The Ultimate Recommendations tag

Hello bookworms!! Welcome to me attempting to catch up on the 50 tags I *still* haven’t done!! With today’s post: the Ultimate Recommendations tag.

I was tagged to do this by the very lovely Destiny @ Howling Libraries… ummm… two years ago?! (I think this is part of me not quite believing we’re in 2021. Yes, let’s blame me being ridiculously behind on tags.) But, I am catching up… It’s just taking me forever. On the plus side, I have so many book tags for content it’s not even funny.

The Ultimate Recommendations tag

Rules:

• Thank the person who nominated you (THANK YOU DESTINY 🥰 😘)
• Answer all the questions down below
• Pingback to the creator: Ellyn @ Allonsythornraxx
• Nominate 5+ bloggers to do this tag

Recommend a book from one of your favorite genres

Despite the fact that (for the second year in a row) it isn’t my main reading genre, I am recommending a fantasy book. And my fantasy recommendation is Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone. I honestly cannot scream about this book enough.

It is dark, atmospheric, a little bit creepy, has an excellent magic system, and characters you want to cheer for. The world building is well thought out, and there are all these great little nods to classic fantasy ideas. And I’m not entirely sure what else you want from a fantasy book, but this covers all the bases for me. And for a debut author, that’s amazing.

Recommend a short book

So… I’m going with a book that sits at less than 200 pages, because that’s short to me. So earlier this year I read Silenced by Crystal North. It’s 156 pages, and although I didn’t realise it when I started, it’s the start of a series. There are going to be a range of books set at Santa Catalina University — all by different authors. But I need the sequel to this book in particular.

It’s reverse harem paranormal/urban fantasy. But there is no smut (at least in book one). The main character seems to be on the autism spectrum, although it’s not specifically stated. There are mentions of parental neglect. Honestly, I just really enjoyed the story. So much so that I’ve now read it twice.

Recommend a book-to-screen adaptation

Hi! It’s me, your friendly Shadow and Bone trash pile. Can I just quickly say, Ben Barnes is underrated as a person. And also, I stan Amita Suman as Inej forever. FOREVER. The casting in this show is literal perfection. And while they have kept the majority of the show as true to the books it’s incredible, the bits that have been written specifically for the show are more so.

Can we talk about Milo? ADORABLE. Mal and Alina had personalities that were actually likable in the show. AMAZING! And I love the way that we actually got to see Nina and Matthias’ prequel story. It was perfection. I am waiting, very impatiently, for season two.

Recommend a book out of your comfort zone

Comfort zones are a funny thing. I would say the only genres NOT in my comfort zone are horror and true crime. I can read non-fiction, I’m just bored by it. I’m into escapism. Hence the fantasy and happily-ever-afters I go chasing. But, if we include all the genres that I don’t read a lot of, then I’m going down the memoir route.

A lot of people know of Jenny Lawson. She’s written a number of books, and her most famous is Furiously Happy. But my favourite book of Jenny’s, to this day, is Let’s Pretend This Never Happened — her first book. There’s this rawness to the writing that might feel unpolished, but I feel like it matches well with the stories that she tells. I can honestly say that I was crying with her, and also laughing in hysterics with her, while reading this book.

Recommend a book series

A series that I honestly don’t think gets enough love is The Chronicles of Ixia by Maria V. Snyder. It started as a trilogy, and then had a side trilogy, and came back as a final trilogy… So, 9 books in total — but there are also novellas and short stories in between. And you do genuinely need to read all of them, otherwise you will end up lost like I was.

It’s a high fantasy YA series, and the books are almost too easy to read. And by that I mean, I think I read the first 8 books in the space of a week. Novellas and short stories included. I then had to wait two years for the matching paperback to come out so I could finish the series — but you won’t have that problem if you start now!!

Recommend a standalone

*pretend you can hear my evil cackling while I gear up for this* Hello, my name is Meeghan, and if you don’t know what’s coming, you must be new here. I cannot recommend The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater enough. This book is going to be my ministry for the remainder of my life. Sure, I love other standalone books, but I come back to this one EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR. (Except 2021 apparently. Must get on that.)

