Thanks to @Blogspells for coming up with this fun end of year tag! Some of my answers had me scratching my head long and hard before I could think of anyone that fit the bill.
1. The most badass character
For this I am choosing Torin Ten Trees from The Gatewatch by Joshua Gillingham. Not only is he badass in terms of his skill at fighting but he is clever enough to outwit the king of the trolls in a battle of riddles, which in my mind makes him even cooler!
2. The weirdest or most unique story
For this I’m picking The Testament of Loki by Joanne M Harris – definitely the weirdest idea for a story I’ve read this year. Loki Norse god of chaos ends up possessing the body of a present day teenage girl and has to get used to eating pizza and going to school.
3. The coolest worldbuilding
Panem from the Hunger Games. This year I read the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. I didn’t rate it too highly as a novel, but I do think the worldbuilding in the series as a whole is great.
4. The best fictional animal
Weirdly I haven’t read any books with animals in them this year, but my son has been listening to How to Train Your Dragon on audio book in the living room from time to time so I’m going to pick Toothless, who is a much better, less cutesy character in the books than in the movies.
5. The book you just couldn’t put down
The Visitor by Terry Tyler is a very gripping whodunnit murder mystery set in a Norfolk village in 2024 during a bat-fever pandemic. I couldn’t guess who the killer was – red herring clues kept changing my mind right up until the reveal near the end.
6. A character you loved to spend time with
I loved Hilda from Northern Wrath by Thilde Kold Holdt. She was a strong female character with amazing confidence and strength that enabled her to continue her journey despite her eyes burning with fire and her having to slit open her eyebrows to allow blood to dribble into her eyes to stop the pain. She finally earned the respect of all the warriors.
7. The one that hit you in the feels
Where the Crawdads Sing – the main character Kyra was so lonely and isolated having been abandoned to grow up alone by her entire family. She falls in love with someone who also loves her but doesn’t visit her when he returns from University and then spends many years regretting not believing in her/himself enough to follow his heart.
8. The villain you loved to hate
Nidra The Perceptor, the mind and body controlling witch who tortured Corporal Tyson Gallows in The Fury Yet To Come by Steve McKinnon. She’s pure evil!
9. The 5 star read that you weren’t expecting
I gave Storytellers by Bjørn Larssen 5 stars. I expected to like it but was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
Tag 3 other people:
Over to you @paperbackbex @fantasybooknerd @dshaggyshepherd
Sue's Musings 