I originally saw this tag on Kristin Kraves Books and thought it was such a cool tag. Be sure to check out her post to see her responses and feel free to tag me in your post if you decide to do this tag too!
1. The struggle of getting started: a book/book series that you have struggled to begin because of its size.
Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Published: February 26, 2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 848
Goodreads
This book is a beast at 848 pages long. Honestly, I’ve read longer books, Kingdom of Ash was almost 1,000 pages, so this one should have been a breeze. But it looked so huge and intimidating that I had trouble pushing myself to pick up the book. Finally, my friend wanted to buddy read it with me and I dove in. I don’t know what I was so scared of because this book is fantastic. I’m honestly sad that this is a standalone, I would have loved an entire series in this world and maybe Samantha will consider doing a spin-off one day because I will 1000% buy it.
2. Cleaning out the closet: a book and/or book series you want to unhaul.
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
Published: August 9, 2016
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 429
I purchased the entire series about two years ago because I had heard so many amazing things about it. Everyone raved about how good this series is and that I should read it, it’s a book you have to re-read once you finish it, it’s heartbreaking, you’ll love it. So I bought it. I never got a chance to read it before I started hearing concerning rumors about the author, Jay Kristoff. And once I heard he included a vampiric character named Adonai, which is the Hebrew word for “Lord” or “G-d”, I felt disgusted. Since we don’t write G-d out, we replace the word with Adonai, which is what we say in prayers and to reference G-d in general. There is a lot of history to blood libels and the horrific rumors/stories surrounding Jews in general, so to hear that he included a blood libel plot through a vampiric character named Adonai made me feel disgusted and I will be selling off my copies because I don’t want to read this book.
3. Opening windows and letting fresh air in: a book that was refreshing.
Glimpsed by G.F. Miller
Published: January 5, 2021
Publisher: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA Contemporary Fantasy
Pages: 384
Goodreads
This book was refreshing in the fact that it was such a fun, cute book and while it had issues it wanted to discuss, such as child emotional neglect, the book stayed fairly light throughout. It was just a fun read that I fell in love with and devoured quickly. I didn’t have to learn about a whole new world or cry over a sad, heartbreaking book. I could laugh and read this book without a strong heaviness over my heart. Such a good read!
4. Washing out sheet stains: a book you wish you could rewrite a certain scene in.
Soulswift by Megan Bannen
Published: November 17, 2020
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: 480
Goodreads
THE ENDING TO THIS DAMN BOOK. I would 100% rewrite the ending to this book because not only was it extremely hurtful and soul crushing, but it was just unfair to the characters! I am not normally someone who advocates for rewriting an ending since the authors usually have a good reason for how the book ended, but COME ON. This one was just cruel and unnecessary and I’m still crying over it! (Btw, you should definitely read this book if you haven’t. It’s worth the heartbreak).
5. Throwing out unnecessary knick-knacks: a book in a series that you didn’t feel was necessary.
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black
Published: November 24, 2020
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA Fantasy Short Stories
Pages: 173
Goodreads
I usually like novellas or short stories set in my favorite fantasy worlds, but this one felt completely unnecessary. I mean, it was nice to see the stories Cardan mentions in the books played out, but again, I didn’t really need it. I felt like it was just a way to capitalize on the hype of the series ending and doesn’t really serve a purpose, which is fine, but not my thing.
6. Polishing the doorknobs: a book that had a clean finish.
Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston
Published: October 20, 2020
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: 352
Goodreads
As a standalone, this book ends so satisfyingly and I loved the journey from beginning to end. Honestly, standalone books are so satisfying for the fact that its a complete ending instead of a cliffhanger or a storyline meant to continue on. Though I wish this book didn’t have such a clean ending so I could read a sequel or spin off!
7. Reaching to dust the fan: a book that tried too hard to relay a certain message.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Published: April 14, 1939
Publisher: Viking
Genre: American Fiction
Pages: 479
Goodreads
I really don’t like this book, one reason because every other chapter was a description of the desert, and the other because this book really cuts deep with their message and in my opinion, to its detriment. It’s so agonizingly slow and takes forever to get the point that Steinbeck could have made 50 pages earlier, but because he wants it to be drawn out, the message is repeated over and over again before we finally get the point. It’s just so dry and unenjoyable, it was like he was trying way too hard. I probably would have loved it if it wasn’t so drawn out and dry.
8. The tiring yet satisfying finish of spring cleaning: a book series that was tiring yet satisfying to get through.
A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
Published: January 29, 2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: 484
Goodreads
This book was tiring simply because of the emotional rollercoaster I went through. Brigid made me feel all the emotions with this series and when we finally get to the end, I was just so happy. I loved the ending to this series and I am so excited for her new series, Defy the Night, coming out in September!
This was so much fun and it really made me think, which I love with book tags. There are so many books I could have included or mentioned, but these were the first that came to mind. Let me know if you decide to do this tag and feel free to tag me in your responses!
We Write At Dawn 
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