It's the 2020 MID-YEAR BOOK FREAKOUT!

THE TIME HAS COME! A bit later than usual, yes, but it's HERE: my annual MID-YEAR BOOK FREAKOUT! In which I don't actually freak out but do get really excited over the best (and worst) books I've read in the first half of the year.

As per the usual, we'll start out with some statistics. I've read 59 books and 19,709 pages so far this year, which is a bit over half of what I'd read this time last year. You would think I would've read more this year, since I was home for several months longer than usual, but nope. Oh well. I'm still ahead of schedule on my overall reading goal of 99 books in the year.

What about my other reading goals? Well, towards my goal of twelve non-speculative-fiction books this year, I have read either eight or ten such books, depending on whether or not you count a few things that I read primarily for class and/or skimmed rather than reading properly. As for my twelve books written before I was born, I am currently at ten such books, thanks to my decision to reread Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes (which was an excellent decision, I'd like to add). So, on the whole, I'd say I'm doing pretty well.

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2020!

1. Best book you've read so far in 2020:

Moonscript by H.S.J. Williams

I wrote a full post with my thoughts on this book a my other blog a while back, but to sum up: I love the characters, I love the focus on friendship and family relationships, and I love the overall vibe of the book. As I've said before, it's like someone took The Silmarillion, Goldstone Wood, and Orphan's Song and blended it all into one beautiful book.

Also, two runners-up:

Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson

This is a beautiful book about creation and community and faith, and ohhhhhhh, it's so good. It's poetic without being pretentious and deep without being discomforting. If you're a person who creates, you ought to read this book as soon as humanely possible. Trust me.

An Echo of the Fae by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt

I also reviewed Echo one at Light and Shadows, so go check that out for my full thoughts. But this is another very family-oriented book that's full of fae and beauty and fairy tale vibes. Also, it has selkies. How could anyone not love it?

2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2020:

Not strictly a sequel, but the closest I can come . . .

How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Real-World Problems by Randall Munroe

Basically, I love sarcastic-yet-oddly-excited science and I cannot lie. Randall Munroe's books are the perfect blend of sarcastic cynicism and eagerness to share cool knowledge, and it's just so much fun!

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

There are SO MANY of these, mostly due to the fact that I haven't been able to get my usual book hauls from the library even though I've been home, plus I didn't get all the books in over Christmas break or spring break that I wanted to. But the main one is probably:

Sisters of Sword and Song by Rebecca Ross

I don't even have a good excuse; I own the book! But I got in the middle of my Great Redwall Reread, and life has been very full of good books to read, so yeah. It's still there, waiting for me.

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

We've got a tie between two books that I've been looking forward to for nearly two years in one case and a solid three or four in the other:

Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson

It's Stormlight #4!!!! Need I say more? I am SO looking forward to returning to Roshar and spending several excellent days (maybe a solid excellent week) lost in this sure-to-be-a brick of a book.

Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

EUGENIDES. I am concerned by one particular bit in the blurb ("death of the king?" Gen, nooooo!), but at the same time, I am sure that Eugenides will be in top scheming form (just as his author will be in top storytelling form), and I CANNOT WAIT. Hopefully it doesn't get pushed back again.

And then a runner-up that's actually multiple books, but is also mostly just one book:

The Tattered Slippers Group Release!

Featuring, as y'all know by now, my next book, The Midnight Show! But also featuring Russian vibes, Greek-esque secrets, Celtic fae, and more. There's so much variety in this collection, and I am HERE FOR IT! (Also: sign up for the blog tour! Or ARCs! It will be much fun!)

5. Biggest disappointment:

Libraries being closed and preventing me from reading new releases, haha. But in terms of books I actually read, I'd have to say . . .

Masters and Beginners by Daley Downing

This is a book that I really wanted to love, and that I'd heard a lot of good things about, but the execution (and the focus) just wasn't what I hoped it would be. It had a lot of elements that I did enjoy, but they were outweighed by my frustrations with the writing style, my inability to keep track of the massive cast of characters, and my issues with the visual aspects of the book.

6. Biggest surprise:

Hmm . . . This one is hard this year. In general, I liked new-to-me books either as much as I expected to or less; there were no books that I was like "Wow, I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would!" I was surprised by how much more I liked some of the Redwall books when I reread them, so I guess I'll say that.

7. Favorite new-to-you author:

I . . . don't actually have one so far this year. All the books I've loved have been by known authors; all the books by new-to-me authors have been somewhere in the area of "Ok, but not my favorite thing ever." So . . . yeah. That's unfortunate.

8. Newest fictional crush/ship:

Coren and Zizain from Moonscript for life, y'all. They're so cute together. Also, Rhen and Harper from A Curse So Dark and Lonely. Not a perfect couple, but still a good one. (Yeah, that's all I've got.)

9. Newest favorite character:

Basically the entire cast of Moonscript? Is that an acceptable answer? But in particular, Errance (Actual Disaster, slightly burnt cinnamon roll, tries so hard before realizing that trying so hard is 90% of his problem, angst but for a good reason), Coren (smuggler with a heart of gold, a fox's wit, and plenty of flair), and Tellie (mum-friend, wants adventure but also wants people to behave sensibly and not go doing stupid things).

