were so, so clever! I mean, you’d’ve have never suspected that Sebastian was initially working for Valentine, what with him loving Clary and living in Idris all his life.

Better army: The Dark Army or the Clockwork Army?

I’m gonna have to say the Dark Army for this one. Both the armies were equally as strong and powerful as the other, but I think the Dark Army were just a little bit more painful to defeat, seeing as they were humans, people’s loved ones converted into dark, morbid creatures by Sebastian. It would’ve been a little more hard for Clary to kill them knowing they didn’t mean to murder, knowing the pain she would cause to their loved ones.

Best first book: City of Bones or Clockwork Angel?

Clockwork Angel without doubt. I finished the book in less then a day, along with the rest of the Infernal Devices series. I remember my mum judging me for reading the book pretty much every second I was free. I liked the City of Bones too, I just think Clockwork Angel had more going on from Book 1, you fell in love with it quicker.

Best female sidekick: Cecily Herondale or Isabelle Lightwood?

I’m going to say Izzy for this one, mainly because we didn’t get to see Cecily all that much, so I don’t know how good a sidekick she’d be. However, if she was in the books more, than I have a feeling I’d pick her over Izzy.

Best setting: The New York Institute or the London Institute?

Well it depends, really. If you mean the book New York Institute, old and classic, then I’d go there, but if you mean the New York Institute we saw in the TV Series, Shadowhunters, modern and hi-tech, then I’d have to say the London Institute. But I hope it doesn’t rain as much in the Victorian times as it does in 2016 London.

Best last book: City of Heavenly Fire or Clockwork Princess?

Clockwork Princess definitely. Like Clockwork Angel I COULD NOT put this book down. I literally sped through it and gahh the epilogue. Don’t even get me started on the pain that epilogue inflicted on me. CoHF was good too, I just think I’m Team TID more than I am Team TMI. 🙂

Better final epilogue: City of Heavenly Fire or Clockwork Princess?

Oh look there’s a whole question dedicated to the epilogue! I didn’t even realise. Well, you know my answer already, the ending of Clockwork Princess was AMAZING. Which means it was the most beautiful part of The Infernal Devices, yet the tears, ugh the tears. Cassandra Clare is one cruel author. Even if Will did die of old age. It was still painful.

I can see Clockwork Princess right next to me on my bookshelf and I’m really tempted to reread the epilogue but I’m not sure if should..it’s just too sad!


Results

Okay so the final results are:

6.5 – 3.5

Looks like TID wins by 2.5 points! Just like I predicted. Like Shannon @ Clockwork Bibliophile said in her post, TID is definitely the superior series. It just had that much more feels in it, you know? But by the angel, I loved doing that tag! It was super fun! ➰


I’m not going to tag anyone specific seeing as I’m not sure who has read Cassie’s books and who hasn’t, so if you want to do this tag please feel free to do so! Just put your link down in the comments, as I’d love to read your post!!

Also – credits to Yukihime-San @ DeviantArt for the cover image!

– V

A-Z About Me Tag (Vibha)

I was kinda-tagged to do this by NerdyBirdy @ Daydreaming Books. It’s not really a bookish tag, but it seems really interesting anyways, so here goes!

A – Age: 13. Yes, I know, I’m really young…

B – Book I’m currently reading: I’m currently reading Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. It’s so awesome, which is good because I waited 2 years to read it, and it would be super annoying if it was a bad book 🙂

C – Chore you hate: I LOATHE folding clothes. It is one of the most horrendous chores to do, it drives me nuts.

D – Dessert you love: I love macarons/macaroons (not gonna debate the spelling rn 🙂 )! They are so delicious and sweet and creamy… amazing. My favourite flavour is probably pistachio. Other than macarons, I love anything chocolate-y – especially thick gooey dark chocolate cookies/cake.

E – Essential start your day item: Food, obviously.

F – Favourite author/book: My favourite author has been and probably always will be J.K Rowling. She is amazing. My favourite book is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but apart from a Harry Potter book, I’d probably say Carry On by Rainbow Rowell.

G – Gold or silver: Silver, no doubt.

