First of all Gal Gadot/Wonder Woman is a #womencrush forever! I cannot wait for the next movie, as I have enjoyed this one so, so much.
Now, onto the tag:
1. Wonder Woman: Your favorite badass female book character.
Hmmmm. I’ve got two (that I can think of right now). Vin from Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson . Vin just might be the MOST BADASS female character in a crew of grown men ever. 
and Nina from Six of Crows . 
I know most people always pick Inej, and she is badass to the core. But I really love Nina and think that she is just as badass and brave. Plus Inej and Nina together make the best girl-team ever!
2. Fantasy Island: A book setting you want to escape to.
Narnia have always been one. Especially in The voyage of the dawn trader 
3. London: A hyped book that let you down.
Didn’t like this one at all tbh Every heart a doorway – and I was so excited for it!!
4. Steve Trevor: A book that has a beautiful cover and a great story.
I absolutely adore this cover and I don’t even know why. It’s just so …alive? I feel like if I keep looking at it long enough I will see the girl actually take a breath . The bird and the sword by Amy Harmon and the story is amazing. It’s one of my absolute favorites. 
5. Lasso of Truth: A book you hated.
Phewww. I’ve got a lot, but I don’t hate them, I was just really let down. I don’t think I have a completely hated book, thankfully:) So: Strange the Dreamer (I’ve got a lot of issues with the book and my full and maybe a bit rant-y review can be found HERE . Also I was let down by ACOTAR (I had many issues with all the rape vibes and just not my cup of smut tea). And The infernal devices series, I’ve only rad 2 out of 3 and got too bored to continue. I just didn’t get the hype, and I’m really not a fan of some cliche tropes it had.
6. Wonder Woman’s Shield: A book so sad you need a shield.
Hmmm. I’m going to say Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine – it’s a great book, it has a lot of sadness, but it’s so well worth it. As it also has a lot of wit and heart ❤ Recommend!! 
7. Ares: A villain that is scary but you can’t seem to hate.
*drumroll!!!* – The Darkling! from The Grisha trilogy. Who hates The Darkling?? Nobody hates the Darkling! He’s one of the best villains ever, hands down. 
8. The Amazons: A book that you wish had more / better LGBT+ representation.
Hmmm. TBH all the books I have been reading recently have been doing great in that department. So nothing to say here 🙂
I feel like everybody has been tagged or have done this tag already 🙂 But just in case – I tag everybody!
Book and Sword 
You’ve reminded me that I really need to start the Mistborn series!! I’ve been putting it off for forever. & I completely agree about Nina and the Darkling; those two are each my favorite characters from their series!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve been putting it off too, but then literally everybody was raving about it on my GR, so I just had to! And man I’m happy I did. It did drag a bit, but then it just got sooooooo good.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad you really liked it, I feel more encouraged to start it soon!😄
LikeLike
I miss the Darkling. 😅
Also, I’m a huge Alarkling shipper. I really think Alina can stand up to him if a chance has been given. I honestly wanted more Sankta Alina vs. The Darkling. Sorry, tmi. 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
ohhh so true! I’d have loved to see their stand off. I ship them, but not as most people ship them. I don’t like them romantically together at all, but I ship them together as light and dark, sun and moon, black and white. They are such perfect contrasts of each other. They are also the most powerful grisha – and they should have had more battles – one on one. ❤
LikeLike
I don’t think it’s possible for the darkling to be romantically involved with anyone because he might find it difficult to trust. But at some point, it seemed that he trusted Alina. Maybe that’s why I liked them together. In my opinion, Alina’s the only one who can call out the Darkling’s problematic behavior. She can’t change the Darkling into a good guy, but she could definitely persuade him & challenge his authority. It’s why I wanted more of them in the books! I wanted to see a power play. But what I wanted to see, most of all, is Alina accepting her powers while being an all powerful grisha. I know she’s anxious, but if she has the right people around her, it wouldn’t be a problem. It wouldn’t be a problem if Mal stopped treating her like a helpless girl. It would’ve been great if there was support instead of jealousy & anger. I don’t think Alina’s someone who could be power-hungry. I hated how, in the last book, she was saying that the power had never been hers… and she was even comparing it to a carnival trick? Even if she wasn’t born and raised with the other grishas, it doesn’t make her a non-grisha or less than a grisha. Like, what’s the point? She CAN be happy with her (grisha) friends & without Mal. She could be a mother (with some other guy) without Mal. Instead, were going back to book 1 where people continuously look down on her. It seems that the author just wanted to end this & kill off the Darkling so she could give Malina a happy ending & to quickly wrap up the series itself. The problem is that there’s a lot of conflict between Mal & Alina in the books ever since Alina was grisha! It’s like the only basis for them ending up together is that they’re childhood friends! Sorry for ranting. 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
ohhh no, those are wonderful ideas! I love it! I haven’t talked about Grisha with many peoples people either love it or hate it 🙂
I actually shipped them romantically in first book I think, but then Darkling was a bit too manipulative and abusive to Alina in my mind, so I discarded the ship as “abusive relationship”. It would, however, made sense if Alina stood up more to him in her power and then Darkling didn’t become good in general, but just better to her. Then I feel like the romance would have blossomed. And also in the end when he was so shocked that he was just a normal person again – I felt like it just showed that he was only ever using her for her powers.