Also, shoutout to Grey from A Curse So Dark and Lonely. He's loyal and stubborn and determined and just generally an excellent character. I actually like him and Harper and Rhen all, but Grey is my favorite.

10. A book that made you cry AND 11. A book that made you happy:

I'm combining these because the same two books apply to both, pretty much:

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness & North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson

Ok, I don't specifically remember crying, but if anything I've read this year would've made me cry (in a good way), it would've been North!, and I know that both of these books made me very, very happy. So, yeah. I love these books, and their new editions are SO pretty.

12. Favorite reread this year:

The Great Redwall Reread!

This year, as y'all have seen, I've reread the entirety of Brian Jacques's Redwall series in chronological order. It's been really fun to revisit this old favorite and see how different aspects of the series hold up after so much time away. I'm happy to say that most of the series held up very well indeed.

13. Favorite post you've done so far this year:

I feel like I missed a lot of weeks posting this year, but I do have some posts that I really enjoyed writing and think turned out very well:

• The Actually Terrible AIs You Didn't Know You Needed (in which 7 A.M. me apparently had good ideas and I got to come up with ridiculous AIs).
• If Baili Met Breen (And Related Potentialities) (in which I got to theorize about how the casts of Blood in the Snow and Mechanical Heart would get along).
• Beauty and the Bard: Tiria's Story and Ardent's Story (in which I wrote a meet-cute for two of my D&D NPCs).

14. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year:

I have bought many beautiful books this year, surprisingly! But right now, I would like us all to take a moment to appreciate the gorgeous Abhorsen set that I found last week at McKay's.

I am super proud of it and also very happy to have a set of the core trilogy that isn't large, unwieldy, and slightly falling apart.

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

Too many books. Basically, if I featured it in one of the last four seasonal releases posts and I wasn't part of the blog tour, I still need to read it. Thanks, COVID-19. (On the upside: the libraries are opening up now! So I can fix this soon! Though I may try to clear my owned-but-unread backlog a little more first.)

All right! There we have it: a summary of my last six and a half months of reading! How has your reading been this year? Best books? Biggest surprise? Biggest disappointments? Any new favorite characters? Please tell me in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Books Full of Delicious: The Pie Book Tag!

Hey'a, everyone! It's the day after Thanksgiving, and we all know what that means — well, we know three things specifically. First: it's the first day on which you can reasonably play Christmas music in public. Second: it's the first day of holiday sales (or "sales," depending on where you shop). Third: it's the day on which, if you're lucky, you get to eat an abundance of leftover pie! I covered the first a couple years ago, and I'm taking care of the second over on Light and Shadows. That just leaves the third . . . which I'm taking care of with the Pie Book Tag, created by Emma over at Awkwordly Emma! I love this tag, since it basically combines two of my favorite things, and I'm super excited to go through it!

The Pie Book Tag!

Caramel Apple: A book that reminds you of fall!

For some reason, Weave a Circle Round by Kari Maaren feels like a very fall-ish book. Something about the emphasis on change and transition and tension between past and present and future makes me think autumn. 

 Pumpkin: A book with a great family (biological or found).

Here's a series that I don't talk about half as much as I used to (or as much as it deserves): The Legends of Karac Tor series by D. Barkley Briggs! This series starts strong with a pair of brothers who accidentally end up in another world, and eventually, their other brothers and father get in on the adventure as well. (And there's another significant family who comes up later, so that's great.) I really wish there were more books like this in many ways.

 

French Silk: A book that's easy to read or rich with descriptions.

Speaking of books I don't talk about as much as I used to: Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (aka one of my favorite books and authors of all time) fits perfectly in this category! The way Anne Elisabeth describes the characters and the setting is one of my favorite things — she has a knack for just the right words and language to make everything unfold gradually and beautifully and to let you know clearly what's going on while still keeping the mysterious fairyland feel.

 

Key Lime: A summery sweet book 

This was surprisingly hard to pick something for . . . but I think I have to go with The Paper Magician and its sequels. They're light and fun, with clever magic and fairly sweet (if occasionally frustrating) romance.

 

Blueberry-Peach: A book with a perfect pairing.

Shoot. This is hard to pick. Ummmmm . . . let's go with Lady Dragon, Tela Du, which involves two of my favorite ships, Reutra and Amberite. Admittedly, it's Amberite in one of its sadder chapters, but still. And, as I'm currently alpha-reading Love and Memory, the sequel to this book, I'm experiencing all the feels regarding both ships. It's a problem.

 

Oreo: A book that reminds you of your childhood.

I still love a lot of my late-childhood favorites, so I have a lot to choose from . . . but I'm going with one I don't talk about as much, All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. This is an autobiography about a pre-WWII vet in the Yorkshire region of England, and it's just a delight to read. The author interacted with a lot of colorful characters, both in terms of his patients and his patients' owners. This is one of the last books my dad read to me, so rereading it reminds me of being younger and sitting curled up in my favorite chair and listening to the stories.

 

Lemon Chess: A book with a very Southern setting.

Hello, Raven Cycle! I don't read a lot of books set in the South (mostly because I don't read many books set on Earth, period, and those that are set there, sort of, tend to be alternate Earths and take place in England or some such). But The Raven Cycle is very Virginian, which means I have a special kind of affection for it.