H – Height: I have no idea, and I’m too lazy to go and check. All I know is that I’m kinda tall for my age, and I’m usually taller than some adults who are kinda short/average.

I – Instruments you play: I’m probably the least musical person you’ll ever meet. I like LISTENING to music, but I just cannot play music. In fact, sometime last week was our school music exams, and it took me around 2 hours to just memorise what a time signature was. I’m such a fail at music 😂.

J – Job title: I’m a student, I guess?

K – Kids: Once again, I’m 13 :).

L – Living Arrangements: With my family.

M – Most overused word/phrase in your vocabulary: ‘Like’. I say like, for like, everything. I should really stop saying it though.

N – Nicknames: Way too many to list.

O – Overnight hospital stay other than birth: None that I can remember, no (which is good.).

P – Pet peeve: People chewing loudly, or slurping. Oh my god…the sound *shivers*.

Q – Quotes I Like: I have loads of quotes I love. I’m obsessed with quotes. I have 50 quotes on my colourful-weird-post it note-mural-thing by my desk, and a much nicer looking quote mural on my wall, consisting of quotes from my favourite books – (Harry Potter, The Infernal Devices, The Mortal Instruments, Fangirl, Carry On, The Lunar Chronicles, TFIOS and Heroes of Olympus – plus Throne of Glass even though I haven’t read it yet, but it was a nice quote and it sounds like a book I’d like so oh well.) Anyways, I couldn’t pick a favourite quote so I just picked a random quote from my post it note wall thing:

‘I’m the kind of girl who fantasizes about being trapped in the library overnight.’ Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell

R – Right or left handed: I’m left handed. Mwahahaha like Satan. But it’s weird, because I’m left handed for pretty much only eating and writing – I use my right hand for everything else. Is that weird?

S – Siblings: I have a little sister.

T – Time you woke up today: 8:00?

U – Unique thing about you: Is this some sort of interesting fact about you kinda thing? If so, then…I share a birthday with my mum.

V – Vegetable you love: I love mushrooms. And sun-dried tomatoes. And cucumbers.

W – Worst habit: I fiddle with my hair a lot to, and I do this weird knee-bouncing thing subconciously, which really gets to Lynette. 🙂

X – X-rays you’ve had: To my knowledge, none. Although I may have had one when I was younger.

Y – Yummy food you make: Well I don’t have to cook much yet, but when I do I mostly make pasta (which I hope is yummy).

Z – Zodiac sign: Scorpio

Hope you enjoyed that!! I’m going to tag five people – sorry if you’ve been tagged to do this before and also don’t feel obliged to accept the tag!

Advikha Blog
Jolien @ The Fictional Reader
Demi97 @ Books Traveller
Demmi Writist @ Wordsandlyricss
Eabetweenthecovers @ Welcome to my madness

Also, sorry we haven’t been posting much recently! We’ve had lots of exams and revision going on, but they’ll all be over by the end of this week, so we’ll be back to posting in no time!

Thanks, hope you enjoyed the tag!!

– V

This or That Tag

The This or That tag is basically when you have one reading/bookish option and another, and you need to pick the one you yourself prefer. Feel free to do the tag yourself, and if you do please put the link below as I love reading others’ tags!

Also some exciting news – we’ve decided to do Top Ten Tuesday, which is a weekly book post created by the blog Broke and Bookish – check it out, and look forward to this Tuesday 5th April!!

Let’s go straight into the tag!

Physical book or ebook?
Easy peasy. Physical book. Definitely.
I’m strongly against ebooks. I love physical books, and I really don’t want the future to be taken over by ebooks, they mustn’t replace physical books. And it’s just so much nicer to have the pages between your hands, and you can flick through them and smell the lovely scent…
Tell me I’m not a complete weirdo. Am I the only person who sniffs books? 😂

Audio or book in hand?
I haven’t tried an audio book yet, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about it. I think it would be cool to do your work with the audio playing in the background, or just listening to the book as you fall asleep, but I’d rather just read the book myself. It just seems nicer to imagine the characters in your head as you read the books.

