The previous years I really enjoyed doing this tag, so here it is again! The Characters of the Year Book Tag is created by Amanda from A Brighter Shade of Hope, but I can’t find the original. This time it was quite hard to come up with characters for some categories. I read barely any books with male main characters. Choosing a couple was hard without giving away spoiler. But after some pondering I was able to fill every category.

Favourite male character of the year: Leemet
He isn’t the most likable, but I do think Leemet is the most memorable and interesting male character I read about. The Man Who Spoke Snakish is set during the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture. Many people try to persuade Leemet to leave the forest and to come live in the village. I appreciated how he keeps holding on to his own values.

Favourite female character of the year: Elizabeth
The main character from A Room Made of Leaves is a based on real letters from Elizabeth Macarthur. Before reading the book, I didn’t know her. As a character I came to love her. I like that Elizabeth is able to stay positive and hopeful when her life is hard.

Most relatable character of the year: Jessamyn
Although I’m not an American girl moving back to Malaysia, I know what it is to have trouble finding a job after college. I could also relate to the relationship Jess has with her mom in Black Water Sister. But fortunately I’m not haunted by my dead grandmother…

Couple of the year: …
There’s a bittersweet romance in Gracelin O’Malley I really liked. I won’t name them, because I don’t want to give any spoilers for the book. But if you read the book you probably know which couple I mean.

Villain of the year: Ah Ma
Jess’ dead grandmother in Black Water Sister is an interesting villain. It all starts with a strange, sassy voice Jess hears in her head. This appears to be Ah Ma, a grandmother she never met. Ah Ma forces Jess to revenge an old enemy. She even uses Jess’ body at some point. And convincing a ghost to leave your head isn’t easy.

Most disliked character of the year: Monty
I’m sorry for fans of Henry Montague a.k.a. Monty, but he was the reason I almost quit reading The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. He is selfish and only seems to care about alcohol and sex. Monty does make some character changes during the story, but I still didn’t came to like him.

Royal of the year: Marie Antoinette
The Embroidered Book was amazing! The story is based on the real lives of Marie Antoinette and her sister Charlotte, but now they have a book of spells. Especially Marie Antoinette has quite a bad reputation in history. I liked how the book reconstructs history and shows us why she may have been just a young woman trying her best to fulfil her role as queen.

Sidekick/non-main character of the year: Booklings
For this category I didn’t choose one character, but a group of creatures from The City of Dreaming Books. They are said to be dangerous. Yet Booklings are actually small creatures that each choose one author and memorise all their books. I absolutely loved them!

Sibling of the year: Franny and Jet
Each of the Owens children from The Rules of Magic have a magical gift. Franny can talk to birds and Jet can read people’s thoughts. But it doesn’t always feel as a gift to them. It means that they are different and will always stand out. The feeling that you are different is familiar to me. I liked to read how each of the siblings dealt with it.

Just like every year in June, it’s time for the Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag. It’s the moment to reflect on the books I read so far. In numbers, I have read 15 books; 7086 pages in total. At the end of the year I hope to have read 36 books, so I’m a little behind. But I’m sure I will catch up this summer holidays. Let’s get to the questions.

Best book(s) you read so far?

• Black Water Sister: humorous and a somewhat creepy story about a lesbian girl who is haunted by her sassy, dead grandmother
• The Embroidered Book: magical version of the lives of Marie Antoinette and her sister Charlotte that’s still very true to history
• The City of Dreaming Books: imaginative story set in a city where everyone and everything is about books

Best sequel(s) you’ve read so far?

I haven’t read any new sequels yet. I did love my reread of The Illuminae Files.

New releases you haven’t read yet, but want to?

• The Diamond Eye: historical fiction with a premise that sounds very intriguing: ‘”an unforgettable World War II tale of a quiet bookworm who becomes history’s deadliest female sniper.”
• The Paris Bookseller: based on the life of Sylvia Beach who established Shakespeare and Company, a famous bookshop in Paris I visited last year.
• She Who Became the Sun: not that new, but every one seems to have read this historical fantasy book except for me.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean: it’s about people for whom books are food and this sounds fascinating!

