Bookwyrming Thoughts

Musings from bookwyrms

Anti-Valentine’s Day Tag

Happy Valentine’s Day, bookwyrms!

It’s been nearly a year since Clo from Cuppa Clo tagged me for this, but I figured with the mass number of reviews lately, I might take a break and do a tag instead. Besides, it’s not like that’ll stop the bad reading luck that happened near the end of 2018, resulting in a backlog of reviews. You’d think I wouldn’t complain since I would be covered for a while, but negative reviews are draining.

As bookwyrms, we fall in love with fictional characters.

And unfortunately for us poor souls, we can’t have them as significant others for real. Nor will we ever win them over so it’s all one-sided. 

So in honor of never being able to win over fictional loves, we’re going to do the Anti-Valentine’s Day tag!

Shhh. Will Herondale is just one of my favorite fictional characters, even if I hated him in the first book. Jem didn’t deserve the injustice, though. But before we get started with the fun, let’s go over some fancy rules that I may consider breaking a few times:

  • Link back to the blog that tagged you!
  • Answer the 10 anti-Valentine’s Day questions provided.
  • Come up with your own 10 anti-Valentine’s questions for blogs you tag.
  • Tag ten other bloggers to do the tag!

A book which shows the ups and downs of a relationship, so there’s highs and lows and it’s not all just a high.

That awkward moment you can’t think of a book at the moment, so you choose a super random one off your head. Let’s go with… #Starstruck by Sariah Wilson.

I don’t even know if this is accurate. Someone save me.

A book where the romance aspect felt rather forced and would have been a better story without the romance.

Dream Keeper by Amber R. Duell in which I’ve yet to see how this will work because friendship is better. Actually, even without the romance, it would have been fine even if they weren’t friends for years.

Worst love triangle you’ve come across thus far?

We’re going to break the rules in proper Sophia fashion here and go with the best love triangle I’ve come across. Good love triangles are rare and beautiful and I love them dearly. The winner for this is Tessa, Will and Jem from The Infernal Devices who don’t let their friendship go to ruins.

RELATED: Check out my review for Chain of Gold, the first in The Last Hours trilogy and featuring characters from The Infernal Devices.

An OTP that the rest of the book community loved – that you just didn’t.

Ha! I didn’t see this question before, so I’m going to go repeat myself here. Jude and Cardan from The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, which is abusive AF, even for faeries. Perhaps I’ll figure out why in the second book? I don’t know.

Love doesn’t cure all…a book where the love apparently cures everything (mental illness, eating disorder etc).

If love cured all, I’m pretty sure I deleted those books from my head because I end up rolling my eyes a little. I’m going to skip this question.

A contemporary everyone and their dog seems to love that you’d gladly burn.

Um… virtually every contemporary before the past few years? I didn’t like contemporary in the past…

A love song you can’t stand?

Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepson. I’m pretty sure this is a love song? 🙈

Flowers and chocolates or books? Which would you rather have as a Valentine’s gift?

Books! Flowers don’t last long because I don’t have a green thumb (is that a black thumb, then?). Chocolate won’t last long because I’ll likely eat it. Books can last for a longer period of time and bonus points for a well-chosen book.

A book where the romance added to the story and the journey.

American Panda by Gloria Chao, which was an adorable read and one of my favorites.

Favourite and least favourite love tropes?

I hate insta-love, but as for other tropes? I’m not too picky as long as they’re done in a way that feels natural and not shoved into my face. My favorite ones tend to be friends to lovers and fake relationships, though…

Tag, You’re It!

But we all know you all are going to hoard like me, right? Maybe? 😉

Sam @ Fictionally Sam | Kal @ Reader Voracious | Ruby @ Ruby’s Books | Sepia @ Sepia Reads | Jamsu @ Jamsudreams | Lindsay @ Singer of Stories | Kristina @ Books and Daschunds

These Questions Are Being Pushed Toward You

  1. Name a cute romance in which you will go down with the ship.
  2. What’s one underhyped romance you want everyone to read?
  3. Name a relationship in which you’d rather toss into the fuck it bucket than go down with it.
  4. Name a book in which the romance overpowered the plot but you actually enjoyed.
  5. What book features an ideal date you would like to go on with your partner/potential partner one day?
  6. A book that had no romance but you wanted to have romance?
  7. Who’s your favorite stabbing character, one who would wield a weapon in a heartbeat?
  8. A ship that never happened but you want to squish those characters together and WANT to happen.
  9. A love interest you hated so much you would rather by squished by your TBR than fall in love with them.
  10. A fictional crush you would murder to get out of a sticky situation.

Meanwhile, let’s talk, bookwyrms: tell me characters you won’t ever win over because they’re fictional?

anti-valentines day tag
Sophia
Blogger at Bookwyrming Thoughts · Website · Read More Posts

Sophia started blogging in February 2012 for the hell of it and is surprisingly still around. She has a GIF for nearly everything, probably listens to too much K-Pop and is generally in an existential crisis of sorts (she's trying her best). More of her bookish reviews and K-Pop Roundups can be found at The Arts STL.

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32 comments

  2. Every fictional character ever? *snorts at the rule breaking here*

    I agree though, that is my favourite love triangle aaaah *flails* also I’m pretty sure Call Me Maybe counts as a love song….as for fake relationships *blinks* are we talking like Lara-Jean and Peter fake? Or another type of fake that I missed somehow, also congrats on finally doing this tag Soph. Much proud I am of you hehe

    • I mean, everyone else is saying Call Me Maybe is a love song soooooooo we’ll make it a love song, then. And yes, Lara-Jean and Peter fake (sort of) that’s cute and adorable, but also a combination of friends to lovers and fake relationships.

