July 12th: Children’s Books
–This can include Middle Grade (but try to recommend more than just Harry Potter and Percy Jackson!) Feel free to talk about your childhood faves or more recent reads.

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(links) George // The Door Trilogy // Henry Hoey Hobson // Amulet // Alex Rider

GEORGE

This book is soo important. The novel shows what it means to be transgender, and how difficult it can be to live in the wrong gendered body, especially for a kid. George puts what it means to be transgender into simple terms, it makes it simpler for children to read, but it is also super helpful for pretty much anyone.

THE DOOR TRILOGY

I know I’ve been talking about this trilogy a lot lately but that’s only because I don’t think  enough people have read it. I know that this trilogy is pretty well known in Australia, along with Emily Rodda’s other novels (Deltora Quest…etc) but I’ve never heard readers out of Aus talk about her novels. This is a crazy unique and really fun middle-grade series, though anyone can read it. I mean, I was introduced to this series when I was in primary school and I am still reading it.

HENRY HOEY HOBSON

Along with The Door Trilogy and Alex Rider, HHH is one of my child-hood favourite reads. If you read any of the books on this list I would urge you to read The Door Trilogy but I think this would have to be my second recommendation. That being said, I love all these books and think you should read all of them!

HHH is about a young boy just trying to get through life and swimming but that’s kinda hard when everyone thinks you’re a vampire, and the evidence is kind of mounting against you.

AMULET

I wanted to give you a bit of diversity on this list (even though it’s not much) so now I’m going to recommend the Amulet series. This series is a graphic novel series, so far there are seven books, with the the eighth instalment coming out in 2018.

This is a really fun fantasy series for all ages, I read it along with my younger brother, and we both really love it.

ALEX RIDER

This is a series I read constantly (in between HP & PJO marathons) when in primary school and I have recently started to re-read the series, and I am up to book 5!

ALSOOOOOOOOO I recently became 100x more excited about the books as the series is being turned into a tv show AND I AM DYING (of happiness, I am so excited).

Did you do a T5W? Do you read Middle-Grade?

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July 5th: Books Without Romance
– A few (very, very few) people complained about the “shipping” topics lately, so I thought it would be good to talk about books that don’t have a romantic subplot! This is a really hard one, so if you can’t find any, you can talk about some where the romance is super super minor. Like barely mentioned… at all…

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Vernonica Mars // In Real Life // The Giver // The Golden Door // The Ocean At The End of The Lane

We all love our romance novels but sometimes I really just feel the need to read a book without couples or love triangles.

VERONICA MARS

I read The Thousand Dollar Tan Line back in May ( I think???) and I LOVED IT! There isn’t really a romance in the books as the main character’s boyfriend is away because he’s a marine. Veronica Mars is back and she’s ready to solve crime and take names!

I would recommend that you watch the show and then the movie before you read the books though, because major spoilers!

IN REAL LIFE

Next up we have a graphic novel! This story is more so about the main character making friend and trying to help other people in their personal lives. There is absolutely no romance in this novel, it’s purely about friendship. I loved this when I read it and I definitely recommend you give it a shot!

THE GIVER

The Giver is one of my favourite novels of all time. From what I can remember there is no romance, I know in the movie they totally made the romance a big thing but in the book he had a bit of a crush and that was it. This is a really great novel and you guys should definitely pick it up!

THE GOLDEN DOOR

This is actually my favourite trilogy of all time, it’s a really fun fantasy trilogy, there is a romance but it’s not with the main character and it doesn’t affect the plot or anything like that. The Door trilogy is a really unique trilogy and please read it guys!

THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE

I read this novel a couple of years ago and while it’s not the best book I’ve ever read I did really enjoy that there wasn’t a romance and that it was more centered on the main character’s journey and really went down memory lane, with him exploring his childhood.

Did you do a T5W? Do you have any non-romance recs?

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June 28th: Hate to Love Ships
— Ask and you may receive. By request, a topic all about your favourite hate to love romances!

    

Caraval // Harry Potter // Lux // My Lady Jane // The Raven Cycle

I had a bit more trouble with this top 5, than I have others, but I tried to reason my answers well enough!

Julian x Scarlett

With these two it wasn’t necessarily a hate to love romance, or really too much of a great romance at all but there was certainly a lot of distrust between the two at the beginning of the novel.

I found that these two were a lot of fun together and I can’t wait to see how their dynamic changes in book 2.

