the 2021 book tag ft. controversial graphics

a tag for this wretched year is the only way to light it up. at this point, i have called this year terrible so many times that people are half wondering what sort of scary-ass clowns i encountered (yep, that’s a friends reference). truth be told, it wasn’t that bad but the second half was a bit meh and i guess i am just salty because everyone and their mothers seem to be celebrating i don’t know life? and i know that’s not true but you can’t help thinking. did that even make sense? anyways, without further ado let’s get this tag done.

i was tagged by the creator herself – phoenix @yabookswithwings. she has put so much thought into the questions – with each question corresponding to some sort of true event from this year and although i am not familiar with a lot of the things she was talking about, i loved that she would take that into account instead of putting together some random questions. please go show her some love. as for the rules, you know it’s the usual: tag the creator, the person who tagged you, you can add questions if you want, you are not restricted to 2021 reads, and tag three people. phoenix has obviously done a better job of explaining this, so please check that out.

The Hawthorne Legacy: i kid you not, the first book was a whirlwind. and nothing compares to that. this book was very enjoyable and not by any means bad. the pacing was inconsistent and some parts were unnecessarily stretched. basically, what i am saying is that that’s how far the first book had set the bar. [ GoodReads ]

Reaper at the Gates: i have not yet gathered the courage to read the last book in the series and it’s been months. sabaa tahir is brutally brutal to her characters and i am low-key afraid of what goes on inside her mind. [ GoodReads ]

The girl who drank the Moon: this was one of my best reads of the year! i never thought that a whimsy-filled middle grade dripping with magical realismcould pack this strong a punch. the ending was absolutely tear-inducing and i loved it. [ GoodReads ]

The Love Hypothesis: i know this is a very uhm unconventional pick for something that screams science fiction but uhm i am not a huge fan of that genre. *hides in the corner* this is the closest thing i could find ’cause this has a lot of science stuff in it. fake dating and grumpy-sunshine trope: need any more explanation? [ GoodReads ]

Counting Down with You: this entire book was sort of this reprieve period for the character? anyways, if a book could be crushed and sold as a bottle of utter joy and satisfaction – i think this would be it. mental health rep, lgbtq rep, asian rep, and the cutest teenage love ever! what more can you ask for? [ GoodReads ]

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me: i don’t think i have ever read any book with sports as a part of the main plot. so uh do ice hockey romance books count? i am guessing no. so, this is a book that i saw on chloe’s channel. it was a slow-burn romance, not exactly a favorite – but it was pretty enjoyable. [ GoodReads ]

Kingdom of Flesh and Fire: the exact sort of plot twist that has you throwing the book across the room and occupies your every breathing thought. i am still very strongly pissed off at a certain person WHO TOLD ME THIS WAS A TRILOGY, and each book keeps ending on a cliffhanger. i mean ~ [ GoodReads ]

These Violent Delights: absolutely no words for this because the series is over and i haven’t been able to find anything that lives up to this and i keep dnf-ing everything. also, i am sending my therapy bills to chloe gong. jk, but this book and the characters were lit T_T [ GoodReads ]

Cemetery Boys: not quite sure this fits the bill, but this is the only one i could think of. talking ghosts, lgbtq rep, lantinx heritage, and heavy coco movie vibes. i personally found it very educational because i was very unfamiliar with this spectrum of the lgbt community. seriously, just read it. [ GoodReads ]

please feel free to do this tag. consider yourself tagged by me. for now, i can only think of these two people to annoy: nehal@ quirky pages and panna@ state of craze. have fun you guys 🤓

i know the books on this list are super cliche but i wanted to stick to 2021 reads, and i don’t think i have read that much unique stuff this year. everything was pretty basic. talking about which i am gonna try and read unconventional stuff this coming year and hopefully not get too caught up with new releases. *not me already prepared with a 2022 new releases list*

anyways, i hope this was enjoyable. have a great day! please do play along in the comments below. would love to know your answers. <33 also, tomorrow is my last exam and yes, i am flunking it. just kidding but 🤓