Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag

Hey all! Today I'm finally doing a tag that I've been excited to do for months: the Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag. I've seen so many people doing these and I've loved watching/reading all of it so I'm especially excited for this post. This tag was created years ago and this is my first time actually doing it! 

So far in 2019 I've read 87 (!!) books. I'm still not quite sure how I've managed to do that but I can only hope that the second half of the year is going to be as good. I have read so many great books and I have so many books that I'm excited to get to so let's just dive in! (P.S. just so that things don't get too crowded, all of these questions pertain only to this year and exclude rereads. P.P.S. some of these I could have listed 10+ but I've limited all but the last question to 5 or less). 

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1. Best Book You've Read 

This was so hard to narrow down BUT I have a few. I'm not going to go super in depth on any of these since there are more of them than some other questions, but in no particular order we have:

• The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty
• Hunting Prince Dracula and Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco
• Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard
• Kingsbane by Claire Legrand

I have so many other books I loved this year so far but these are the ones that are tied for top book of the year (so far). 

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2. Best Sequel You've Read 

For this one I only have two, so I will be discussing them a bit but, again, not super in-depth. Also, I only picked books that were the second in a series even though I did read some books that were third, fourth, etc in a series. 

First up is Kingsbane by Claire Legrand. I was so highly anticipating this sequel that I was worried it wasn't going to live up to my expectations. It did. Everything got so much more intense in this book and the stakes were a lot higher. Additionally, that ending had me absolutely shook (and still does).

I also have The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty. I loved the first book so much and this book takes things to a whole new level. You care even more about the characters, the political intrigue and tensions are that much higher, and you're on the edge of your seat the whole time. 

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3. New Release You Haven't Read but Want To

I have so many of these, so I've again narrowed it down to five. These are also only books I currently own and not all of the books I haven't yet bought but want to!

• Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
• Finale by Stephanie Garber
• We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
• The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

I'm actually currently reading one of these right now, but I'm not very far in yet so I still decided to count it for this question. 

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4. Biggest Disappointment

I have three of these so I figured I would actually talk about them in this section. For two of these, I still enjoyed the book but it wasn't what I was expecting. For the last one, I just flat out did not like it.

First we have Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. Now, I didn't hate this book but I also was expecting something so much better. After the amazingness that Lady Midnight was, this book just let me down so much. I can't even get into it too much without making this super long so...just...here's my review.

Second is Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff. Again, I still enjoyed this book but I also didn't think it lived up to my expectations, the hype, or the greatness that was the Illuminae Files. I also think that it might not have been the right time for me to read it as I was super stressed and basically forcing myself to get through it. You can find my full review here.

Lastly is Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan which I just genuinely did not like. I can see from a rational standpoint where the hype is coming from but I also don't understand how so many critical readers think that this book is so amazing and has nothing wrong (insert shame-faced emoji here). When I first finished it I thought it was pretty good but looking back over the past few months...I did not have a fun time reading it. I could go on a whole tangent as to why this book disappointed me.

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5. Biggest Surprise

First I have Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard which surprised me in the sense that it took this series to another level that the first two books hadn't reached yet. Also, all the twists in the end were just BAM BAM BAM.

Second, I have Kingsbane by Claire Legrand due to that killer plot twist at the end of the book that I still cry over. I honestly didn't see it coming and that in and of itself was a big surprise this year. 

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6. Favorite New Author

S.A. Chakraborty, hands down. I'm so excited that she's going to be releasing another series after the conclusion of the Daevabad Trilogy. 

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7. Newest Fictional Crush

I don't really have one? I just don't crush very hard anymore and a lot of the characters I love are ones that I loved before this year. I think I crush hard in the moment but for crushes I constantly think about, I've noticed that it usually takes a few books for me to die-hard love them. 

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8. Newest Favorite Character

Nahri from The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty. She's just so strong and amazing even though she's in such a terrible situation. I love her so much and we STAN. 

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9. Book that Made You Cry

The short list?

• Only A Breath Apart by Katie McGarry
• Kingsbane by Claire Legrand
• Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard
• The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty
• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Some of these were happy tears, some were sad tears, and a lot had a mix of both. There were others, but here are the books where I cried the most. 

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10. Book that Made You Happy

Pretty much everything above but add Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey and so many other books. I read a lot of books that made me happy so far this year and I'm so glad about that fact.