You can read my review of Caraval here!

 

 

Ron x Hermione

Don’t glare at me like that (I can feel it, guys, there’s a whole bunch of you silently planning my demise right now). We all know that it took more than a few chapters for Ron and Hermione to actually become friends, and even longer for them to actually trust each other.

If we’re all honest here then we can also woman (or man) up and admit that these tw had a pretty rocky relationship for the first four books. Yeah, they’re tight by the end of the series but for the most part these two have a pretty unbalanced friendship.

asdASDasdASDddASDASDasdssMy reviews of: Book 1 // Book 2 //  Book 3

Katy x Daemon

These two definitely had a hate to love relationship. Keep in mind that I’ve only read books 1 and 2 and so I don’t know how the series ends.

From what I’ve read these two have great banter and a lot of pent up emotions, most negative. They start out pretty much despising each other and now, they’re pretty much glued at the hip.

 

 

G x Jane

Okay, so these two are completely adorable and their (second) wedding was brilliant. I mean, all the guests had books in case they got bored!

Anywayyy, they started out in an arranged marriage and hated each other from the get go. They had terrible communication and by the time they actually talked to each other (communication is key guys) I was already in love with their love. Also, Jane has some fantastic one liners and  could kill someone with all the puns up her sleeves.

asdasdasdasdASDasdasdasdasdasasd My review of My Lady Jane

Adam x Ronan

Adam and Ronan didn’t exactly start out hating each other but they weren’t particularly close either. It was really fun to see their relationship develop throughout the series as they are both such fundamentally different characters.

If you know anything about the bookish side of Tumblr then I’m sure you also know about these two and their journey. And, for the most part Tumblr is right, these two dure do make a good couple.

My review of  book 4

 

 

Did you do a T5W? Who are your favourite hate to love couples?

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June 21st: Favourite “Unlikeable” Protagonists
— People always tear down “unlikeable” protagonists. But tell us the ones you pulled for!

    

Scott Pilgrim // Jane Lockhart // Katy Swartz // Valkyrie Cain // Apollo

My five picks don’t exactly fit the prompt but I do think these characters are unlikable, though for some reason I still read about them.

Scott Pilgrim – Scott Pilgrim

Okay, so Scott Pilgrim is actually a pretty popular character, I mean he’s even got a series and a film named after him! While I did enjoy the series (a lot) I have to say, one of my main issues with it was Scott himself. He’s a bit too much of a dag for my taste and I honestly just don’t understand adults who date high schoolers.

You can read my review of volume 1 here

Jane Lockhart – Not Another Happy Ending

Jane Lockhart is one of those character who can be a bit ditzy at times and is a tad depressing. She’s a bit unlikable but at the same time I really loved her? She is by no means my favourite character from the novel, and I think I preferred her in the movie (totally not because she’s played by Karen Gillian).

You can read my review here

Katy Swartz – Lux

I feel bad saying this, because though Katy is fictional, she is a fellow book blogger. Katy can make some pretty bad decisions throughout this series (I’ve only read the first 2 books) but for some reason I still like her.

Valkyrie Cain – Skulduggery Pleasant

Okay, so Miss Cain… Don’t get me wrong, I love this girl but damn she is a piece of work. She can be quite horrible at times and is the character that finally made me realise that characters with wit and charm aren’t always good, whether or not they are the protagonist. While she can be a bit much at times, at heart Valkyrie is a good character and I can’t help but love her.

Apollo – The Trials of Apollo 

APOLLO. I LOVE THIS GUY, HE’S TERRIBLE. Apollo is actually the worst, he means well and actually a pretty cool guy but he has no self control and his inner thoughts can be pretty intense at times. Of course he’s a God, so he’s pretty found of himself and has a very blown up ego. Though, he’s incredibly full of himself he is actually a pretty good guy and I’d have a conversation with him over most of the other Gods any day.

You can read my review of The Hidden Oracle (book 1) here

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June 14th: Side Ships
— Tell us your favorite relationships that don’t involve the protagonist!

Links to the books are in blue!

Bingley x Jane // Zuzana x Violin Boy // Jacob x Queenie // Ghastly x Tanith // Grover x Juniper

BINGLEY X JANE (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE)

These two are adorable, and often they are my favourite part of the whole story. I love how they just completely fall in love with each other and are both two of the nicest fictional characters of all time.

