A Quick Request

Hey, friends! Want to do me a favor?

 

I'm in the process of reworking my authorial social media strategy (and by that I mean "actually creating said strategy"), and as I learned over and over again as a PWID major, a big part of that is finding out where your audience is and what they're looking for. So, I've created a brief survey to find out how I'm currently connecting with all y'all, how you prefer to connect with and hear from authors and creators in general, and what you'd like to hear about from me. It should only take a few minutes to fill out, and it'll help me out quite a lot. You can fill it out below or at this link.

 

Thank you all very much for sharing your thoughts! I appreciate the help!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

End-of-Year Book Freakout 2018!

Aaaaand it's back! The End-of-Year Book Freakout! I'm not calling it a tag anymore because I havne't been tagged and I'm not tagging anyone, haha. I think I've had a reasonably good reading year — my average rating was 4.1, which isn't bad. Though, let's be real, it's been a really long year, and I can barely remember what I read in July. Thank God for Goodreads. (In my defense, I read 107 books this year, and about 45 of those were since July.) And technically 2018 isn't quite over, so I'll probably get another book or two in by the first of January . . . but I wanted to get this up now.

1. Best book you've read in the second half of 2018:

Ok, full disclosure: a lot of my favorite books that I've read this half of the year have been rereads. So that's kind of sad. That said, one of those rereads does count:

 The Worth of a King by Kendra E. Ardnek

Just read my review for all my fangirling, but this is tied with LDTD for my favorite of Kendra's books. Delaney and pre-scale Amberite are the best parts, but political intrigue, masked assassins, and the adorable romance that is Delsida all make the book doubly awesome.

A few other pretty awesome reads:

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Heistyness and sharp-edged friendships and diversity make this super fun. (Plus, the story starts in a Netherlands-esque city, which is really cool.)

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

Not an easy book to read at all times, but an exciting and thought-provoking one. More contemporary than fantasy, but it's so Hank-ish that I'm ok with that.

2. Best sequel you've read in the second half of 2018:

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman

I fully expected this to rip out my heart and crush it into small pieces — that seems to be the trend with series finales — and, I mean, it did. But it also had some moments of pure triumph and relief and happiness that I loved. The gang's all together, plus we've got the con-artist newbies, and Kady's dad is just fathering everyone and I don't know. It made me happy at the same time as it killed me with plot twists.

And the runners-up:

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Except for one twist that I'm INTENSELY MAD about and the fact that this one is slightly gayer than the first one, I loved Crooked Kingdom just as much as Six of Crows.

The Plastic Magician by Charlie Holmberg

Getting to see another magic type in action was super fun! And it was nice to have a plot that was centered on something a little less high-stakes than black-magic murderers on the loose.

3. New release you haven't read yet but want to: 

The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman

This was one of my Christmas gifts this year, and I can't wait to get back to the worlds of the Invisible Library! Now the question is: do I reread the whole series before I read this one? Or just the last book?

Bitter Winter by Jaye L. Knight

Not going to lie, I kinda forgot that this book was coming out until I got the email about the blog tour. And it's anyone's guess if I'll actually read this soon or if I'll wait until it's been out for six months. Based on the past, the latter is more likely.

4. Most anticipated release for next year: 

Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

Eugenides is baaaaaack! And it's the end of the series, which is tragic, but it is what it is. I'm just glad we get one more installment, and I'm super excited to see how it goes.

5. Biggest disappointment:

The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

I wanted magical heistyness and snarky friendships and time-manipulation magic in an urban historical fantasy setting. And, ok, I got three of those four, but the most important of the four was replaced by angst and suspicion of everyone except the right person and it was just a mess. Why did I read this book.

One runner-up in this category, sadly:

 Dagger's Sleep by Tricia Mingerink

To be fair, this wasn't a bad book as far as characters and plot go — Alexander annoyed me immensely, but otherwise, both those categories were fine. But the worldbuilding drove me crazy in that I couldn't make it make sense in my head.  

