I’m honestly surprised that I’m making this book tag before I am anything EnStars, but that was due to problems choosing prompts that I was happy with. These prompts I came up with quickly, but they should be fun to fill in. So I thought, why not put it together?
I’ve not seen much interest in vtubers within the book community, so I’m not sure if anyone will do this book tag. But if you’re stuck on things to post, then let me nudge this towards you, even if the prompts come from something you don’t know. A tag is a tag, after all!
A little over a week ago, a new group debuted from Nijisanji EN. This group of guys all have avatars that supposedly have travelled back in time from the future. Together they’re Stuck in the Abyss and have formed Noctyx. Each character has their own lore and their own way of doing things. Obviously, the person behind the avatar’s personality and interests will always shine through, but there is just something about these backstories and character designs that made me want to create this tag.
So, in no particular order, let’s get on with it!
Fulgur – A book that heavily features technology
For the cyborg, I had to focus on tech, right? I personally read a lot of sci-fi, but I know not everyone does. So for this prompt, you just need to choose a book where any form of tech is prominent. This could be robots, an app, or even a book told over email or texts. All these things count as technology, so they should work.
I’m personally going for a sci-fi book that I read recently, that featured mecha, and that’s Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. In this world giant transforming robots are created from these creatures that attack them. Pilots in the robots use their qi to transform and attack using their specific elements. The problem is that the female pilots, or concubine pilots, as they die after the battles, and Zetian wants revenge on the pilot who killed her big sister.
One big reason I was interested in this book was the poly relationship, and boy, was that done well. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to all sci-fi readers.
Uki – A book with stars in the title or on the cover
Our psychic boy was hit in the eye with a star. Stars are pretty, and they also feature pretty commonly on a variety of book covers. I thought this would be a nice easy one to give us a chance to talk about some books that we love.
This was very much an easy prompt for me and gives me the chance to talk about Even the Darkest Stars by Heather Fawcett. This book was a favourite of mine when I read it, and I think I should try to reread both books in the duology soon. If you love dragons, sharp-tongued boys with heterochromia and magic in the mountains, this book is for you. I loved River, the explorer our main character Kamzin has to travel with. He’s one of my book boyfriends, so I hope more people will read this and love him.
Even the Darkest Stars follows Kamzin as I said before, she has always dreamed of being one of the royal explorers, but she never expected to be picked to help one on their mission. Kamzin and River will have to head up the most dangerous mountain in the Aryas as Kamzin’s sister decides to head out on the same journey with a rival explorer. Kamzin has to decide what’s more important – completing her mission or protecting her sister.
Alban – A book with orange on the cover
Orange isn’t a colour we see on character designs or book covers very often, so with Alban, I had to choose this as the prompt. Alban is a thief, so we should use this opportunity to share books that will steal all our hearts. Yeah, that was bad, I know.
The book I’m choosing isn’t one I’ve read yet, nor is it one with much orange on the cover. But it has some, and it’s a book that I want to talk about. I have a proof of it that I hope to get to soon. But until I do, I want to hype it up.
Hide is Kiersten White’s first adult novel and a thriller that sounds so good. Our main character Mack has the opportunity to win a lot of money. All she has to do is hide out in an abandoned amusement park for a week and not get caught. It should be easy as Mack is an expert at hiding, it’s the only reason she’s alive when the rest of her family is not. But as the other competitors start disappearing, Mack realises that this challenge could be more sinister than they thought and that the group will have to stick together to survive.
I’ve not been the biggest fan of Kiersten White’s YA work, but I needed this book. It sounds fascinating, and from what I’ve read of this so far, I’m not minding her writing style this time. So here’s hoping I love it!
Sonny – A book with a mystery
When you have a detective, we have to talk about mystery books. I don’t know much about Sonny or his lore, but this was the most open I could make it. This prompt could be a mystery book, or it could just be a book with any form of mystery in it. You could list a contemporary book where a character is looking into a family mystery. Or a horror where the characters are trying to get to the bottom of a legend.
I’ve personally gone with a book that’s both a horror and a mystery. It’s a book that I adored, and I’m desperate to get the companion novel. I’m not the biggest horror or mystery reader, but I have been getting more into them recently. And this book was a great example as to why I should.
Rules for Vanishing is by Kate Alice Marshall, and it’s a YA novel following Sara who wants to track her missing sister down. Once a year, a road appears in the middle of the forest where the ghost of Lucy Gallows beckons. A mysterious text a few days before the date calls teenagers to get together and solve the mystery that will take them along the road. Sara plans on going and getting her sister back, and her friends agree to help her, but the road is more dangerous than they ever could have guessed, and in the end, they might not all be able to escape.
This book uses some found footage as well as transcripts of interviews and things. I had so much fun reading it, and I think it might be fun to listen to in audio. I just haven’t read it in that format. If you’re looking for a fun new horror mystery then grab this one.
Yugo – A book and song combo
With Yugo being a DJ and this being the final prompt, I thought I’d make this one a little bit of fun. So for Yugo, I want you to pick a song and match a book up to it. This could be difficult, or it could be easy. Depends on the song you choose!
For this, I went with the song Bruises and Bitemarks by Good with Grenades as I’m very much in an enemies to lovers mood. The book I’ve matched it up with is King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair. Isolde hates Adrian, and yet she’s so attracted to him. There’s some major sexual tension, and their bedroom activities could very much be considered a brawl.
Isolde is a human princess who hates vampires. Yet when King Adrian visits with an offer for peace, she has to agree to marry him for the sake of her people. She goes with him and plans to assassinate him, but he makes it clear that doing so won’t be so simple. The more time they spend together, the more Isolde realises that neither Adrian nor the vampires are what she thought they were, and her hate might not be so simple.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would, and I know others love it too.
And that’s it for the tag! Let me know if you wind up doing it yourself!
Lace and Dagger Books 