Birthday Book Tag

So I saw this tag on Amber's blog The Literary Phoenix in October but I wanted to wait for my actual birthday to do it...so it's taken me a very long time to get this post out in a sense. My birthday is in May and this has been sitting in here for like half a year. But I'm finally ready to do this tag!  (I even asked my twin, Eryn, to answer some of these to see the difference of our answers, she doesn't read as much as I do so this will be fun!)

Count your birthday along your bookshelf shelf and then subtract the month.

I was born on the 26th of the month of May (5) so I (and Eryn) got: The Iron Warrior by Julie Kagawa

If you could spend your birthday with any fictional character, who would it be and why?

Me: I just finished Vampire Diaries and about to start The Originals and I just love Klaus...so him. I feel like he'd spoil me and just treat me right. Also...vampires am I right!?

Eryn: Meredith Grey - because she's perfect and beautiful, and lovely, and wonderful. (I have to let you all know her eyes went like...glazed over with admiration for Grey I only caught part of what she said at first)

Find a book that takes place in the season you were born in.

We were both born in May, springtime, but let's see if she finds a different book then me.
Me: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien - I know it takes place over a whole year-ish but there is spring
Eryn: The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks

Find a book that is the color of your birthstone.

I LOVE MY BIRTHSTONE! Emeralds so are pretty to me.
Me: Legion by Julie Kagawa - wanted to do a book I've already ready but...haven't read many books with an emerald cover
Eryn: The Choice by Nicholas Sparks - she has a theme also it had grass so close enough

Pick a book set in a time period, world, or country you would like to have been born in.

Me: Reign of the Fallen - to live in that world would be interesting me, I am still enamored by this book.
Eryn: The Help - the 1960's, because of the fashion

Do you have any of the same answers as my sister or I? You can see a very distinct difference between our reading and television choices, which of us are you more like? Also, if you happen to read this and find that you have the same birthday as us...PLEASE LET US KNOW WE LOVE MEETING BIRTHDAY BUDDIES!

À bientôt!

Photo/Gif creds: Iron Warrior, The Hobbit, The Guardian, Legion, The Choice, Reign of the Fallen, The Help, Meredith Grey, Klaus Mikkelson

Goodreads Book Tag

I am stealing this tag from Amber at The Literary Phoenix because I really liked it and I thought it would be fun to look more towards my Goodreads besides the system I put books into.

Now, some of these answers may be different from when you read this to when I have written this, but that's because I go one a lot and update everything at least once a week.

What was the last book you marked as read?

Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

What are you currently reading?

I have four books in my currently reading at the moment haha, but three of them are school related. I am reading:

1. Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hémon
2. A Distinct Alien Race by David Vermette
3. The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell
4. Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis.

What was the last book you marked as TBR?

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

What book do you plan to read next?

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa. I plan what books I read next with the whiteboard in my room back home and write down like ten books I plan to read and in what order I plan to read them.

Do you use the star rating system?

Yes I do! And like many of us, I wish there was the option to use half stars, or even more stars than five, but I work with what I have!

Are you doing a 2019 reading challenge?

Yes I am. I normally don't set too high a goal for myself because I'm not that fast of a reader like I used to be. My goal this year is 15 books, I have only read 1 so far, and Goodreads is telling me I am 2 books behind schedule. But I currently two of my school books have to be done soon so that will change within the month.

Do you have a Wishlist?

I loved Amber's idea of having a 'To Buy' shelf on her Goodreads (and then added said shelf to my account after). I do have a wishlist on Amazon of the books that I want, but it's also a list mixed with movies and TV show seasons that I would like to own as well.

What book do you plan to buy next?

Song of the Dead by Sarah Glenn Marsh. Other than that I never know what books I plan to buy next. There are always so many choices and I'm bad at making those choices haha. I usually pick what book is next while standing in the bookstore or staring at my wishlist.

Favorite quotes?

This is one of the functions that I don't use that often on Goodreads, but I do have a few here, and you can see that there are a lot of Edgar Allan Poe ones.

Favorite authors?

My favorite authors are Edgar Allan Poe, J.R.R. Tolkien, Julie Kagawa (who is the only one featured on my profile), and I think the last time I checked, my most read author was Cassandra Clare (because I do each novella individually) so I guess I should include her here as well. Also, I can't find where that list is again to double check who is second but oh well!

Have you joined any groups?

I am currently in one group, which I joined like...actual years ago. I think I was a sophomore in high school so about seven years ago, and the group hasn't been active in five. It's a Witch and Wizard group called "Witches and Wizards" and it was a roleplaying group. I might look for different groups in the future, any suggestions?

Do you use Goodreads? Have any tips or anything that you think I'd like for it? Just want to be friends? I love friends!

À bientôt!