  

6. Biggest surprise:

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

I did not expect this to be as much contemporary as it was. I also didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, given that it is more contemporary and, between the two Green brothers, I prefer John. But I actually really liked the book, even if I did have to put it down for extended periods once or twice because I could see the train wrecks coming.

Another surprise: the fact that Skyward wasn't another instant favorite as Sanderson books usually are. It was a good book, but a bit . . . I don't know. It lacked the Sanderson spark. Still, it's far better than the Alcatraz books, so I plan to stick with the series. 

7. Favorite new-to-you author:

Kathryn McConaughy isn't actually on my Goodreads shelf because I beta-read Overpowered and haven't had a chance to read the final version yet. (By which I mean that she kindly sent me a finished copy, but I haven't had time to read it, not that I don't have it.) But Overpowered, even in its unfinished state, is awesome, and Kathryn knows her stuff when it comes to the Biblical era. I look forward to reading more of her work! 

8. Newest fictional crush/ship:

Sadly, authors continue to pair off all the crush-worthy male characters. On the upside, I have a few new ships to fangirl over!

• Delsida (Delaney and Obsidia) from The Worth of a King.
• Kaz x Inej from Six of Crows.
• Also Nina x Matthias from Six of Crows.
• And Jeremy and Gwen from The Seven Drawers. Those two are adorable.
• Yeah, mostly just those four.

9. Newest favorite character(s):

• Delaney from The Worth of a King.
• The whole crew from Six of Crows.
• Alvie from The Plastic Magician.
• Gwen from The Seven Drawers.
• Daemyn Rand from Dagger's Sleep.

10. A book that made you cry:

A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G. Drews

No actual tears, true, but definitely pain. Beck needs to be hugged and kidnapped from both his mother and his author.

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

I should not have read the end of this book in a public place, especially since I was already upset and stressed from other causes. That's all I'm saying.

11. A book that made you happy:

The Electrical Menagerie by Mollie E. Reader

This is a delightfully steampunky mystery, and while it does have its share of angst, it also has quite a bit of heart and humor. The main character duo is fabulous, the plot is exciting, and it's just generally a good read all 'round.

 

12. Favorite book to film adaptation you've seen this half of the year:

 Uhhhhh I rewatched Mary Poppins back in August. Does that count?

13. Favorite post(s) you've done this half of the year:

Oooh! I do have a few fun ones to share here.

• PWID Major FAQS (in which I answer the most common questions I get about my major).
• Hero's Perspective: Delaney (in which I interview my favorite character from Worth).
• Why I'm Now Self-Publishing (a response to an early post of mine, explaining the thought process behind my new plan).
• Blood in the Snow Meet the Characters(featuring character art that I love immensely).
• "Types of Tears" (a poem I wrote after noticing how my roommate and I reacted differently to a very similar event). 
• "A Symphony of Thanks" (Thanksgiving special short story featuring Callie from Fight Song).
• "The Promise Star" (Christmas special short story, featuring a legend from the world of Blood in the Snow).

14. Most beautiful book you've bought/received this half of the year:
Can I count Blood in the Snow? I know it's my book, but I am absolutely in love with the cover, and technically I did buy copies of it.

Other than my own book, my aunt bought me Illuminae for my birthday, and it both has an awesome cover and an awesome interior.

And though I haven't read The Enchanted Sonata yet, I love its cover and interior as well.

15. Any other books you want to babble about for any other reason?
Normally, I use this space to talk about the books I still need to read that I've been meaning to read for ages. But this time, I'm going to talk about all the awesome books I've reread lately.

The DragonKeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul

Over Christmas break, I've reread all but one of Donita K. Paul's Amara and Chiril books. I wanted to see how they held up, since I loved them and drew so much inspiration from them when I was younger. Thankfully, most of them have been just as good or better than I remembered.