But I Have to agree it does kind of feel like all of Alina’s journey was for nothing. Sure, she didn’t belong at first, but then she started to. She even was friends with Zoe and that says something. She had group of people who loved her (and since they loved her after she was powerless we know that they were her true friends). Mal only seemed able to love her when she was powerless though.
Maybe the whole point of Alina’s power was to be a vessel? That’s why she felt so content when she was empty again?
So much speculation 🙂
Also what is up with Aparat never actually getting punished – he was quite evil in my eyes!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think the Darkling’s redemption isn’t possible (hence the death), even if there are people in the fandom hoping for it (which is why I mentioned it). I think he was surprised because Alina did what she did. She surprised him. Now that it happened, he’s alone all over again. I don’t know if you’ve read the prequel (the demon in the wood) but it (kind of) shows why he is the way he is.
To me, Alina was yearning for her powers but she was contented because Mal was there. In the book, she said: “I could feel the ache of absence where my power had been like a phantom limb.” Sometimes she thinks she doesn’t deserve it! The power was always there inside of her (so yes, a vessel) but she tends to subdue it. It doesn’t mean that the power meant nothing to her. It was always a part of her. But now that it’s gone, it’s truly gone and there’s nothing she can do about it. It’s like the ache of being separated from it. The power was always there within her but she refused to accept it because of Mal. Remember when they were being tested?: “I hear Mal’s voice through the library door. Alina, Alina.
I know then. I know that we are different from one another. Terribly, irrevocably different.
Alina. Alina!
I make my choice. I grab hold of the thing inside me and push it back down.
“Mal!” I shout, and begin to struggle once more” (Shadow and Bone).
Alina had always been anxious and unsure of herself in the first book and the only person she seems to interact with in a comfortable manner is Mal (because they’re childhood friends). I guess it makes sense why they would end up together. But in this case, because of how he acted when he learned that Alina was grisha, he didn’t want to associate with her. He didn’t like that he was left out. Basically, anybody but Mal (imo) will be fine. Heck, she can even pick Zoya or Nikolai and I would be happy! Alina has so much potential! She deserves someone a lot better than Mal. The Aparat (and the other followers) as well as Mal being alive is one of the things I don’t understand in R&R.
LikeLiked by 1 person
ohhh you have brought up a very great point – I always remember Alina talking about how she doesn’t want her power, but I completely forgot about how she felt whence was without it. Empty and aching.
Alina did have so much potential – I would have loved to see some epic event to happen before her power loss. Tbh books weren’t that long – there’s so much room to explore Alina and her character more – especially because her character growth was so amazing.
I read the demon in the wood, that made me sympathize with him – it was so tragic. I’ve also read Genya’s story and it showed Darkling in another light again.
I love your extensive knowledge of Grisha – it’s amazing!
❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree! I believed she had so much potential. It seems to be a waste reading about the parts where she was thinking about Mal and the parts where she watched Mal fight (and kiss Zoya). I thought it felt out of place. I was waiting for the Darkling to show up most of the time. I just wanted more of Alina Starkov. She doesn’t have to be as tough as Aelin in TOG, but I just wanted her to use her power more often against the Darkling and challenging his authority. More fight/action scenes as opposed to pining for Mal would’ve been great.
LikeLike