Biggest disappointment?

The Killing Moon was not a bad book, but I expected to like it more.

Biggest surprise?

I didn’t expect that the first book I read this year, Black Water Sister, would immediately become a new favourite.

Favourite new author? (debut or new to you)

After reading The Embroidered Book I would love to read more books by Kate Heartfield!

Newest favourite character?

I really came to like Marie Antoinette and Charlotte from The Embroidered Book. Charlotte is a confident and ambitious queen, while Antoinette tries her best to make everyone love her. They are well-written characters and felt like real people to me.

Book that made you cry?

I didn’t cry, but the last part of The Embroidered Book did make me feel really sad.

Book that made you happy?

The City of Dreaming Books made me smile a lot, because it’s a love letter to books and reading. The story is also funny and really enjoyable to read.

Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)?

I again choose The City of Dreaming Books, because it has beautiful illustrations. I received this book for my birthday from my parents.

What book(s) do you need to read by the end of the year?

A year ago I did this tag for the first time. I liked it, so I’m going to do it again for the characters from the books I read last year. As far as I know, The Characters of the Year Book Tag is created by Amanda from A Brighter Shade of Hope, but I can’t find the original.

Favourite male character of the year: Daniel Matheson
The Fountains of Silence has multiple narrators, and Daniel is one of them. He is an eighteen year old American with a Spanish mother. When Daniel visits Madrid in 1957, he knows Spain is under the fascist dictatorship of General Franco. As photographer he wants to capture what it is like to live there. But he isn’t aware of a couple of truly terrible secrets. I like how Daniel tries to uncover the truth. I also admire him for following his dream to become a journalist despite his father not supporting him.

Favourite female character of the year: Mia Corvere
The setting and the plot of The Nevernight Chronicles are good, but Mia makes the books extraordinary. She actually isn’t a very likable character. First of all she is an assassin, she also swears all the time and is pretty selfish. I still love her as character. Mia is very loyal too and ready to fight for her family.

Most relatable character of the year: Pan Li Lan
At the start of The Ghost Bride, Li Lan lives quite a sheltered life. As an unmarried girl at the end of the 19th century she isn’t allowed to go anywhere without a chaperone. So far her life doesn’t resemble mine. But I could relate to her kindness and fondness for books and I agree with most of the choices she makes in the story. I also loved to see how Li Lan grows as a character throughout the story.

Couple of the year: Carys & Max
Hold Back the Stars has a love story that’s surprisingly realistic. Carys and Max don’t fall in love at first sight as I see in too many stories. Their relationship isn’t only romantic, it’s messy and complex too. But Carys and Max make it work.

Villain of the year: Scholomance
You could argue that the villain in A Deadly Education is the school. Students can’t leave this magical school until they graduate or die. And the chance to die is pretty big since Scholomance is full of monsters and no teachers to help you.

Most disliked character of the year: Jondalar
In the second part Jondalar was alright, but I disliked him in The Mammoth Hunters. Most of the book he acted jealous and stubborn.

Royal of the year: Kleopatra
The main character from the Kleopatra duology is of course based on the real queen Cleopatra VII. I loved how she is depicted in the story: Kleopatra is intriguing, cunning and intelligent, but also has her insecurities.

Sidekick/non-main character of the year: Margery O’Hare
Alice is the main character of The Giver of Stars, but I liked Margery more. Margery is the leader of Kentucky Pack Horse Librarians. She is a tough, independent woman who refuses to do what is expected of women in the 1930s.

Sibling of the year: Charley Sutherland
Charley from The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep is able to bring a character from a book into our world. His older brother Rob thinks this ability causes mostly problems. But I think it would be amazing to have a brother with this talent!

It’s a couple of months ago since I did a book tag. So when I found this history-themed book tag @The Biblioshelf, it seemed perfect for a blog post. It’s originally created by Books Michelle on YouTube.