 

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvate

Some people's stress-fueled college decisions involve alcohol, excessive sleep, and worse. Mine involve rereading books about rich boys and psychic girls and dead Welsh kings. I regret nothing.

 

Scholar's Plot by Hilari Bell

And speaking of college decisions . . . I don't even remember why I reread this book, but I'm glad I did — it was just as good on the reread as the first time around. Also, I miss Michael and Fisk.

What were your favorite 2018 reads? Any favorite rereads? Or major disappointments? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)   

 

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2018

Original picture via

Hey'a, everyone! Half of another year has come and gone, which means it's time for my my annual Mid-Year Book Freakout, in which I recap all the best (and occasionally worst) reads I've discovered so far this year. In case anyone was wondering, by the way, I've read 57 books this year. Most of those have been good (my average rating on Goodreads is 4.1 stars). A few haven't been so great, but you know. It is what it is.

1. Best book you've read so far in 2018:

An Enchantment of Ravens, hands down! This book is storming amazing. It critiques a lot of elements of modern fantasy, especially the common portrayals of Fae and romances involving Fae. But it doesn't sacrifice story or characters in order to do so; the plotline is amazing and twisty, and the characters are just delightful. So, yeah. I love it, and you all need to read it. 

A few runners-up:

The City Beyond the Glass is a dark and powerful allegorical retelling of my favorite fairy tale, "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." Plus, it's set in Renaissance Venice, which is super cool.

Illuminae is just plain amazing, and I don't know why I waited so long to read this book. I was a little concerned that it would be confusing, since it's not written in standard narrative format, but instead it ended up being super exciting and twisty and I seriously could not put it down. Also, the main characters are so salty, and they remind me of some of my friends. Except most of my really friends aren't awesome hackers . . . probably not, anyway. The sequel is almost as awesome— plot-wise, it was actually better; my only problem was that I didn't buy the romance quite as much.

2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2018:

We've got a tie in this one. First up is . . .

The Lost Plot! Which, honestly, should surprise exactly no one. The day an Invisible Library book comes out and doesn't make one of my best-of lists for the year in some fashion is the day I . . . I don't know. I probably won't die, but I might be in mourning over how one of my favorite series has failed me. Anyway, The Lost Plot is high on dragons, low on fae (which is fine; I can live with that), and takes place mostly in magical 1930s Chicago which is officially my new favorite location for historical fantasy.

And the second book in the tie . . .

Song of Leira! You know, because I haven't talked about it enough on this blog already. I reviewed it earlier this month, if you want to know my full thoughts, but basically it's lovely and heartbreaking and heart-healing and amazing, and it's kind of bite-sized Tolkien but also kind of not. So. Yeah. Read it.

Again, some runners-up:

An Earthly King is the second in the Modern Tales of Na Fianna, and I loved it far more than the first book. I'm not sure if that's because I knew what to expect going in (with Blood Ties I didn't, or, rather, my expectations were wrong), or because I liked the characters better (I did!) or because it was a mystery rather than a straight-up quest, or because it felt much more like the urban fantasy it is, or all of those combined. But there you have it.

I actually read the whole Spellsmith and Carver series this year, but book two, Magician's Trial is my favorite. It's like . . . we've got politics, we've got magic, we've got assassins, we've got an engineer-inventor who's basically my new favorite character, we've got all the things you want in one book. (And what you don't have is the emotional heart-rending-ness of book three or the frustrations that come from not knowing the characters well in book one.) So, yeah. Others disagree, but I think this is the best.

(On a side note, I've given myself a new rule: never give up on a self-published series— or a series in general, but especially a self-published one— until you've read at least two of the books in it, because I almost always like the second or third book far more than the first. Not that the first isn't generally good, but often it doesn't click with me like the others do. I think it's either because the first book is hyped so much that I have unrealistic expectations or else because by books two and three, both the author and I have figured out what s/he is doing here. Not sure which.)

3. New release you haven't read yet but want to: 

Isle of Blood and Stone came out in April; it's on my shelf, but I haven't quite gotten to it yet. That said, seafaring adventure in a quest to rescue a character's brothers? Sounds fun to me.

