I wanted to do another blog that was appropriate for the spooky season and decided upon this fun tag! I don't know who the originator of the tag is unfortunately but at the bottom of this blog I've tagged the blog where I found this tag.
1. Witch - a magical character or book
I read A LOT of magical books since fantasy is my favorite genre. I'll choose a recent read of mine: Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor because it's a story that takes place inside of a magical traveling hotel. The magic in this book is extravagant and spectacular and the atmosphere is darkly enchanting.
2. Werewolf - the perfect book to read at night
The Lost Village by Camilla Sten. I have my major gripes with the poor mental health depictions in this book. HOWEVER, if you want to be unnerved and like the idea of a ghost town setting then this book is exquisite for that. I was tense the entire time I was reading this and I feel the unsettling feeling would increase exponentially by reading it at night!
3. Frankenstein - a book that truly shocked you
The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf. This book shocked me in a bad way. It is genuinely disturbing and I should have DNF'd it. I didn't expect the book to have the point of view of the child character who discovers the bodies of her murdered family. Nor did I expect the POV of a character who was seemingly inspired by Jaycee Dugard. I was sick reading this book.
4. The Devil - a dark, evil character
Eli and Victor from V. E. Schwab's Vicious. I love a good morally grey character but these two are more so morally corrupt. The characters are quite devious but you'll be entranced by them.
5. Grim Reaper - a character that never should have died
I definitely have an answer to this, but I feel like this question is impossible to answer without spoiling a book. So, I don't want to answer it with the specific character but I'll mention the book series where the death occurs: The Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo. They're great books (especially if you like character development and heist plot lines) so I recommend reading them!
6. Zombie - a book that made you hungry for more
Forest of Souls and Broken Web by Lori M. Lee. This series is so good. The first book has that creepy and magical forest setting that I'm so obsessed with. The second book has all the political fantasy plot that I can't get enough of. The wait for the third book is excruciating because Broken Web came out in June of 2021 but the final book doesn't come out until November of 2023 and I am so impatient for it.
7. Gargoyle - a character that you would protect at all costs
Evangeline Fox from Stephanie Garber's Once Upon a Broken Heart book series. She's such a pure, innocent angel. She radiates this positivity and kindness. She's a fairy tale fan like me and she believes in true love despite all the ways the world has hurt her. I just want her to have the happiest ending she deserves.
8. Vampire - a book that sucked the life out of you
I actually don't have a specific book for this answer but rather an entire genre. I mentioned at the beginning that fantasy is my favorite genre and that is the absolute truth. HOWEVER, I find it can be exhausting to read multiple fantasies back to back because your brain is switching from one world and magic system to another. I have to take breaks between my fantasy reads or else I get fatigued.
9. Ghost - a book that still haunts you
Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall. I don't read horror often and this is why. There was so much here from body horror to grotesque monsters to psychological manipulation. There are a few specific scenes that I still vividly remember. I swear they're eternally scarred into my brain.
10. Demon - a book that really scared you
Hide by Kiersten White. A lot of the 'scare' factor with this book is the unknown which, as a person with an anxiety disorder, is quite, well, anxiety inducing. For most of the novel the monster is heard but unseen. When it is finally revealed it just made me shiver. The book has my favorite map of any book I've ever read but I had to take it off my shelves because it felt like a monster was sleeping next to me at night.
11. Skeleton - a character you have a bone to pick with
Ailesse from Bone Crier's Moon and Bone Crier's Dawn by Kathryn Purdie. She's unlikable in the first book but downright insufferable in the second book. She's jealous and entitled and her love interests aren't any better. Not that I understand why they love her in the first place.
12. Mummy - a book you would preserve through time
I'm torn between The Giver by Lois Lowry and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab. Both are my top books I've ever read and are achingly beautiful in both their stories and their writing.
13. Creepy doll - a cover too scary to look at
I'll go with a book I read as a kid: R. L. Stine's Night of the Living Dummy which features the iconic but evil Slappy on the cover. Goosebumps are a nostalgic love of mine but that dummy gives me nightmares.
WHERE I FOUND THE TAG: