The Sims Book Tag

When I was younger I would spent hours upon hours playing the Sims, so much time would go into creating the perfect houses for each of the families I created. Granted I don’t play it at all now, but this tag brought back some fond memories for me. I was tagged by Heather at The Sassy Book Geek. Thanks so much for the tag Heather, I had a lot of fun with this one so I hope you enjoy reading my answers just as much.

The Original Sims:
The best author debut.

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

This was one of my favourite reads of 2016, and actually if it hadn’t been for Crooked Kingdom I think The Star-Touched Queen would have been my top read of that year. It was full of such beautiful writing, and an incredible world that I just wanted to fall into and live in for the rest of my life.

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The Grim Reaper:
Saddest character death.

*SPOILERS BELOW: Proceed at your own risk.*

Gabriel
Half Lost by Sally Green

I didn’t see this death coming. I mean, I assumed something terrible would happen to Nathan and/or Gabriel, but I still hoped it wouldn’t be this. The worst part is because of the way the next chapter began I didn’t actually think Gabriel had died, but then when it was revealed Nathan was hallucinating Gabriel it was like a punch to the throat. I was in tears on the train home reading this book.

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Sims Getting Stuck:
A character that just got in the way.

Mal
The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

Yes he’s one of Alina’s love interests, and yes Mal has been her friend since they were children, but in every single book it seemed like he was holding her back. Mal was the reason Alina suppressed her power, he didn’t like Alina being a Grisha or moving so far beyond where he was. Even when they weren’t together it seems like he was always on Alina’s mind and as such still in her way.

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Simlish:
A book with amazing writing.

Laini Taylor

I know the prompt said book, not author, but I never could’ve picked just one Laini Taylor book for this question. She’s an incredible author, all of her books are full of fantasy and magic, and while it can take a while for me to fully immerse myself in her books I know it’ll be well worth it when I’m hooked on the story.

A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland

This was such a beautiful book, and not at all what I expected based on the blurb. I thought A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares would be a fun story about a girl facing death to break a family curse, but what I got was much deeper than that. Krystal Sutherland has written a beautiful book that tackles some important issues, such as mental health, in an emotional and moving story.

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Expansion Packs:
A series where the books keep on getting better.

Dark Gifts series by Vic James

Gilded Cage was good, granted there was a few issues with the story and the characters but what first book doesn’t have a few things to iron out. The second book however was incredible. Tarnished City was fast-paced, dangerous, darker and so much more intense. I was hooked from the very first page and now can’t wait for the third book.

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Sim Romance:
The worst case of insta-love.

Alyosha and Kara
Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza

When he was first introduced I quite liked Aly’s character, but then Kara was introduced and that all changed. Aly seemed to feel more for this girl he’d met a few days ago than his best friends, his brothers, who he’s known for years. It was a serious case of insta-love, and not a relationship I enjoyed reading at all.

Ella and Christian
The Truth and Lies of Ella Black by Emily Barr

This book has probably the worst case of insta-love I have ever read. Ella’s and Christian’s eyes meet as he is leaving an elevator she is about to get on (something like that) and all of a sudden she knows this is the person she has been waiting for her whole life. He’s her soulmate, and she’s practically planning their life together, just from a single one-second glance.

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Cheats:
A book that was entirely unrealistic.

I primarily read fantasy books, so every book I pick up is unrealistic. As fun as they are, let’s face it, in the real world there are never going to be big feats of magic performed.

The Fandom by Anna Day

The Fandom tells the story of four friends who end up transported into the world of their favourite book. It’s something every fan has dreamed of when it comes to their favourite book/series, I know it’s something I’ve dreamed of, but after finishing this book I’ve realised how much safer it is just reading about all the epic and dangerous adventures my favourite characters have.

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Needs Fulfilment:
A character who made all the wrong decisions.

Quinn
Wesley James Ruined my Life by Jennifer Honeybourn

Quinn wanted to ruin Wesley’s life for something he did when they were younger, but I just couldn’t get behind her motivation or her actions. She ends up hurting and using other people in her quest for revenge, and at the end she doesn’t even apologise for her actions just gets away with it.

Sarah Jac
All the Wind in the World by Samantha Mabry

Sarah Jac has had a hard life, but a lot of her actions were so hateful that all it ended up doing was making me hate her character in return. There’s something she did at the end of the book that nearly made me DNF All the Wind in the World, that’s how bad it was.

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Error Code 12:
A series that started off great but went downhill from there.

The Chronicles of Ixia by Maria V. Snyder

I am a massive fan of the Study trilogy, the first three books in The Chronicles of Ixia series, in fact they’re three favourite books of mine. However as the series continued with Opal’s story, and then went back to Yelena and Valek’s adventures, I found my interest dwindling. I still love the world and the writing, I’m just not as much of a fan as I was before.

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The Sims Vortex:
A book/series that completely engrossed you.

Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

This was such a beautiful, moving and emotional book that I couldn’t stop reading. Moonrise was my first foray into poetry and it definitely won’t be my last, in fact I very recently added Sarah Crossan’s other books onto my TBR list. I fell in love with her writing and her characters in Moonrise and I can’t wait to get around to more of her works now.

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My tags:

• Michelle at Book Adventures
• Paige at Paige’s Pages
• The Reader’s Bay
• Sophie at Sophie’s Corner

As for everyone else out there reading this post, let me know what your answers for these questions would be. Which books have you read with amazing writing? What’s the worst case of insta-love you’ve come across? And if there’s anyone out there who wants to take part consider yourself tagged.