Book Tag Week: Dragon Book Tag

Guess what I’m posting today?

Yep, it’s another post for BOOK TAG WEEK and since this is Wyrd & Wonder month, it will be fantasy-themed (no guarantee that all answers will be fantasy-related).

Today I’m doing the Dragon Book Tag created by booktuber the Dragon Queen’s Lair. Some of the categories have two questions, but I only did the first ones in the set. Anyway, to the tag!!

Uncle Iroh a.k.a. Dragon of the West

Amphiptere: a book that was too much for one story and should have picked one topic

Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

I loved Hartman’s Seraphina books and I thought Tess of the Road was okay, but it didn’t fully appeal to me. I also thought it was too long because it continued for some time after the protagonist accomplished her stated goal and I kept wondering “What’s the point of all this?”

Tess of the Road is set in the same world as Hartman’s Seraphina books — a world where dragons can take on human form and it’s taboo for dragons and humans to mate. It’s a YA fantasy, road trip novel that focuses on Seraphina’s sister, Tess, as she tries to help a friend locate one of the world serpents. It is a decent read, it just didn’t work for me.

Anthropomorphic: a book series that wasn’t everything you hoped for (disappointing book 2, 3, etc.)

Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

YA fantasy doesn’t often work for me, it seems. I gave up on the YA sci-fi/fantasy series Lunar Chronicles after reading the third book, Cress. I loved Cinder, tolerated Scarlet, and could not move past Cress. The story is fun and I love how Meyer plays with fairy tale references, but the matchy-matchy romance annoyed me because EVERYONE is paired up. Ugh! I just really do not like the romance in YA books.

Dragon Beast: a book with a wild concept that somehow worked

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

Horrorstör is a horror novel set in a furniture store that strongly resembles Ikea, even the edition of the book I’m showing above is made to resemble the Ikea catalogs. It’s about a young woman who works at the store who one night does an overnight shift with other coworkers and ended up experiencing one of the weirdest, scariest nights of her life. The story isn’t very scary and is actually a little funny. I really enjoyed. It’s basically a haunted house story but set in a store.

Draconic Hybrid: name a book that could be considered a genre mash

Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan, illus. by Fiona Staples

Definitely Saga, one of my favorite comic book series, about a couple and their newly born child on the run from the governments of their respective planets, which are at war against each other. The story and art mixes sci-fi and fantasy elements. The content is very graphic, but it’s a great read.

Drake: name a good beginner fantasy

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit is my go-to answer for these questions. I never know what to recommend because most of the fantasy I read and love don’t seem like great entry points because of how hefty the books are or how detailed the plot is. They could potentially turn a person off the genre. I think a fun or intriguing stand-alone novel would be best, but I haven’t read many of those.

Eastern Dragon: name a fantasy with elemental magic

Air Awakens by Elise Kova

I actually don’t know much about the magic system in this book because I DNF’d it shortly after starting it. But I do remember there being mention of elemental magic in it. I would like to try the book again. From the reviews I’ve seen of the series, it seems that the story gets better with each book. It’s YA fantasy. All I know is that the main character works in a library until she realizes her magic ability. I forgot how or why that happens.

Fae Dragon: name a fae/fairy fantasy

The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

It’s the first novel in the Fairwick Chronicles, a paranormal romance about a woman who moves to upstate New York to work at a small college there and has nightly trysts with an incubus. I enjoyed reading these books. They were fun and I love the setting and the fae characters and creatures that pop up.

Great Serpent: name a fantasy with an Asian setting/influence

The Black Tides of Heaven by J.Y. Yang

The first novella in the Tensorate series, a silkpunk fantasy series about twins who have strong magical aptitude. The story is set in a world where people able to select their gender at a certain age; children do not have a gender. It’s an interesting read, but I gave up on it after the second book because I didn’t like any of the characters and had a hard time fully imagining the world, which is a big issue for me sometimes, apparently.

Hydra: favorite series with 3+ books

Yes, I was thinking to mention Robin Hobb’s books, but I won’t. I’ll give y’all a break from them for now. Lol!

Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce

So, my avoiding answering with a Robin Hobb made me remember that I hardly ever complete the series I start, so here’s a throwback: the Song of the Lioness quartet, YA fantasy books I loved as a teen and still love today. It’s about a girl who disguises herself as a boy so she can become a knight. I love the books. The photo above is of the second book, In the Hand of the Goddess.

Devil Fish: name a book with thievery/scams

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

I haven’t yet read it, but it’s on my TBR. All I know is that it’s fantasy and is about some thieves. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Lindorm: a book that kept you up at night

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

I read the whole book in a day because I loved it that much. It’s set in a small, quirky North Carolina town and is about the Waverley sisters who are estranged from each other. The Waverley family are known about town for their “gifts” and the apple tree in their backyard that bears prophetic fruit.

Ouroboros: name a book with alchemy

Fullmetal Alchemist, Vols. 1-3 by Hiromu Arakawa (illus.)

The magic in this manga/anime series is called alchemy. The story is about the Elric brothers who are trying to regain their original bodies after a fateful experiment. It’s a great story that I highly recommend. And the artwork, in the manga and anime, is good too.

Sea Serpent: name a book with pirates/sea travel

It’s getting harder to answer without mentioning Hobb’s books because, yo! She got some sea serpents up in there too and they are fearsome and SO intelligent! And she got pirates and sea travel and all that. ALL that! SO much! Anyway, let’s see…

Child of a Hidden Sea by A.M. Dellamonica

Another one that’s on my TBR. I have no idea what it’s about other than that the story takes place at sea….maybe.

Serpent-Waist: name a book with shapeshifting

The Devourers by Indra Das

It’s a fantasy novel set in India about a man transcribing the life story of a guy who’s probably a werewolf. It’s a great story that’s really well written (I love the prose), but it didn’t work for me. I DNF’d it at first before pushing through to complete it. I could tell the story is good, it just did not appeal to me.

Western Dragon: name a classic/European fantasy

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin

Le Guin’s Wizard of Earthsea is one of my favorite fantasy novels. It’s a classic YA fantasy about Ged Sparrowhawk and how he became a great wizard. It’s been a while since I’ve read it… maybe I should give it a reread soon.

Wyrm: name a grim dark book

The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks

I really enjoyed reading the Night Angel trilogy despite how grim and dark it is (lol). The trilogy begins with The Way of Shadows, a fantasy novel about a street urchin who becomes a notorious assassin, and it’s awesome!! Well, maybe not that awesome because the story has some faults, but I really like it and hope for more books in the series.

Wyvern: a character you felt was too aggressive or too much

Nynaeve = too damn much

The answer for this sort of question will always be Nynaeve (which, after years of rereading the first 3 books in the series multiple times, I finally realized is a play on the word naive), who is my least liked character in the whole Wheel of Time series. Actually, all the characters annoy me except Mat, who becomes my favorite from book three onward (I’ve only ever made it to book 5, so this could change), and maybe Moiraine.

Aaaand that’s it for BOOK TAG WEEK.

If you’re a dragon, like dragons, want to have a dragon, or are participating in Wyrd & Wonder, consider yourself tagged!

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