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11. Favorite Book to Movie Adaptation

I didn't see any. 

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12. Favorite Review You've Written

• Kingsbane by Claire Legrand: 
• http://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2019/05/book-review-kingsbane-by-claire-legrand.html 
• Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare: 
• http://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2019/05/book-review-queen-of-air-and-darkness.html
• Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco
• http://www.laurensboookshelf.com/2019/04/book-review-escaping-from-houdini-by.html

I think the main reason I liked these were because I could just gush or put a lot of discussion into them. Also, I loved most of these books. 

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13. Most Beautiful Book you Bought

To go with one that I haven't yet talked about: Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

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14. What do you need to read by the end of the year? 

Pretty much my entire TBR but especially:

• Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard
• Godsgrave and Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff
• Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
• The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh
• Red Rising saga by Pierce Brown
• Finale by Stephanie Garber
• Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
• The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
• Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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March 2019 Book Haul!

So I got a lot more books this month than I expected, but I'm totally okay with that. To break it down, one of these was a book for class (but I won't be talking about that one), two were Twitter trades, three were books I already had read, five were books I ordered all the way back in July, and one was the random purchase of the month. I didn't really spend that much and I'm excited about the books I got. Total, I got twelve books in the month of March. Let's just go ahead and jump straight in!

The first book I got this month was a preorder from February that arrived at the beginning of March: the UK hardcover of Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard. I don't know why I love this edition so much but it's absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to display all of my editions together in the future. This is by far my favorite Susan Dennard book and I can't wait to see how the next one in this series turns out. You can find my review here. 

The next two books I have to talk about are
 the UK hardcovers of The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty. I read these books in February and absolutely fell in love with the story and the characters! I'm still thinking about them months later and I knew that I needed to have these editions on my shelf. I'm planning on painting the edges of these to match the Goldsboro editions that were sold out before I could get my hands on them, so there will be an update in the future about that! Here's my reviews for book 1 and book 2.

Next, I got Renegades by Marissa Meyer. I've heard so many great things about these new books by Marissa from people that I trust. To be honest, the fact that it sounds like a glorious sci-fi adventure also is pulling me in. I read Marissa's other series and loved it, so I'm hoping that when I get to reading this one I'll love it too!

Up next was my Apollycon virtual signing order. They did this really cool thing where you could order as many books as you want by any of the 100+ authors who attended the convention to get a signed and personalized book sent to your door. I ended up ordering five titles back in July and I'm super excited to finally have them in my hands!

The first of these is Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I slowly want to collect a personalized edition of every one of her books so I'm super excited to have this one in my hands! Especially since this is the book that started the entire series. You can find my review here.

Next, I have a copy of Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas. When it came down to choosing which SJM books to get, I decided to jump on this one as well. It's one of my favorites of the series and I really wanted to get a special copy since I didn't own any special or signed editions before this one. You can find my review here.

The third book I got was Kingdom of Ash, also by Sarah J. Maas. I was a tad bummed when I found out Good Choice Reading wasn't going to be doing a virtual signing for KoA because I really wanted a personalized copy of the final book. Then I heard about this virtual signing and was quick to jump on it. This book broke me in all the best ways and I cannot wait to do a reread. You can find my review here.

The next book I got from the signing was Torn by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This is the second in one of Jennifer's series that I haven't read yet, so I was like, "Why not get a signed edition if I'm going to need to buy a copy anyway?" I'm hoping to read this trilogy over the summer if I have time. If not, there's always winter break or next year!

The final book I got from Apollycon was Scorched by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This is one of her  non-paranormal/fantasy standalones and I'm super excited to branch out into even more of her writing. I think that this definitely has the ability to be a powerful book and I'm just excited to have a personalized copy in my hands.

The next book I got was from a trade on Twitter and that was an ARC of The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson. S.A. Charkaborty was talking about how much she loved this book on Twitter so I looked it up and it sounded interesting enough to make me try to find a copy to read. I'm excited to read this one, though I don't know when I'll get to it!

The last book I got this month was also a trade from Twitter and that is an ARC of Naturally Tan by Tan France. Tan is one of the members of the show Queer Eye, which I absolutely adore. When I saw that he had a book coming out in May, I knew I wanted to read it. Luckily, I was able to trade someone for an ARC. I've already read a couple pages and loved it, so I have a feeling this will be a nice, heartwarming read.

