The Wanderlust Book Tag

Today’s prompt for Wyrd and Wonder is ‘Magic Location’ and I thought it would be the perfect time to do this book tag I saw a while ago done by Zezee with Books and created originally by Alexandra @ Reading by Starlight. As it’s Wyrd and Wonder I will of course be using fantasy books only to answer these questions, and it’s a great excuse to take a whirlwind tour of some of my favourite fictional places!

Secrets & Lies:
a book set in a sleepy small town

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The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater is set in a relatively small and sleepy feeling town given all the mayhem and myth that its main characters get up to!

Salt & Sand:
a book with a beachside community

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Mina, the main character of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh, lives in a seaside town dependent on the tides and the bounty of the Sea God. Though most of the story is set beneath the waves, the impact of the supernatural on the town is felt throughout.

Here There Be Dragons:
a book with a voyage on the high seas

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So many options for this one, and I was very tempted to go with my beloved Bone Ships but I thought I’d showcase another favourite I haven’t mentioned in a while: The Forever Sea by Joshua Phillip Johnson.

Tread Lightly:
a book set down a murky river or jungle

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This is a tough one, actually, but as it’s so fresh in my mind from a reread I’m going to have to go with The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb, which has as one of its settings the Rain Wild river, known for its toxicity and for running milk white after earth tremors. I believe the Rain Wild Chronicles features this setting a lot more heavily (by the name that makes sense) but as I haven’t read that series yet I didn’t feel like I could use it!

Frozen Wastes:
a book with a frost-bitten atmosphere

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Despite the spring feel of the cover, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett is set on an icy island in the north seas, and is full of snow, chill, and the fae – which make it extra chilling!

The Boonies:
a book with ruff or isolated terrain

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The majority of Starborn by Lucy Hounsom is set in the hidden city of Naris, cut off from the rest of the world by geography, magic, and the superstition of those without powers. It’s also underground and so the feeling is quite claustrophobic at times.

Hinterlands & Cowboys:
a book with a western-esque setting

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I don’t really do Westerns much but the first thing that comes to mind is Of Honey and Wildfires by Sarah Chorn, which is set in a town with a magical boundary that is the source of something called ‘Shine’, mined for its magical properties. It’s definitely a frontier setting inspired by the western genre.

Look Lively:
a book set across sweeping desert sands

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Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood is a bit of a Jane Eyre retelling but is set in an Ethiopian-inspired location, in a grand manor out in the desert that is cursed by the Evil Eye.

Wild & Untamed:
a book set in the heart of the woods

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You can’t really get closer to the heart of the woods than Hannah Whitten’s For the Wolf, set in the dark and twisted forests that demand sacrifice to keep them at bay.

Wildest Dreams:
a whimsical book shrouded in magic

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I have to go with the beautiful, ethereal The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern for its setting, its stories within stories, and the writing itself.

And there we have it! I’m quite happy that I managed to use books I don’t often feature on the blog, and hopefully that means you discover something new! I am not going to tag anyone specifically but if you see this and also think it’s a great Wyrd and Wonder book tag to take a crack at, go for it and link back so I can check it out!

ARTWORK CREDIT

Portal by Tithi Luadthong. 

The gorgeous artwork has been licensed for use for this event online. You are welcome to use the banners on your Wyrd and Wonder posts, but please make no changes and always credit the artist(s).