ZUZANA X MIK (DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE)

These two are also adorable, in fact 4 out of 5 couples on this list are adorable. Anyway, so Zuzana is the main character’s best friend and she meet’s this guy named Mik in book 1 (I think) and right from the get go they are completely amazing and supportive and I love them. Also there is this amazing novella of their first date and you should all read it.

JACOB X QUEENIE (FBAWTFT)

Okay, so we’ve all seen Fantastic Beasts by ow, right? Of course we have, we’re bookworms after all. So then you guys know just how amazing Queenie and Jacob were together, and I swear if Jacob isn’t in the second film I’m gonna cry.

These two are beautiful and I love how completely pure they are together.

GHASTLY X TANTH (SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT)

MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT SERIES

These two honestly had so much potential and they’re the only couple on this list that never really had a chance. I really wanted them to be together and they were actually supposed to go on a date at some point but because of circumstances they never even had a chance. Can you picture me screeching because I was super duper pissed off.

GROVER X JUNIPER (PERCY JACKSON)

Okay, so I don’t remember when these two actually got together (I feel like it was probably around book 3 or 4 in the first series). Either way they’re absolutely fantastic together and I really love them together. I really appreciate that Riordan decided to give Grover a love interest, especially because Juniper is like Grover’s perfect partner – she’s smart and she totally understands Grover’s need to help save nature and really balances him out, though we don’t see her as much as I would have liked in later books.

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Did you do a T5W? Who are your side-ships?

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June 7th: Books For Your Hogwarts House
— Show your Hogwarts House Pride, and tell us the top 5 books that represent your house!

So, I don’t know if you guys knew this but I’m a Hufflepuff.

    

First & Then // Rocket Raccoon & Groot // Strange The Dreamer // Henry Hoey Hobson // Lockwood & Co.

First & Then is a cutesy contemporary modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice. It’s one of those books you can pick up and finish in on sitting. Once you start reading, you won’t want to stop, trust me. It reminds me of Hufflepuf purely because I felt like if the story were a human I would just hug it all the time (which is weird because I’m not a huge fan of hugs).

Next, is Rocket Raccoon  & Groot, the comic series – now here, I’m talking more so about Groot as Rocket is definitely a Slytherin. I’ve only read volume 0 from the series but we see that Groot just really cares about his friends and will do anything for them. And you should see how quickly he persuades Rocket to do stuff for him, it’s ridiculous! Basically, Groot is the ultimate hufflepuff, in that he can still be incredibly nice but he can also  turn into a rage monster and destroy everything (and if you tell me down in the comments that a Hufflepuff never gets super friggn mad then, mate you haven’t met me on a bad day).

And then there’s Lazlo from Strange The Dreamer, and yes I guess you could argue that Lazlo is a Ravenclaw and I would accept that but to me he’s a Hufflepuff. I feel like Ravenclaws are harsher and more impatient, and we never saw that in Lazlo, though that’s not to say that all Ravenclaws would be like that, it’s just what I remember from when I last read HP.

Now, second last is Henry Hoey Hobson, a book you’ve probably never even head of but should all go read, especially if you’ve never read a book set in Aus. HHH is a bout a young kid trying to get his shit together and also trying to convince his new classmates that he’s actually not a vampire despite the mounting evidence that he is one. HHH is a fun, innocent kid who wants nothing more than to make friends and swim. It’s a great middle-grade novel and you shoud all read it.

In my mind Lockwood is a Hufflepuff because I want to abandon the thought that Hufflepuffs can’t be rude or charming, or that they can’t be kcik butt. Because let’s be real, and I don’t want to brag, but we’re the only house in which everyone stayed to fight during the Battle of Hogwarts – and that’s kinda badass.

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What house are you in? Did you do a T5W? Do you completely disagree with my choices?

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April 26th: Authors You Want to Read More From
–Talk about some authors that you’ve only read one or a few books from, and you NEED to read more!

Click on the author’s name to go to their Goodreads page!

William Shakespeare

    

I have only read Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth but i have seen a bunch of unabridged plays and loved them. The above are three plays that I’ve been dying to read, especially Julius Caeser.

Becky Albertalli

Last year Becky Albertalli released her debut novel Simon Vs The Homo Sapien’s Agenda, it was amazing and I totally recommend you guys pick it up. Her new book The Upside of Unrequited came out April 11th, I haven’t read it yet but rest assured I will get to it soon.

She also has a book coming out next year, it’s supposed to be a spinoff of Simon, so I am very excited!

