(Belated) Birthday Book Tag

Hello everyone! As you may or may not be aware, it was my birthday on Saturday. I turned eighteen — now I’m an adult that can vote, drink alcohol and . . . watch Saw for the first time. Overall, it’s super underwhelming. However, since I’m now a year older, I thought I’d celebrate by posting a birthday book tag. This tag was created by Antonia from Always Books, so thank you for this!

1. BIRTHDAY CAKE

A book with a plot that seems cliché but you adore it anyway.

Prince Charming by Rachel Hawkins is predictable and full of clichés, but I couldn’t put it down. It was filled with saccharine sweetness, awkward romantic moments and loveable characters. I think something we really need to remember with books is sometimes they don’t have to be groundbreaking, sometimes they just need to give you that momentary relief from reality. This book honestly gave me butterflies and had several tropes I really love rolled into one — including royalty and fake dating.

2. PARTY GUESTS

Your most anticipated book release for this year.

I was lucky enough to be able to review my most anticipated of 2020 as part of a blog tour — A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire was definitely the book I was most excited for this year and my high expectations for it were obliterated. Although I preferred the first book, I found it to be a strong sequel and I struggled to put it down, so let’s all have a moment of silence for my sleep schedule! In terms of a book I’m still anticipating, however, These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong comes out in November and I can’t wait to read it because I love Romeo and Juliet retellings. In fact, I have an e-ARC of it, but I’m in a slump right now and don’t want that to negatively impact my reading experience.

3. BIRTHDAY PRESENTS

A book that surprised you with how much you loved it.

After having no strong feelings towards overhyped Serpent & Dove, I was taken by complete surprise reading Blood & Honey (my full review is here), so that seems the only appropriate answer for this one. It was wholly addictive and it didn’t feel like a safe narrative choice — I know why a lot of people don’t seem to like it, but I adore when authors take risks and don’t always choose the easy option of consistent self-improvement and safe romantic development.

4. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” SONG

A book that certainly deserves all the hype it got.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. This feels like such a basic answer, but I stand by basic or popular not necessarily equating to bad. Honestly, it is one of the rare books that I know will stay with me for years to come. It is so poignant, memorable and relevant. Even in 2020, women are still berated for dating too much and Evelyn is such a relatable, iconic character. Not to mention how engaging the prose is!

5. HAPPY MUSIC

A book with some very beautiful and truly memorable quotes.

Despite it being another Taylor Jenkins Reid book, I’m going with a book I read and reviewed earlier this year, Daisy Jones & the Six! I feel like I mention this book in a lot of my tags as it is and I know it’s already popular amongst the book community, but it is beyond empowering and immersive. In truth, I was hesitant about the transcript style, but I could undoubtedly recite at least ten quotes off the top of my head and the style didn’t change how impactful the actual story was.

6. GETTING OLDER

A book that you read a lot time ago, but you think you would appreciate more if you read it as a more mature reader.

Tess of the D’urbervilles. Now, it wasn’t that long ago I read this, but it was assigned reading and assigned reading tends to have me feeling a little “bleh!” because books aren’t as fun when I need to be analysing them as I go along. In fact, I still don’t think I’m prepared to enjoy this book. However, in another few years, I definitely think I could appreciate it because the narrative itself is invigorating. I’m slowly acclimating myself to classics, some are still pretty hit and miss, but I’m trying to appreciate them more alongside finding the balance of YA books that keep my heart full.

7. SWEET BIRTHDAY MEMORIES

A book that kept you incredibly happy during a sad or demanding period of your life.

I’ve spoken about this before, but Richelle Mead’s Bloodlines series made me feel a little less alone during my final year of high school when I was being overwhelmed by a lot of things — all my exam stress and friendship struggles disappeared when I lost myself in the series. I think it was because the protagonist felt similar to me and I related a lot to Sydney when everything in my life was seemingly going wrong. It felt really safe and comforting and it was amazing to see eating disorders being ‘represented’ without it being a main plot point. I feel represented might be the wrong word, but I don’t think they’re spoken about enough in books and how it was shown wasn’t perfect, but it was a good start.

Does anyone else have a birthday coming up? Or have you been able to celebrate this year at all? It’s such a weird year for birthdays and I got lucky with being able to go out with family to a restaurant, but it still wasn’t what I had planned. Let me know how you still made the most of events during quarantine!

read it and weep,