As a runner-up in this category, I have to mention the Wilderking Trilogy by Jonathan Rodgers, which is a fantasy set in a world that feels like colonial America in the deep South, with settlers and swamps and 'gators and so forth. It's intensely underrated, and I highly recommend it.

 

Dark chocolate orange: A book with a bittersweet ending.

Here's another two-for-one deal: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull, both for its own sake and as a representative of the whole Beyonders series. I mean, technically most fantasy books have bittersweet endings, but this one sticks out to me for reasons that I can't entirely explain. 

And that's it! Do you agree with my choices? What books would you put for each category? Please tell me in the comments, or feel free to pick up the tag for yourself. (Just make sure you link back to Emma's post.) 

Thanks for reading!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

The End of Beautiful People

Hosted by Cait Grace

So, I admit, I didn't do a great job of keeping up with Beautiful People while it was running . . . but I do want to join in for this last hurrah of the tag. I'm sad that it's going away, but at the same time, I can kind of get why. Coming up with new questions every month must get pretty tiring. This final edition takes favorite questions from previous iterations of the tag and combines them into one, so it kind of flip-flops between general writing questions and book/character specific questions. For the latter category, I'll be answering for my current main WIP, Dust of Silver (formerly Danger in the Tower).

1. Favourite genre to write in?
Fantasy! You've got dragons, magic, epic battles, adventures, quests, griffins, fae folk, and more, just from the genre, and plenty of variety once you get into the subgenres (High, Low, steampunk, retelling, mythic, urban/contemporary, historical, so on). I get all the joys of creating characters and throwing them into stressful situations, plus the pleasure of worldbuilding and writing epic battle scenes (ok, that's not always a pleasure, but you know what I mean), and I don't have to stress too much about "Wait, is this actually how it works in the Real World?" because in many cases, it's my world, my rules.


2. What book (a real actual published book!) do you think your character would benefit from reading?
Ohhhhh boy. That's a tough one. I think all of them could benefit from reading the Bible, obviously. Other books . . . I'm half-tempted to give Aster Entwined, because it would help her realize what's going on in her life, but that might also break the plot, so . . . yeah. Poppy gets the Dragons in Our Midst series, which she'd read because dragons but which would help her because she's the most independent of the sisters and I think that the Dragons in Our Midst books do a pretty good job of emphasizing that you can't do anything on your own. (Not that independence is a bad thing, but it can be taken too far.) Ivy I'm not sure about, so I'm going to give her Goldstone Wood because everyone needs to read that.

Also, bonus side-and-future-main-character books: Pansy gets Gillian Bronte Adams' Songkeeper Chronicles and the Jackaby series, since both deal with a character who can see or hear things that others can't. Hayden, like Ivy, gets the Tales of Goldstone Wood, but he also gets C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy— the former because he can learn quite a few lessons from it; the latter because he'd appreciate the blend of theology and storytelling. And Jason gets the Invisible Library series, less because he needs to learn from it than because he needs a break and it's a good series. That said, he'd probably also get the Dragons in Our Midst books because Poppy would throw them at him for being annoying.


3. Favourite piece of dialogue you’ve written?
Well, my overall favorite in this novel so far is still Poppy's rose-petal insult, but I already posted that one. So, my favorite that I've written since then . . . Hmm. I guess I'll go with this one because all the others only make sense in context:

Ivy glanced back, grinning. "Not Lily? Is she not a responsible adult tonight?"

"Not responsible for your lot." Lily laughed and slid what must've been the twentieth pin into Aster's hairdo. "Aster has given me leave to thoroughly enjoy yourself tonight."

"Just make sure that while you're thoroughly enjoying yourself and meeting new people, you keep your eyes and ears open and maybe ask some useful questions. We need you as a discoverer of secrets, not a charmer of strangers."

4. What did your character want to be when they grew up, and what did they actually become?
Well, I can't do the second part for most characters because either they aren't grown up yet or the answer is a spoiler. However, I will answer the first part for my major characters.

• Aster, the oldest sister, shifted through a few different dreams, most of them very traditional little girl dreams— princess, dancer, mother, dancer again— but by the time she was eleven or twelve, she mostly just wanted a life that wasn't consumed by younger sisters and confined to the tower. 
• Poppy also went through a phase when she wanted to be a dancer, but then she decided that staying in cities all the time sounded boring and she wanted to be an explorer instead and map the mountains where the dragons dwelt. Barring that, traveling entertainer sounded pretty good too.
• Ivy mostly went along with whatever Poppy wanted for most of her childhood. Eventually, though, she decided that she wasn't so interested in adventure and that she'd rather just live on a farm and grow things. That said, she also ages weirdly, so she'd be happy to just grow up period.

5. Favourite character name(s)?
I am inordinately fond of the name of my main-main character, Ivy Jade. Where I got it from is a little bit stupid, but I enjoy the fact that the connotations of the name (at least in my mind, outside of the storyworld) run so counter to who the character actually is. Of course, the in-world connotations are quite different . . . I also like the name of one of my princes, Hayden. It fits him.