Well, there you have it! Those are all of the physical books that I got in the month of March. I'm hoping to get a lot less in April but we'll see how well that goes! Did you get any exciting books this month? Let me know in the comments below!

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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February 2019 Book Haul!

Okay, so I got more books that I expected this month. Like...a lot more. But it's okay because I'm either excited to read them or they were ones I had to pick up for my classes this semester. In total, I got eleven books in February but I'm hoping that number goes down in March. I think it will since I'm not planning on getting any March releases and I just have a couple school books to get. Let's just dive straight in!

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The first two books I got were from the January Beacon Book Box which arrived a little bit into February. The first book was an advanced copy of A Pack of Blood and Lies by Olivia Wildenstein and the second was Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer. I've heard good things about these books from people who've read them and they definitely sound like books 13 year old me would love.

The next book I got was a UK hardcover of Windwitch by Susan Dennard. I started reading the Witchlands series a couple months ago and I fell in love. I'd gotten a UK hardcover of the first book in a subscription box and I realized that I wanted my editions to match, so I scoured the internet for someone who was selling the out-of-print hardcover of Windwitch for a reasonable price. Luckily, I found one and it came in very good condition! It's so beautiful on my shelf, too.

Then I was sent a copy of Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows by J.M. Bergen by Book Publicity Services. This is a middle grade novel that I wasn't sure about but then I read the synopsis and figured that it was right up my alley. It deals with fantasy and bookshops and so much more. I'll be reading and reviewing this book in March and I'm super excited!

The next book I got was The Cerulean by Amy Ewing from the February Beacon Book Box. I've heard a lot of people talking about this book and it was on my radar for the past few months so I'm pretty excited to read it! I'm not quite sure what it's about but the cover is definitely gorgeous.

Next, I received one of my preorders of Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard that I ordered from the Good Choice Reading virtual signing. I was super excited for this because I absolutely loved Bloodwitch when I read the arc and I really wanted a signed book from Susan. Plus, there was a gorgeous art print and a set of pins that were thrown in with our orders that I was not expecting but absolutely love!

The next book I have was a spur-of-the-moment buy, which I've been trying to avoid lately but couldn't help myself on this one. It's the 10th anniversary edition of The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Not only have I heard many people raving about this series over the past few years but I saw a little quote snippet and knew that I had to read it! This edition was actually one of the cheapest I found and it's so gorgeous.

Then I picked up Sula by Toni Morrison and this was for my Women Writing Women literature class. We're currently reading it and it's interesting and definitely not something I'd usually read. There's been some...interesting scenes in the book so far and I definitely appreciate Toni Morrison's creativity for being able to write something so different.

I also picked up a copy of Macbeth for my English Literature course. I actually read this for the first time in high school but I didn't understand it really. I also realized that the literature courses I took in high school were more about just discussing the basics of what happened and who the characters were versus actually analyzing the themes in the play.

Next, I grabbed a copy of I Hate You, Don't Leave Me by Jerold J. Kreisman, MD, and Hal Straus. I'm always seeking to try and understand different mental illnesses and I'd heard that this is a book that a lot of psychologists recommend to those with borderline personality disorder and those who have friends or family with it.

The last book I picked up in February was The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, which is a book I've been super excited about since it was announced. Of course, now that it's actually here I am super intimidated by how big it is, but I'm excited to read it nonetheless. I've heard so many people raving about how good this book was and I just know that anything with fantasy and dragons is right up my alley!

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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You can follow my bookstagram here. A brand new giveaway will be posted soon!

To get more awesome content like this post, click the follow button to the right!

Beacon Book Box: use the code BOOKSHELF5 for a discount on your order or subscription! 

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February 2019 Wrap-Up!

Somehow February was a very productive month for me! I read nine books, posted a fair amount on my blog and instagram, had a lot to do for school, and watched a lot of Netflix. I'm not quite sure how I managed to get as much done as I did, but I'm excited nonetheless! Without further ado, let's go ahead and dive in!

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BOOKS READ

1. 

Title: Till Death Do Us Part

Author: A.J. Lee

Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars

Review

2.
Title: Sightwitch
Author: Susan Dennard
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Review

3.
Title: Guts
Author: Chuck Palahniuk
Rating: N/A

Honestly I don't know how to rate this. I'd read an article about how dozens of people passed out at live readings of this short story so I expected to be more shocked/queasy. I kind of expected to pass out. But I didn't. It was definitely disturbing and weird and super gross--not for the faint of heart/those who can't handle guts--but I wasn't as affected as I expected by it.

