Kate @ Reading Through Infinity tagged me in the Animal Crossing New Horizons book tag – thanks Kate! – and, because I can never resist a tag, I’m here today to do it.

This tag was originally created by Angharad and Becky @ Two Book Thieves!

I’ve never played Animal Crossing in my life and, to be perfectly honest, I’m not entirely sure what it even is. In fact I’ve never been a gamer (apart from the hours I spent on The Sims during my teens) but this tag looks really fun.

Past Villager

Who is a character you found when you were younger that still has a place in your heart?

One of the first series I can remember reading and loving were the Sophie books by Dick King-Smith, and every now and then I find myself thinking about Sophie and hoping she got to grow up and live her dream of becoming a farmer.

Blather’s Blatherings

Recommend a historical fiction book that you think everybody should read

One of my favourites is always going to be The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. It’s such a fantastic ghost story and a brilliant look at post-war Britain.

Celeste’s Wish

What is a future book release you wish you could read now?

I’d love to have a copy of Grace Draven’s The Ippos King right now. I love the chemistry between Anhuset and Serovek in Radiance and Eidolon, so I’m very excited that they’re getting their own book.

Timmy & Tommy

What is your favourite sibling relationship in a book?

I love the relationship between Ali, Muntadhir and Zaynab in The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A Chakraborty. There’s a scene in a broom cupboard in The Kingdom of Copper that sums up pretty much everything I love about this series and this particular disaster family.

The Easter Bunny

A popular book character that you’re not a big fan of

The Darkling. He’s so loved, and I get why, but I find him kind of boring? I mean he’s supposed to be some ancient being and yet he sulks like a six-year-old. Snore. I think I also have a problem with the amount of people who love him and hate Mal. I don’t love Mal either, but I think he gets a lot more hate than he deserves.

Nook’s Loans

An author you’d give all your money to

Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I love her work.

The Sisters Able

What is your favourite fictional family (found or otherwise)?

I mean obviously I love the Weasleys, but when it comes to found families it’s the Dregs from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo who have my heart and soul.

It’s a C+

What is a book trope you don’t like that keeps popping up?

So this might seem like a weird one, and I don’t really know if it’s a trope, but, uh, France. I don’t have anything against France, and I’m happy to read books set there, but I feel like France and France-inspired settings are the new trend in YA right now and a lot of them make me cringe. Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin, for example, is French-inspired fantasy and I haven’t been able to read it yet because when I flicked it open I spotted that two of the heroines friends are called Coco and Babette. Are you serious? You might as well call them Baguette and Fromage.

The Wandering Camel

What is your favourite book set in a land far away from yours?

Pretty much every fantasy novel is set in a land far away from mine, but I’m going to narrow this question down to Earth and go for A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I think about that novel a lot, and I loved how Hosseini wrote about Afghanistan.

What Would Dodos Do?

A fictional land you wish you could fly away to at any moment?

I’d love to fly away to Aiaia from Circe by Madeline Miller and just relax on an isolated Greek island for a little while.

I tag

Dini

Emer

Susy

JonBob

and anyone else who wants to give it a go!