Guess what??
IT'S OFFICIALLY SUMMAH!
Yes, yes, I know it's been summer since half-way through June, but now that it's July it's like officially summer. 😇😎 As I was reading through my dear friend Mac's blog, I came upon an absolutely fantastic tag of her creation, an innovation in blogification. (If you got that reference, we are officially best friends. <3) It's called the Hello Summer Book Tag, and it gives me all the cold ice tea and warm weather vibes. 🥰 So
🌼Zeh Rules:
Mention the creator in your post (😎✔) and link back to the original post (Look at me being on top of things!)
Link back to whomever tagged you (*points up*)
Include the tag graphic in your post (boom, baby)
Have fun! (Oh, I plan on it. 😎)
Summer means sun!
What’s a book that has a sunny setting?
I'm going to have to go with The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne. I grew up on the Winnie the Pooh movies, from the Backson to the Hephalumps. When I discovered this collection at my library, I knew I had to finally read the book. 🥰 This is such a sweet book, and it satisfied every corner of my inner child. <33
School’s out and so are the kids.
What’s your favorite middle-grade read thus far this year?
Can I cheat and say, "refer to previous answer"? No? Okay, fine then. I'll have to say The Green Ember by S.D. Smith. I technically read this for the first time two years ago, but we recently got the audiobook and it is absolutely amazing. We listened to about half of it on a three-hour car trip, and I seriously need to finish listening to it sometime soon.
Longer days are upon us!
Name a long book that you have on your bookshelf
(a physical copy or otherwise 😉).
Okay, I'm totally cheating and saying a book that hasn't released yet - The Lost Rose by Victoria Lynn. Ever since reading Once I Knew a few years ago, I've been dying to get my hands on another passport to the world of Elira. I have yet to read This Life of Mine (I'm waiting till I have a larger stock of Kleenex and chocolates), but insider info tells me that this book can be read with no spoilers from that one. 🥳 More insider info (no you may not know where I get this info) (check out Victoria's Insta) says that The Lost Rose promises to be DOUBLE the size of Once I Knew. Robin Hood meets Rapunzel? Sign me up!
Summer means cold watermelon, iced drinks, and ice cream.
Who’s a character you turned a cold shoulder to in the beginning, but eventually warmed up to?
I'm going to go with Valten from The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson. Unpopular opinion, buuut . . . after reading The Fairest Beauty, I rather passionately despised Valten. And while he's still not my favorite, I did like him much, much, much better after reading from his POV.
Nobody likes rotten weather spoiling outside plans.
Which book had an unexpected twist that you didn’t see coming?
See How They Run by Ally Carter. Those last few chapters . . . phew! I was absolutely NOT expecting half the stuff that happened in that book. sobs and holds it close
Green thumbs rejoice at the opening of the growing season.
Name a book with green on the cover.
Yes, I'm doing this. 😇 Unlike quite a few of my friends, I did not grow up reading Charlie Brown. I was raised on the classic Dr. Suess and classics like Put Me in the Zoo or Go Dog Go. But my sister got this a few months back and so I read it. It's super cute and funny, and has all the nostalgia feels a comic book usually does. (Buuut, I will admit, I'm more of a Calvin and Hobbes girl meself. 😎)
Summer is the season for reunions.
What’s a series that incorporated characters or cameos from past books?
I'm going to go with The Tales of Tarsurella and Regal Hearts series by Olivia Lynn Jarmusch. The sixth book (The War) actually just released last month, and I had the amazing privilege to get a physical copy from the author. I have yet to read it (or Season Three of Regal Hearts . . . hehe?), but I'm hoping to start it soon!
The thermometer is climbing . . . and shows no sign of stopping.
What’s a book with high stakes that just kept getting more intense?
I'll be honest, this was the hardest question in this tag. 😂 Mainly because I reaaallly wanted to steal Mac's answer of Take the Key and Lock Her Up by Ally Carter. But in the spirit of original ideas (bleh) I decied to choose . . .
🥁🥁🥁
The Ascendance Trilogy (+ book four) by Jennifer Nielsen! I like to call this a five-book trilogy, because the author originally published the first three (The False Prince, The Runaway King, and The Shadow Throne) and THEN added the final two books (the Captive Kingdom and The Shattered Castle) years later. I still have yet to read The Shattered Castle. (Do I have a problem with starting series and never finishing them? No, of course not. Why would you ask that.) But I will say that Sage was most definitely a character that kept me on my toes throughout every single chapter. chews my nails
Tag-Time!
You!
One Last Thing!
In my last blog post, I mentioned possibly doing a post about my favorite movie soundtracks for each genre! And, well, I need your help. I am having a horrid time figuring out what genres/sub-genres/vibes/etc. to compile for. So, it would absolutely amazing if you could take just a few minutes to fill out this handy-dandy form I created. 😁 Thank you so much! You are literally the best. <3
If the above HTML didn't work, try copy-and-pasting the following link into your browser:
And that's it for today! I had such a blast doing this tag. If you end up doing it, make sure to drop a comment below with a link to your post!
What did you think of the tag? Have you checked out Mac's blog yet? What are YOUR answers? What was your favorite question? I'd really love to know! <3
Cheers!
Love this, Deigan!! I'm excited to do this tag myself tomorrow!! 😁
Ooo this tag is so fun!!!! Also I totally agree with you about Valten. I didn't really like him that well for The Fairest Beauty and a good part of The Captive Maiden, though he did slightly redeem himself by the end. I didn't realize that was such an unpopular opinion, lol. Okay but like the ascendance trilogy DOES have such high stakes! (And honestly, you aren't missing much by not having completed the series. Four and five didn't hold up as well for me as the first three.) I think The Runaway King has the best climax in the series (though 3 and 4 come pretty close as well). And I totally agree about how the ending of See…
Great post!