I saw this tag on Sara’s blog The Bibliophagist and I instantly knew that I had to do it! I love talking about and reading about tropes! It is always entertaining to me!
HOPELESSLY DEVOTED | name two characters from separate series that you ship
Wow! This is a tough question! I really tried to wrack my brain for this question but I am stumped. I really wanted to ship Astrid from Crazy Rich Asians with someone but I could not come up with another character who would be a good match and who deserves her!
DAMSEL IN DISTRESS | name a female MC who didn’t need a man to complete her
Rin from The Poppy Wars was the first character that came to my mind! Sure, there are some hints at a romance but she is fiercely independent and it is part of why I was so invested in her.
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT | name your OTP
Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy- does this surprise anyone?!
MENTAL ILLNESS AS A QUIRK | name a book that represented mental illness well
Turtles All the Way Down is by far my favourite John Green novel. The main characters has OCD, as does John Green. It is evident from reading the novel that the author has experience with the disorder- it was so well done. I highly recommend reading some interviews with John Green where he talks about what it is like to live with OCD.
Bonus: If you are looking for non-fiction I really enjoyed Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
THE CHOSEN ONE | name a main character that did (or almost did) ruin a series for you
I am not a fan of Jace from the Mortal Instruments, and he is definitely one of the main reason I stopped reading the series after book two. I think he is kind of a jerk and in no way swoon-worthy. I was also not a big Clary fan either. It was truly the side characters who shined in that series.
FRIENDS TO LOVERS | name a duo that went from friendship goals to relationship goals
I really loved Monty and Percy in The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. Seeing their friendship turn into something more was my favourite thing about the book- beside Felicity of course! They have great banter and are just plain adorable.
AMNESIA | name a book you would forget for one reason or another
I think you know my feelings about this book by now. The more I think about it, the more angry it makes me. I wish I could forget the fact that Reese Witherspoon ever picked this horrible book for her book club, because I absolutely love her otherwise!
BAD BOYS | name your favorite villain
I do not read a ton of books with villains but I had to go with AIDAN from The Illuminae Files for this question. For an AI, it is very complex and conflicting. One of the most interesting villains I have ever read!
MISSING PARENTS OR ADULTS | name a book that could’ve benefited from a bit of parental guidance or adult supervision
I had almost forgotten that I had even read this book! The whole point is that the characters throw a party when their parents are out of town, so if there was parent supervision this book wouldn’t exist…
I totally agree with you about AIDAN – one of the most overdramatic villains I’ve ever read about, that’s for sure, but also so interesting! – and Jace Wayland. I also DNF-ed The Mortal Instruments series, mostly because Jace and Clary were way too trope-y, even for me. I do admit I loved some bad boy/plain girl banter in the past, but it got outdated pretty quickly, which is why I couldn’t move on with the series.
Turtles All The Way Down was another DNF for me. I was already halfway through the book, but I just couldn’t go past it. It really is an amazing representation of mental ilness, because reading it was giving me anxious feelings. I guess I just wasn’t in the right mindset to be bombarded with the protagonist’s thoughts, on top of my own. (And probably because I was unaware it dealt with a certain level of self-harm, which is something I’m not comfortable with at all). The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland had a very interesting portrayal on mental ilness too, in my opinion. It showed that teenagers will still be teenagers no matter what they’re going through. The characters definitely are just kids who eat too much candy and flirt over The Breakfast Club, but also have their own issues. It was such a refreshing perspective to read!
Amazing answers, Kristin!
Thank you so much for this comment!
AIDAN is definitely one of the most interesting characters I have ever read about! TMI is definitely trope-y and none of the tropes I enjoy. Definitely overdone.
I completely understand how Turtles could put you in a bad headspace. I have not heard of the book you mentioned. I will have to look it up! It sounds awesome. I love anything that mentions The Breakfast Club!
I’m so excited to try The Poppy War! I keep hearing such good things about it, not least that it has a fiercely independent female lead 🙂
It’s so amazing!!! I really think you’ll enjoy it!
OMG, I think it’s so hard to ship characters from different books. I am already always amazed when people ship characters from different TV shows, like it didn’t even cross my mind their worlds could intersect unless they are in the same universe and spin-off shows haha I don’t think I could do it for books at all. So, this was me trying to say that I get why that first question was a difficult starter haha
I thought about it for so long!!! I have nothing and it is bothering me! I would love to see what other people come up with!
I get it! Someone just asked me who my regular favourite OTP was and I blanked and it’s bothered me ever since haha
Wonderful answers for this tag! I agree with you about Astrid from Crazy Rich Asians, I haven’t been able to come up with anyone who deserves her so far ahah. I love her so much 🙂
Thank you!! She is the best!
Oh I hear you about Astrid- she’s such a wonderful character and I don’t know who would deserve her either! hehe Darcy/Elizabeth definitely makes sense. And AIDAN is an awesome villain!! Definitely one of my faves too!
I’ve read many books but no character is good enough for her! I was so surprised by how many layers AIDAN had! Such a good character!