Paperback or hardcover?
There used to be a time when I was obsessed with hardcover books and dust jackets, but to be honest, I prefer paperback. It’s also cheaper, and I personally think it’s a bit unnecessary to spend extra money for a hardback, when the content of the book would probably be exactly the same.

Adult or young adult?
YA. I love YA books, they are amazing. Definitely YA.

Series or standalone?
Aaah, this is a tough one. It depends, really. I love series more than standalones, but it’s annoying when you’ve read a book and you really want to read the next one, but the book hasn’t come out yet. Plus, you get some series with say, 5 books – which are all amazing – but then the ultimate ending could be a real let down. I love trilogies though. Standalones are great too, it’s nice to read them once in a while, because these days most books are series.

Dog ears or bookmarks?
This depends on my mood. Sometimes I’m in a bookmark mood, sometimes I’m in a dog ear mood. Sometimes I just lay my books flat on it’s pages on my bed – but I never, ever remember the page numbers. I’m way too forgetful, I couldn’t risk it!
Breaking the spine or barely opening the book?
Breaking the spine. All my spines are so cracked, but that’s the way I like it! 

Borrow or buy?
I like having my own books more than borrowing them, but to be honest, I borrow from the library/friends more. However I would love to start buying books more often, and it’s my dream to have my books organised in rainbow order!

Bookstore or online?
Bookstore. Firstly the smell. Amazing. Secondly, you can find and explore books more. You may discover an author or book you’ve never heard of before, and it turns out to be amazing.

Harry Potter or Twillight?
Harry Potter. Obviously *in Snape’s voice*.

   
No but seriously. Harry Potter is my life and my soul, it is AMAZING. My love for the series cannot be portrayed in just a few sentences. 

Fiction or non-fiction?
Definitely fiction. I just find it so much more exciting! I’m not saying non-fiction is bad though, I do like non-fiction as well, but I read fiction way, way more often.

Fantasy world or real life issues?
I like both. Authors like Rainbow Rowell and John Green write amazing real world books, but authors like Cassandra Clare, Rick Riordan and Marissa Meyer write great fantasy, too.

Kindle, iPad or other?
As I said, I’m not really an e-book person, but if I was, I’d probably read them on my iPad.

Monster read or short and sweet?
Monster read. Yup, I like big books and I cannot lie 😜.

Starry-eyed romance or full of action?
Ummm…well, most YA books are kinda both? I don’t know, I like both, can’t choose!

Curl up in a Snuggie or read outside?
I usually read on my bed. I know, that’s not an option, but I don’t have a Snuggie – I didn’t even know what it was until a moment ago when I just looked it up! I tend to get really distracted if I read outside, because of all the noise, and my massive phobia of bugs.

Read the review or decide for yourself?
Both really – if the blurb alone sounds absolutely amazing, then it goes onto my TBR list without the need of reading a review, but if the blurb is quite empty, or I’m not sure how I feel about the book I read reviews.

Hope you enjoyed that!

– V

Taylor Swift Song Book Tag

So, the Taylor Swift book tag is going round the Internet, and as I am a huge Swiftie, I thought I might try it. Here are my answers

1. We are never ever getting back together

Choose a book you were sure you were in love with, and then wanted to break up with.

I’m gonna choose Twilight by Stephanie Meyer for this. My friends had nearly unanimously told me Twilight sucked, but I decided to form my own opinion. I borrowed it from my one friend who told me she loved Twilight, and started reading. At first, I really loved it. I couldn’t see what everyone was complaining about. Then, I read a bit more, and actually, just started to be unable to read anymore. I’m still struggling though the series, trying desperately to finish. It’s the only series that I haven’t been able to force myself to read. That’s how awful it is.

2. Red

Pick a book with a red cover

I’m gonna say The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. Though a) this is a series and b) the covers aren’t primarily red, they all contain some red, and are excellent books, so shove off haters 😜.

3. The best day

Pick a book that makes you nostalgic

This is a tough one. I have so many good memories associated with books. However, I think I felt the most nostalgic at the end of Deathly Hallows, as I said goodbye to the wizarding world. I had enjoyed the series so much, and now it was all ending, and yet, starting again for the next generation. It was an end and a beginning, a goodbye and a hello at the same time. That sounded so philosophical and soppy. But that’s how I felt.