Brandon Sanderson

  

Brandon Sanderson is my favourite author, yet I’ve only read seven of his books (Mistborn & Steelheart). The above are three books by him that I own, and really want to get to. Warbreaker and Elantris are both the first books in different series but were released so long ago that I question whether or not a book 2 will ever be a thing. However, The Way of Kings already has 2 books out, with the third coming out this year. I really want to read this series but it’s meant to be a ten book series and each book only comes out every two or three years so I’m not too sure when I’m actually going to start it.

Rick Riordan

  

I have read quite a few of Riordan’s books over the years. However, there is one trilogy that I’ve been meaning to read ever since the first book came out. Although, for whatever reason I haven’t even started the trilogy yet.

Laini Taylor

I read Laini Taylor’s previous trilogy a few years ago and really enjoyed it. However, I read Strange the Dreamer, her 2017 novel earlier this month andwhile I didn’t LOVE it, I did enjoy it more than I thought I would. I feel like this new series has some geat potential so I can’t wait to continue it.

April 19th: Favourite LGBTQ+ Reads
–Talk about your favorite books that feature LGBTQ+ characters or are by LGBTQ+ authors.

Click on the title on the book to go to the Goodreads page!

Simon Vs The Homo Sapien’s Agenda by Becky Albertalli 

I read this early last year and loved it so much that as soon as I finished it I started it right over again. It’s a really fun and innocent story about some cool kids who just want to have a nice life and eat oreos.

George by Alex Gino

George is an amazing book, I feel like it’s a necessary read. It’s short and it gives non-transgender peoples an idea of the struggles transgender people go through, even when they’re young.

George really puts in perspective how hard it can be when you feel you’re in the wrong body, and it also shows how not everyone will stand by your side if you come out. Alex Gino also doesn’t use him/her pronouns, which I think is really smart as this book is middle grade and would be easier for younger readers to understand.

Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Shannon Watters, Brooke A. Allen

Have you picked up the Lumberjanes series yet? No? Well you should. There are no bad things about this series, the characters are all amazing, they have their flaws but as the series goes on they all learn more about themselves and become better people. This is a really cute book about friendship and love (and monsters) and totally recommend that you pick it up.

Everything Leads to You by Nina Lacour

Something I’ve found with the majority of queer young adult that I’ve read is that, if a character is gay they’re usually a guy. Why? I have no idea.

So naturally when I picked up Everything Leads to You, it was a lovely change to see a lesbian main character, and not just that but a queer main who wasn’t coming out or discovering their sexuality. Emi knows who she is and who she likes, she’s got her shit sorted out and she knows what she wants to do with her life. Actually, that’s art of what makes this book so interesting, Emi works behind the scenes in Hollywood creating the sets.

Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire

The main thing I want to talk about with this book is that Seanan McGuire managed to put so much representation into a 173 page book, whereas, soo many other books have absolutely no rep. This book has an Asexual main character and a Transgender main character, so whoop whoop for the representation.

There’s actually a quote in this book that I really love: “We notice the silence of men. We depend upon the silence of women.”

April 5th: Top SFF Books on Your TBR *Booktube SFF Awards Babble Crossover Topic!*
–Talk about the science fiction and fantasy books you want to read ASAP!

Magnus Chase and The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase #1)

This is a Rick Riordan book but, for some reason I just haven’t got to it yet. It feels pretty crazy to me that the last book in the trilogy is coming out this year but I still haven’t read the first book.

Lumberjanes Volume 6

This comes out on the 20th of this month, so I’m hopefully going to be able to read it in May. This is a really fun and inventive series for pretty much any age so I’m going to read it along with my brothers when it comes out.

Skulduggery Pleasant: Resurrection (Skulduggery Pleasant #10)

There is ANOTHER Skulduggery Pleasant book. Folks, this is number ten. TEN, I TELL YOU! And that’s fine because I love this series and the characters (or what’s left of them). I thought I was done with this series last year, but then Mr Landy decided to write another one. I know it sounds like I’m complaining but I am actually excited for this book.

The Martian

I saw the film adaptation for this last year and thought it was amazing, I meant to read it as soon as I saw the film but for some reason never got around to it. I don’t know if I’ll get to it this year, but I really hope I do.

Strange The Dreamer

This was actually on my TBR for March but due to exams I never got the chance to pick it up. I’m hoping to  get to it this month, but I also have a bunch assignments so if I read anything at all it would be a miracle.