The Tag Team Tag

Gather around, ye adventurers! It may be the last day of Wyrd and Wonder, but that just means we’ve saved the best for last! We bloggers love a book tag, and so my dear friend Mayri The Bookforager and I have come up with the Tag Team tag for your (and mostly our) enjoyment! We started with a very general prompt – in this case Magical Forest – and started out with a book that fit that theme. From there we alternated, picking out elements and key words (written in bold font) of the previous book to associate with the next. And of course, because it’s Wyrd and Wonder, it had to all be fantasy! Sound confusing? Just have a look at what we got up to, and it’ll make sense!

Because I gave us the prompt, it was Mayri that started us off with the first book, so you can find the first half of our tag over on her blog, and then come back here for the rest!

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[Mayri’s book before this was The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard]

Ariana: Ooh, speaking of a supernatural murder mystery, I’m going to pick Equinox by David Towsey which I finished recently. It’s set in a world (possibly ours, as an alternate history) where everyone has two separate lives – their day-self and their night-self. Christophor Morden lives by night, and he is a special inspector for the king, investigating anything that may be magical in nature. His day-brother, Alexsander, is a musician, and soon both of them are caught up in events that seem apocalyptic in nature, and amid wars of invasion, dark forests, and religious fervour, everyone is a suspect!

Mayri: Oh my goodness,  this also sounds amazing! Dagnabbit you’re making my tbr list longer by the minute! 

And now I really want to throw Twilight Robbery by Frances Hardinge in here because it too deals with a place divided by day and night (a town called Toll). The way in which the town is divided (and how it’s decided who lives in Toll-by-Day, who in Toll-by-Night) boils down to religious fervour, (there are many gods, collectively known as the Beloved). The world in which the story is set feels like an alternate Restoration era England, and the main characters are a Dickensian pair called Eponymous Clent and Mosca Mye (a charlatan and a young runaway respectively).

Ariana: My TBR is also definitely growing from this! 

Okay, this was a tough one… I think I’m going to try and do The Binding by Bridget Collins, a very soft fantasy. It’s never specified where and when it’s set, but it does have the feel of 1600/1700s England, and there are certain people who have the power to bind specific memories into books, so that the person who gives the memory will forget it. People do it to forget pain, grief, and dark secrets, and sometimes because others give them no choice. Emmett is summoned to an apprenticeship as a Bookbinder, and though initially reluctant, he takes to the work. Until one day, he discovers a book with his own name, and runs away to try and restore the life he’s lost. 

Mayri: Oh no! You know, I had a copy of this, but I took it to the charity shop because it didn’t look like my cup of tea and now you’ve made it sound awesome! Poo!

OK… in The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, Zachary finds a book of fairytales and snippets of stories, one of which tells of a memory he has of something that happened to him as a child. In trying to find out more Zachary gets drawn into a masquerade ball, breaking and entering a secret society, and into an incredible library sanctuary outside of time that is under threat. This is one of those books where you just have to let go and enjoy the weird ride it takes you on without worrying too much about little things like plot and character arcs.

Ariana: Good choice, I love The Starless Sea! 

I’m going to finish us off with my current read – Starborn by Lucy Hounsom, set in a stunningly imaginative world. The main character, Kyndra, unleashes hidden abilities and has to escape her superstitious town to a secret city of people who can channel the power of the sun and the moon. While there, Kyndra seeks to understand her own powers and her world’s history, and has to pass certain tests, so spends a lot of time in the great library. She uncovers things unexpected, and the story explodes in scope from there, and it just takes you along for the ride! 

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I’m sure I speak for both of us when I say we had so much fun doing this, and will probably do another one soon! I would also love to see what others come up with, if you so decide to take this tag and run with it! It’s a lot of fun to do with another person, because you never know what they’ll throw at you (and so much to add to TBRs!!!) but it can definitely be done solo! Be sure to ping back to this (or Mayri’s) post if you undertake our challenge!