Let’s move on before this gets too soppy to bear.

4. Love Story

Pick a book with a forbidden love

The obvious one to pick would be Romeo and Juliet, but that’s just so boring. And anyway, how can I not pick The Mortal Instruments. If you’ve read it, you know why it’s forbidden. And it’s not just the original series. Though TID’s love isn’t exactly forbidden, it’s still pretty tough for some couples, and in The Bane Chronicles, (Tea, Scones and Edmund Herondale) that love is forbidden. And of course, if you’ve read Lady Midnight (book 1 of The Dark Artifices) that is just full of forbidden love. I mean, can you get any more forbidden love in there? Knowing Cassie, she probably can though. And I bet The Last Hours will be full of forbidden love.

I’m not very good at just picking one book, am I.

5. I knew you were trouble

Pick a book with an evil character you couldn’t help but love.

This one is hard. Mainly because Vibha and Lynette read these posts and are gonna judge me. For you guys, however, I will answer and face the judgement.

Baz. From Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. Though Baz *spoiler alert* technically isn’t really evil, even when he was thought to be evil he was amazing. Baz is amazing. End of. No judging.

6. Innocent

Pick a book where someone ruined the ending for you.

Divergent trilogy. I was told about a certain character dying at the end (if you’ve read it, you know who I mean) and it completely ruined my life. I was so mad even though it wasn’t really anyone’s fault. One group of my friends told me a fake ending, and then when I was complaining that they had told me this happened, and another friend said “Hang on, doesn’t this happen?” I was so mad. It was so annoying.

7. Everything has changed

Pick a book where a character goes through an extensive change throughout the book.

Back to the Lunar Chronicles for this. I feel everyone changes quite a lot, but Cinder changes the most, in personality and rank. You know what I mean, right?

8. You belong with me

Pick your most anticipated book release.

Blood of Olympus. Last book in the Heroes of Olympus series. I pre-ordered it 6 months before it came out and was dying for the whole time.

9. Forever and Always

Pick your favourite book couple.

*spoiler alert* This is tough. I have too many OTP’s. However, it just come down to either Percabeth (Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan), Sizzy (Simon Lewis and Izzy (Isabelle) Lightwood, The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare) and Markieran (Mark Blackthorn and Prince Kieran of the Wild Hunt, The Dark Artifices, Cassandra Clare). Sizzy, Percabeth and Markieran are probably my top OTP’s but I have so many I can’t really choose.

10. Come back be here

Pick the book you would least like to lend out.

This is a tough one. I share most of my books- I lend them to my friends and in return I get to borrow a book I really want to read. Possible my worst to lend out would be Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. I love this book so much, that when I leant to to my friend I was heartbroken. I needed to flick through the pages, and for some reason I couldn’t bear the separation. I’m currently on holiday, and there was no room in my suitcase for it, and I am currently dying. Dying.

These are my answers, comment below and tell me whether you would have said the same books as me or different ones, and please like and follow!

-M

Totally Should’ve Book Tag

I saw this tag and it looked really interesting so I decided to do it myself. Basically it is a bunch of questions beginning with “totally should’ve…”, and you need to answer them with the book you think fits it best. Let’s begin!

 

  1. Totally should’ve gotten a sequel

This is pretty easy – I’d say Carry On – as I said in another post, I’d love to find out what happens after Carry On. Simon should definitely find out about Lucy and Davy, the whole rosebud boy thing, etc.  coz there were quite a lot of things he didn’t know about. Also I think Running Girl by Simon Mason – that  was pretty cool. There should definitely be more books where Garvie and D.I Singh do more mysteries.

  1. Totally should’ve had a spin-off series

Ok, for this I pretty much say all of my fandoms, but obviously Cassandra Clare and Rick Riordan are still going with their books. Definitely Harry Potter (a series on the Marauders’ generation, a series on James and Albus Severus’ generation) and The Lunar Chronicles (yes, I know she’s doing Heartless but I want another SERIES. Picture this – it starts off with Cinder being crowned as Empress of the Commonwealth – she is still Queen of Luna. The book follows the story of Cinder taking down the monarchy back on Lunar and is full of exciting protests and rebellions and -aaaah, I want this now!).