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year:

New Sanderson new Sanderson new Sanderson NEW SANDERSON! Sci-fi Sanderson! With a sentient ship! I want it yesterday. Actually, no, I don't, I have too many books and too little time. But also yes. It's going to be awesome.

5. Biggest disappointment:

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness. It had some good points, but for the most part, it was just angsty and unsatisfying and populated by frustrating people. I suppose that's a fairly accurate representation of life sometimes, but still. Doesn't mean I want to read about that.

 

6. Biggest surprise:

Ok, so I picked up The Wrath and the Dawn on a whim, thinking "Oh, yeah, my blogger friends like this; I'll probably enjoy it," but I didn't expect to love it that much. And then the sequel, The Rose and the Dagger, is arguably even better. They've both got gorgeous ancient-Persian culture and characters who somehow manage to be reasonably non-infuriating and lovely bits of magic and a romance that worked out suprisingly well AND DOESN'T TURN INTO THAT ONE LOVE TRIANGLE. This is actually a significant accomplishment, as you can tell, and it just made me love the books more.

7. Favorite new-to-you author:

Margaret Rogerson is amazing, and she writes books that are intelligent and exciting and easily readaable in one sitting, and apparently she's working on a second book (unreleated to An Enchantment of Ravens), and YES. Well, not so much YES on the unrelated-to-Enchantment bit, but still. 

 

8. Newest fictional crush/ship:

Newest favorite ship is obviously Rook and Isobelle from Enchantment because they are perfection. Isobelle is generally sensible, sensible enough that she recognizes her foolishness in her initial crush on Rook, but then they end up falling in love properly through shared adventure (definitely one of the better ways to fall in love, since it has a way of bringing out the best and worst in a person). And Rook is thoroughly dramatic but also so protective and they're just fun together, ok?

A few other lovely ships that I discovered this year:

• Auric and Lotte from Spellsmith and Carver.
• Shazi and Khalid from The Wrath and the Dawn.
• Nick and Cordelia from Beaumont and Beasley.
• Kady and Ezra from Illuminae. (These two are seriously adorable, just FYI. And Ezra is a hopeless romantic, and Kady's just like "you're ridiculous but I love you anyway.")
• Wilhelmina and Etzel from the Bright Empires series. (I don't know if these are an official ship, but if they aren't and they don't end up together by the end, I will be SO MAD.)

In terms of fictional crushes, Marcus Altair is still awesome, available, and alive. I'm pretty sure this is a small miracle. I intend to enjoy it while it lasts.

9. Newest favorite character:
Favorite-favorite character? Rook again. He's excellent (but I'm not about to say so to his face, because he's vain enough as it is). Isobelle, Nick, Kady, Lotte, Shazi, and Wilhelmina are all on that list as well, just not as high.
  

10. A book that made you cry:
Eh, I got nothing. I did get major feels over some bits of Illuminae, though, so we'll go with that.

11. A book that made you happy:

Not a book but a whole series: the Beaumont and Beasley books! Much like the first book, they're also delightfully hilarious twisted fairy tales, though there's a bit of some other not-quite-fairy tales mixed in there too. Book one is officially on my shortlist of reads for when I'm upset and need to be not-upset in a hurry, and the rest probably would also qualify. (Ok, book three is a little depressing at points, but it's fine.)

Runner up: The Penderwicks at Last, even though it's the last book in the series and I procrastinated on it so hard. It was a delightful ending, and it brought the series full-circle in a way that I thoroughly appreciated.

12. Favorite book to film adaptation you've seen this year:
Oooh! I've actually got something for once! My sister and I watched and rewatched The Lord of the Rings extended editions back in January— her first time, my third or fourth. We were going to rewatch the Hobbit extended editions too, but we didn't get around to it. Maybe if we have time this summer we can do that . . . haha. I'm hilarious.
 

