12 Days of Christmas Book Tag

I wasn’t tagged to do the 12 Days of Christmas Book Tag, but I really liked the concept after seeing it on Ellie’s blog (Read to Ramble). So, I’m going to do it as well. This tag was originally created by Lizzie Loves Books.

ON THE FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE.

The partridge stood alone in the pear tree. What is your favourite stand alone?

I don’t read a lot of standalone books, as normally I generally read series. Mostly as fantasy worlds lead more towards that direction than standalones.

But one of my most recent and probably favorites that I’ve read in a while would be Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. This book took me by surprise, as it was probably something I would’ve have known about on my own if it hadn’t been for book club. Mostly as most books on my TBR are popular, very mentioned books over on TikTok.

Anyways, I couldn’t put this book down as I was reading it, and ended up finishing it in about a day (once I truly sat down and read it). If you want to read my review of the book, click here.

ON THE SECOND DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: TWO TURTLE DOVES.

Love is in the air! Who is your one true pairing?

Depends on the series, but if we’re going with a “romance” novel I would go with Feyre and Rhysand from A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. They are made for each other. I love going back to A Court of Mist and Fury when I want to re-read their relationship (granted it also is in the other books, but the feel good arc is in the second book). I’m sure Casteel and Poppy from From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout is going to be up there by the time that series is over. Another pairing that I love which is more on the romantic side is Luce and Daniel from the Fallen series by Lauren Kate. But considering Luce frustrates me a lot, I’m going with Feysand for this tag.

ON THE THIRD DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: THREE FRENCH HENS.

In the spirit of threes, what is the best trilogy you have read?

This is a hard one. There are so many good trilogies that I’ve read. A lot of them I haven’t been able to put down when I started them. So, I’m not exactly sure I would consider this my favorite but I’m going to go with The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

ON THE FOURTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: FOUR CALLING BIRDS.

Since series usually consist of four or more books, what is your favourite series?

Hands down this is Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I don’t even want to admit how many times I have re-read this series starting at Heir of Fire. That’s one thing that I do notice about re-reading this series. I read Assassin’s Blade sometimes then skip the next two books and go to Heir of Fire or I just start there. It’s Rowan… I know it. I start where he makes an appearance. But also, I think those are just the stronger of the books. It’s like A Court of Thorns and Roses, I start at the second book if I’m going to re-read the series.

ON THE FIFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: FIVE GOLDEN RINGS.

One ring to rule them all! Who is your favourite Villain/Antagonist?

This is my favorite villain purely as I couldn’t root against him. I loved the Darkling from Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Like I didn’t want him to control the main character, but I also understood his motives as twisted as they were. And in a way, I wanted him to succeed and for Alina to side with him. Even though she doesn’t.

ON THE SIXTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: SIX GEESE A LAYING.

Creation is a beautiful thing. What is your favourite world/world-building?

There are a lot of worlds that I would love to visit from books, and a lot that I would never want to go to because I know I would die in them. Which says a lot about the world building if I want to avoid that place at all cost.

So, I can’t say I have a favorite but here are some of the places I would like to visit or see in real life:

• Narnia from The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis.
• Velaris from A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.
• Terrasen from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas.

ON THE SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: SEVEN SWANS A SWIMMING.

Who needs seven swans when all it takes is one good animal sidekick? Who’s your favourite animal sidekick?

The only real animal companion that I can think of is Pantalaimon (Pan) from His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. He is Lyra’s dæmon which is basically a shapeshifting creature that’s an extension of her soul.

Other books have animals sidekicks, but they are more like background pets such as Syrinx from Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas. He’s Byrce’s pet chimera but he’s not really a sidekick like Pan is to Lyra.

ON THE EIGHTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: EIGHT MAIDS A MILKING.

Milk is so 18th century. Which book or series takes beverages/food to a whole new level?

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. I can’t think of soup the same way after that book. I generally don’t eat soup but… soup… this book. Can’t think of it the same way anymore. And I’m sure that’s not what this question is trying to say but it’s the first thing I thought of with “a whole new level.”

ON THE NINTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: NINE LADIES DANCING.

Dancing is just one skill of a Lady! Who is your favourite kickass female lead?

Dear lord there are so many good ones it’s hard to pick. So, I’m not going to pick just one, I’m going to share a handful of kickass female leads:

• Emma Carstairs from The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare.
• Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
• Bryce Quinlan from Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas.
• Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas.
• Penellaphe (Poppy) Balfour from From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Each of them go through a lot of trauma but don’t let what happened to them hold them back. And for most of these characters, they all play an active role in whatever situation they are in, rather than allowing someone else to control and handle everything for them.

ON THE TENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: TEN LORDS A LEAPING.

How about your favourite leading lad?

Unlike kickass lead females, this one is not so hard for me to pick just one. Because the first one that comes to mind is Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Care. He is one of my favorite characters from the Shadowhunters universe. I love him! He might be arrogant (like almost every Herondale) but he’s also extremely caring, smart, and witty.

Like the dude puts everyone first before him. He thinks he’s cursed that if anyone cares about him then they’ll die, so to protect everyone he does everything he can to keep them safe from him. He does this since he’s barely a teenager. It just breaks my heart to think of what he had to go through mentally with that. And he does literally anything he can for Jem and Tessa. Like pushing aside his own feelings when he thinks it’s for the best.

ON THE ELEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: ELEVEN PIPES PIPING.

What is your favourite book or bookish thing with musical influence? (It can be about music, reference music a lot etc.)

I don’t really have an answer for this question. There are characters in books that play instruments sure like Jem Carstairs in The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare who plays violin, and compares a lot of things to music. But he doesn’t have a lot of sections for me to say that book is overall influenced by music. Aelin plays the piano and it comes up throughout Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas but again I wouldn’t say the series fits this category.

ON THE TWELFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME: 12 DRUMMERS DRUMMING.

Drum roll please…what is your favourite read of this year?

There are so many good reads this year. To the point where my all time favorite books have changed. Like I don’t think there’s a single older book series that I still rank in the top at the moment besides the Shadowhunters series since those I read in previous years.

So, the new additions would be:

• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
• A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
• Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas
• From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

There were of course other great books that I’ve read in the past year, but these series in particular stand out due to the number of times I’ve re-read them alone. Like each of them is in the dozen range with the exception of From Blood and Ash but that will probably be up there really soon as I’m already re-reading it for the second time.

Love ya,

Mae Polzine

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