  1. An author who should totally write more books

Lucy Inglis. I loved her book City of Halves, and I wish she’d write more YA Fantasy books because they are amazing!!

  1. A character who totally should’ve ended up with someone else

Yes. It’s time for the Dramione rant. Hermione Granger should definitely have not married Ron! Barely anyone ships those two. Two types of people out there – Harry x Hermione shippers, and Draco x Hermione shippers. Hermione would’ve made Draco a better person. The moment I wrote that sentence, it reminded me of Baz. Simon made Baz better, Hermione could make Draco better.

Watch A Very Potter Musical. You’ll understand.

  1. Totally should’ve ended differently

Eleanor and Park. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great ending – but I wish Eleanor wrote more to Park. Or Park didn’t go to homecoming with Cat. Or maybe we could’ve found out what those STUPID THREE WORDS WERE!!

  1. Totally should’ve had a movie franchise

The Infernal Devices. Please let this happen – just as long as they don’t ruin the books for us. I’d be happy if they did a movie franchise if they got Jem, Will and Tessa right.

  1. Totally should’ve had a TV Show

(This is kinda two things but oh well) Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan. I wish they’d do like, 1 episode for each chapter. Maybe then they’d get it right! And Rick Riordan should do the casting, maybe with some votes from fans, too.

  1. Totally should’ve had only one POV

I don’t know…I love reading something from different perspectives – I like it when authors write in different points of view! Maybe the POV switches in Allegiant were a little unnecessary, but it wasn’t too bad.

  1. Totally should have a cover change

Ok. The Rick Riordan books. None of them are very good – there is too much going on and it is way too..bam, in your face. I think it would have been nicer with a simple cover, like just a lightening bolt for PJO and the Lightening Thief.

  1. Totally should have kept the original cover

The Mortal Instruments, definitely. I liked the original covers, and the illustration on the new cover is amazing, but the title and lettering in the new cover is massive, way bigger than the backdrop and it looks really messy and unbalanced.

  1. Totally should’ve stopped at book one

I don’t really know – so far I haven’t come across a series that has made me stop reading from the first book. Most series (annoyingly) end in cliffhangers, so you kinda HAVE to keep reading…they’re usually quite good, too.

 

Hope you enjoyed that! Feel free to do the tag yourself, and put the link of your tag in the comments as I would love to read your answers!

– V

R.I.P It or Ship It Tag

I decided to do the Rip It Or Ship It Tag – it seems really interesting and kinda funny to see who the characters will be paired up with. The rules for this tag are basically to:

  • Choose a certain amount of male characters and female characters (I chose 10 boys and 10 girls)
  • Write their names out onto slips of paper
  • Place the slips into a mug or something of that sort
  • Pick two slips and see who’s paired!

I’ll do 10 rounds.

Round 1:

Penelope and Julian Blackthorn 

Carry On, Rainbow Rowell and The Dark Artifices, Cassandra Clare

I’m not too sure about this…I don’t know why this doesn’t work..but it just doesn’t. I really cannot see Julian and Penelope being sipped, so I…

 
RIP IT

 

Round 2:

Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy

Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling

Ok, woah this was a complete coincidence! I am a great believer in Dramione, but yeah, I guess Pansy and Draco are great together, and they are way more canon than Dramione, so I…

 
SHIP IT

 

Round 3:

Annabeth Chase and Simon Lewis

Percy Jackson and Heroes Of Olympus, by Rick Riordan and The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

Eh…I guess it might work? Obviously NOTHING will get in between Percabeth and Sizzy, but you know, Simon and Annabeth? Yeah, I guess!

