Harry Potter Spells Book Tag

Being relatively new to the blogging universe still, I haven’t quite dipped my toes into the vast ocean of blog topics. I’ve done life posts, review posts, and even a hair tutorial. One thing I haven’t tried yet is something that I’ve wanted to try from Day One: a book tag! Literally no one, zero people, not a single soul is surprised that my first one is centered around Harry Potter. Here are twenty spells and their book counterparts!

I was tagged by Lindsey from Bring My Books and the original tag came from Kim at Kimberly Faye Reads and BookNerd Betsy.

---

An upcoming release you wish you could get your hands on right now:

The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead

If you’ve checked out my  you know how Mead’s books have changed my life. I got to go to one of her book signings back in 2010 and she was the most kind and intelligent woman! It shows in her writing style consistently and I couldn’t be more excited for her newest series to debut! *grabby hands*

Favorite series starter:

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Basically I can sing Richelle Mead’s praises for days on end. With this series, a spinoff of her Vampire Academy, Mead did something no other author has ever done for me. She made the first book in a series my favorite book of the series. Never before has that happened and it will be hard pressed to happen again, I’m sure. Usually with a series my favorite book comes somewhere in the middle or towards the end, but Bloodlines picked up with wicked good action and a romance I can throw my weight behind. (Sydrian fo’ lyfe.)

A book that gave you all the warm fuzzies:

Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone  by J.K. Rowling

I don’t read a lot of books that are considered romantic which is what I think of when I think warm and fuzzy… I’m not big on contemporary which is where most of the gooey ooey romance comes into play. So, I started thinking about what books give me warm and fuzzies sans romance. Considering the season, all I could think about was Harry’s first Christmas at Hogwarts and how he gets his very own Weasley sweater and real presents and it all takes place in the Gryffindor common room and HOW MUCH WARM AND FUZZIER CAN YOU GET?????

A book that made you ugly cry:

Winter by Marissa Meyer

If you’ve read this book- no explanation necessary.

If you haven’t read this book- Brief summary: destruction, tears, kissing, fugitives, shipping, more destruction

Picture me with Kim K’s crying face, but x10.

Bookish hero or heroine you want to protect you in real life:

 

Rose Hathaway from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Rose is a bit of a wild card, but as she grows up and progresses in her training, she becomes more dangerously honed. She was already pretty kick butt in the first novel but by the end of the six book series she’s literally tracking down her undead lover who has supernatural strength because she knows killing him is the right thing to do. She’s my biggest character role model so having her as my body guard would be the obvious choice. Too bad I’m not Queen Vasilissa Dragomir.

A book that you intentionally spoiled for yourself:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

This is one of those books that falls into the category called, “Marissa Says No-thanks”. I do fantasy, scifi, epic adventure, etc. I don’t really do romance or what many would consider the stereotypical teen angst novel. I was pretty sure that was what TFiOS was going to be, so when all of my friends started reading it, I just Googled the synopsis. I ended up watching the movie with my mom and then reading the book because I needed to picture a different Hazel Grace than Shailene Woodley (she’s my least favorite actress second only to Anne Hathaway).

A book that you wish you could make everyone read because you loved it:

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

This, my friends, is my great Don’t Judge a Book by it’s Cover Rant of 2015. Actually, of ever. This whole series was released with terrible covers. As in, atrociously terrible. Bad. BUT YAH KNOW WHAT? These are some of the best books I’ve ever read in my life. Richelle Mead (you know how I feel about that wonderful wonderful lady) is an amazing author whose writing has brought me to tears, made me flail with laughter, and in some of her most dramatic moments of plot, I’ve flung the book across the room. All of that’s contained in a set of reallllllll bad covers. So, read these books. Because their covers are a -7 but their story is a 97. That’s on a scale of 0-10.

A book or series you wish never ended:

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

If the Harry Potter series never ended, ever, that still probably wouldn’t be enough. I vote that in OoTP, Voldemort dies so that Fred, Lupin, Tonks, Sirius, Dobby, and all the others don’t have to die and then the series continues on but with all my favorite characters still alive. Good? Good. It’s whatev, do your thing Row Row.

A book with an uplifting ending or message:

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

I read this book with my sixth graders (I’m a tutor.) and I think I may have loved it even more than they did. The entire book is a rollercoaster of emotions and you as the reader really connect with Melanie. She faces some really heartbreaking situations but in the end, she overcomes everything and shows us all that life is worth living. If more people were like Melanie, the world would be a better place.

A book you wish you could forget you ever read:

Looking for Alaska by John Green

I like John Green. I really do. I like his style of writing too. I’m just saying that we should start the Choose A Different Freaking Plot John Green Committee. Even if I erased this book from my mind, it wouldn’t matter because I’ve read The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns, which are both basically the same exact thing as this one. At last with Paper Towns and TFiOS there were some parts I enjoyed; Looking for Alaska was just bad. Teen angsty and bad.