13. Favorite post you've done so far this year:
A few of my favorites:

• "I'll Take the Lashes": pirate-y flash fiction set in the world of the Berstru Tales.
• Beautiful Persons: Valentines Day 2018: in which I interview the main couple from Blood in the Snow.
• Have I Read You Yet: in which I look back on an old Top Ten Tuesdays list to see how my reading diet has expanded (or not expanded) in the last four years.
• Lightporter Release Tour & Hero's Perspective: Blaze!: a super fun interview featuring my favorite character from the IDIA books. Fun fact: C.B. and I actually did this interview through a roleplay instead of the usual method, which was super fun (even though it did involve staying up super late).
  

14. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year:
It's a tie between these two:

An Enchantment of Ravens (yep, again).

The Burning Page.

I got both of these at a book fair for pretty cheap, and I hope that I'll get to go back sometime in the next few weeks. We'll see how that works out.
 

15. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

Still haven't gotten to Lord of Chaos; oops.

I need to read Dread Nation by the end of the summer; I meant to finish it months ago but had to return the library book.

Of course I'm super excited for Skyward! (New Sanderson!!!!)

How's your reading been so far this year? What are your favorite books of this year? Any new ships or favorite characters? What's a book that really surprised you? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
 -Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

End-of-Year Book Freakout "Tag" 2017

2017 is nearly at an end, y'all . . . and that means it's time for the second half of my "Best of" book roundup! Once again, I'm using my modified End-of-Year Book Freakout tag because that's a lot more fun than just trying to compile a list of X favorites (and low-key angsting about how to pick one book over another because they're ALL awesome, just in different ways and yeah). So, let's go!

1. Best book you've read in the second half of 2017:

I've read a lot of good books this half of the year . . . but since this is the best book, not the best sequel, I'm going to say that this is a tie between two:

Before She Ignites is pretty unusual for the fantasy genre, particularly YA fantasy. Most of it takes place in a prison. There's not a lot of action and quite a lot of political maneuvering. A few characters have special powers, but those aren't the focus. It's not set in a facsimile of Medieval Europe but rather in a country reminiscent of some of the Pacific Islands. The main character is the Chosen One, in a sense, but that's almost an arbitrary title, and she's really an ordinary girl in an extraordinary position. And the book actually touches on some pretty serious real issues and, in my opinion, handles them well. Plus, there's dragons. What more could you want?

Weave a Circle Round is another rather unusual book, one that involves time travel and stories and a personification of the eternal conflict between Reason and Chaos. I'm very fond of the last bit. Any story with a personification of chaos is practically guaranteed to be awesome. This is Kari Maaren's first novel, but she's the author/artist of two of my favorite webcomics, West of Bathurst and It Never Rains. True to the form established in those stories, Weave a Circle Round begins as almost magical realism or very odd contemporary, with all the strangeness probably explainable by natural causes or unreliable senses . . . but then the time travel kicks in. Also as usual, the protagonist of Weave a Circle Round tends to, as the author puts it, "muddle through" her adventure, which, honestly, is what I'd probably do in her place and is quite relatable on the whole.

Also, while it's not quite as high on the list, I'd like to mention Wanted: A Superhero to Save the World, Bryan Davis's latest release. It's middle-grade, but super fun and pretty unique for a superhero novel.

2. Best sequel you've read in the second half of 2017:

I think we all know what I'm going to say here:

I'm technically still reading Oathbringer, Brandon Sanderson's latest release, but it's easily shaping up to be not just one of the best sequels of the year but one of the best books overall. We've got answers, we've got new questions, we've got increased conflict both external and internal, we've got spren both awesome (allo, Syl and Pattern!) and creepy . . .  And we've got Dalinar flashbacks, which is interesting, to say the least. Dalinar was very different in his youth from the man we know now. Also, Shallan is awesome even if she's making me a bit nervous currently. Just sayin'.