6. What makes your character feel loved, and who was the last person to make them feel that way?
Ivy feels loved when people listen to her and show that they value and respect what she says and thinks. The last person to make her feel that way was probably Poppy before the main plot of the book began. Poppy most loved when people spend time with her, especially if they're doing something that those people wouldn't necessarily do otherwise, and when people seek her out for things, either fun things or I-need-help-and-you're-the-first-person-I-thought-of things. Ivy was definitely the last person to make her feel loved in the first way; in the second, Clover and Dasiy, the two youngest sisters. And Aster feels loved when people do things to make her life easier, and the last person to do that was Wisteria, the second-oldest of the sisters, who wrangled the youngest four sisters into bed and kept Aster from having to listen to their complaints.


7. Favourite character you’ve ever written?
Ever? Oooh. That's a tough one. I really enjoy writing Katelyn Stevens from Between Two Worlds because I can get in her head really easily, plus she makes a ton of fandom references. But I also like writing the trio of Jared, Jason, and Jarek; they have very similar voices (heavy on the snarky and teasing comments), they all love to get a rise out of other characters, and Jared and Jason have character arcs I really enjoy.


8. If your character were permanently leaving town, what would they easily throw out? What would they refuse to part with? (Why?)
Ivy and Poppy probably wouldn't take much of anything except the basic necessities and maybe a picture of all the sisters together, or some other small token to remember their sisters by. They aren't interested in mementos of the tower, just of their family. Aster would take the basic necessities, plus a few cuttings from her favorite lilac bush outside and mementos of each of her sisters. Pansy, on the other hand, would take as much of the tower library as she can, plus her entire collection of diaries and notebooks.


9. Favourite tropes to write!
Ooooh. I love big, messed-up families, big families in general, sibling teams, sibling rivalries, dramatic family reveals, characters' family members showing up to haunt them . . . basically, family tropes in general. I also love rogue-and-regal love stories (I have two so far, though one is less obvious than the other), lovable rogues, and battle couples. Aaaand all my favorite tropes are relationship ones . . . oh well.


10. Which story has your heart and won’t let go?
Um. All of them? That's the whole point of why I'm rewriting Dust of Silver and hoping to rewrite the Berstru Tales and Monster in the Castle, and why I want to write more in the Between Two Worlds and Way of the Pen universes as soon as I come up with plots.


11. Favourite relationship between characters you’ve written?
In Dust of Silver: I love all the sister relationships, but my favorite is the one between Poppy and Ivy. They're super close, and they tease each other but in a nice way, and if you mess with one you're messing with both (and you really don't want to mess with either, especially Poppy, because she's scary when she's mad). And there's a little bit of a disconnect at some points, but Poppy will trust Ivy a lot more than she'll trust others, even some of her sisters.

A few other favorites from my projects in general:

• All the Alyron sister relationships (so! much! drama! Also sweetness when they actually manage to get along).
• Poppy and Jason (loads of snark because they're both stubborn but have to work together quite often; would actually get along if they decided they didn't hate each other).
• Jason and Hayden (because polar opposites who, again, have to work together; Jason is the only one who can get Hayden to make even slightly snarky comments).
• Hayden and the Princess du Karel (less original than I thought, but still fun to write and I like where it's going).
• Jared and Bianca (one of the rogue-and-royal pairings I mentioned earlier, with bonus snark and chess).
• Katelyn and Aedon (the cutest couple I've written in my life) and Katelyn and Jarek (snarky magic best buddies).
• The Baili-Chouko-Gan friendship triangle (in which Baili is idealistic, Gan is mysterious, and Chouko is just grumpy at everyone).
• Rinna and the Taleweaver (because characters interacting with authors).

I might or might not have a lot of favorites. I regret nothing.


12. Toni Morrison once said, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” What are the books that you want to see more of, and what “holes” do you think need filling in the literary world?
I've done a few posts on this topic already, but a quick rundown:

• More awesome fantasy families.
• More female heroes who can be fierce and awesome but still like traditionally feminine things without shame.
• More female heroes who do awesome stuff without being warriors.
• More time travel and time-based superheroes.
• Fewer books where miscommunication causes 90% of the plot.
• More unusual fantasy creatures.
• More historical fantasy.
• More fantasy-mystery.
• More clean urban fantasy.
• Odyssey retelling in space.

Will I actually write any or all of these? I'm already working on some of them. The rest, we'll see.


13. Favourite Pinterest board/aesthetic for a book?
I'm bad at aesthetic, but my Berstru Tales Pinterest board is one of my favorites, with Between Two Worlds a close second. Y'all get both of them. (I'd post my Fairy Tale Retellings board too, but it's mostly stuff about Jason Silver, so . . . yeah.)

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14. Favourite time periods & settings to work with?
Since I'm a fantasy author, I'm just going to talk about settings. I think my favorite world I've created is a three-way tie between Udarean (The Way of the Pen; the inhabitants know they're characters in a series of novels), Berstru (Berstru Tales, the first world I created, and the most developed of my worlds), and the world of Once Upon a Dream (because I get to mess around with a dream world in which anything can happen).


15. When people are done reading your book, what feeling do you want them to come away with?
Happiness, satisfaction, desire to visit the world and meet the characters in person, and eagerness to read the next book.