The Stone Age: one of the first books you remember reading

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I read a lot as child, so it’s hard to tell which book I read first. It’s a pity that I can’t remember the first book I entirely read by myself. But I do remember loving the Dutch books Hebbes by Carry Slee, Lena Lijstje by Francien Oomen and Brief voor de Koning (translated as The Letter for the King) by Tonke Dragt.

Ancient Greece: your favourite myth-inspired book (doesn’t have to be Greek mythology) or retelling

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I haven’t read many books that are inspired by a myth and I don’t read a lot of retellings. But I did enjoy reading The Lunar Chronicles. Every book is loosely based on a fairy tales. The first one is inspired by Cinderella, the second one is based on Red Riding Hood, the third is inspired by Rapunzel and the last one draws inspiration from Snow White. My favourite is the third part, because I really liked Cress as main character.

The Roman Empire: a book featuring an impressive empire or kingdom

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The books from Robin Hobb have a fascinating magical world that is explored in different stories. It has interesting history involving dragons. The Realm of the Elderlings actually includes multiple kingdoms and countries, among others the Six Duchies, the Mountain Kingdom and the Rain Wilds. I already read the Farseer Trilogy and the Liveship Traders. I’d love to see more of this world with the Rain Wild Chronicles.

The Middle Ages (or the Dark Ages): a book that is an absolute bummer

After reading The Library Of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard I wanted to read more books by this author. But his second book, Death Sentence, was a huge disappointment. The main character was terrible and I hated the ending. This is one of the very few books I gave only one star.

The Renaissance: a book that you’ve learned a lot from, or that made you think

I chose The Little Paris Bookshop, because this book made me think and reflect on my life. The main character shares interesting ideas about themes like (lost) love and death. It has many beautiful quotes.

The Industrial Revolution: a book featuring an invention or concept that you would love to have in your own life

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I would love to have the ability to read book characters to the real word. This concept can be found in multiple books: Inkheart, Tilly and the Bookwanderers and The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep al have character with this ability. It sometimes does cause some problems… But it would be amazing if I could talk with my favourite book characters.

World War I & II: your favourite historical fiction book about the World Wars (or if you don’t have one, your favourite historical fiction book in general)

I actually haven’t read many books about the First World War. I do know a lot of good books about the Second World War. The Book Thief is definitively an all-time favourite. It’s a beautifully written story that kind of broke my heart. It has one of the most unique narrators I’ve come across: this story is narrated by the Death himself.

Present Day: a book everybody should read in present day according to you

I think there isn’t one book everyone should read. A book I loved and learned a lot from can be boring for someone else. I do want to recommend everyone to read diverse. So read books with characters that are black, gay, trans or disabled!

I do this tag every year (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020), but I almost forgot about it. But I’m still just on time! I read 18 books so far. That’s less books at this point than last year, but of course reading isn’t about the numbers. So let’s continue with the questions and talk about the books!

Best book(s) you read so far in 2021?

So far The Ghost Bride is the only book I gave five stars this year. I loved the insight in the Chinese afterlife and the many historical details interwoven in the story. (You can read my mini-review for this book here)

Best sequel(s) you’ve read so far in 2021?

I thought The Heart Forger and The Shadowglass were just as good as the first part of The Bone Witch trilogy. Another sequel I really liked is Pharaoh, the second part of a duology about Cleopatra’s life. I actually liked it more than the first part.

New releases you haven’t read yet, but want to?

I am very excited for The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, the final part of the Wayfarers series! Black Water Sister is Malaysian-set fantasy, just like my favourite book of this year so far. And I love books about books, so I am also looking forward to the historical fiction The Paris Library.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

I don’t keep up with new releases that good. There are already so many published books I want to read!

Biggest disappointment?

The Mammoth Hunters wasn’t as good as I expected. I liked the first and second part in the Earth’s Children series from Jean M. Auel much more.

Biggest surprise?

I read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen as an audiobook. I discovered that I like listening to audiobooks more than I expected. The main reason I chose Pride and Prejudice was that it’s easy to find as free audiobook. The book wasn’t on my TBR, but it seemed a kind of must-read. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did.

