MidnighTS Book Tag (3AM Edition)

Look I know I am posting this months later but it was a crazy couple months and my blog was basically abandoned but I am here to post it now!

Here is the link to the original by Star is All Booked Up

The Great War – love that rises above even the hardest times

As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow is this song. Kenan and Salamah go through the most difficult situations and make it through together stronger than before.

Bigger Than The Whole Sky – a book that deals with grief

The Dead Romantics has such great discussions on grief and dealing with the death of a family member.

Paris – favourite escape

The Daevabad trilogy is the perfect book to escape into and it got me through the pandemic.

High Infidelity – love triangle 

I don’t usually like love triangles but I do love Will Tessa and Jem from the Infernal Devices because I just wanted them all to be happy.

Glitch – friends to lovers

Percy and Annabeth are my absolute fave friends to lovers! I loved how we got to see their relationship grow over the years!

Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve – a book you wish had a different ending/DNF

Most recently it was We Are All Birds of Uganda. This book bored me half to death and neither point of view character was at all interesting and then that ending was so sudden and weird like what was the point of the story. 

Dear Reader – a book that taught you something important

Invisible Women showed me just how deeply our society is built to favour men and disadvantage women. I highly recommend reading if you want to rage.

I know this is super late but at least I was finally able to post it! Do share your answers and tag Rameela who created this post!

MidnighTS Book Tag – Part 1

So today I’m sharing my answers to the Midnights Book Tag created by Rameela! You can find her post here. Everyone is welcome to do the tag and remember to link Rameela’s post when you share!

Here are my answers:

Lavender Haze- a book you will always love and defend

The Daevabad trilogy – I will fight the whole damn world to protect Alizayd 

Maroon- a spicy book

Okay so I don’t really read spicy books but I did read and enjoy Love on the Brain which does have some spice!

Anti-Hero-unreliable narrator

Serapio from Black Sun because I want to trust him but can I really? His view is so limited because he did not grow up around his mother’s people so how can he truly know the truth of what is happening there as all he knows is what he has been told by his teachers who have their own agenda.

Snow of the Beach- an unexpected surprise

The Book Eaters is not my usual type of read but this story focuses on motherhood and I really loved it!

You’re on your own kid- a character that really needs a hug

Salama from As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow. Her and Kenan both deserve hugs because they have suffered and lost so much. 

Midnight rain- star-crossed lovers

Laila & Severin of course! Especially after finishing The Bronzed Beasts 

Question…?- grumpy x sunshine (or neurodivergent rep)

Alizayd & Nahri – my girl is always grumpy unless she’s conning someone or eating and Ali is somehow seeing the good even when everything is falling apart

Vigilante shit- favorite character out for revenge

Rin from The Poppy War – She will burn everything to the ground for her revenge

Bejeweled- strong character development

Rae from The Theft of Sunlight has some amazing development in the duology especially when it comes to accepting herself and letting herself love and be loved. 

Labyrinth- second chance romance

First Love, Take Two was amazing! The chemistry and tension was impeccable and there’s only one bed!

Karma- favorite full circle moments or parallels 

Nasir and Zafira are the perfect examples from their names having the same meaning to the parallels right from the first sentences from each of their point of views.

Sweet Nothing- favorite fluffy/cozy read

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is the epitome of cozy fantasy with an adorable romance and found family. 

Mastermind- perfect world building and storytelling

Let me introduce you all to Legendborn because that book has me in a chokehold. The story, the characters, the world building and pulling from history and just…it’s absolutely amazing!

I will share part 2 of her tag next week!

Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag

So I finally remembered to do this tag! So here are my answers!

1 How much have you been reading?

As of writing this post I have read 67 books! 54% have been audiobooks, 12% EBooks and 34% have been physical books. I have definitely been enjoying audiobooks more in the last couple years.

2 Best book you’ve read so far

The Stardust Thief! I completely devoured this book and I have not stopped thinking about it since I read it. My review is here

3 Best sequel you’ve read so far

A Darkness at the Door by Intisar Khanani. This book was absolutely perfect and I am completely and entirely in love with this duology! My review is here

4 New release you haven’t read yet but want to

The House with the Golden Door is a book I really want to get to but i’m scared of what will happen to my faves and I don’t know if i’m ready for the heartbreak I know we will get.

5 Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

Love From Mecca to Medina! The way I am absolutely DYING to read this book but also don’t want to say goodbye to these characters. 

6 Biggest surprise

My Mechanical Romance! I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did! I loved the discussions around women in STEM and the cute romance! My review is here

7 New favourite author

Chelsea Abdullah and Olivie Blake have become instant buy authors because their books were absolutely incredible!

8 Books to read by the end of the year

I really want to read Pandora & Elektra by the end of the year!

9 Biggest disappointment?

You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen & The Balloon Thief by Aneesa Marufu. Both of these books were a mess and problematic. You can read my review for The Balloon Thief here and You Truly Assumed here

10 Newest fictional crush?

Bren from The Theft of Sunlight duology. I absolutely love him even if he is a thief lord. When he came with his hair in a top knot, I swooned right there and then. The love and care he shows for the main character and the fierce way he protects his people, how can I not love him.