4.
Title: Astrophil and Stella
Author: Sir Philip Sidney
Rating: N/A--Read for class

Neutral rating because I read this for class. I can, however, say that Astrophil is the literal worst. He's a prick and I would happily punch him where the sun don't shine if he were an actual person and alive instead of an old fictional character. Also, knowing that this sonnet sequence was based off of Sir Philip Sidney's experience with loving a 13-year old girl made me very uncomfortable a lot of the time, especially in the back half of the sequence...especially at the second song

5.
Title: Bloodwitch
Author: Susan Dennard
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
Review

6.
Title: The City of Brass
Author: S.A. Chakraborty
Rating: 4.75 // 5 stars
Review

7.
Title: As You Like It
Author: William Shakespeare
Rating: N/A--read for class

8.
Title: The Kingdom of Copper
Author: S.A. Chakraborty
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
Review

9.
Title: Stalking Jack the Ripper
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Rating: 5 // 5 stars

I had such a fun time rereading this book and I'm super excited to move onto the next one. I first read this book back when it came out and fell in love with the characters. When I started reading the second one, though, I got too caught up in college to finish. But I can't wait to continue on now that I'm all refreshed to the events of this book!

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BLOG POSTS

January 2019 Wrap-Up!
Let's Talk: "Till Death Do Us Part" by A.J. Lee
January 2019 Book Haul!
Top 5 Wednesday: Nostalgic Ships
Unboxing: Beacon Book Box's "Spellbound Stories"
Truthwitch Book Tag!
Let's Talk: "Bloodwitch" by Susan Dennard
Top 5 Wednesday: Independent Ladies
Let's Talk: "The City of Brass" by S.A. Chakraborty
Fantasy Book Recommendations!
Let's Talk: "The Kingdom of Copper" by S.A. Chakraborty
Recommending My Favorite TV Shows

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MOVIES/TV SHOWS WATCHED

I re-discovered Hawaii Five-0 last month just after returning from winter break and became obsessed. I ended up watching seasons 2 through 7 (a total of 150 episodes 😱). All I can say is that this show is addicting and I had to watch it that fast before my free trial ran out! I'm still currently catching up as I post this and I love the direction the show has taken.

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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You can follow my bookstagram here. A brand new giveaway will be posted soon!

To get more awesome content like this post, click the follow button to the right!

Beacon Book Box: use the code BOOKSHELF5 for a discount on your order or subscription! 

I am a "BookishTextDesign" Influencer! Use my code LAUREN10 for a discount off your bookmark purchases! Check out the shop here

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Let's Talk: "Bloodwitch" by Susan Dennard

Title: Bloodwitch
Author: Susan Dennard

Series: "Witchlands" #3

Genre: YA Fantasy

Page Length: 464 pages

Publication Date: February 12, 2019

Date Started: February 6, 2019

Date Finished: February 11, 2019
Rating: 5 // 5 stars

Goodreads

Book 1 Review

Book 2 Review

Book 2.5 Review
Truthwitch Book Tag

*I was sent a free advanced copy of this book from the publisher through Bookish First in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and comments are entirely my own*

This is by far my favorite book in the Witchlands series. I finished reading it and just kind of sat there trying to absorb all that happened. As much as I liked the previous books, this one raised the bar for this series.

Let me start off by saying that the characters were phenomenal. I loved the different POVs we got and I can't wait to see what happens to them in future books. Just looking back at the character growth from the first book to this one is such an insane journey.

This book seemed even more emotional than previous books, in my opinion. I felt a greater connection to all of the characters, not just Aeduan. My heart hurts at times and I definitely shed a few tears here and there. I can just see how brilliantly Susan has crafted these characters and it makes me so excited to see what she'll do next.

Seeing how all the different plot lines wove together in the end almost made me scream and throw the book across the room. In fact, there were moments where I as just sitting in my bed making incoherent noises and clutching the book. That ending!

Also, Susan is the queen of teasing. I don't want to discuss too in depth but there would be moments we'd been building up to and I'd been anticipating, and then something would interfere to where that moment ended up being pushed back. It was pure torture but another reason why I enjoyed this book so much.