An author whose books always get you out of a slump:

Tahereh Mafi is the author of one of my favorite series, Shatter Me. Even though I love the books, it’s not necessarily that they get me out of the reading slumps; it’s her. Let me explain the process: When I get in a reading slump, I try and thing about all the great books I’ve read, and how if I wouldn’t have read them, my life would be so different in the worst way. That leads me to thinking about Shatter Me, then about Mafi being one of my biggest author role models. If she was in a reading slump, how would she have been inspired to write some of the greatest novels ever? See, my logic is flawless. Then I eat a donut and read a book because reading slumps are for losers.

In conclusion- Tahereh Mafi is like the sassy big sister I always wanted. I want to be like her when I grow up.

A swoon worthy hero or heroine:

Sexy Spaceship Captain, Thorne Carswell

Marissa Meyer literally could not have made me love a fictional character more than I love Thorne, and I love A LOT of fictional characters. Look at dis fan art, peeps. Look. At. It. This is exactly how I pictured him in my head and *faints*.

“At first, she was disgusted by him and his apparent greed and recklessness… [But] like the sun rising over Earth’s horizon, her perception began to change. Carswell Thorne wasn’t a heartless scoundrel at all. If anyone bothered to get to know him, they would see that he was compassionate and chivalrous. He was exactly the kind of hero Cress had been dreaming about her entire life.”―Cress’ thoughts

Preach, girl. Preach.

A book that caused you to stop doing all other things until you finished it:

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Speaking of Thorne Carswell…

The Lunar Chronicles wasn’t even on my radar until I joined OTSPSecretSister, at which point the last book in the series was about to be released. I didn’t even think anything about it until I decided to read it to bond with my secret sister. Let me tell you something, lovely people of the blogging universe. Lean in. Closer. Closer. *whisper screams* I READ THE ENTIRE SERIES IN FORTY EIGHT HOURS. All jokes aside, I literally walked while reading these books. I didn’t sleep more than a few hours and read while I did literally everything. I couldn’t put them down. If you haven’t seen these books, they’re pretty hefty with huge page counts; I’m pretty proud of myself. They were just. that. good.

A book that was painful to read or broke you:

Champion by Marie Lu

I don’t want to talk about it… It’s too soon…

This sums it up: My copy has tear stains and I’ve only ever cried at two other books in my life.

A book that had you laughing out loud:

Soundless by Richelle Mead

This book is my most recent read. Richelle always writes humor into her stories, and she does it so freaking well. In this book less than three characters spoke, and it still had some of the funniest dialogue I’ve ever read! I don’t know how she does it but I’m 99% sure if she decided to be a comedian on the side, it would totally work out for her.

A book that made you want to send it flying:

The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

The one had me wanting to send it flying but in a good way! You can read my review here.

Basically it’s a world inside a video game which was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Even though I love fantasy and scifi, all of those books are set in their distinctive worlds. With this one, I was like, “Oh cool we’re in the video game.. wait… now we’re in the real world.” It wasn’t bad; just different! Sometimes I get super enthusiastic about stuff and flail, and this would be considered a part of that “stuff”.

Bookish world that you wish you could visit:

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I only discovered Riggs after becoming a huge fan of his wife’s (He and Tahereh Mafi are my OTP) work. Boyyyyyyyy am I glad I did, though. He is a character all in himself. Let me tell you guys something: he builds a world in ways that rival some of the best classic literature I’ve ever read. I definitely want to go to a loop and meet some peculiars.

A book with a shocking twist or ending:

Atlantia by Ally Condie

This book threw me for a loop. Normally so-called “plot twists” don’t surprise me, and I can see loads of stuff coming up. This book didn’t really work like that. Condie just kept surprising me. Towards the end, I was 100% sure Rio was going to be successful in her first attempt to reach Above, and I was 100% sure her sister was SPOILER a really bad person. Neither of those things were true/happened. Not the biggest plot twists in the world, but it was a lot of little things like those that kept me guessing which I LOVED.

A character death that destroyed you:

Fili and Kili from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Let’s all just take a while to appreciate those two precious cinnamon rolls right there.

*crawls off bed and into floor*

*sobs*

Best series conclusion:

Ignite Me  by Tahereh Mafi

A. Aaron Warner is a total babe.

B. They basically stand on top of a building looking down at all their loved ones (who survived) and I was like, “WELL THIS OUTCOME WAS BETTER THAN EXPECTED.”

All joking aside, Tahereh wrote a beautiful series that I fell in love with. She made me care about characters in a way that rivals my love for Vampire Academy, Tolkien, and Harry Potter. This was the perfect ending to a ravishing series.

---

I won’t be tagging anyone, but if you’re a Harry Potter fan, I suggest you get your little blogging rear-end in gear and do this as soon as possible!