The Book Courtship Tag

I was tagged by Parneet at The Enchanted Book to take part in the Book Courtship Tag. Thank you very much for the tag Parneet, I was very excited to take part in this one and I had a great time coming up with my answers.

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Phase 1: Initial Attraction
A book that you bought because of the cover?

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Literally the only reason I picked this book up was for the cover, granted the blurb intrigued me but it was cover itself that convinced me to start reading it. The hardcover version now on my bookshelf is absolutely gorgeous and even now always catches my eye. Luckily I loved the book as much as the cover and I have already pre-ordered the second one, The Rose and the Dagger, for its release in May.

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Phase 2: First Impressions
A book that you got because of the summary?

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

It wasn’t so much the blurb of this book but a review I read that made me pick up Bone Gap and start reading. I honestly loved this book, it was a top read for me for 2015, and it’s what piqued my interested in magical realism as a subgenre. Bone Gap is beautiful written and tells an unforgettable story.

Everyone knows Bone Gap is full of gaps—gaps to trip you up, gaps to slide through so you can disappear forever. So when young, beautiful Roza went missing, the people of Bone Gap weren’t surprised. After all, it wasn’t the first time that someone had slipped away and left Finn and Sean O’Sullivan on their own. Just a few years before, their mother had high-tailed it to Oregon for a brand new guy, a brand new life. That’s just how things go, the people said. Who are you going to blame?

Finn knows that’s not what happened with Roza. He knows she was kidnapped, ripped from the cornfields by a dangerous man whose face he cannot remember. But the searches turned up nothing, and no one believes him anymore. Not even Sean, who has more reason to find Roza than anyone, and every reason to blame Finn for letting her go.

As we follow the stories of Finn, Roza, and the people of Bone Gap – their melancholy pasts, their terrifying presents, their uncertain futures – acclaimed author Laura Ruby weaves a heartbreaking tale of love and loss, magic and mystery, regret and forgiveness—a story about how the face the world sees is never the sum of who we are.

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Phase 3: Sweet Talk
A book with great writing?

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This book has some of most beautiful writing I think I have ever read, but it is the descriptions of the Night Circus itself that really stood out for me. If I could, I would quit my job and travel all over the world with the rêveurs following Le Cirque des Rêves.

“You think, as you walk away from Le Cirque des Rêves and into the creeping dawn, that you felt more awake within the confines of the circus.

You are no longer quite certain which side of the fence is the dream.”

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Phase 4: First Date
A first book of a series which made you want to pick up the rest of the series?

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

I’ll admit I was a little apprehensive about this book at first. When I saw it was written in the form of hacked documents; emails, IMs, video surveillance, emails, etc. I was worried about whether the authors would be able to pull it off and create a well formed story with relatable characters. I shouldn’t have worried. I loved this book. Illuminae was beautifully put together; the graphics were stunning, the characters were well-developed, and the story engaging.

At the moment there is no cover or even release date for the second book in The Illuminae File series, Gemina. All we know is that it’s set on Jump Station Heimdall and, although it focuses on two new characters, Kady and Ezra will make an appearance.

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Phase 5: Late Night Phone Calls
A book that kept you up all night?

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

This book was one of my favourites of 2015, I honestly did not want to put it down until I’d read the last page. Unfortunately I had to because I had work the next day but I stayed up way later than I should have, constantly telling myself ‘just one more chapter…’. I really enjoyed Fangirl, the first Rainbow Rowell book I read, but Carry On was so much better in my opinion; I was completely engrossed in Simon and Baz’s story.

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Phase 6: Always on my mind
A book you could not stop thinking about?

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

This book has become my favourite read of the year so far, and while I haven’t read many books yet it’s going to be hard to top this one. While I enjoyed Alexandra Bracken’s Darkest Minds series Passenger completely eclipsed it. I loved every single aspect; the characters, the plot, the different counties and times Etta and Nicholas travelled to. I am desperate to get my hands on the next book but there is still so long to wait for it to be released.

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Phase 7: Getting Physical
A book which you love the way it feels?

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Alice in Wonderland has been, and will always be, a favourite story of mine. I can’t even remember when I first read it but I do know since then it has been a book I’ve re-read every year since. This edition is one of the more expensive books I’ve brought but it is also the most beautiful one that sits on my bookshelf.

Down the rabbit-hole and through the looking-glass! Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Other Stories features all of the best-known works of Lewis Carroll, including the novels Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, with the classic illustrations of John Tenniel. This compilation also features Carroll’s novels Sylvie and Bruno and Sylvie and Bruno Concluded, his masterpiece of nonsense verse “The Hunting of the Snark,” and miscellaneous poems, short stories, puzzles, and acrostic.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Other Stories is one of Barnes & Noble’s Collectible Editions classics. Each volume features authoritative texts by the world’s greatest authors in an exquisitely designed bonded-leather binding, with distinctive gilt edging and a silk-ribbon bookmark. Decorative, durable, and collectible, these books offer hours of pleasure to readers young and old and are an indispensable cornerstone for every home library.

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Phase 8: Meeting the parents
A book which you would recommend to your family and friends?

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

I have pretty much recommended this series to all of my friends, and I don’t plan to stop recommending it to them until they actually read these books. The Bone Season has fast become one of my favourite series, filling the gap left by The Lunar Chronicles after it ended with Winter. The Bone Season and The Mime Order have great characters, and even better character-development, fast-paced plots, detailed world-building, and the beginnings of a romance which I am excited to see develop more in the next book when it’s released.

Seriously, for everyone reading this post as well, put The Bone Season on your to-read list.

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Phase 9: Thinking about the future
A book or series you know you will re read many times in the future?

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

This series has fast become my all-time favourite. I honestly didn’t want it to end but I loved Winter and felt it was a perfect finale to The Lunar Chronicles. As soon as I’d finished the last page of Winter I wanted to go back and re-read the whole series; re-experience all of my favourite characters and the journey’s they travelled. This is going to be a series I am never going to be fully done with, even once the last book has been released.

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Phase 10: Share the love
Who do you tag?

1. Anna at My Bookish Dream
2. Ashleigh at A Frolic Through Fiction
3. Astra at A Stranger’s Guide to Novels
4. Isabella at Gryffindor Books
5. Reg at She Latitude