Of course, there are a few other sequels that are well worth mentioning. In order of publication:

Thick as Thieves had a distinct lack of Eugenides but managed to be awesome anyway. Plus it's a Persia-esque setting, which is pretty unique.

And The Dire King was a magnificent finale to the series- epic, thrilling, feels-heavy but not lacking in the usual Jackaby humor, with an ending that's just- I can't even. I can't.

3. New release you haven't read yet but want to: 

There are a few more of these than I'd like . . . college life is not exactly what you'd call convenient for keeping up with new releases unless you're willing to spend a small fortune every month and have a lot of storage space. That said, at the top of the list is:

The Lost Plot! The latest Invisible Library book! It's out, it's out, it's ouuuuuuuttttttt! (And I didn't realize it until earlier this week!) And I need it yesterday!

Of course, there's a few others that I'm also looking forward to. For example:

The Empty Grave is the latest and last in the Lockwood and Co. series, and while I nearly gave up on it after The Hollow Boy, The Creeping Shadow convinced me to see the series through to the end.

An Enchantment of Ravens sounds like a unique fantasy story; a bit heavier on the romance than I think I usually read, but still fun, and it's gotten great reviews from a lot of my friends.

Renegades is the latest book from Marissa Meyer. From the reviews and excerpts I've read, I'm not expecting to like this as much as I do The Lunar Chronicles, but it should still be pretty cool.

4. Most anticipated release for next year:

Brandon Sanderson is releasing another YA novel! It's called Skyward and is apparently a sci-fi take on the "boy and his dragon" storyline, involving mysterious aliens, a girl who wants to be a pilot, and a sentient (or, at least, soul-bearing) spaceship. Sanderson says that it's not in the Cosmere or Reckoners universes, but that it is in the continuity of something else he's written. So, that means it could be connected to Alcatraz, the Legion books, Perfect State, Snapshot, or The Rithmatist. I'm not sure which it'll be, but my money's on Perfect State, since the premise of that universe allows for near-infinite genres and storylines.

A few other books I'm excited for:

Ink, Iron, and Glass I mentioned in my Winter 2017-18 Reads post, but if you missed that: it's steampunk, involves writers who can bring their worlds to life, and generally sounds pretty awesome.

The Penderwicks at Last is the final book in a series I've been reading for a while now. It's contemporary, but I love it anyway, and while I'm sad the series is almost over, I'm excited to see how it ends.

And, finally, Fawkes is historical fantasy and should be pretty exciting. Plus, while I haven't read anything by Nadine Brandes yet, I've heard she's a very good author.

5. Biggest disappointment:

Shadow Run was undoubtedly the biggest disappointment of the entire year. I was promised Firefly and a very cool premise. Instead, I got the biggest mess of cliches I'd read in a long while and a romance that completely overshadowed the actual plot. Yeah. I'm still bitter, if you can't tell.

6. Biggest surprise:

I don't normally read contemporary; quite honestly, I associate it with romantic fluff, overblown teenage angst, boy/friendship drama, and questionable content. So, while I enjoy John Green from vlogbrothers and such, I was a bit nervous when I ended up reading Turtles All the Way Down so I could review it for my college newspaper. Yet this book is honestly one of the better ones I've read this year; it's powerful and poignant and philosophical, and, yes, there's angst and drama, but it's well done, and the story touches that deeper Reality which is so vibrant in the good spec-fic I love. Plus, there's a refreshing lack of romantic fluff (even less than in most fantasy novels) and, other than one scene, not a lot of questionable content either.

7. Favorite new-to-you author:

I'm going to go with Kyle Robert Schultz, author of The Beast of Talesend and the rest of the Beaumont and Beasley books. I've only read the first of these books, but it was wonderful and mysterious and steampunky and a brilliant mix of fairy tale and original material and yeah. I want to read the rest of the series yesterday.