Honestly, I'm not quite sure how to further discuss this without spoiling things accidentally, so I'll leave you with this: I absolutely adored this book. It's my favorite book I've read this year and my personal favorite of the series so far. I cannot wait to see how things play out. Overall, this was just a brilliant book!

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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You can follow my bookstagram here. A brand new giveaway will be posted soon!

To get more awesome content like this post, click the follow button to the right!

Beacon Book Box: use the code BOOKSHELF5 for a discount on your order or subscription! 

I am a "BookishTextDesign" Influencer! Use my code LAUREN10 for a discount off your bookmark purchases! Check out the shop here

Get free worldwide shipping with Book Depository using my affiliate link

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Truthwitch Book Tag

In honor of Bloodwitch, the third book in the Witchlands, releasing today, I thought I would do something special! I stumbled across this tag a while ago and decided to save it for the release day. This tag was created by Inside My Library Mind and I wasn't tagged by anyone, but I decided I wanted to do it anyway! I'm going to try to pick answers outside of the Witchlands series but I can't promise they won't slip in here or there. 

1. Safiya: A Character That Grew on You

Elide or Lorcan from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. Let's be real, when we started getting their POVs I was mostly bored. I didn't want to read new POVs from characters I'd never met or didn't particularly like. I will say that they both grew on me but I'm still not as obsessed with them as some people are. Art by Taratjah

2. Iseult: A Character You Relate to the Most

Willa Knight from the Curse of the Gods series by Jaymin Eve and Jane Washington. Since the day I finished the first book in this series, I knew that if I was a book character, I would be her. She's clumsy, she's got my brand of humor, she's everything. 

3. Nubrevna: Favorite Setting

Honestly, I'm not quite sure for this one. If I'm being honest, I don't really picture vivid settings in my head when I'm reading. But I think I'm going to go with Velaris from the ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas just because I've seen so much fanart for it and it's so beautiful. Art by GrinningArtist. 

4. Aeduan: Favorite Anti-Hero

I'm going to go with Kaz Brekker for this one. He's not necessarily a bad guy, but he uses his wits and skills to do heists and run a gang, so he's definitely not a stereotypical good guy. I've only read Six of Crows so I haven't yet moved onto Crooked Kingdom, but I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy reading more of his character. Art by Whimsical Illustration

5. Merik Nihar: A Loyal Character

Ron Weasley from Harry Potter definitely fits this category. Even when things aren't necessarily the best for him, he always sticks by Harry's side or comes back in the end. He's truly the definition of a loyal Gryffindor. 

6. Safi and Iseult: Favorite Female Friendship

I'm going to have to go with Safi and Iseult from Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. I tried thinking of some other friendship that I liked more than theirs but I just couldn't. Everything about these two is amazing. Their loyalty, their selflessness for each other, etc. Their relationship is just the best. Art by alexisc_art

7. Threads that Bind: Favorite Book Relationship

I'm not going to go with a romantic relationship, but rather, another book friendship. (Small spoiler for Lord of Shadows). I just love seeing Kit and Ty's budding friendship. It's such an interesting relationship being formed and I can't wait to see where it goes next. Art by Unknown--please let me know if you know who made it!

8. The Puppeteer: Favorite Villain

The Volturi from the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. They're definitely not good people, erm...vampires, but they are such interesting characters to read about. The roles they've played in this series have been quite good and I think that they definitely help raise this series up. 

9. The Mountain Bat: Favorite Animal/Creature

I'm going to have to go with Buckbeak for this one from the Harry Potter series. I can't really explain why, but he was the first that popped into my head. 

10. Vaness: An Intimidating Character

Can I just say literally any high fantasy character? I feel like most of the characters I read would intimidate the hell out of me if I ever met them in real life. It would be the part-scared, part-awed feeling of intimidation.

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Truthwitch Review
Windwitch Review
Sightwitch Review
Bloodwitch Review

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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You can follow my bookstagram here. A brand new giveaway will be posted soon!

To get more awesome content like this post, click the follow button to the right!

Beacon Book Box: use the code BOOKSHELF5 for a discount on your order or subscription! 

I am a "BookishTextDesign" Influencer! Use my code LAUREN10 for a discount off your bookmark purchases! Check out the shop here

Get free worldwide shipping with Book Depository using my affiliate link

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