11 Newest favourite character?

Amara from The Wolf Den has become an absolute favourite character. Her resilience and determination to build a better life for herself and just her ruthlessness and strength to make it a reality made me completely fall in love with her.

12 Book that made you cry?

I don’t really cry when I read a book and I haven’t cried over a book this year but I think Love From Mecca to Medina may change that!

13 Book that made you happy?

I read The River of Silver with a huge grin and the last story lives in my head rent free! I am so happy that we got these stories which I absolutely loved and just the best goodbye to these characters I adore. My review is here

14 Favourite post you’ve written this year?

I put my whole heart into writing this post. It’s about how much I loved the disability rep in The Theft of Sunlight duology. 

15 Most beautiful book you bought this year?

There have been so many beautiful books this year but I think one of my most beautiful ones is The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea! 

What are your answers to some of these questions?

The Poppy War Book Tag

So I saw this tag that Novels and Nebulas created inspired by The Poppy War and I just had to do it. I loved the first two books and I cannot wait for the final book.

Make sure to link the original tag

Fang Runin – Who’s Your Favourite Anti-Heroine?

 I love Rin, she makes the absolute worst decisions sometimes and has done some awful things but I still can’t help but root for her, especially after the end of The Dragon Republic.

Chosen One Schmosen One – What Character Deserves More Spotlight in Your Favourite Series?

Zaynab from The Daevabad Trilogy! I would love to see more of her! She is smart and resourceful and we don’t get to see enough of her. She single-handedly engineers Ali’s return to Daevabad and no one even suspects her!

No Stone Left Unturned – Who’s Your Favourite Fictional Genius?

I love Kaz Brekker, how is he 17 and able to  pull off all he does?! The heists and the way he manipulates everything in his favour, leading a crew and running the Dregs. And how much in control he always is, well aside from when Inej is hurt, then he loses his shit.

The Epic Descent – What Makes You Empathise with your Favourite Morally Grey Character?

Eva from Prime Deceptions makes some really bad decisions and has to live with the consequences and despite what she did was awful she spends the whole time trying to work out the best way to try to make up for it as much as she can. She accepts that people might never forgive her and owns her actions. I was rooting for her to be able to try to become a better person and not make these same mistakes again.

Mad Gods and Their Maddening Power – What’s Your Favourite Novel About Gods and Their Powers?

I adore all of Rick Riordan’s books but my favourite is probably the Magnus Chase trilogy, inspired by Norse mythology. It will always hold a special place in my heart because it was one of the first times I saw a hijabi character in a fantasy book who was a badass and unapologetically Muslim.

Immortals and Their Battles – What’s Your Favourite Battle Scene?

The third trial from An Ember in the Ashes is one hell of a battle scene. It is epic and painful and heart wrenching and even though you know it will kill you, you can’t look away. What Elias has to do and how much it destroys him was so incredibly difficult to read.

This Poisonous Beauty – What Character Do You Find as Intriguing as you do Terrifying?

Wrath from Kingdom of the Wicked is intriguing and terrifying at the same time. He is a literal Prince from Hell yet I couldn’t help but be pulled towards him and want to know more about him and his motivations.

Clever Truths and Cleverer Lies – What’s a Book Rife With Political Intrigue that you Enjoyed?

These Violent Delights is full of political intrigue and it drives the story and how Juliette and Roma interact with each other and I loved reading about 1920s Shanghai. There is power struggles from all different sides and it results in deaths of innocent people and Juliette and Roma have to try to find out what is causing it to stop more deaths.

A Trio to Reckon With – Who’s Your Favourite Fictional Trio?

I adore Percy, Annabeth and Grover in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I loved reading about their adventures and seeing them grow in each book. I loved how sassy they were and their banter and how much they cared for and supported each other.

So that’s the end of the tag! Everyone is welcome to do the tag!

The Zumra Book Tag

So the lovely Rameela has created an amazing book tag inspired by the Zumra from We Hunt the Flame! So of course I had to do the tag!

Here is the link for the tag

Zafira bint Iskander: An emotionally driven character or book

The Bloodprint is quite emotionally driven. The MC is driven by her wanting to get justice and build a better world for her people.

Nasir Ghameq: Angsty boy A character that’s conflicted/at war with themselves

Altan is really conflicted throughout The Poppy War. I really felt for him and how awful his life has been.

Kifah Darwish: A book with lots of food in it (or a foodie character)

The Candle and the Flame is full of food references that had me drooling! Every time a gulab jamun was mentioned it made me crave it.

Benyamin Haadi: A book with a “mum” character (or a book with wisdom you didn’t seek)

Laila from The Gilded Wolves is definitely a mum character. She looks after everyone especially Zofia.

Altair al-Badawi: A secretive character (or a book that kept you guessing)

Descendant of the Crane had me guessing until the end. I really loved this book and it had me hooked!

Deen Ra’ad: A simp A pure cinnamon roll

Adam from Love From A to Z is a pure cinnamon roll and I love him so much!

Yamine Ra’ad: A character you wouldn’t want on your bad side

Juliette Cai from These Violent Delights is deadly and there is no way I would want to get on her bad side.

Lana bint Iskander: A character that had to grow up too quickly

The Qahtani siblings from The Daevabad trilogy. I mean do they even get to have a childhood at all?