Photo/GIF creds: my photo of Shadow of the Fox, covers from Goodreads, writing,

10 Characters I’d Switch Places With (Just For A Day)

I saw Amber from The Literary Pheonix do this post, and I thought it would be fun to try myself! (Also check out Amber's posts she posts so many fun things and great reviews)

As a reader, I find myself connecting to characters all the time. But would I ever want to trade places with them for a day? Well, some of them I would, and I'll tell you why!

Odessa

Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

One of the first characters I really fell in love with as a person, because she was so close to me. I just want to live in her world and experience the other side once.

Meredy

Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

I love the magic of being able to control an animal and work with them, I want the BEAR! I can't wait to see more of them both in Song of the Dead!

Meghan Chase

Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa

I think the fact that she has a mix of Iron and Summer glamour is really cool and interesting, but I wouldn't want to get mixed up in all the danger, just a day in the life of the child of Oberon, please.

Gandalf

The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

He doesn't come into contact with the spiders in the books...also I want to do magic.

Wanda/Melanie

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

The concept and the underground world always intrigued me. I think it'd be fun to talk to a voice in my head that wasn't just my thoughts too.

Esme Cullen

Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer

Her motherly instinct and family are amazing, also the chance to be a vampire...YES PLEASE!

Clary Fray

Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

I want her ability to make runes that aren't in the book, and I've also always wanted to be a red-head as well.

Effie Trinket

Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Just think of the OUTFITS that I could wear. Also, I definitely like the movie version of Effie slightly more than the book one (because she didn't just vanish) so I want to be both.

Wisteria "Wisty" Allgood

Witch and Wizard series by James Patterson (and others)

As the series that got me into reading, of course, I would pick someone as amazing as Wisty. She can burst into FLAMES and uses a drumstick as a wand. Sooooo, I like her.

Ember Hill

Talon series by Julie Kagawa

One, she is a twin (I forget if she is the younger one or not). Two, I want to shapeshift into a dragon and travel all over the world with Riley.

There are other characters that I'd want to switch places with, but these are the current top ten in my mind. What are yours?

À bientôt!

Photo/GIF creds: all book covers from Goodreads (my canva edit to connect them),

Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh - A Book Review

WOW!  I really liked this book. It was great and had so many twists and turns that I didn't see coming. The way you felt about a lot of characters changes throughout the book, either subtlely during a chapter or in one short sentence.

There are some spoilers, but I'll put major ones in RED TEXT so you can skip them if you haven't read it. If you don't care about spoilers then go ahead and read it all!

I got this book from Page Habit in a sale box, and I chose this book because the story sounded great, and I wanted to read a book with a character closer to me than some of the other books that I have read, in the sense of romance.

It was important to me to read this book because Odessa was bisexual. I haven't read a lot of books that even touch on my sexuality and having the main character being bi? YES PLEASE. And I also liked how, I guess, normal it was to just be who you were and love who you loved.

With that being said, I liked how Odessa started with her and Evander, but part of their dynamic just didn't work for me. Maybe it was because they had that fight about change and exploring the world. But I did think that they worked for each other. Damn did it hurt when he died like I didn't think that's how it would go, and seeing what it did to her was rough to read. I know heartache like that, that burns inside you.

I LOVE KASMIRA! From the first meeting on the boat, I wanted more of her in the books. I wanted her and Odessa to kiss. I would have wanted to kiss Kasmira too, and I would have. Where is my beautiful weather mage-boat captain? I only wish for the simple things in life.

I hope I have friends like Valoria and Meredy who would sit by me in my greatest downfall and help pull me back up as hard as they could. Valoria was such a strong character too, and interesting too with her knowledge and powers. And with Meredy, I really liked her, and with her description and clothing, I got MAJOR Sansa Stark vibes. Just as tough, maybe even more, and with a bear to back it up.

The fighting and the conflict in the story, as well as the world-building, were so thought-out and different. During the book, I was always trying to figure out who it could have been, but everyone had seemed so nice and worried about the conflict themselves, that I never saw it coming.

Symbolism in the book

Flowers - I loved how flowers popping up on graves being something dangerous and wrong. A message sent from the dead, that's cool! I don't care what anyone says. I think taking what a lot of people think about flowers, that they are a symbol of love and purity, and using it the way Marsh has, is an incredibly creative thought.

Eye Color & Magic - I thought that having a certain eye color being an indication of certain jobs that you can have was also very creative. But I also feel like I need to know more about the different colored eyes and what they can do, and if there are more types of colors somewhere.

I give RotF: 5 Stars!

I can't wait for the second book. It seems even more action-packed and I can't wait to read more about Odessa and Meredy (and hopefully Kasmira). And connect even more with the characters and story like I did with this book. The ending had such large amounts of hope and happiness, that I want to see it all happen again, even if it will bring heartache to the characters (and me) while reading.

Have you read this book? Are you planning on reading it? I want to talk about it as much as I can! Comment down below. I want to know your favorite parts!

À bientôt!

Photo/Gif creds: my photo of the book, flowers gif, guy reading,