Book Tag: The Twelve Days of Christmas

It’s time for another Christmassy tag, and as this one’s about the 12 days of Christmas (which begin on the 26th of December, and end on the 6th of January), I’m plenty early!

I found this one at Jo Linsdell’s Festive Tag List, and it was originally created by Lizzie Loves Books.

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A Partridge in a pear tree

A Favourite Stand-Alone Book

There are so many books I could pick for this prompt because I have read a lot of stunning standalones in the last few years. The one I’ve picked though is YEAR OF THE REAPER, by Makiia Lucier. I was feeling pretty unwell about a month ago and picked this up as my companion while I rested.

Yes, this is a book about the aftermath of a plague (which I found so cathartic to read in 2021) but it’s also a mystery about political enemies and what happened in the midst of plague. It’s written in Lucier’s characteristic slow, stately manner, which I love so much.

Two Turtle Doves

Fictional OTP/Favorite Ship

I’m not the world’s biggest romance reader – as an aroacespec person, it just doesn’t interest me that much. To the point that I am less likely to pick up a book if it’s largely sold on its romantic tropes etc (particularly in YA SFF, where this is getting more common and important in books.)

However, I have really enjoyed watching Iseult and Aeduan’s relationship evolve over the Witchlands series, from their first meeting in TRUTHWITCH through to the most important book (so far) for them, BLOODWITCH. (WINDWITH and WITCHSHADOW have both also furthered their relationship, but third book BLOODWITCH is the biggie for the relationship!)

Three French Hens

Favourite Trilogy

Oh, another hard one with so many great options to chose from. At the moment, I’m still in the come down from the finale to Holly Race’s Midnight’s Twins series (MIDNIGHT TWINS, A GATHERING MIDNIGHT, and A MIDNIGHT DARK AND GOLDEN.)

This is a super inventive UKYA trilogy, a cross between a contemporary fantasy and a portal fantasy as Londonner Fern and her twin Ollie find out that there’s a dream version of the world, where nightmares are real. As they battle nightmares to protect the minds of sleeping people, they also find themselves up against a populist politician who is using the dream world to control people.

Four Calling Birds

Favourite Fictional Beast/Creature

Griffins! I think they’re super overlook and underutilised in fantasy!

Five Golden Rings

Show 5 Golden Books

In case you’re wondering, yes this prompt absolutely come with a side order of “what is gold and what is yellow?” And thus I present a mixture of shades, some of which are probably actually yellow!

• THE GOLDEN ENCLAVES, by Naomi Novik
• THE DANCE TREE, by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
• KINGSHOLD, by D. P. Woolliscroft
• SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN, by Shelly Parker-Chan
• THE UNBROKEN, by C. L. Clark

Six Geese a Laying

Rotten egg - least favourite book

Hmm, I don’t know what book I hate the most, but I know I don’t like a lot of popular ones! I think I’m going to skip this one because I am trying to keep this blog positive about books.

Seven Swans a Swimming

Show a Book with Water on the Cover

My initial plan for this prompt had been to try and be clever and try to include a book about swans or birds, but those didn’t have water on the cover, irritatingly! So instead, here’s one with a watery word in the title (though only a little glimpse of water!)

SWEET BLACK WAVES, by Kristina Perez, is the start of one of my favourite trilogies, which is a retelling of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. It is a book that leans into the tragic elements of the original (you will be very glad that you can read all three books in one go now!) and is set in a world inspired by early Medieval England.

Eight Maids a Milking

Fictional food do you wish you could taste

This isn’t strictly fictional, but every time I come across an interesting sounding description of food in a historical novel, I often find myself wishing I could try it.

Nine Ladies Dancing

Favourite dance between two characters

Dances are always a lot of fun in books and movies because people in close proximity talking to one another with movement is a good dynamic. Plus the action gets the blood rising and you never know who’s listening.

There’s one such scene in THE DEFIANT HEIR, by Melissa Caruso, the second book in her Swords and Fire series, where the main character Amalia is dancing with a stranger at a ball, and having a deep political discussion full of double meanings. I love the way it ends and Amalia’s “oh heck, what have I done?” realisation.

Ten Lords a Leaping

Favourite Book-To-Movie-Adaptation

I absolutely love The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. It’s one of my all time favourite movies, and I don’t even think I could begin to count how many times I’ve watched this film.

This is not a film that cleaves faithfully to the book, but it deviates in really clever ways. For one, it takes a book that has a lot of reported action after the fact and shows that – Caspian himself is not really in the book until the end, but this movie makes him a main character alongside the Pevensie children. I also invents a sequence that is one of my favourite in the film (the castle attack) because I think it helps the character arcs so much.

Eleven Pipers Piping

Favourite Book-To-Movie-Adaptation Soundtrack

Hands down, the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. It is amazing, and I listened to it obsessively as a child.

Twelve Drummers Drumming

It's the end of the song - a favourite book ending

Hello, would you like to scream at the ending of a book for being so perfect and yet so infuriating all at once? Because that’s what HOLD BACK THE TIDE, by Melinda Salisbury, does. Prepare to rage but also realise that any other ending would completely ruin the entire book.

This is a YA fantasy/cli-fi/horror about a town that’s draining the waters of the loch to power its mills without caring what that means for the environment. And in doing so, lower the water levels enough to unleash a terror on everyone.

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I tag Kerry (Like Herding Cats) and Raina (Enthralled by Love) and anyone else who wants to take part!