Okay, so, how do I say this? I have been tagged for the Sims Book Tag all the way back in 2016/2017 by the lovely Cristina @My Tiny Obsessions and Loreva @La Book Dreamer and it really took me 4-5 years to actually post it. Why? I don’t know, but be aware that my shame is endless.
It’s just that I have recently gotten more into the Sims again, owning way too many expansion packs and add ons for that game than necessary and then I saw this still lingering in my drafts. I gathered, if I don’t do it now, I might never get to it. So, in the spirit of better late than never, I hope you do enjoy the following post!
**click on the covers to get re-directed to Goodreads**
THE ORIGINAL SIMS – THE BEST AUTHOR DEBUT
I’ve mentioned this book so many times, but I just had so much fun with it? The Field Guide to the North American Teenager isn’t one of those stories with a finite end, but you still feel very satisfied with the outcome. It’s self-aware and funny and snarky – just immediately endeared me to check out all future releases by Ben Philippe.
Read my review here.
THE GRIM REAPER – THE SADDEST CHARACTER DEATH (SPOILER!!!)
I have mourned so many characters at this point, it is very hard to describe the absolute worst and saddest character death to me. However, I still very clearly remember the first (and therefore utterly devastating one), which was Dustfinger from the Inkworld trilogy. In case you haven’t read it, I am not going to talk about his fate in detail, but he will forever remain one of my all time favourite characters. He deserves the world!
SIMS GETTING STUCK – A CHARACTER THAT JUST GOT IN THE WAY
I’d like to think that most characters serve a purpose in a story, so, I am having a hard time coming up with someone who was really in the way. However, I feel like Maisie from Don’t Tell a Soul was someone who definitely complicated things in several situations. If she didn’t feel the need to constantly intervene, I think some events might have run smoother.
Read my review here.
SIMLISH – A BOOK WITH AMAZING WRITING
Beartown just had absolutely amazing writing. There is a kind of omniscient narrator type voice and yet you always know which character you are currently dealing with. Ensemble casts, especially of that size, are never easy to handle, because it’s tricky to keep it all balanced, but Backman knew what he was doing. I’ve literally marked so many sentences in that book, it was a thing of beauty.
Read my review here.
EXPANSION PACKS – A SERIES WHERE THE BOOKS KEEP GETTING BETTER
I don’t know why this was the first book series that came to mind, but I am just going with my gut here – I think the Magicians books actually got better over time. It’s been a while, but I believe the second book was my favourite, but the third was still better than the first one, so it totally counts.
Read my reviews for The Magicians, The Magician’s Land and the Magician King.
SIM ROMANCE – THE WORST CASE OF INSTA-LOVE
Phew, I tend to avoid books that insinuate insta love, so again, not easy to answer. (Yes, apparently I am going to say that about every single prompt.)
Okay, so, I didn’t review this book on the blog, because I really didn’t enjoy it, but A Pocketful of Crows was a very fairytale-esque story and had the main character and the love interest fall for each other in the most cliché of ways. It was immediate, it was founded on neither one of their qualities and just annoying, but thankfully that romance didn’t last. The real downfall of the book was the overall message for me though, because it suggested that you were right in exacting revenge upon people who wronged you.
CHEATS – A BOOK THAT WAS ENTIRELY UNREALISTIC
Sometimes I think I can’t play the Sims without cheats anymore. Am I the only one?
Anyway, let’s talk books again. As someone who works in film and TV, I just didn’t find Famous in Love very realistic. Does that mean it’s not a fun and entertaining book? Of course not, but it’s just not how things would likely play out. And I will forever prefer the too-soon-cancelled TV version of this tale (which also wasn’t 100% authentic, but closer?).
Read my review here.
NEEDS FULFILLMENT – A CHARACTER THAT MADE ALL THE WRONG DECISIONS
ALL the wrong decisions is quite the heavy accusation. I think that Chloe from Admission made a lot of mistakes by not making very many decisions on her own. There’s no way she didn’t know that something was off, but by going along with what she was told to do (deciding not to speak up), she made all the wrong moves. I did enjoy that they didn’t glorify or redeem her actions entirely, but just explained how they came to be.
Read my review here.
ERROR CODE 12 – A SERIES THAT STARTED OFF WELL BUT WENT DOWNHILL FROM THERE
Uhm, I don’t know? Divergent?
I thought the premise and concept was cool and I really enjoyed it in the beginning, but Allegiant? No, thank you. That book set itself up to fail in my opinion and it just felt kind of lost overall. Would have much rather prefered a different path for the series.
THE SIMS VORTEX – A SERIES THAT COMPLETELY ENGROSSED YOU
I’ve not spoken about this series in a long time, but RED RISING IS RIGHT THERE!! I feel bad for just staring at the brick of a book that is Dark Age on my shelf, but I am scared. These characters mean so much to me and they are in constant peril. I don’t know what kind of spell Pierce Brown put on me, but he has me heart and soul invested in this series. (check out a post I made about why the original trilogy is so great here)
Read my review of Red Rising, Golden Son, Morning Star and Iron Gold.
I TAG THEE
Since it took me so long to do this post, I don’t want to put anyone else on the spot. And I also genuinely think that a lot of people have already done the Sims Book Tag at this point, but if you think “hey, this is for me!”, then CONSIDER YOURSELF TAGGED!
Life and Other Disasters 