 

SHIP IT

 

Round 4:

Margo Roth Spiegelman and Octavian

Paper Towns, by John Green and Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Now this ship made me crack up, for real. Can you imagine Octavian, being shipped with Margo Roth Spiegelman?! I can just imagine Margo’s face when she sees Octavian, slicing open teddy bears and chanting prophecies. Margo would NOT like Octavian…I doubt anybody would, to be honest…I am going to…

 
RIP IT

 

Round 5:

Wolf (Ze’ev Kesley) and Eleanor

The Lunar Chronicles, by Marissa Meyer and Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell

I can’t really see them – Eleanor would probably get freaked out by Wolf and run away from him before even giving him a chance. And sure, Eleanor is red headed, like Scarlet, but she isn’t as tough and wild and determined as Scarlet is, and I think that’s what Wolf likes. I think I will…

 
RIP IT

 

Round 6:


Emperor Kaito and Cress

The Lunar Chronicles, Marissa Meyer

Ok, as much as I love Kaider and Cresswell, I can kinda see this happening. If you think about it, Cress is a bit similar to Cinder – they’re both as determined, resilient, saracastic and sassy as each other. And in a way, they’ve both been trapped at home for most of their lives. I can see this happening, yes, I’ll…

 

SHIP IT

 

Round 7:


Leo Valdez and Piper McLean

Heroes or Olympus, Rick Riordan

Another coincidence – they are both great friends and they definitely love each other… as friends, and maybe even a sibling love. But let’s say they didn’t think of each other as a brother and a sister…then perhaps I would…

 

SHIP IT

 

Round 8:


Hazel Grace Lancaster and Izzy Lightwood

The Fault In Our Stars, John Green and The Mortal Instruments, Cassandra Clare

I don’t know – they’re really different, and I don’t think these two different personalities would go too well together. I’ll…

 
RIP IT

 


Round 9:


Cath and Luna Lovegood

Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell and Harry Potter, J.K Rowling

This is a really weird ship, I wasn’t too sure about it initially, but I guess it might work…? They’re both quiet, and dreamy. They both prefer to keep to themselves. If Luna was a muggle, I could totally see her being a fangirl, losing herself in fiction and obsessing over the characters. I’ll definitely…

 

SHIP IT

 

Round 10:

Uriah and Jem Carsatairs

Divergent, Veronica Roth and The Infernal Devices, Cassandra Clare

Ok. This is not going to work, nope. Uriah is brave and selfless, like Jem, I guess, but he’s also reckless and a Dauntless – willing to shoot and jump of trains, and I really can’t see Jem liking that sort of thing. I’ll…

 

RIP IT

I hope you enjoyed the tag! Tell me what you think below – would you have ripped/shipped the same pairs as I did, or not?

– V

Birthstone Book Tag

I’ve heard about the Birthstone Book Tag a lot, and it seemed like a really interesting tag. Basically each month’s birthstone has its own meaning, and you need to find the book that matches the birthstone best. I really loved this tag, it was soooo interesting to write! Drop a comment below or like the post, and tell me what you think!

January – GARNET – Associated with warding off negative forces and dark energies – Name a book with the darkest, evilest creature you can think of.
 Well. This was hard. These authors can think up some pretty evil characters, there is a lot of them out there, but I somehow seemed to lean towards Sebastian/Jonathan Morgenstern, from The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. I loathed Sebastian from the minute I read about him – even in the bits where he was seemingly a good character. I hated Sebastian, he murdered so many people, unnecessarily, and caused so irreparable destruction and damage. He was a young teenager and his mind had become so twisted and corrupted that he turned into an evil creature.

February – AMETHYST – Purple is associated with Royalty. Name a book with regal qualities…you can base this of characters or choose the King of all books.
For this I had to choose The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, of course. I mean, the whole series is about restoring a lost princess to the Lunar throne, what’s not regal about that? There is a Queen, two princesses and an Emperor – of course these books are royal!

March – AQUAMARINE – ‘Washed out’. Name a wishy washy character, who is not strong but a follower.
Aaah this is hard…the thing with most books is that they have such flawless, perfect characters, born leaders, who can gain followers within a second. However I’d nominate Agatha from Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. Agatha is a weak character, who would prefer a Normal life to a life of excitement in the World of Mages. She refuses to take a risk and thinks it would be best to hand everything over to adults, rather than putting herself in danger. I don’t know if this was just me, but she didn’t even seem to trust her own friends, or parents! 
But speaking of Carry On, I really wish Rainbow Rowell would write another Simon Snow book! Maybe Simon could find out about his past, about Lucy and Davy?