And there you have it: the last Beautiful People. Thanks for reading, y'all!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

End-of-Year Book Freak Out "Tag"

Allo, everyone! As you might recall, back in July, I did the Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag as a way to sum up the first half of my reading year. And now that the reading year is (more or less) at a close, I decided to do the tag again- but with slightly modified questions.

1. Best book you've read in the second half of 2016:
Normally this would be a hard question to answer, but most of my top choices were actually sequels, and therefore fit better in the next question. So, I'm going to go with a classic- no, I mean really a classic- and say The Odyssey, which I read for Western Literature this year and absolutely loved.

Yes, it's long. Yes, it's in poetry (at least, it is if you get the best version). Yes, it can be difficult to understand at times (though it's really not that hard- I found it easier than Beowulf and even some Tolkien). Read it anyway. It's a classic and a foundation of the epic genre for a reason.

Another pretty awesome book, though perhaps not the absolute best I've read: The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig. (Because time-traveling pirates, that's why.)

  

2. Best sequel you've read in the second half of 2016:
And here we have the rest of my best-of list, pretty much! In reading order, we have:

Lady Dragon, Tela Du by Kendra E. Ardnek- I reviewed this on my blog a while back, but in summary: though this is the second book in the series, it's about five times better than Water Princess, Fire Prince, I love the characters (except Karyn, who I have complicated feelings about), and there are some pretty awesome plot twists in there.

Wingfeather Tales by Andrew Peterson and company- This collection of short stories by various Rabbit Room authors is a wonderful companion to the Wingfeather Saga. It's focused mainly on the past of Aerwiar and the colorful characters who inhabit it, but a few stories run parallel to or after the main series.

Ghostly Echoes by William Ritter- while this really wasn't what I was expecting in certain respects, it was pretty awesome, and I always enjoy more of Jackaby and Abigail and Jenny. With this story, the stakes rise, mysteries are made clear (though not too many, or else we wouldn't have another book after this), and characters (notably Jenny) grow. Is it as good as the first book? I can't say; it depends how you compare the two. But I still enjoyed it.

 

Beyond the Gateway by Bryan Davis- I wasn't awestruck by Reapers, the first in the series, but Beyond the Gateway was pretty great. The murky world finally gets some light, the stakes rise as questions are answered and new questions become evident, and Shanghai gets to shine now that she and Singapore aren't competing for the spotlight. Also, some of the twists are pretty impressive. Just sayin'.

 

Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson- It's not a book roundup without some Sanderson! This is another collection of novellas, short stories, and other miscellaneous materials from the Cosmere, most of which have been previously published elsewhere but not all of which I actually got to read before now. The highlight of the anthology was Edgedancer, which is about Lift from The Stormlight Archive, but Shadows for Silence in the Forest of Hell was a close second. Very frontier-fantasy, very exciting, very awesome. 

3. New release you haven't read yet but want to: 
All the books on my Fall 2016 Reads post except for The Secret Horses of Briar Hill would qualify- I haven't managed to get to any of them yet besides the one. I also haven't quite gotten to Fallen Star, Anne Elisabeth Stengl's latest release, yet, but as it's on Kindle, I may end up saving that one for a bit. I haven't decided yet.

4. Most anticipated release for next year: 
Is this even a question? Oathbringer, book three in the Stormlight Archive, releases next year and I can hardly wait! Based on the State of the Sanderson report, I'm thinking it'll come in the fall, though a release date proper isn't available yet. Neither is a cover. (I would like both now, please.)

Almost as exciting as new Stormlight: Megan Whalen Turner has a new Queen's Thief book coming out! In May! And it's going to be awesome! And this one has a cover and a title and everything and I'm so excited!

I'm also mildly terrified of this book, though, because it seems to be about the Medes more than Eugenides and his countries, and I'm not sure what I think about that. And I want to like it and I'm sure I will like it, but I'm not sure if it's going to be a The Thief or The King of Attolia-type liking, where I read it the first time and I love it, or if it's going to be a Queen of Attolia-type liking, where I read it the first time and don't know what to do with it and then I reread it, know what's going on well enough that I can pick up on it when it happens, and like it better. I don't know. Maybe I'm just panicking over nothing. That happens sometimes.   

5. Biggest disappointment:

This might come as a shock to y'all- it certainly surprised me- but White Sand, the new graphic novel by Brandon Sanderson, just was not what I was expecting or what I wanted. Part of the problem is the format; the graphic novel doesn't let you get inside a character's head half as well as print does, and so the story loses a lot of its magic that way. The other part of the problem . . . well, I'm not sure what it is, but the fact that I have very high expectations for anything Sanderson at this point probably doesn't help.


6. Biggest surprise:
I can't think of a single book that qualifies better for this than any others, but a few of my top picks for the category:

The Beyonders trilogy by Brandon Mull- I'd seen this series around Goodreads for about a year before I finally picked it up- dubiously- on the recommendation of a friend of mine. Though the initial synopsis made me think that the book was probably trying so hard to be original that it went straight to cheesy, the story turned out to be pretty good, and the worldbuilding in particular is better than in a lot of other books I've read.

The Lost Letters of Pergamum by Bruce W. Longenecker- this was another read for a class, a historical fiction set during the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian. Though it did occasionally fall into the occasional info-dump, it was a surprisingly interesting read, and I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would.