Favourite new author? (debut or new to you)

I would love to read more books by Yangsze Choo!

Newest favourite character?

The most memorable character so far is Tea from The Bone Witch trilogy. Because I read three books with her as main character I really got to know her. Especially interesting is her character development throughout the story.

Book that made you cry?

In 2021 I haven’t read a book yet that made me cry.

Book that made you happy?

Pride and Prejudice was quite humorous at some points. The book made me smile multiple times. Especially some comments from Elizabeth and her parents were funny.

Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)?

Many books I read this year were from the library or borrowed from my parents. When talking about covers, there wasn’t really a book that stood out. I do like the covers of The Heart Forger and The Shadowglass.

What book(s) do you need to read by the end of the year?

As you probably guesses from my blog name, I love tea. So this book tag seemed perfect for me! The Afternoon Tea Book Tag is created by Chelsea Bartlett from YouTube.

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1) Tea: a book you find comfort in
A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a great comfort read with a cast of wonderful, diverse characters.

2) Scones: something hearty, a big but delicious book
The Book Thief is a beautiful and bittersweet story. It’s set during the Second World War and, interesting enough, narrated by death himself.

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3) Clotted cream: a book you didn’t like at first but ended up loving
I first read Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close as a school assignment for English. I did like the book, but came to love it when I reread it a few years later.

4) Finger sandwiches: a book you like but that’s not quite satisfying
Most books I give four stars would fit this definition. I really like four-star books, but they aren’t that amazing or memorable to give them all the stars. One book I really hesitated about was Aurora Rising. It was a good story, but especially the plot wasn’t satisfying enough to give the book five stars.

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5) Jam: your favorite pair, characters who are just sweet together
Without doubt, Lazlo and Sarai from Strange the Dreamer! I loved the unique way how they meet, I enjoyed reading how their relationship develops and I think they are amazing together.

6) Petit-fours: a favorite short book/novella or short story
My favourite place to find short stories is the podcast LeVar Burton Reads. One of the many amazing stories featured in the podcast is Pockets by Amal El-Mohtar. It explores the idea that things in pockets could appear and reappear.

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7) Strawberries and cream: a dynamic duo
Kell and Lila from A Darker Shade of Magic are certainly an interesting duo! By the way, you probably have those books you read and liked, but for some reason you never continued the series. That’s the case for me with A Darker Shade of Magic.

8) Your favorite teacup: a beautiful character, too pure for this world
Sam from The Boy Who Steals Houses. He’s so sweet and tries really hard to protect his autistic brother.

Image credits: I used stock images from Pixabay

Time for a book tag! I found this one on Zezee with Books. The tag is most likely created by Amanda from A Brighter Shade of Hope, but the original is probably taken down. Here are my answers for last year.

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Jean Perdu from The Little Paris Bookshop
One of the reasons why I loved this book so much were the interesting observations of Jean Perdu. He shares many insights about love and death, and all of them beautifully formulated.

Truus Wijsmuller from The Last Train to London
This character is actually based on a real person. Geertruida Wijsmuller-Meijer, known as Truus, was a Dutch woman who helped to save the lives of more than 10,000 Jewish children before and during the Second World War. I am Dutch myself and I didn’t know about her before reading this book. What Truus did is truly heroic! So I’m glad that I now know her story.

Star D’Aplièse from The Shadow Sister
It was hard to come up with a book character for the category Most relatable character. I didn’t read any books in 2020 with characters I could totally identify with. But I could easily relate to Star, because she is introvert like me and also loves books.

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Red & Blue from This is How You Lose the Time War
Two female spies on different sides of a time war start writing letters to each other. The poetic letters were never meant to become more than a kind of taunt. But the letters grow into something romantic that could change everything.

The Staryk King from Spining Silver
The Staryk are frightening creatures of snow and ice that steal gold. The main character of this novel, Miryem, draws the attention of the king of the Staryk. I liked how as reader we first come to hate him, but then slowly start to like this villain.