  3. I’ll add this to tags I still need to write. One of the first characters that I can’t sadly have is Adrian Ivashkov. I might just sell my soul for him. Another is Will Herondale. I liked Jem but I preferred Will over hm, even in the first book.

  4. Awww I want to pretend that there’s a world in which all my book boyfriends are real. Can I have that dream? I think…the one that pains me the most for not being real is Clay Danvers from the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong. He’s kind of a smol awkward cinnamon roll that is also super scary and badass and nerdy at the same time (he’s an anthropology teacher, aside from being a werewolf).
    I haaaate Call Me Maybe. I absolutely hate it and I want to forget that song. Also I agree, I don’t have a green fingernail, let alone a green thumb. Not even a cactus is safe with me. Which is kinda sad. Books are the perfect gift imo. Thank you for the tag Soph!!!

  5. These are the kind of cynical, pessimistic tags that I ADORE! I might have to do this one. Hehe. And I definitely see what you mean with Jude and Cardan. I haven’t read the Wicked King yet, but after reading the Lost Sisters I somehow started to feel okay with it?? I don’t understand myself sometimes. I definitely agree with American Panda being the sweetest, and feel the same as you do about insta love. lol. Awesome post! <3

    • DO ITTTTTTTTTTTT. Lol, I don’t think I understand myself either, so it’s all a learning process in life as we go along then?

  6. hah, you miswrote my blog name!! xD I forgive you though, that breed has one hell of a complicated name.. there’s a “ch” and a “sh”… Dachshunds.
    I just noticed.. WHY HAVENT I GOT THE PING? I only got Isabelle’s.. which was misleading at first as you both do has the “bookwyrm” in your blog names.. [combining both’s questions may be what i’d do!]

    I’m sorry, the “fuck it bucket” stills gets me laughing everytime XD ahaha I even read it in a book or something somewhere !!! I so flipped and it reminded me of you guys ahaha
    I really really love your questions !! Good job, Sophia!

    • OMG I’M SORRY. I thought I spelled it correctly I swear! For some reason my blog doesn’t like to ping anyone at all unless you’re first? I have no clue why, but I’m definitely not the only blog so that makes feel better.

      The fuck it bucket is the best thing that someone mentioned and I forgot who it was that came up with it in our server when I first heard of it, haha. It might have been Blue?

  7. HI I JUST MET YOU, AND THIS IS CRAZY, BUT HERE’S MY NUMBER, SO CALL ME MAYBE! Okay thanks, now I’ll remember this for the enitre day.

  8. Great tag!
    Tessa, Will and James are the best love triangle! I mean, like, I don’t understand anyone who disagrees.
    Oh, and I love getting books as gifts but I love it more when someone takes me to a bookshop and lets me buy them for myself! (or lets me order from Amazon)

    • It might be preferences maybe? Who knows? Taking you to the bookshop and letting you choose the books to buy is the best gift (also a great date idea, haha).

  9. Can…can I just have them all for Christmas just wrapped under my tree? Haha there is such a long list, but Draco Malfoy comes first to mind. JUST LET ME LOVE YOU AND SHOW YOU THAT YOU ARE BETTER THAN YOUR PARENTS DAMN IT! (Forget your wife, I’m better)

      • If they’re wrapped up under your tree, they might die. Who wants dead fictional crushes for Christmas???

        ALSO YES DRACO IS BETTER THAN HIS PARENTS. BLESS HIS SOUL. (Even though I hated him back in the first few books, but he grew on me by the last book with his actions.)

  10. CURSES WORDPRESS FOR NOT GIVING ME MY PINGBACK YET AGAIN!

    Love curing all is my lest favorite trope and I avoid it like the plague as well. I can’t even think of a book I’ve read that featured this, I must have deleted them from my mind to make room for the lyrics to Call Me Maybe instead

  11. Oh this is on time, for when I am so done with all the Valentine’s day marketing and posts. Like you I hate it when books shove romance on my face, especially when they are not adding anything to the story as such.

  12. I love the friend to lovers tropes I’m a sucker for them! I am not a fan of love triangles when they blow up everything and become the main part of the plot. I think I’m actually starting to like romance now though <.<

    • Oh god, I hate love triangles when they become the main part of the plot as well. I understand it’s part of the character’s growth, but so is everything else that is happening as well???

  13. I loved the TID books, but the resolution of the triangle was too easy. Like Clare didn’t want to offend TreamJem or TeamWill. I felt the same way about Splintered.

  15. Thank you for getting Call Me Maybe stuck in my head. My Office’s waiting area/lobby also thanks you, cause what I listen to–they listen too. MWUAHAHAHAHAHA.

    “Books! Flowers don’t last long because I don’t have a green thumb (is that a black thumb, then?)”
    This is a mood and we can both have black thumbs, because the only thing that survives in my life plant wise is the succulents I have and the fake christmas tree I have in the storage closet.

    Thank you for the tag my dear!

    • LOLOLOLOL. And honestly, if I celebrate Christmas, I’d have a fake Christmas tree too. *sits with you and your black thumbs* We’re horrible to nature’s beauties.

  17. That’s a mood, Brittany. (This might be the perfect answer to everyone who asks why I don’t have a boyfriend, haha.)

    And you never know! I love having chocolates, though, so if I could have books AND chocolate, that would be nice.