The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope- this was recommended to me by the same person who suggested the Beyonders books, and I honestly need to trust him a little more by prioritizing his recommendations when he gives them. I'm not sure what I expected from The Prisoner of Zenda, but it wasn't what I got: an engaging, exciting, dramatic, and romantic old-fashioned adventure full of intrigue and drama. On the whole, it was an excellent story, exactly what I didn't realize I wanted at the time.

7. Favorite new-to-you author:
Maybe a surprise, since he hasn't come up on this tag yet, but Rick Riordan. My roommate convinced me to read the Percy Jackson series, and I, on a temporary Greek kick, said that I would- finally. I finished the first series and I'm about halfway through Heroes of Olympus. First series was better, so far- though certain characters in the second series are pretty awesome. And there was a giant mechanical dragon in The Lost Hero, so I'm all for that.

8. Newest fictional crush/ship:
Favorite ship is a tie between Reutra and Amberite, both from Lady Dragon, Tela Du. Reutra- Rueben and Petra- is just adorable; there aren't nearly enough childhood-friendship-turned-to-romance stories in fantasy. And Amberite- Amber and Granite- is sweet as well, but it also makes me sad; Granite and Amber truly do love each other, but Amber has found something she loves more, and in doing so, she's doomed them both. Newest fictional crush . . . don't really have one? As per the usual, everyone who I might crush on ends up with a very definite love interest by the end of the book, if it isn't obvious from the start, so I don't even bother.

9. Newest favorite character:
. . . I'm going to pretend there's an s on the end of character, because storms, no, I can't pick just one.  A few favorites who I've met over the last six months include:

• Ferrin, Jasher, and Drake from the Beyonders trilogy
• Caprion and Burn from the Cat's Eye Chronicles
• Percy Jackson from the series bearing his name, as well as possibly Piper and Leo from the Heroes of Olympus series- haven't decided about them yet, but I'm pretty sure at least one of them will end up making the favorites list. Also, from the same series . . . I really like Hermes. Maybe he's not always the greatest parent, but I don't know; I like him anyway.
• Silence from Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, because she's storming awesome. (Not Lift-style awesome; the other kind of awesome.)    

10. A book that made you cry:
Um . . . I'm coming up empty on this one. As I've stated before, I don't generally cry over books.


11. A book that made you happy:

Absolutely the Enchanted Forest Chronicles- the first two in particular. They're wonderfully quick, fun reads with a nice mix of humor, magic, and whimsy. (Also, they have dragons. You can't argue with that.)


Another book that I just read a couple days ago which would also qualify:

Paper Crowns by Mirriam Neal, which I got for Christmas, wasn't quite what I expected, but it was still a delightful little story with a fairy-tale feel to it. Also, Halcyon is absolutely awesome and reminded me a bit of Bard Eanrin at times, so- yeah. It made me smile- and, in more than a few cases, giggle.

12. Favorite book to film adaptation you've seen this half of the year:
Um. Let's see . . . OH! Merlin probably counts as book-to-film, right? Even it's technically a medieval-legends-to-TV-show adaptation? And even if it kind of doesn't pay a great deal of attention to the original legends anyway? It's a great show, at least so far as I've watched. (I mean, yes, I still have to finish the first season, but I figure it probably just gets better from here? Particularly as Merlin can't possibly become less of an idiot than he is at the beginning of the show, and if I like it even when he's being stupid, I'll probably enjoy it more when he knows what he's doing.)

13. Favorite post(s) you've done this half of the year:
I still really like the Fairy Tale Retellings That Need to Be a Thing post that I did back in September, and the Character Christmas Tag makes me a bit happier than it possibly should. I'm also very pleased with I Wonder . . . and Why I Love My WIP.


14. Most beautiful book you've bought/received this half of the year:
Cover-wise, I think it's a tie between these two:

Anyone want to help break the tie? Which do you think is a prettier cover?

Content-wise, there's no question: The Wingfeather Tales takes the prize.

15. Any other books you want to babble about for any other reason?
Just a few books that are on my TBR-soon list, even though they've been out for a while:

Samara's Peril by Jaye L. Knight (yes, I know, it was featured on my mid-year roundup too; shame on me; I'm just mildly scared of having my heart shattered into a hundred small pieces, because The King's Scrolls hurt very much)

Twinepathy by C.B. Cook (which I beta-read the first half of, actually, but had to stop on because of time commitments)

Plenilune by Jennifer Freitag (which I just got for Christmas)

What are some of your favorite books, characters, and other bookish things from this past year? Any other recent releases that I need to make sure I have on my TBR list? Please tell me in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)
            

The Christmas Character Tag!

Hello, everyone! Less than a week remains before Christmas, there's carols playing all around and presents beneath the tree, and the Advent devotionals and storybooks are drawing their ways towards the climax. Yes, the holiday spirit is definitely in full swing- something that always puts me in the mood to write Christmas-themed fluff-fic. Unfortunately, I can't sort out Christmas songs and characters into a writeable plot, and Fight Song is taking top priority at the moment for actual writing. So instead I'm creating the Christmas Character Tag in order to indulge my desires for fluff without having to come up with an actual story. Others equally taken by the season are more than welcome to join in.