Victor Frankenstein from Frankenstein
Frankenstein is my most disliked chracter, because he created something and was too scared to take responsiblity for it. I pittied the creature who longed for a connection with humans. Yet, even his cowardly creator is frightened off by the hideous appearance of his “monster.”

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Daisuke from the Shadow of the Fox trilogy
I didn’t read a lot of books with royal main characters. The Shadow of the Fox trilogy does have multiple royal side characters. I liked Daisuke, who only starts to play a role in the sequels.

Abelard from The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily
The book is narrated by Lily and that worked perfect. But I also loved Abelard as character, because he is nice, intelligent and thougthful.

Electra D’Aplièse from The Sun Sister
For this category I could choose all six sisters from The Seven Sisters series. I came to like each of them and every sister has their own interesting story. Especially great to read was Electra’s story. She starts out as a spoiled and busy top model who uses alcohol and drugs to cope with all the stress. I really enjoyed reading how her character develops. From all the sisters, Electra is the one who grows the most as character.

I have always been interested in history. And I think there isn’t enough attention for women in history. So I really like this tag created by Jess @ Jessticulates!

Elizabeth of York

Elizabeth of York became the first Tudor queen when she married Henry VII in 1486, a marriage which brought an end to the Wars of the Roses. Even though their match grew into a genuine love match, Henry had to kill Elizabeth’s own uncle, Richard III, at the Battle of Bosworth to become king, so choose a book with a complicated family.

The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley
This book series is about six women who were as babies adopted by Pa Salt. When their adoptive father suddenly dies, they are all given a clue to their true heritage. Every part is narrated by another sister (interesting enough there will be seven books, but there are only six sisters…). Some of them come from quite complicated families. It was very interesting to read about them and learn about the different parts of the world where they live.

Katherine of Aragon

Katherine was the first of Henry VIII’s six wives, and when Henry sought to divorce her she fought until the bitter end to remain his queen. It was a battle she ultimately lost. Choose a book you forced yourself to finish even though you weren’t enjoying it.

Beloved by Toni Morrison
I was close to DNF’ing this book. The writing style made it hard for me to enjoy the story. I decided to continue reading, because I wanted to know why so many people do love this book.

Anne Boleyn

Henry was so enamoured by his second queen that he broke away from Rome and founded his own church just so he could marry her, but when she didn’t give him the son she promised he sent poor Anne to her death. Choose a book you used to love but wouldn’t love as much if you read it again now.

Matched by Ally Condy
This was probably one of the first dystopian books I read. A love triangle was still a new and excited idea for me. When I read this book 9 years ago I really enjoyed it. By now I have read quite a lot of books set in a dystopian world and love triangles are an overused trope. If I would reread Matched I probably wouldn’t find it a very original story.

Jane Seymour

Queen number three was only queen for a year and a half. She gave Henry the son he longed for, but died days later. Choose a book that was short and sweet.

Night of Cake and Puppets by Laini Taylor
This is a companion to the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. Karou’s best friend Zuzana is the main character in this novella. This is the incredibly cute story of her first date with Mik.

Anne of Cleves

Henry chose to marry his fourth queen after only seeing a portrait of her. Choose a book you bought/read because of the cover.

The Dollmaker of Krakow by R.M. Romero
When I saw this book at my library, the cover drew my attention. It wasn’t the only reason I read the book, but it certainly played a role. I was glad that the story is definitively as beautiful as the cover.

Kathryn Howard

Henry’s fifth queen was the youngest of his wives and the least experienced for life at court. When she was accused of adultery, Henry sent her to the block. Choose a book with a forbidden romance.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
“Once upon a time an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well.” The first lines of a beautiful trilogy by my favourite writer in which forbidden love plays quite a big role.

Katherine Parr

Katherine has long been remembered as Henry’s sixth wife, but what she should be remembered for is being the first woman to publish an English book in England under her own name. Choose a book about books.

How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry
It was so hard to choose just one, because books about books are my favourite kind of books!  I went for this one, because it’s underrated. This is a feel-good story about Emilia who inherits her father’s bookshop. She has to work hard to keep the bookshop open. This story made me happy with the great setting and the nice characters.