April – DIAMOND – A diamond in the rough. Name a book that you loved but is not well-known.
For this I’d have to say Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff. It’s a really great book, especially if you like YA genres, and it definitely deserves to be more popular! It was one of my favourite books for a while, but right now my favourite is Carry On.

May – EMERALD – Said to balance energy. Name two characters who balance each other well.
This is easy – Percy and Jackson and Annabeth Chase from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan. Annabeth has wisdom and strategies which can be used in battle, and Percy has the strength and determination to carry the strategies out, and therefore they balance each other well. I’m really looking forward to The Trials Of Apollo, I hope we find something out about Percabeth….maybe they’ll be married!

June – PEARL – Associated with loyalty. Name a character who is loyal to the end.

Two words. Jem Carstairs. Could anybody argue and say Jem ISN’T loyal!? Of all the books I read, Jem was one of the most kind, loyal and friendly characters that I ever came across. He always puts himself before others, especially Will and Tessa, and Jem wouldn’t ever betray anybody. In fact, he’d probably take whatever punishment there is for himself, before betraying his friends and those he loves.

July – RUBY – Blood red. Name a book that made your blood boil, one that made you angry.
I’d have to say Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The whole book made me so, so angry!! It was UMBRIDGE!!! Every time they mentioned her name, I felt like gouging out her eyes, her stupid laugh, her horrible punishments, she was such a vile character! She doesn’t deserve to be in a book as great as Harry Potter.
And also the ending of the book really infuriated me. Kreacher betraying Harry, and killing Sirius, Harry’s only hope of leaving the stupid Dursleys, Harry’s only family and link to his past and parents. 

August – PERIDOT – Pale green (it pales in comparison to other gems). Name a supporting character you like better than the main character.
Back to Harry Potter for this one, as lovely as the Golden Trio are, I never really like Harry and Ron. I loved Luna though. If Luna came with Harry, Ron and Hermione, they may have been able to learn about the Hallows much quicker – she obviously had some knowledge on them. And also Luna’s character is just awesome. Her quirkiness, and weirdness, what’s not to love about her?

September – SAPPHIRE – Blue like the ocean – Name a book that had a calming effect on you.
For this I’d pick Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell. It’s just such a normal, yet amazing book. It’s about a normal girl who goes to college, nothing dramatic – no monsters or demons or freak villains. Just a normal girl, with normal problems! It was also kinda reassuring to know that there were people who were obsessing over fiction so much!

October – OPAL – Iridescent; name an iridescent book. This can be a book with a beautiful cover (shiny? Lots of colour?) or you can base it off a character (Quirky? Colourful?).
I loved the cover for Lady Midnight. I have a special edition one, so it was all metallic and shiny, and it was full of gold and silver writing, with the beautiful parabatai rune down the spine. Every time you held the book under a different light, the colour would change their shades slightly, or you would see a new wave or bubble in the water. I don’t know if this counts but I also loved the sprayed blue pages! I love sprayed pages, but there aren’t many books with them – I know the Gone series has each book sprayed a different colour.

November – TOPAZ – Associated with resilience. Name a book with a character who rises to the top at a time of adversity.
I would say Violet from All The Bright Places. I know this isn’t as dramatic as other ones, but Violet was going through a really tough time, and when she met Finch, she learnt to fight it all down and stay strong, and rise above it. She managed to control her suicidal feelings and stay resilient no matter what.

December – BLUE ZIRCON – Associated with friendship. Name a book with a friendship you want to be part of.
Clary, Jace, Simon, Izzy, Alec and Magnus. They have such an awesome friendship and they are all so close. I’d love to be part of their friendship…I’d probably ruin everything for them…or they may get freaked out by me coz I’d constantly be fangirling over them, but oh well!

I hope you like the Birthstone Book Tag! Feel free to do the tag yourself, and if you do please send me the link in the comments because I would love to read your answers to all the questions!

– V