8. Newest fictional crush/ship:

Um. I don't really have any new crushes or ships that I feel strongly about? So instead I'm just going to say that Charlie and Abigail from Jackaby are still one of the best things ever, as is Shadolin Shallan x Adolin) from the Stormlight Archive. (Shaladin shippers, I refer you to literally every interaction between Shallan and Adolin in Part 1 of Oathbringer.) Also, I knew (spoiler for Ghostly Echoes + The Dire King) Jackaby and Jenny were a thing, but I didn't realize just how much I like them as a thing until I read The Dire King.

9. Newest favorite characters:

Oooooh. Definitely new people here.

• Nick, Cordelia, and Crispin from The Beast of Talesend are absolutely perfect and I love their personalities and character dynamics and interactions and YES.
• Cuerva Lachance from Weave a Circle Round is . . . I don't even know how to properly describe her. She's mysterious and enigmatic and strange and amusing and terrifying and does things because they're impossible and might be one of my favorite parts of the book.  
• I rediscovered how awesome Ransom from C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy is. I have some friends who really like him, and yeah, I can see why. I'm also 99.9% certain that he's based off Tolkien, so . . . yeah.
• Eddie, Damocles, and Gilbert from Wanted: A Superhero to Save the World are all also awesome in their own way: Eddie's super relatable for a 12-year-old boy, Damocles is . . . he's a character and I sometimes don't quite know what to do with him, but he's interesting and I love him, and Gilbert is just fun. So, yeah.

I feel like I should have someone from Harry Potter on here, since I finally started reading the series? But while I do quite like certain characters (*cough*everyWeasleyeveryes*cough*andalsoHagrid*cough*), I'm not sure if they make the top list? Plus I read so many AU and headcanon sort of things on Pinterest that I don't always know what in my head is real about the characters and what's just something that someone else came up with. It's a problem. 

10. A book that made you cry:

No crying, but while reading The Dire King, the conclusion to the Jackaby series, I did much "Nonononono"-ing. Also some quiet screaming, not-so-quiet keening, and possibly a bit of whimpering. The book killed me with feels, basically. I'm still not over it.

11. A book that made you happy:

A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans is absolutely adorable, ok? It's got a precocious young girl and a crotchety old lady dragon and a lovely mixing of magic and reality and just makes my heart happy in general. The rest of the series is good too, but the first book is undoubtedly the best.

12. Favorite book to film adaptation you've seen this half of the year:

Um. I rewatched the LOTR extended editions. Does that count?

13. Favorite post(s) you've done this half of the year:

I really enjoyed finally writing my Plantser's Guide to Worldbuilding! Also, I wrote a thing. It involves food, love, and magic, and what else do you really need in life?

14. Most beautiful book you've bought/received this half of the year:

I'm going to take a moment to gush again about the prettiness of the new version of Do You Take This Quest? Story-wise, it's still not my favorite of the Bookania Quests, but the cover is my favorite; I love the purple and the watercolor feel and the softness and it just makes me happy for some reason.

15. Any other books you want to babble about for any other reason?

As per the usual, a few books that I still need to read even though they're no longer really recent releases:

Exiles by Jaye L. Knight remains on my TBR list, despite the fact that I've owned the book since September. I hope to fix that by the end of break, though. And eventually I need to break this wait-forever-to-read-Ilyon streak that I have going.

 The Last Magician came out in July, but I haven't been able to get ahold of it until now because libraries are uncooperative. Also, college. I checked it out from the library yesterday; hopefully I'll manage to read it before break ends.

I still haven't read The Lord of Chaos or any other Wheel of Time books, despite the fact that I own significantly more of them. In my defense, they're long and not half as exciting as Sanderson, and therefore I have to work myself up to them.

Also, I finally got ahold of the whole Spellsmith and Carver series, including an actual physical copy of the first book, so I really want to read those . . . I just have to find the right time, when another book isn't higher priority.

And there you have it! Feel free to borrow this tag for your own end-of-year posts or to answer in comments any of the questions that piqued your interest. I'd love to hear what you've been reading lately!

Thanks for reading!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)