Lady Jane Grey

Poor Jane was forced onto the throne to prevent her Catholic cousin, Mary, from taking charge in what had become a Protestant country. Mary brought an end to her reign after only nine days, and poor Jane paid the ultimate price for the position she’d been put in by the men around her when Mary sent her to the block. Choose a book that ended too soon.

Singing the Dogstar Blues by Alison Goodman
This was such an interesting and good book. It’s about Joss who studies time travel at a university. When for the first time in history an alien, Mavkel, starts studying at her university. Mavkel and Joss becomes study partners. I loved to see them developing a friendship instead of a romance as you may expect. The book was quite short and I’d like to read more about these characters!

Mary I

Commonly know as Bloody Mary, Mary restored England to Catholicism and, during her four year reign, burned over 300 Protestants at the stake. Choose a book you would burn every copy of.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
It’s not very nice to say this about a book. Especially because I never entirely read this one… But the movie based on the book was terrible with too many graphic violence and a couple of disturbing main characters.

Elizabeth I

Though Anne Boleyn failed to give Henry a son, the daughter she gave him would rule England for 44 years and bring about what was known as The Golden Age. Choose a book with a royal main character.

Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
This is the first in a trilogy about royal bastard Fitz. Some people hate him for what he is. But for the royal family Fitz is in the perfect position to become their personal assassin.

What a year, so many things have already happened! Corona was a huge shock. It’s not over yet, but I’m glad that things seem to settle down where I live. Reading wise 2020 is alright so far. I think I could have read more, but I’m quite happy with the 24 books I’ve read. With this book tag I will tell something more about the books. I left out a few questions I didn’t have an answer for.

Best book(s) you read so far in 2020?

I haven’t read a lot of 5-star books yet, only two. Both books have a strong, independent, female main character. I especially loved the humour and interesting setting of Soulless. The amazing magic system and the character development made me fall in love with Woven in Moonlight.

Best sequel of 2020 so far?
Last year I started reading the Seven Sisters. The books haven’t disappointed me so far. I liked every part, but my favourite was the third book: The Shadow Sister. I could easily identify with the introverted Star. I also loved the fact that a bookshop plays an important role in the story!

New releases you haven’t read yet, but want to?

I really want to read This Vicious Cure. It’s the conclusion to the This Mortal Coil trilogy by Emily Suvada. I am excited to know how the story will end! A second book I’m excited for is Aurora Burning, the sequel to Aurora Rising.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin seems amazing! It’s the first part of a fantasy duology inspired by West African folklore. The magic system in this story sounds so unique: the day of the week on which a character is born decides who their patron deity is and what kind of magic they can do.

Biggest disappointment?
I had high expectations after reading A Discovery of Witches twice. But Shadow of Night disappointed me. The story did have good parts, but the book dragged at some points and many things that happened weren’t important for the plot.

Biggest surprise?
After a couple of chapters I wasn’t sure if I wanted to finish The White Mare. But I ended up liking the book. I didn’t expect it, but I came to care about the characters.

Favourite new author? (debut or new to you)

I actually started the Seven Sisters in December 2019, but I read most books of the series this year. It doesn’t happen often that I read five books by one writer in such a short time. So I would definitively call Lucinda Riley a favourite new author!

Newest favourite character?
I’m currently reading Chocolat and I really like to read about Vianne. She’s kind-hearted and friendly to literally everyone.

Book that made you cry?
I haven’t found a book this year that actually made me cry. The Snow Child did make me feel very sad.

Book that made you happy?
Soulless made me smile often and sometimes let me laugh out loud. The beginning is already hilarious. When Alexia is rudely attacked by a vampire, she accidentally kills him with her parasol.

Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)?
When talking about covers, Woven in Moonlight is really beautiful! The writer, Isabel Ibañez, illustrated it herself. While reading the book, I discovered more and more details on the cover that are relevant to the story.

What book(s) do you need to read by the end of the year?

Consider yourself tagged if you want to do this tag!