The Scorpio Races is a standalone fantasy book that has roots in Celtic mythology. The synopsis makes it sound like a plot-driven book, but let me assure you, it is not. It is very much a character-driven fantasy novel. The best parts of the story are told in the quiet, whispered moments. It is atmospheric and beautiful and I love this book with all of my heart.

Recommend a book you don’t talk about enough

I’m taking an almost odd turn of events here, because I’m going to talk about Crave by Tracy Wolff. Because I don’t talk about this series enough. I have not felt this much joy from reading a YA vampire series in years. The last one I think I raved about was Bloodlines (ahhh, Adrian), and this might just be better.

If I had to sell it in an elevator pitch, this would be it: Twilight x ACOTAR, but good and also able to mock itself and its entire genre. It’s funny, dramatic, with enough action, deception and romance to give it a good blend of a good read and an easy read. AND, there are pros and cons to every character, so no one is one dimensional. And I am desperately hanging out for book 4 in February.

Recommend your “staple” book

Ok, so MY staple book for me is Back After the Break by Anita Notaro. The book is older than smart phones, and possibly half of my followers, but I have loved it since I first read it the year it came out. I regularly reread this book, and I don’t think it has aged poorly at all.

The story is about a young woman, Lindsay, who is going through a heartbreak and decides to change her whole life. She puts everything on the line and changes her career — gambling her secure future. It’s grueling and hard, but she works her butt off with the help of her two best friends. And along the way she learns to love again. There’s more to the story than this, but I don’t want to spoil. The trio of friends in this are absolute goals though. I would have reread this book at least 12 times, and it still makes me sob in parts. It’s such a great contemporary fiction piece about a young woman living in Dublin.

Recommend the book(s) that got you into reading

I read so much as a kid. Everything from Beatrix Potter and C.J. Dennis to A.A. Milne and Ann M. Martin. I would have read the scholastic book fair from one end to the other. My mum bought me a new book every fortnight because I read faster than what the local library could stock shelves of new releases. But there is ONE series that I attribute to pushing me from middle grade to proper fantasy novels.

The Belgariad by David (and Leigh) Eddings is that series. It’s now classified as YA, but at the time was adult fantasy. The Belgariad follows ‘chosen one’ Garion and his Aunt Pol as they leave the farmhouse Garion was raised in to set off on a quest. Against an evil god. It’s classic 80’s fantasy where there’s a prophecy and a quest and you have to go here to get a thing that leads you to the next place. But it’s still a great read for fans of books like The Hobbit.

Recommend 3+ bloggers who recommend great books

Oooft… how do I narrow this down to not be a cast of thousands?!! Let’s start with the basics:

• CG @ Paper Fury — you cannot go wrong with anything CG reviews (or writes). She tells it how it is, and I always find myself nodding along when we have read the same book. CG reads a lot of fantasy (YA and adult) and contemporary YA books.
• Sam @ Fictionally Sam — is where I get half of my romance recommendations from. My fellow gemini has got you covered for all your YA fantasy and adult romance. Sam is not afraid to push books you might consider dubious onto you, and even if we don’t always rate the same, I know she won’t sell me a dud.
• Kayla @ Books and Blends — Kayla is where I get the other half of my romance recs from. In fact, if you can’t get a book rec between Kayla and Sam, then it’s probably not worth reading.
• Wendy @ Birdie Bookworm — was definitely a trusted source of book recommendations. Wendy and I rate books very similarly and I know that if she loved it, then I was going to. However, Wendy has been on hiatus since April, so no recent recs, although I have been watching her goodreads ratings (like the stalker I am).

Tagging

DB @ DB’s Guide to the Galaxy
Kira Jeanette
Becky @ Becky Bookstore
Kaya @ A Fictional Bookworm
Kal @ Reader Voracious

Questions