Of course, since it's my tag, it's my rules, and here's how this is going to work:
1. Acknowledge the person who tagged you. Thanking them is nice, but not necessary. You can be annoyed at them if you like. (Though, if you're annoyed, why are you doing the tag anyway?)
2. Pick your characters. I advise having several, though not too many. They can all be from the same story, or they can be from different stories. If they're from different stories, make sure to specify who's from the same story.
3. Answer the questions. This should be self-explanatory.
4. Tag people. If you want. Don't tag more people than you have characters in the tag. If you don't want to tag anyone, you can do that too.
5. Listen to your favorite Christmas song. Because putting the effort in to write a post deserves a reward, my friend!

I'm going to be answering with the main characters from my Fairy Tale Retellings series, despite (or maybe because of) the fact that I haven't written much of anything about them since February or March-ish. So, our cast for the tag consists of adopted sisters Ivy Jade, Poppy, and Pansy, as well as Prince Hayden of Aldurna, Aethan Falleth, and Jason Silver.

And now for the questions:

1. If any of your characters are from Earth: what are some of their Christmas traditions? If your characters aren't from Earth: does their world have an equivalent to Christmas, and if so, how do they celebrate it?
 None of my characters are from Earth (though, for the rest of the questions, we're pretending that they are, or that they at least know about and celebrate Christmas). However, equivalents to Christmas do exist in the various countries of that world, and celebrations vary from one place to another. Specifically:

• Ivy, Poppy, and Pansy are all from Keltia, which has a twelve-day midwinter festival culminating on the shortest day of the year. The festival celebrates the triumph of life and light over death and darkness, and like Christmas in our world, evergreen decorations and abundant sweet treats are common. However, like most Keltian holidays, there's a much greater focus on dances- whether that's traditional jigs and reels at various parties and socials during those twelve days or the symbolic dance of the final day in which whole towns participate.
• Jason is from Morovia, which shares Keltia's midwinter festival and many of the same traditions, but in Morovia, there's much less focus on dancing, and much more on gift-giving. Each of the festival's twelve days is dedicated to giving to a certain person or group. However, as often as not Jason finds himself outside his home country during the festival because of his duties- and if he happens to be in the right part of Keltia, he'll just slip in to join Poppy's celebrations.
• Hayden and Aethan are both from Aldurna, the only one of the five nations to not join in the midwinter festival. Their winter holiday, which is held later in the year, is focused much more on thankfulness to and worship of Adonai (God). Though the holiday itself only lasts one day, it's preceded by three weeks of preparation, much like the tradition of Advent in our world. The climatic day begins with a special church service, followed by a feast in the midafternoon and social gatherings in the evening. Despite the comparative solemnity of the Alduran celebration, it's still much more festive and relaxed than their culture the rest of the year, which might be why Aethan says it's the only time of year when he actually enjoys life in his home country.   

        

2. Which of your characters gets the most into Christmas? The least? Who gets annoyed at the commercialization, and who doesn't care because it's CHRISTMAS?
Poppy is by far the most excited about Christmas, and she'll sweep everyone around her up in her exuberance. Hayden is the least excited- not that he dislikes the holiday, but he generally doesn't get worked up about holidays. He and Pansy are also the most bothered by commercialization.
 
3. All the characters try to decorate a Christmas tree together. What happens?
Poppy and Ivy do most everything; they have the process down so well by now that it seems like a dance. Aethan cut down the tree, though, and he does the top branches that Poppy and Ivy can't reach. Pansy strings popcorn and cranberries and hangs up the stockings and sets up the nativity on the mantel. Jason mostly watches and makes sarcastic comments and teases Poppy and Ivy about their lack of height, but allows Poppy to bother him into doing the lights. Hayden, a firm believer in not having too many cooks in the kitchen, generally doesn't join in.
 
4. What's each character's favorite Christmas song?
Poppy and Ivy both sing "Feliz Navidad" and "Deck the Halls" about two dozen times each during the Christmas season, but Poppy also loves "Christmas in Killarney" (mostly because it's so fun to dance to), while Ivy prefers songs like "Sleigh Ride." Pansy's favorite by far is "Mary, Did You Know?" Hayden enjoys "O Come O Come Emmanuel." Aethan likes "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (though lately he's been playing "All I Want for Christmas Is You" a lot . . . particularly when he knows Pansy can hear it). Jason, for his part, isn't one for Christmas music, but he'll tolerate whatever's playing.


5. Can your characters agree on a Christmas movie to watch together? What happens if they try? Speaking of which, who cries at Christmas movies? Anyone?  
Hahaha, no. Not all six. Not completely. What begins with six people wanting to watch six different movies ends with one of two situations:

• Poppy, Ivy, and Jason are watching a Christmas comedy (which one depends whether Poppy or Ivy gave in first on their pick); they throw Jason out halfway through because he won't stop making sarcastic comments about the characters and plot. Aethan would've been fine with joining in the comedy, but Pansy wants to watch Miracle on 34th Street, so they're watching that. Hayden has to go find other friends with whom to watch It's a Wonderful Life or else wait for Pansy to be done with Miracle.
• Poppy, Ivy, and Aethan all somehow agree on White Christmas. Depending how late it is, they all end up singing along with some of the catchier and more upbeat songs (never the titular one, though, unless it's really, really late). Hayden, Jason, and Pansy either watch A Christmas Carol or else watch A Charlie Brown Christmas and save A Christmas Carol for when Aethan can join them.  

