12 Days of Christmas Book Tag!

Hello hello! Christmas is almost here and so this is the last day in which I can post this tag, but since I saw it around and it seems like fun, here we are! Usually, I tend to use always the same books in tags, so this time I have tried to choose some newer ones. Let’s see how I did!

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: A partridge in a pear tree!
The partridge stood alone in the pear tree. What is your favorite stand-alone?

I have read this book this year, even if it seems to me that I have read it a lifetime ago. This year my sense of time is really screwed up. But I loved this book. I had high expectations for this one, but it was even better, and now I am a new voice in the throng of voices that recommend it everywhere! The Goblin Emperor is an amazing book, with a cinnamon bun as protagonist.

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Two turtle doves!
Love is in the air! Who is your one true pairing?

Usually I would give always the same answer to this kind of question. And I was so tempted to use that here, too. But since I am trying, today I would go with Gen and Attolia are just an amazing pair. Sure, maybe they are not the most romantic couple ever, but they are really well sorted together!

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Three French hens!
In the spirit of threes, what is the best trilogy you have read?

Here again I have a standard answer, and it is: the first two trilogies by Robin Hobb with Fitz and the Fool as MC. Because really, those two trilogies were just so… wow. And they devastated me, emotionally. But they are not the only amazing trilogies out there, and so today I would go with something newer. The First Law by Joe Abercrombie. It is just so so good. With characters that are unforgettable. It really is worth a reading. Or two.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Four calling birds!
Since series usually consist of four or more books, what is your favorite series?

Choosing just one series is really really hard! But this time I would go with The Others by Anne Bishop. I love this one for a ton of good reasons, we have an interesting world-building, we have magical and fascinating creatures, we have the slowest slow burn romance ever, we get sweetness and good feeling, we get some amazingly good characters development, and we get an intriguing plot. But we have also a very peculiar thing: here the humans are not the dominant species. And this is amazing all on its own, believe me!

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Five golden rings!
One ring to rule them all!
Who is your Favorite Villain/Antagonist?

Villains are not really my cup of tea. Morally gray characters are more my thing. Even questionable ones, and antiheroes too, they are good. But the villains… not so much. But in this series, in which we have questionable characters and morally grey ones everywhere, we have even some fascinating villains. I cannot say who my favorite is, because I won’t do spoilers, but oh my! He is one of my favorite characters ever, and to discover him as a villain was both a blow and just so perfect!

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Six geese a laying!
Creation is a beautiful thing.
What is your favorite world/world-building?

You can give different meaning to this question, because you can choose a world you find so fascinating you’d want to visit it, or you can choose a world-building for its complexity and development, but I choose to go with the first one, and I choose The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn, because The Moor is a place I’d love to visit. It may be a shallow answer, but there it is!

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Seven swans a swimming!
Who needs seven swans when all it takes is one good animal sidekick? Who’s your favorite animal sidekick?

Technically Nyx is not really an animal sidekick but… but she is the MC’s familiar, and in this book in particular she really get some action. And I was cheering her all the way! So, yep, we would go with Nyx from Vampire Knitting Club series.

One the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Eight maid a milking!
Milk is so 18th century. Which book or series takes beverages/food to a whole new level?

I know that I have used this series before, but I have not another answer for this question, so here we are! Sebastian is alwasy cooking delicious things, especially dessert, for Ciel, and they are just sooooo good! I crave desserts every time I read a volume of Black Butler!!!!

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Nine ladies dancing!
Dancing is just one skill of a Lady!
Who is your favorite kickass female lead?

I know, I know, I am cheating. But I couldn’t just choose one of them. I have read so many great books with amazing kick-ass female lead that, just choosing one would have been impossible! They are really different from one another, but Cordelia from Vorkosigan’s Saga, El from A Deadly Education and Allegra from The Dark Abyss of Our Sins are just so so good! I am so glad to have meet them!!!

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Ten lords a leaping!
How about your favorite leading lad?

Well, since I have chosen three female leads for the other question, is only just that I would choose three male leads too, right? And so we have Falcio from The Greatcoats series (and Kest and Brasti *_*) are amazing characters (and morally grey too, aww!), Vimes from The City Watch subseries (The Discwolrd)is one of my favorite characters ever, too. And Vimes plus Vetinari? Oh my!!!! And, last but not least, Rune and Brand from The Tarot Sequence series. They are just too fun!

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Eleven pipers piping!
What is your favorite book or bookish thing with musical influence? (It can be about music, reference music a lot etc.)

This is the biggest classic of all. But I don’t know which other book to choose for this prompt, so we would go with The Name of the Wind. Every occasion is the right one to talk about this book. And I know that authors are people and they have a life but… oh come on, Mr. Rothfuss! Pretty pretty please, can you write the end to this series???

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave ot me: Twelve drummers drumming!
Drum roll please…what is your favorite read of this year?

I would write a post to answer this question, or more than one, so I would just drop here a little spoiler, between the books that I haven’t yet nominated in this tag (because, guess what? Quite a few of them would be in “The best of the year” post!). I started this series this year, after keeping it on my TBR for ages. And I am in love with it! So… here it is!

Since Christmas is here, I won’t tag anyone (but if you want to do it, please consider yourself tagged!).