Of course if they all started watching movies earlier, they could all watch together and just take turns picking the movie every night- though Pansy and Hayden would still sit out some of the comedies (because of strong second-hand embarrassment and a different sense of humor than the movie is meant for, respectively). But because they don't start soon enough, they have to split up so everyone can see the movies they like best.
  
6. Your characters are going to a White Elephant Gift Exchange; what kind of gift does each one bring? 
Poppy comes up with something clever, but still nice, probably involving food. Ivy just goes the easy route and brings a mug and hot chocolate. Pansy either asks Poppy to come up with something for her or sits the game out. Hayden goes the even-easier route and picks up a gift card for either Chick-fil-a or ice cream, but he does the box-within-a-box-within-a-box trick (with a few more layers) to show that he tried. Aethan finds something silly, but not mean- if anyone brings a literal white elephant of any kind, it'll be him. And Jason looks for something as ridiculous as possible; forget the consequences.


7. What's each character's favorite Christmas treat?
Ivy loves peppermint bark and always makes it herself. Poppy doesn't have a favorite, per se, but she is very fond of molasses cookies. Pansy's preference is Russian teacakes and biscotti with hot chocolate. Aethan's treat of choice is ladylocks, but he can compromise on chocolate-dipped macaroons. Hayden isn't one for sweets, but he, like Pansy, enjoys biscotti as well (though he eats it with coffee, not hot chocolate). And Jason, for his part, has to be restrained from sneakily eating all the toffee.


8. Who among your characters likes eggnog? Who thinks it's disgusting?
Poppy heartily dislikes eggnog. Hayden doesn't hate it, but doesn't much care for it either. Ivy and Pansy will drink a little bit if it's there, but don't like large quantities. Aethan and Jason both enjoy it very much, and both will drink the alcoholic version as well as the nonalcoholic.
  
9. Who's meeting who under the mistletoe? Who's catching those people and teasing them about it forever?
Aethan would like to meet Pansy under the mistletoe, but knows she won't let him kiss her until after they're married. Poppy doesn't seek out the mistletoe, but if she happens to run into a certain Keltian prince (not a main character yet) underneath it . . . well, she doesn't mind a kiss or two. Hayden studiously avoids the mistletoe; he currently has no time for or inclination towards that sort of thing, and Jason teases him enough about his love life (or lack thereof) as it is.
 

10. Who makes all the Christmas cookies and other treats?
Poppy generally bakes for at least three days straight during the Christmas season, making not just cookies but also other treats both sweet and savory. Ivy and Pansy help as needed, but Poppy does the most- which is fine, since she loves baking.
   
11. Who stays (or used to stay) up late waiting for Santa? 
Of the characters included in this tag, Ivy kept staying up late for that purpose the longest. Pansy figured out first that Santa wasn't real, but would stay up with the sisters who did believe in order to keep them company, and because she thought that staying up late was exciting and romantic- she still does.


12. What would each character say Christmas isn't Christmas without?
For this one, I'm going to ask the characters directly, so we can get it in their own words:
Poppy: Family- and food. You can't have Christmas without plenty of food.
Ivy: I agree with Poppy about family, but I love the holiday dances as well.
Pansy: I think you can guess what I'd say . . . Poppy's right; family is the most important part.
Hayden: No Christmas is complete without a Christmas Eve candlelight service and a Christmas morning service as well.
Aethan: Holiday parties- I'm not particular what kind, but 'tis the season to celebrate as much as possible!
Jason: Eh . . . snow, I guess? It's the one day of the year when it isn't a pain. 

Finally, we tag people! As usual, picking up this tag isn't mandatory . . . but I would love to see your answers. I tag:

• Deborah O'Carroll
• Emmarayne Redding
• Anyone who's making any variety of chocolate-chip or oatmeal cookies for Christmas this year.
• Anyone who wants to do this tag.

And here's a clean copy of the questions:
1. If any of your characters are from Earth: what are some of their Christmas traditions? If your characters aren't from Earth: does their world have an equivalent to Christmas, and if so, how do they celebrate it?
2. Which of your characters gets the most into Christmas? The least? Who gets annoyed at the commercialization, and who doesn't care because it's CHRISTMAS?
3. All the characters try to decorate a Christmas tree together. What happens?
4. What's each character's favorite Christmas song?
5. Can your characters agree on a Christmas movie to watch together? What happens if they try?
6. Your characters are going to a White Elephant Gift Exchange; what kind of gift does each one bring? (Or, because I had a different question here originally and forgot to change it before it started circulating, if you prefer you can answer: "Speaking of which, who cries at Christmas movies?")
7. What's each character's favorite Christmas treat?
8. Who among your characters likes eggnog? Who thinks it's disgusting?
9. Who's meeting who under the mistletoe? Who's catching those people and teasing them about it forever?
10. Who makes all the Christmas cookies and other treats? Who eats all the Christmas cookies?
11. Who stays (or used to stay) up late waiting for Santa? 
12. What would each character say Christmas isn't Christmas without?

Thanks, everyone, for reading! I hope you enjoyed this!
Merry Christmas!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)